Categorizing Sunn O))) as drone/doom metal is only really appropriate when the duo are at the peak of their Earth-tribute mode. This was very much in evidence last night at Sonar, where at least half the band's 90-minute set was more like avant-garde noise played really, really loud. Sunn O))) can be a bit inscrutable, [...]
Canada's Fuck the Facts are often pigeonholed as grindcore, but last year's Disgorge Mexico showed the trio blowing up genre conventions and exploring sounds all their own. At their show last night in Baltimore, their setlist drew mainly from that album, bringing much-needed freshness to a show which to that point had been dominated by [...]
The husband/wife duo of Amber Valentine and D.C. native Edgar Livengood, aka Jucifer, don't really tour so much as they live their lives on the road. Of the many bands out there that seem to tour constantly, Jucifer probably has them all beat. So it makes sense that their live show is a completely different [...]
Just when you thought Baltimore was safe from metalheads again, the folks behind Maryland Deathfest have gone and made some initial lineup announcements for the next installment of the festival, set for May 28-30, 2010. This is no tentative first step, either; a whopping 18 bands were announced today as performers at next year's event:
Entombed [...]
The mid Atlantic ain't exactly synonymous with kick-ass music festivals, but Baltimore's renegade art/music collective Wham City (most famous member: Dan Deacon) might be changing that. This Friday kicks off the fourth annual Whartscape, a three-day, weekend-long sonic smorgasbord of B-more's best and brightest bands, and their friends from the rest of the States and [...]
Alright, that's it for this year. Saturday might have been the big draw at Maryland Deathfest 2009, but Sunday was no disappointment either, unless you were a Pestilence fan. Pestilence cancelled due to visa issues and were replaced by a second set of Bolt Thrower, who played the same set as Saturday in a different [...]
So this belongs pretty clearly in the Better Late Than Never department, but those of us who attended Maryland Deathfest this year are already looking forward to next year's installment, so consider this, uh, a preview of MDF VIII. Yeah.
Between photography and sheer metal overload, I saw a number of bands about which I couldn't [...]
Baltimore's Double Dagger will be playing an in-store at Crooked Beat today at 7 p.m. The show is free. Expect it to be loud as hell. Double Dagger recently released its stunning third LP, More, on Thrill Jockey. We hope the Adams Morgan record shop has insurance; the band's sound is all sharp elbows, pointed [...]
"Wasn't he just here?" you might be thinking. Well, yes, but the last time famed free-jazzer Peter Brötzmann played the Velvet Lounge, just a few weeks ago, he wasn't backed by a rhythm section straight out of the extreme metal world.
Full Blast sees Brötzmann in a trio with electric bassist Marino Pliakas and whirling dervish/drummer [...]
So that was fun. Festival organizers estimated that some 2,700 people attended this year's (incredibly well-run) Maryland Deathfest. I missed the first day, but will post more about Saturday and Sunday of MDF VII later. For now, here are a few photos and my thoughts in superlative form, after the jump.
