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 order, and on the inside stage where things got a bit more intense (and a lot hotter) than Saturday’s outdoor show.

The highlights of the day for me were Kill the Client, ridiculously intense political grindcore from Texas, and Yakuza, who were really a nice change of pace with their atmospheric, deliberately paced compositions and their prominent use of saxophone. More thoughts and photos after the jump - and the full Sunday gallery with nearly 200 photos is here.

Read More “Photos: Maryland Deathfest VII Sunday” »

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 tell you a single word about, musically at least. Flesh Parade, Birdflesh, Misery Index, Phobia, Immolation… they may have played some great music, and I might have photographic evidence of them, but I have absolutely no memory of their sets. So instead of attempting to do a verbal recap, I’ll just let the photos do the talking, after the jump. There’s also a full Saturday gallery here, with 227 photos.

Read More “Photos: Maryland Deathfest VII Saturday” »

I’m going to hazard a guess that during yesterday’s music-packed evening in D.C., the only show that could rival Peter Brötzmann’s trio in intensity was The Dillinger Escape Plan at Rock & Roll Hotel. If you’ve seen DEP before or you read my writeup of their Baltimore show this past Feburary, you know the drill.

R&R Hotel had a few security guys lined up in front of the stage to try to keep control. I asked one of them if they knew what they were in for. “Oh yeah, we know all about it,” came the confident reply. The thick padding taped over the venue’s giant wall mirrors, and the ceiling above the stage, seemed to confirm this, but the “NO STAGE DIVING / NO CROWDSURFING” signs posted everywhere were overly optimistic.

Photos and a few more thoughts after the jump. Full gallery here.

Read More “Photos: The Dillinger Escape Plan @ Rock & Roll Hotel” »

If this week’s Opeth and Enslaved bill at the 9:30 Club was an inspired pairing, the combination of Isis and Pelican tomorrow at the Black Cat is almost too obvious. Imagine post-rock played with heavy metal riffs and you’ve got the right idea for both these groups. Isis are touring in support of new release Wavering Radiant, which sees the band cutting back on the gorgeous distorted fuzz of earlier works like Panopticon in favor of a looser, more psychedelic vibe. Vocalist Aaron Turner (also the boss man of Hydra Head Records) has added a decent singing voice to his repertoire to augment his guttural screams, and uses it to good effect on the new material. Isis’ current output is somewhat less sweepingly epic than their earlier work, but it’s still very much widescreen in nature.

Openers Pelican might glibly be called the Explosions in the Sky of metal. Pelican’s music is entirely instrumental and immediately accessible: melodic and major-key, yet still heavy. On their own they might be a little lightweight, but paired with Isis, they should offer a nice counterpoint to the headliners’ more doom-laden heft.

Isis, Pelican and Tombs play at the Black Cat mainstage Saturday night, $15 at the door, 9pm.

Sweden’s Opeth and Norway’s Enslaved played to a reverent near-capacity crowd at the 9:30 Club last night. Putting these two bands together was an inspired idea, as both currently play a kind of heavy progressive metal with melodic passages and clean vocals mixed into the downtuned riffs and growls. However, the bands’ backgrounds are different enough (Opeth coming from more thrash/death origins and Enslaved from a pure black metal past) that there was a healthy variety, although another thing both bands have in common is a funny, talkative frontman.

Brief recap and a few photos after the jump. Full gallery here.

Read More “Photos: Opeth and Enslaved @ 9:30 Club” »

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.

Read More “Quick & Dirty Recap: Maryland Deathfest VII” »

Maryland Deathfest is about to kick off its first day in a couple hours, but better late than never, right? I’ll be covering Saturday and Sunday, but for anyone still thinking about heading up to Baltimore (tickets are still available, but not many of them!), here is my absolutely non-comprehensive and subjective preview of select bands I want to see. Keep in mind that my knowledge of classic 90s death metal is limited, and I’m more into the modern grindcore and experimental stuff.

MDF takes place at Sonar, 407 East Saratoga St Baltimore, MD 21202, today through Sunday, on the main stage inside as well as an outdoor stage. Tickets will be available at the door for varying prices depending on the day.

FRIDAY (today!)

• Cattle Decapitation - outside - 6:35-7:10 - Pretty good modern grindcore. Their latest album throws some curveballs, including the inclusion of Jarboe and Grayceon cellist Jackie Perez-Gratz, but I still like their old stuff best (Karma Bloody Karma etc). Listen at Myspace.
• Mayhem - outside - 8:30-9:30 - Mayhem was at the center of the violent early-90s Norwegian black metal circus, with two original members murdered by other musicians in the scene. Somehow they’re still going and still scary. Expect fake human heads impaled on stakes onstage. Listen at Myspace.
• Cephalic Carnage - inside - 12:40-end of night - My favorite song of theirs is indicative: “Black Metal Sabbath,” a tongue-in-cheek spoof of black metal’s tremolo riffing and screeching vocals that then transforms into an equally tongue-in-cheek but totally awesome Sabbathy sludge riff. Listen at Myspace.

Check out my Saturday and Sunday picks after the jump. Photo above of Bolt Thrower (playing Saturday) courtesy their Myspace page.

Read More “What to See at Maryland Deathfest” »

Mastodon have been bringing nerdy extreme metal to the masses since signing with Warner Brothers after their second full-length album, the Moby Dick-based concept album Leviathan. But on the Atlanta band’s latest record, Crack the Skye, they drop most of their extreme tendencies in favor of what is basically really heavy prog-rock. Their sold-out show at the 9:30 Club this past Tuesday showcased Crack the Skye in its entirety, plus a second set of older material.

After the jump, lots of photos (full gallery here) and some scattered thoughts about the show, including regarding openers Kylesa and Intronaut.

Read More “Photos: Mastodon @ 9:30 Club” »

Less than two weeks out from the festival’s kick-off on Friday, May 22, Maryland Deathfest organizers have announced that, in order to accommodate higher than expected ticket sales, the fest will have a stage set up outside Sonar, in addition to the Sonar main stage. As of today, tickets are available again for purchase but have gone fast in previous onsale intervals.

The running order for all 54 bands has also been announced. Cephalic Carnage headlines Friday, while, interestingly enough, a pair of black metal bands close out the night on Saturday and Sunday - Wolves in the Throne Room and Sigh, respectively. Check out the festival’s Myspace post for full running order details.

Yours truly will be covering Saturday and Sunday of the fest, so stay tuned for all the gory details (and photos).

Last Saturday, May 2, Jon Blank of Rockville, MD passed away of a suspected drug overdose. Blank was the bassist in Rezin and, most recently, Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s latest project; he played on Wino’s new album Punctuated Equilibrium and is pictured above playing with Wino at the 9:30 Club this past February. Blank was the youngest member of the Wino band and - at least judging from that one show I was able to see - his stage presence, like his playing, was hyperactive and entertaining. He will be missed.

Statements from Blank’s sister and Wino’s label, Southern Lord, are available.