For the last couple of days I have been hosting the UK band, Hellbastard, in my home, prior to their gig at the Maryland Deathfest on Saturday. Read a short band profile here and a short interview with Scruff Lewty the vocalist/fire breather here.Don't let the name mislead you. These fellows have been stellar house …
INTERVIEW: Maryland Deathfest organizer Evan Harting
Think about all the bands you like to listen to. Now imagine bringing a few dozen of those groups together to perform for you and a few (thousand) of your friends. That, in a sense, is exactly what Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting created when they created the Maryland Deathfest in 2003. Over the last …
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INTERVIEW: Red Fang’s Bryan Giles with podcast
My first exposure to Red Fang was on a Relapse Records sampler. The song was "Number 13" from their album Murder the Mountains. As someone who listens to a lot of death and black metal, Red Fang's massive, swinging sound stood out to me as somehow "Southern." It wasn't what I usually listened to but, …
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Countdown to MDF X: (1) Electric Wizard
The last band to play outside on Sunday, May 27 at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest will be UK stoner doom stalwarts Electric Wizard. After four straight days of all manner of death metal, black metal, grind core and noise, the crowd will be ready for something a bit more laid-back and introspective. Well, maybe that's …
Countdown to MDF X: (2) Saint Vitus
The word "legendary" is usually never appropriate when describing even the most well known musical acts. Its overuse can make it meaningless. In the case of doom metal band Saint Vitus, however, the description of legendary may qualify as officially sanctioned.Hailing from Los Angeles, Saint Vitus quite possibly invented doom metal. I won't insult you …
Countdown to MDF X: (3) Suffocation
Suffocation is from Long Island, New York. This will be evident the minute vocalist Frank Mullen opens his mouth to speak, which he is want to do between songs. When the band begins to play, however, you will forget all about his New YAWK accent and turn your attention to not being killed in the …
Countdown to MDF X: (4) Morgoth
I am no Tolkien fan, but I do know the name of Germany's death metal band Morgoth comes from book The Silmarillion. Although disbanded for more than a decade, the group has experienced a rebirth since 2010 and is set to release a DVD of live performances in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release …
Countdown to MDF X: (6) Yob
Yob. The name evokes memories of that disturbing Warner Brothers cartoon "Rocket-bye Baby" in which a Martin baby is mistakenly delivered to Earth parents. Few people under the age of 40 will remember this cartoon.As a band, Eugene, Oregon's Yob can be just as unsettling. Grinding, doom-y guitar riffs, plodding and pulsing rhythms and other-worldly …
Pentagram Chile guitarist talks first US gig, new drummer and first studio album
Pentagram Chile is not the first band in the world to place a country designation after their name to avoid confusion with another well known group. Usually this is required because of copyright, but in this case, the group did it out of respect to the doom metal band Pentagram that started in the late …
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INTERVIEW: Tatsu Mikami wants you to join his Church of Misery
I am not a fan of church membership in general. But if I were to be a congregant in any church, it would be Church of Misery from Japan. Spacey, psychedelic, doomy and ultra heavy, rest assured Church of Misery will do a great job transitioning the audience at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest on Sunday …
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