Presenting what you haven't heard but should.
My friend Hasan turned 25 this past week, and to celebrate, he organized a show at The Sidebar Tavern. Being a complex man, Hasan wisely assembled a group of bands into a birthday show that reflected his diverse taste in music. He also served up some killer vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter icing from …
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The first day of Ratscape is in the books. I was only able to stay for four bands, but what I did catch was an impressive and diverse array of some of the unique talent Baltimore has to offer. Truth be told I should have just stayed there the whole night and not left for …
For the last several months, fans of the doom metal band Iron Man have been teased--nay--tortured by Facebook status updates about a new album. Then there was a YouTube video previewing songs for this new full-length.  Not long ago, we learned the name of that record-- South of the Earth. I have heard most of these …
Ratscape II is coming up this weekend (July 19-21) at Hour Haus Studios, located on the SE corner of North Avenue and Howard St. Unlike some of the other Baltimore festivals, Ratscape is somewhat of a DIY kind of thing, and most of the bands playing are not well known, although there are some distinct …
Baltimore recording engineer Mike Franklin thinks that Baltimore is essentially one big family that just hasn't met yet. He hopes his festival, Ratscape, a celebration of underground local music which he organized with his friend Josh Schleupner, could be one way for all those talented "family" members to get to know one another. Held July …
The second day of Days of the Doomed III was a long day, filled with a diverse selection of bands at The Blue Pig in Cudahy, Wisc. It was also the night of the Super Moon. I don't know if the moon had anything to do with it, but there were a few technical glitches. …
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Here are just a few of my favorite photos that I took during the first day of Days of the Doomed Fest III in Cudahy, Wisc. at The Blue Pig Tavern. No review now; actually I don't feel qualified to do that. But I did enjoy every band I saw on Friday, which was a …
Continue reading "Photo highlights of Days of the Doomed III – day 1"
Black metal music is rife with themes of the occult, Satanism, and misanthropy. Once in a while though, a band comes along that takes a different approach. That band is Norway’s Vreid, who use historical, philosophical and now themes from literature, nature and art in their concept driven recordings. “We get a lot of very …
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Ann Everton and Brian Daniloski are dear friends of mine and also the excellent performers that make up the group Darsombra. I have written about their specific brand of psychedelic audio-visual space rock here on the blog. Not long ago they moved into a home in the Garwyn Oaks neighborhood of Baltimore. I have visited their …
Metal Chris asks Evan Harting, one of the organizers of Maryland Deathfest, the tough questions in the aftermath of this year's festival. Chris really brings up a lot of issues and problems that I never noticed but then again, he was moving about the festival a lot more than I was. What questions or comments …
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