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Days of Darkness Lineup Finalized: Om to Headline Second Night; Captain Beyond, Boris, Cavity, Crypt Sermon and More Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 9th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

The first lineup announcement for the inaugural Days of Darkness festival came through last month and brought with it confirmation that the autumnal two-dayer presented by the crew behind the Maryland Deathfest wasn’t screwing around either on scale — Neurosis headlining — or in scope, bring on board multi-genre acts from across a swath of underground styles. Well, the lineup is now complete. Om join Neurosis as headliners, and Cirith Ungol act as classic metal counterpart to the previously-announced Manilla Road near the top of the bill. Sizable additions like Captain Beyond, and Boris join the likes of WarningDälek and Elder — whose new album will be out by then — and Bongripper and Unearthly Trance find further tonal-onslaught companionship with word that Cavity will take part. All in all it looks like a pretty fucking good show.

Tickets are on sale now, and though they might not go before Maryland Deathfest proper, held in May as ever, I would be surprised if there were any left by the time Oct. 28 and 29 gets here. I’d think Neurosis or Om could probably sell out Rams Head on their own, never mind with the stellar support cast they’re both given across the Saturday and Sunday event. Bringing in Om has me wondering if maybe they’ll have a new record release coming up — that’s a long trip to the East Coast — but that might just be wishful thinking on my part. Either way, they’ll of course find welcome once they hit the stage, because they’re Om, and only jerks don’t like Om. That’s science. It’s proven.

Here’s the poster and the lineup as posted by the fest, as well as the link to get tickets:

days-of-darkness-2017-final-poster

Maryland Deathfest presents: Days of Darkness Festival

October 28 & 29, 2017
@ Rams Head Live, Baltimore, MD

Saturday, October 28th:
Neurosis
Manilla Road
Captain Beyond
Perturbator
Elder
Cavity
Dance with the Dead
Dälek
Computer Magic
Crypt Sermon
Alms

Sunday, October 29th:
Om
Cirith Ungol
Warning
Boris
GosT
Unearthly Trance
Le Matos
Bongripper
Magic Sword
Night Demon
Asthma Castle

No refunds. All sales final!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/days-of-darkness-festival-tickets-31832083619
https://www.facebook.com/events/257886397969977/
http://www.facebook.com/daysofdarknessfestival
https://www.facebook.com/MarylandDeathfest/

Om, Live at Saint Vitus Bar 2015

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Days of Darkness Festival First Lineup Announcements: Neurosis, Warning, Elder, Unearthly Trance and More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 10th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Expand or die, right? Certainly the idea isn’t a new one for the crew behind the famed Maryland Deathfest, which already has brand extensions in place in California and the Netherlands, but the newly-announced Days of Darkness Festival — for which early-bird tickets are on sale circa now — feels immediately different. Set for late October at the Rams Head Live, for one thing, it takes place in Baltimore, the home-base of the Maryland Deathfest itself. Second, it abandons the “Deathfest” title, in favor of the less genre-adherent “Darkness.” Third, its lineup seems way more of the doomed/post-metal/psychedelic/classic metal variety than any of the extremity one might find at the other Deathfest-promoted fests. These things make Days of Darkness 2017 distinct. The fact that Neurosis headline and Warning will appear playing Watching from a Distance in its entirety — something they’re also doing at Roadburn this April — means they mean business.

Compared to the core Maryland Deathfest, which runs four days at this point, the two for Days of Darkness feels a bit like testing the waters, and indeed that may be exactly what’s happening, but while a number of heavy festivals have popped up and disappeared after one shot — whither thou, Planet Caravan? — far fewer have the kind of production machine behind them as this one. Accordingly, one looks forward with great anticipation to seeing how Days of Darkness 2017 continues to develop its lineup and set itself apart not only from the central Deathfest brand, but also the slew of heavy fests in what seems to still be a surging US sphere.

More to come, in other words. Here’s the initial word in the meantime:

days-of-darkness-festival-poster

Maryland Deathfest presents: Days of Darkness Festival

October 28 & 29, 2017 @ Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD

Lineup:
Neurosis
Warning (Watching from a Distance set)
Manilla Road
Elder
GosT
Unearthly Trance
Dälek
Bongripper

A limited amount of early bird passes go on sale this Friday, February 10th at 11 am EST. Save the link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/days-of-darkness-festival-tickets-31832083619

Many more bands will be announced soon!

https://www.facebook.com/events/257886397969977/
http://www.facebook.com/daysofdarknessfestival
https://www.facebook.com/MarylandDeathfest/

Warning, Watching from a Distance (2006)

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Wino Wednesday: The Obsessed Perform “Hiding Mask” and “Mourning” at Maryland Deathfest XI, May 25, 2013

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Sandwiched in the rather considerable Stage 1 lineup by Weedeater and the Melvins, with Down headlining, The Obsessed played Maryland Deathfest XI this past Saturday as part of a far reaching roster of talent that found them joined on other stages by acts like Aosoth, Weekend Nachos and Broken Hope. Just in case you had any idea what to expect, ever, I guess.

The footage below was filmed by Frank Huang, whose venerable dedication over the years has resulted in a staggering catalog of clips you can check out here (among other places), and who caught The Obsessed just as they were starting into “Hiding Mask” from 1991’s Lunar Womb. I don’t know where that was in the set, and if he was just using the fest’s backline — one of these years I’ll get to an MDF, I swear it — but it’s kind of cool to see and hear Wino playing through Emperor heads and cabs, which capture the low end of his fuzz really well. “Hiding Mask” has that quintessential mid-paced groove that a lot of The Obsessed‘s stuff nestled into, and though the vocals are down in the video, you can still get a feel for what the trio were getting up to this weekend.

Speaking of “the trio,” you might note bassist Reid Raley in place of Guy Pinhas, who’s currently playing with Victor Griffin in In~Graved, who recently returned from a European tour that included stops at both Desertfests, Roadburn and Doom Shall Rise and who will also be playing Days of the Doomed III next month in Wisconsin — so yeah, plenty busy. Raley you might recognize from Arkansas’ Rwake, but he fits in well with Wino and drummer Greg Rogers, both of whom kill it on “Hiding Mask” and “Mourning” from 1994’s The Church Within, which follows immediately.

This video has been making the rounds on Thee Facebooks — unless my feed is just unusually Wino-centric, which is possible — but as it’s so brandy new, I thought it was worth including it here for Wino Wednesday as well. Enjoy:

The Obsessed, “Hiding Mask” & “Mourning” at MDF XI, May 25, 2013

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Who Wants to Watch CT from Rwake Puke at Maryland Deathfest?

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 29th, 2012 by JJ Koczan

I do!

I didn’t get to Maryland Deathfest this past weekend, but even if you did go, here’s something you might have missed. Along with selling an exclusive 7″ of a new song, Rwake frontman CT brought a little something extra for the Baltimore crowd at what’s become America’s biggest metal fest. His lunch.

And I’ll tell you something else. I’ve seen a few frontmen vomit in my day — from Dixie Dave of Weedeater to Andy from Clamfight — and anyone can puke on stage. It’s pretty easy. What’s not easy, however, is puking on stage and still managing to keep the verse going. Kudos to you, sir.

Here’s the clip, filmed by a dutiful documentarian going by the nom de guerre “TOTALFUCKINGMAYHEM,” whose efforts are much appreciated. For those who’d skip right to it, there’s pukeage at about 2:20, but you might want to consider watching the whole thing, because “It was Beautiful but Now it’s Sour” — taken from last year’s excellent Rest LP — is badass. Either way, enjoy:

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