Yeah, I know, Maryland Doom Fest 2019 was like a month ago. Quit livin’ in the past and all that. Well, this show was supposed to air July 5, so whatever. It got pushed back because apparently July 4 is some kind of holiday now — what.ever. — and it was kicked down the line to two weeks later with re-runs on in the interim. Did anyone notice? Did anyone care? I did. But I’m glad to have had the chance to pay homage to MDDF one way or the other, since it was such a killer time and boasted a lineup of so many good bands.
Of course I had to lead off with Beelzefuzz and Foghound, two staples of the Frederick diet, and the show unfolds from there with new stuff from Zed and Lo-Pan and Kings Destroy amid the likes of Devil to Pay and Earthride and Backwoods Payback and Greenbeard. I made sure to put Solace and Freedom Hawk and Horehound and Toke and Witchkiss in here because their sets were particularly righteous — not to mention Year of the Cobra! — and in addition to representing the headliners in Conan, Mothership and Earthride, I had to include WarHorse since their reunion set was something so particularly special and such a huge part of the festival.
For those who didn’t hear the show, Gimme Radio runs the ‘Gimme Brigade’ which you can sign up for. I think it’s $5 a month or something like that, but you get access to their full archive and help them with hosting costs, etc., so fair enough. If you got to hear this one, thanks. If not, the basic point of the thing was that Maryland Doom Fest 2019 kicked ass, which I sincerely hope also came across in the reviews.
Here’s the full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 07.19.19
Beelzefuzz
All the Feeling Returns
Beelzefuzz (2013)
Foghound
Known Wolves
Awaken to Destroy (2018)
Zed
Chingus
Volume*
Lo-Pan
Savage Heart
Subtle*
BREAK
Devil to Pay
Ten Lizardmen and One Pocketknife
Fate is Your Muse (2013)
Kings Destroy
Yonkers Ceiling Collapse
Fantasma Nera*
Earthride
Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus (2005)
Witchkiss
Seer
The Austere Curtains of Our Eyes (2018)
Year of the Cobra
Cold
Burn Your Dead (2017)
BREAK
Solace
Khan (World of Fire)
The Black Black (2007)
Backwoods Payback
Whatever
Future Slum (2018)
Toke
Blackened
Orange (2017)
Greenbeard
WCCQ
Onward, Pillager (2018)
Conan
Battle in the Swamp
Monnos (2012)
Apostle of Solitude
Ruination Be Thy Name
From Gold to Ash (2018)
The Age of Truth
Come Back a God
Threshold (2017)
BREAK
Horehound
Dier’s Dirge
Holocene (2018)
Freedom Hawk
Danger
Beast Remains (2018)
Mothership
Midnight Express
High Strangeness (2017)
Warhorse
Lysergic Communion
As Heaven Turns to Ash (2001)
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Aug. 2. Thanks for listening if you do.
One could go on at some length about the legacy of the Stoner Hands of Doom Festival, which, like much of the pre-social-media universe, feels like part of some bygone era, when in fact the last edition was held in 2013. The Maryland Doom Fest 2019 pre-fest party — which I’ll only argue with because, really, when you have nine bands playing, that’s a festival one way or the other — was co-billed as SHoD XX in honor of the 20th anniversary of that fest’s first edition in 1999. Two of the bands on the evening’s bill were actually there in Virginia and Maryland on that weekend — Solace and WarHorse — but everyone who took the stage at Cafe 611 in Frederick, MD, was a veteran of it one way or the other. Slow Horse and Tummler remain sadly unaccounted for.
SHoD traveled — that first Arizona lineup is legendary — but spent a few pivotal years in Frederick down the road at what used to be Krug’s Place, and in both mission and manifestation, there isn’t a better festival to inherit the mantle than Maryland Doom Fest, though at the same time, it’s never been so plain just how much MDDF has come onto its own and found its place among the wider festival sphere. The WarHorse reunion is a coup, but for the greater incorporation of Guido’s as a second venue and the expansion to four days, Maryland Doom Fest has expanded its reach across borders and styles in a way that has only added to and enriched its original purpose. Earthride headlining tied it all together as only they possibly could.
It was a 5:30 start and I rolled into the venue about half an hour before that. Already, familiar faces were in ample supply, and they’d only be more so over the course of the evening. I have the feeling it’s going to be that kind of weekend. Right on.
The night went like this:
After the Sun
Along with Earthride and Solace (who were two for two at that point), Ohio’s After the Sun played SHoD in 2000, the same year they formed. They’d return in 2001 as well. Given their style, it’s pretty notable that they’re actually not from Maryland itself, as their traditional take on doom definitely seemed to have been born of an awareness of the likes of The Obsessed, Pentagram, Unorthodox, and so on. After putting out an EP in 2001, they released their first full-length just last year in the form of a seven-song self-titled, and they served it well live, making a highlight out of “Delusion of Sanity” late in the set. They had a new short release, The Demise, out for the festival, and were solid, workingman’s doom rock, the guttural belt-out of vocalist Doug Perry recalling earlier metallic grit while the chug of Lance Collier‘s bass and Rob Perkins‘ guitar and the thud of Bryan Kaiser‘s drums provided suitable backing for such conviction. The fact that they’ve released more music in the last nine months than in the prior 17 years shouldn’t be lost, and one has to wonder what their future plans are with this feeling very much like a return set, on-stage altar and all.
Freedom Hawk
This band just rocks. It hasn’t been that long since the last time I saw them, and they were still one of the sets for which I was most excited. There’s no bullshit to Freedom Hawk. They’ve got the songs. They plug in and kick ass and then they’re done. Five records deep, they know they’re doing it right and they play with that conviction. “Blood Red Sky,” “Lost in Space,” “Solid Gold,” “The Darkness and the Light,” “Radar,” “Executioner” and “Indian Summer” made for a quick set that seemed even faster than it was, but the Virginia Beach four-piece very obviously made the most of their time. I still have “Indian Summer” stuck in my head, if that’s any indication. Freedom Hawk only played the final Stoner Hands of Doom in 2013, which was held in Richmond, Virginia, and saw fest-organizers Rob and Cheryl Levey hand the reins to Brendan Burns (who at the time ran the Eye of the Stoned Goat festival), but any excuse to have them in just about any lineup is cool as far as I’m concerned. They’re just doing a weekender around Maryland Doom Fest, but they absolutely brought it like they’d been on the road for weeks.
Weed is Weed
Double-duty Sherman! And on guitar, no less! With Gary Isom playing drums! With the incense-burning bong-shaped mic stand present and accounted for, Earthride frontman Dave Sherman took the stage with the three-guitar riff machine Weed is Weed to bask in crunchy nodder vibes and, as they always seem to do, have a really good time. I’ve been lucky enough to see them a couple times now — always in Maryland — and I don’t think they’ve ever had the same lineup twice. Sherman playing guitar was a nice touch, and Isom‘s move back to drums (from guitar) was of course nothing to complain about either. They lurched into “The Bong Remains the Same” and the eponymous “Weed is Weed” and sundry other greatest hits, and the room was with them all the way. I don’t know if they’d get the same reception anywhere else, but at Cafe 611, they were home, and it was a family atmosphere all the way through. The lights were green, and by the time they were done, they only seemed greener. If the East Coast had the Pacific region’s same proclivity for using the word “gnarly,” Weed is Weed might be the standard by which that was measured.
Deer Creek
At some point early in the set, Deer Creek guitarist/vocalist Paul Vismara noted that it was the band’s first show east of the Mississippi River in something like 17 or 18 years, and he thanked all the bands who have played their native Colorado in the meantime because, as he put it, “that’s a long fucking drive.” I believe it. Vismara — currently working on cover art for the next Solace record — and fellow guitarist Conan Hultgren, who also ran Game Two Records — the first Sourvein, the Halfway to Gone/Alabama Thunderpussy split, releases from Pale Divine, Negative Reaction, etc. — led the four-piece through a round of massively-riffed tonal plunge, a noisy, sludgy aggression cutting through the thickness of Hultgren‘s and Paul Vismara‘s guitars and Stephanie Hopper‘s bass, set to roll from drummer Marc Brooks. Their late-2018 EP, Quisling, wanted nothing for atmospherics, and their live presentation had that same sense of open-space, but neither was the impact neglected, the band hitting hard and locking into raw doom and sludge with an abandon more willful than reckless and a focus on mood that no one else would touch for the remainder of the evening.
Devil to Pay
I know Indianapolis’ Devil to Pay played SHoD in 2012, because I was there. It was the one in New London, Connecticut. They also played in 2004, 2007, 2009 (I was there, too), and indeed 2013, so with five appearances total, that makes them the most-SHoDded of the bands playing the first night of Maryland Doom Fest. Not a minor distinction, but of course they’ve done plenty since as well, making their debut on Ripple with 2013’s Fate is Your Muse (review here) and following it with 2016’s A Bend Through Space and Time (review here). They’re about due for a new record — though now sharing guitarist/vocalist Steve Janiak with Apostle of Solitude (playing this weekend) as well as The Gates of Slumber — and indeed they had new songs called “Heave Ho” and “37 Trillion” in the set alongside favorites like “Ten Lizardmen and One Pocketknife,” which seemed to fit well alongside their melodic, heavy and straightforwardly structured songs. Like Freedom Hawk, they’re rarely dug into frills of any kind, and it had been too long since I saw them, but they reminded of what a well-kept secret they are and gave me something to look forward to in their next record, whenever it might show up.
Wasted Theory
Big news coming next week from Wasted Theory. I’m not going to spoil it, but it’s not a new record — according to drummer Brendan Burns that’s still in the “messing around with riffs” stage, and fair enough since they released Warlords of the New Electric (review here) just last year — but it’s big news. And cool news. You know, I don’t always get down with where Wasted Theory land in terms of theme and whatnot, but as I watched guitarist/vocalist Larry Jackson, Jr. lead the band — Burns, guitarist Andrew Petkovic, bassist Corey Pettingill — through the set, I thought back to the first time I saw them early in 2013, and the difference six years have made in their sound is huge. On every level in terms of songs and performance, they’re a more professional, realized band, and yeah, they should be with three full-lengths out, but it’s still striking just how far they’ve come and how much work they’ve put in to find their place in Southern heavy rock. They’ve locked into their niche and set about developing as players and songwriters, and despite lineup changes they’ve never done anything but move forward. Look out for that news this week and join me in being vicariously happy for the band when the time comes.
Solace
Solace are chaos. So much chaos. From the about-to-fly-off-the-rails dual-leadwork of Justin Daniels and Tommy Southard to the fact that they had Danny Golin (Halfway to Gone) sitting in on drums for the set after only rehearsing with him twice, to frontman Justin Goins spilling all the beer, the New Jersey five-piece are barely able to be contained on a stage — and at Maryland Doom Fest, they weren’t; Goins definitely spent some time in the crowd. They started recording their new album a year ago, reportedly, and I’ve already put up I think more than one news piece about it being done, but indeed, the thing’s still in progress, but whatever they do, wherever they go, Solace bring that sense of punk-metal danger with them, and it’s not just about a threat of violence, though maybe that too, even in the one new song they played, but the material itself has this frenetic energy to it that pushes everything into the red — figuratively and literally in terms of the lighting in this case — and when their set was done, you could almost feel the crowd at Cafe 611 exhale the breath it had been holding while they played. Hey, Solace — finish the goddamn album already. The world needs more of this kind of destructive catharsis. Badly.
WarHorse
Yeah, so I know Massachusetts’ WarHorse only have two shows booked — this and Psycho Las Vegas in August — but I’m going to tell you straight up that this reunion is going to have to be a real thing whether they like it or not. The offers are going to keep coming. As in: “start writing songs and get your passports ready.” Already on the lips of fest-goers since the start of the day, the trio of bassist/vocalist Jerry Orne, drummer Mike Hubbard and Terry Savastano laid waste to the room. If Solace were the bull in the china shop, WarHorse were the steamroller knocking over the building afterward. It was magnificent. I never saw them during their original run, but their lone LP, As Heaven Turns to Ash (discussed here), is the stuff of legend — especially in the Northeast — and within the first five minutes of “Horizons Burn Red,” it was obvious they need to keep going. The set was that, plus “I am Dying,” “Scrape,” “Lysergic Communion” and “Black Acid Prophecy,” and when they were done, people were shouting for more. Rightly so. You know how you’ve been listening to that record for all these years and thinking like, “Wow, this must’ve been amazing to see live?” Well, it still is. Tour, new songs, album, festivals, all of it. They sounded like a band ready to get their due.
Earthride
I’m not sure how else you could hope to close out the night but with Earthride, who, again, tied together the spirit of Stoner Hands of Doom with Maryland Doom Fest perfectly. There was some problem early on with the bass rig, but it got worked out and after being introduced by drummer Eric Little‘s daughter — he looked pretty flabbergasted — they were off and rolling soon enough into the quintessential Chesapeake nod of “Something Wicked,” the title-track of their most recent album (review here), which came out in 2010. The intervening years have found vocalist Dave Sherman involved in Weed is Weed and the Spirit Caravan reunion that morphed into the current incarnation of The Obsessed, as well as other projects in the works and lineup changes in Earthride itself mostly in the bassist role — Greg Ball has handled guitar for the last several years — and true, they had the Witch Gun 7″ out in 2017, but even so, it’s time for a fourth Earthride album. I was dragging ass by the time they went on, but Earthride are kingpins of Maryland’s heavy underground and there’s nothing quite like seeing them on their home turf. As ever, I came out of doing so with no regrets whatsoever. They are a definitive band for what Maryland Doom Fest is all about.
—
It was, uh, late, when I got back to the AirBNB where I’m staying a few blocks away from the venue. I crashed on the futon in this room at about 2AM and was up before 7 thinking I needed to start making coffee and writing. Correct on both accounts. Today is another packed day — they all are — but it starts a little later, so I’ll see if I can’t crash for a bit this afternoon ahead of making my way over to Cafe 611 again. Also need to buy a toothbrush, so yeah, I think I’ll go do that. After I sort pictures.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 6th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Psycho Las Vegas 2019 has continued to defy press release-style convention and leak out bands one at a time for its lineup this August at Mandalay Bay on the Strip. I don’t think you need me to tell you this is going to be fucking off the wall, but consider it said anyhow. And it’s worth noting just how broad the latest batch of additions is. From post-rock kingpins Godspeed You! Black Emperor to a reunion for the perennially drummer-less Truckfighters to bringing Hangman’s Chair over from France with so-hot-right-now black metallers Devil Master to importing WarHorse for a non-Eastern Seaboard appearance — from what I hear, Terry Savastano (Grief, Come to Grief) will be playing guitar for this show as well — and lysergic soakers The Black Angels, it’s every bit as all-things-to-all-deviants as one could ask, and whatever stages these bands are actually playing on, you just know it’s going to be a win.
The images as posted by the fest follow here, along with what I’m pretty sure is the complete current lineup — if it isn’t, it’s certainly badass enough to cover it — and ticket info from the PR wire.
Dig it:
America’s rock ‘n’ roll bacchanal returns as PSYCHO LAS VEGAS brings its annual debauchery and unbridled volume to the Strip itself, with a move to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino that sets the stage for a Las Vegas Boulevard takeover, the likes of which have never been seen.
Lineup so far: Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats High on Fire Glassjaw YOB Perturbator Kadavar Oranssi Pazuzu Electric Wizard Fu Manchu Graveyard Truckfighters WarHorse The Black Angels Devil Master Godspeed You! Black Emperor Hangman’s Chair Amenra Deafheaven Old Man Gloom Clutch Power Trip Bad Religion Rotting Christ
Slated for August 16th through August 18th, PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2019 will feature four stages, including the newly renovated Events Center, the iconic House Of Blues, the Mandalay Bay Beach, featuring a wave pool and lazy river, and an old-school Vegas-style Lounge smack dab in the middle of the casino floor. While all of the venues are located on the property, Mandalay Bay is connected by a complimentary tram service that provides easy access to affordable accommodations such as Luxor and Excalibur. Attendees will have access to discounted rates at all of these properties and other MGM hotels and resorts down the Strip.
The highly coveted “Psycho Special” passes, notorious for selling out instantly, are priced at $99, plus taxes and fees and go on sale Thursday, November 29th at 10:00am PST. Weekender General Admission passes are priced at $249, plus taxes and fees, and will increase to $299, plus taxes and fees, once the first tier sells out. Only 300 High Roller VIP passes will be sold at $499, plus taxes and fees, with package details to be announced in December. Single-day tickets will be available in the Spring at $109, plus taxes and fees. While the festival format will remain largely the same as previous years, the Thursday pre-party at DAYLIGHT Beach Club will be a more intimate event for attendees and will require a separate ticket from the festival pass. Tickets and more information available atVivaPsycho.com.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
The actual schedules aren’t out yet for the four days of Maryland Doom Fest 2019, but even the day-splits for the massive lineup are good to know since this will be the first one with two venues and, thus, the first one with schedule conflicts (assuming the rooms run at the same time). That will invariably lead to some difficult choices, but so it goes in the land of doom — aka Frederick, MD. One way or another, the lineup is maddeningly good from its headliners in Pentagram, Conan, Earthride and Mothership right on down through the likes of Seasick Gladiator and Greenbeard, playing earlier in the day. But it’s good to get some basic idea of who will be where, when, because given the swath of bands, it’s going to be one to schedule where your feet are at any moment in order to miss as little as humanly possible.
By the way, how fucking awesome is the idea of Maryland Doom Fest paying homage to the 20th anniversary of the long-running/now-defunct Stoner Hands of Doom festival? That lineup could hardly be more perfect if they got Eternal Elysium over for it as SHoD once did. Especially the top three there. Unstoppable.
Here’s the info. There’s a lot of it:
Early Bird Discount Ends 12/31! THE MARYLAND DOOM FEST 2019 – 5th Anniversary – June 20th-23rd with PENTAGRAM, CONAN, EARTHRIDE, MOTHERSHIP, WARHORSE, 40+ More!
The Maryland Doom Fest celebrates its 5th anniversary this upcoming June and has confirmed FIFTY of today’s heaviest bands to grace the stages of two venues in 2019. For the first time in its history, MD Doom Fest brings international artists, the mighty CONAN from the United Kingdom and INTERITUM from Tasmania, with 48 hallowed USA acts coming from coast to coast!
In a dual-ceremonial event, the MD Doom Fest Pre-Party on Thursday, June 20th is a 20th Anniversary celebration of the Stoner Hands of Doom Festival (ShoD), with a spectacular lineup. All bands have performed at fantastic SHoD fests of years past! The Pre-Fest / SHoD 20th Anniversary Celebration will be monumental. We invite everyone to become part of the family at The Maryland Doom Fest 2019 events for #4daysofdoom!!
THE MARYLAND DOOM FEST 2019 June 20th – 23rd, 2019 + Frederick, MD
PENTAGRAM + CONAN + EARTHRIDE + MOTHERSHIP
Year Of The Cobra + Lo Pan + Freedom Hawk + Warhorse + Pale Divine + Apostle Of Solitude + Kings Destroy + Solace + Foghound + Beelzefuzz + ZED + Wasted Theory + The Age Of Truth + Atala + Toke + Backwoods Payback + Weed Is Weed + Forming The Void + Sixes + After The Sun + Shadow Witch + Faith In Jane + Clouds Taste Satanic + Pale Grey Lore + Knoxxville + Devil To Pay + Eternal Black + Thonian Horde + Kingsnake + Greenbeard + Interitum + Benthic Realm + Horehound + Funeral Horse + Thousand Vision Mist + Deer Creek + Crooked Hills + Stone Dust Riders + Thunderchief + Wolf Blood + The Druids + Atomic 26 + Dead Sisters + Seasick Gladiator + Electric Age + Temptations Wings
+++ Early Bird Discount Weekend Passes available until December 31st +++
+CAFE 611+ Pentagram Apostle of Solitude Foghound Beelzefuzz Atala Sixes Forming the Void Knoxxville Atomic 26 Eternal Black Greenbeard
+GUIDO’S SPEAKEASY+ Electric Age Pale Grey Lore Thunderchief Seasick Gladiator Crooked Hills
DAY THREE
Sunday, June 23rd
+CAFE 611+ Conan ZED Kings Destroy Toke Thousand Vision Mist Horehound Thonian Horde Shadow Witch Faith in Jane
+GUIDO’S SPEAKEASY+ Temptations Wings Wolf Blood Stone Dust Riders
Early Bird Discount Weekend Passes are available until December 31st, 2018! (Early Bird Discount is only for Weekend Passes- $74.)
On January 1, 2019, all regular price ticket options will be available. Weekend Passes $89. Single Night: Fri. $35 / Sat. $40 / Sun. $35 Weekend Pass holders can attend Pre-Fest/SHoD for $15 at the door, all others: $30.
Posted in Features on November 2nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
In case, like me, you’re still reeling from the wallop of an announcement for the lineup of Maryland Doom Fest 2019 next June, I’ll just say there’s a ton of stuff worth highlighting up and down through the lineup. One thing that stuck out to me particularly, however, was the fact that Massachusetts’ WarHorse will reunite for the festival. Of course, the band is known for their 2001 debut/swansong long-player, As Heaven Turns to Ash… (discussed here), which was released on Southern Lord and well ahead of its time, but the history of the band goes back earlier to the mid-’90s and is the root from which acts like Conclave, Second Grave and Faces of Bayon stem, which is not to mention that drummer Mike Hubbard currently bashes away behind the kit for Gozu.
Guitarist Todd Laskowski (also Sin of Angels and others) passed away in May 2018, and founding WarHorse bassist/vocalist Jerry Orne — also a bandmate of Laskowski‘s in Desolate — was inspired to revisit the band in his honor. It’s not a minor decision. Original guitarist Krista Van Guider — who will also play Maryland Doom Fest 2019 with her current outfit, Benthic Realm, which also features Conclave drummer Dan Blomquist, giving a direct Orne/Van Guilder tie — will once more take on that role, and she, Hubbard and Orne are currently planning a set that will span all eras of the band’s nine-year run.
It’s not a major-planned reunion-thing. It’s not a comeback. They’re saying as of now that it’s a one-time happening, and whether or not that proves ultimately to be the case — there’s just about no way they won’t get offers for more — to talk about anything else beyond this one show would be baseless and, frankly, needless speculation.
One show, for now, is enough.
I had to talk to the band. It’s as simple as that. I wanted to find out more about how the reunion happened and what it might lead to, how Maryland Doom Fest wound up as the setting, and how they were feeling about revisiting WarHorse material. After all, these aren’t people who’ve disappeared and are returning out of nowhere. Benthic Realm have a debut EP out (it’s in the next Quarterly Review; stay tuned), Conclave released their debut in 2016 and Gozu are signed to an imprint of Metal Blade and touring with Goatwhore. So, you know, it’s not like they’ll be taking the stage for the first time in over a decade next June, even if it’s the first time in however long they do so together.
All three members of the band were kind enough to offer comment:
Jerry Orne:
It’s a slightly long story, I’ll try to keep it short.
We have talked about putting the band back together many times, but for one reason or another, sometimes many reasons it never happened.
When Todd passed away last May, it hit us all really hard. Losing a longtime friend is always extremely tough. And in this case, it had the extra sting that I would never be able to hear or play these songs again.
Later in the summer, I was having a few drinks by a campfire. I started going through some of the old songs on my acoustic and I just had the feeling that I had to do something.
I got in touch with Mike Hubbard and original WarHorse guitarist Krista Van Guilder and floated the idea of doing a one-time tribute-type show. Maryland Doom Fest seemed the obvious choice, but we didn’t know if they are anywhere else would be interested. As luck would have it, a theme of this year’s Festival is the 20th anniversary of the first Stoner hands of Doom Festival, held in Manassas, Virginia, in 1999. WarHorse was on that show.
I guess it’s one of those stars aligning kind of things. Honestly, we have nothing else in the works. This isn’t a reunion or tour or anything like that. We’re getting back together just for this one show. It sounds cliche, but it’s literally about the music. We have no plans to make merchandise or new releases or anything. Just friends getting together to play. Dan Blomquist is involved with coordinating all this. He’s been really helpful.
Given the up and down history of the band, it is bittersweet, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to play these songs again with two of my longtime friends (and original lineup). And to play at an amazing Festival, with all the history of our band and every band is really something. It was always a music that held us together, even when the band was destroying itself.
Todd’s mother gave me his SG. It’s the one he recorded and toured with. We are bringing it with us to the show. So this has grown into an anniversary, reunion, tribute kind of thing.
Mike Hubbard:
I’m pretty excited about the reunion show. It’s been a very long time since I’ve played with Jerry, and even longer since playing with Krista. I’ve always been very proud of what WH did, so when people still show an interest in the band, and the album, so many years later, it’s pretty incredible. We’ve discussed possible reunions in the past, but I wasn’t ever in the right headspace to do it. That was a dark time in my life, and a lot of shit was tied to those memories.
A part of me thought a reunion would amount to living in the past, and I wanted to focus on the present and the future. But when this opportunity came up, and then hearing the positive responses to us potentially playing, it finally felt like it was time to do it. The original Stoner Hands of Doom was our first “big” show, and being invited back as a sort of anniversary thing is pretty cool. It’s a good bookend for that chapter of my life.
Looking forward to revisiting those songs, and that playing style. It’s very different from what I am doing with Gozu, and I am curious to see how the years will affect the songs.
Krista Van Guilder:
Not much to add aside from looking forward to sharing the stage with two friends after such a long time.
We’ve remained friends over the years, but everyone has been off doing their own thing. I think Todd’s sudden death renewed Jerry’s interest in reforming for one show and I think Dan just thought it would be awesome to see us all together again. The entire recent discussion regarding reuniting really happened via text — quite a few actually.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 31st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Holy fucking shit. It’s a good thing Maryland Doom Fest 2019 isn’t until next June, because it’s going to take me that long to process how badass this lineup is. It’s like JB decided this was the year everybody plays. A fourth day has been added. A second venue has been added — it’s Cafe 611 and Guido’s Speakeasy now — and wow. Just, fucking, wow. The headliners: Pentagram, Conan, Earthride and Mothership. And the list of bands that follows is absolutely staggering. Of course some things are bound to change between now and then, and there are announcements yet to be made about the pre-show, but really. They’ve absolutely, positively gone to a completely new level of festival here.
It’s gonna be crowded.
And it’s gonna be a blast. If you need me, I’ll be booking my room at the Motel 6 in Frederick.
The announcement was simple and came just in the form of the poster — art is by Kyle Stratton, whose band Atala also make a return to the bill — and from near and far, far and wide, acts are coming in to make what looks like it’ll be an absolutely unforgettable weekend (-plus) of heavy.
We are extremely pleased to present to you……The Maryland Doom Fest 2019 lineup!!!
50 of the heaviest, most talented bands to grace the stage.
We bring you INTERITUM from Tasmania, CONAN from England, PENTAGRAM from our soil, and an additional 47 top performing USA acts traveling from all across the continent!!
As if that’s not enough, the MDDF Pre-Fest Party will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the SHoD (Stoner Hands of Doom) Festival with a spectacular lineup of bands who have performed at the great SHoD fests in years past!! The Pre-Fest / SHoD 20th Anniversary Celebration will be monumental in countless ways!!!!
Please support the Doom scene and share this epic event with your comrades and we will see you at #4daysofdoom !!!!
EARLY BIRD Discounted ticket sales start Dec. 17th, 2018 – for two weeks only.
This astronomical lineup and the 2019 festivities are dedicated to my very good friend and prior MDDF partner from 2015 – 2018, Mark Cruikshank!!
DooM !!! ~JB
Lineup: Earthride Warhorse Solace Wasted Theory Devil to Pay Deer Creek Weed is Weed Freedom Hawk After the Sun Mothership Pale Divine Lo Pan Year of the Cobra The Age of Truth Backwoods Payback Kingsnake Interitum The Druids Clouds Taste Satanic Benthic Realm Dead Sisters Funeral Horse Pentagram Apostle of Solitude Foghound Beelzefuzz Atala Sixes Forming the Void Knoxxville Atomic 26 Eternal Black Greenbeard Electric Age Pale Grey Lore Thunderchief Seasick Gladiator Crooked Hills Conan ZED Kings Destroy Toke Thousand Vision Mist Horehound Thonian Horde Shadow Witch Faith in Jane Temptations Wings Wolf Blood Stone Dust Riders
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 16th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
The legacy of Warhorse runs pretty strong throughout Massachusetts’ underground, with members currently taking part in bands like Gozu, Second Grave, Conclave and Faces of Bayon, but the oh-so-ripe-for-a-reunion stoner doomers are still relatively underappreciated outside their regional sphere. Southern Lord, who first issued their As Heaven Turns to Ash LP in 2001 (discussed here), will repress the album next month, coupled with the subsequent 2002 7″, I am Dying. While that may or may not be enough to get some lineup or other back together to play shows and/or write a follow-up, it’s not nothing, and the more people who hear their stuff, the more likely that is to happen down the road. So I’ll take it.
Word from the PR wire:
WARHORSE: Massachusetts Doom Legends To Reissue Debut LP And Final EP Via Southern Lord
In a time where doom is flourishing in all directions and manners, Southern Lord is exhuming the sole full-length from Massachusetts’ WARHORSE. Long out of print, rabidly sought after, and unconditionally vital in foreshadowing the plethora of current acts who partake in longform, recklessly downtuned sound voyages, 2001’s As Heaven Turns To Ash will be reissued on double LP and digital formats on February 24th, 2015 combined with their final 7″ EP, I Am Dying.
Formed in 1996 and lasting the best part of a decade, WARHORSE wallow deep down, grooving at the kind of frequency usually associated with imminent natural disaster. But in addition to their intricate delivery, WARHORSE possesses an experimental, verging on psychedelic streak which gave rise to gritty and memorable riffs, and saw them sharing stages with the iconic likes of Electic Wizard, Khanate, Acid King, High On Fire and Unearthy Trance.
As Heaven Turns To Ash and I Am Dying are sinister demonstrations of ultra-heavy riffs as a weapon, and with Southern Lord gearing up for their rerelease, doom fans worldwide will need to start saving pennies for the subwoofer damage they are sure to inflict.
As Heaven Turns To Ash Track Listing: 1. Dusk 2. Doom’s Bride 3. Black Acid Prophecy 4. Amber Vial 5. Every Flower Dies No Matter The Thorns (Whither) 6. Lysergic Communion 7. Dawn 8. Scrape 9. And The Angels Begin To Weep
I know of few people who’ve heard it who don’t count Warhorse‘s As Heaven Turns to Ash among the heaviest albums they’ve experienced. Released in 2001 in the early going of Southern Lord — the CD is catalog number “sunn9” — it proved once and for all the malevolent potential in heavy riffing, extended cuts like “Doom’s Bride” and “Every Flower Dies No Matter the Thorns (Wither)” meting out lumbering punishment while holding onto an almost impossible sense of stoner groove, the three-piece lineup of bassist/vocalist Jerry Orne, guitarist Todd Laskowski (now both in reactivated death metallers Desolate) and drummer Mike Hubbard (now in Gozu) building a destructive swing that would be short-lived but continues to resonate 13 years later, while also fostering a complex sense of mood in ambient pieces like “Amber Vial” and “Dawn.”
The record is out of print now, the 2LP version going for $50 and up, and it seems ripe for a reissue one way or another, but for a lot of heads, As Heaven Turns to Ashremains a kind of well-kept secret. No question it was minimum five years ahead of its time — if it came out today, it wouldn’t be groundbreaking, but it sure as hell would get more attention than it did in 2001 — but that’s part of the appeal at this point too. It’s one of those records that captured something special and all its own, and while many have made attempts at their blend of stoneralia, psychedelic doom and sludgy extremity, Warhorse remain carved out in time as a lost classic and yet another of the genre’s tales of what could’ve been.
Hope you brace yourself, and hope you enjoy.
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I announced this earlier on Thee Facebooks as well, but next Thursday, June 5, I’m going to be doing a guest spot on Diane Farris‘ Kamikaze Fun Machine on 91.1 WFMU in New Jersey. This is a station I’ve admired for years and someone whose contributions I deeply respect, so it’s an absolute honor. Her show starts at noon on Thursday. I think the guests come in at 1PM, but you should listen to the whole thing because she kicks ass. More info on that is here. Please listen.
So yeah, probably not too many posts on Thursday, since I’ll be driving back from New Jersey after that and between the two, that’s pretty much the day. Look out on Monday for a Tombs track-by-track from Mike Hill, and Tuesday for an interview with All Them Witches. I’ll be in NJ for most of the week, and I was hoping to find a show to hit in NYC while I’m in (or near) town. Haven’t managed to do so yet, but I’m not ruling anything out.
There’s other stuff going on next week too, but I can’t remember. If you happen to be at the Freak Valley festival in Netphen, Germany, this weekend, you have my envy. Enjoy, be safe and rock and roll. That’s a killer lineup.
I guess the “enjoy, be safe” applies across the board. Please have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and radio stream.
