So I guess playing Psycho Las Vegas worked out for Blue Öyster Cult, huh? As Days of Darkness II, the return autumnal installment from the crew behind the venerable Maryland Deathfest, unfurls its lineup for this October, we see the classic heavy rockers in the top spot — which, hey, is fair enough. A few surprises under them, however. One is thrilled to see logos for Bang, Earth, Earthride and Alcest, but even more fascinating is the inclusion of groups like Front Line Assembly and Die Krupps, and I can’t help but wonder if another one of the headliners still to be announced — because presumably Blue Öyster Cult will close one of the two nights and someone else TBA will close the other — will fit a similar industrial mold, and if that’s one of hte ways in which Days of Darkness will look to expand its identity and stave off the year-after-year redundancies that fests can fall into if they’re not careful.

I know nothing, of course. I’ve never been in touch with the MDF crew, so have zero inside track whatsoever. Just speculating and musing, is all. Just intrigued.

The fest posted the following on social media:

12 more bands have been confirmed for Days of Darkness II, set to take place on October 27 and 28 at Rams Head Live and Baltimore Soundstage.

Earth
Front Line Assembly
Die Krupps
Controlled Bleeding
Earth Electric
Bang
Lazerpunk
Child Bite
Crazy Bull
Rougemarine
Electropathic
Crud

A third and final round of bands will be announced in the coming weeks! Once again, expect approximately 2 times more bands than last year. Early bird passes sold out a few weeks ago, but all ticket options will go on sale soon. We’ll keep you posted on an exact date and time.

Here is the full list of confirmed bands (in alphabetical order):

Acid Witch
Alcest
Anna von Hausswolff
Bang
Blue Öyster Cult
Child Bite
Controlled Bleeding
Crazy Bull
Crud
Die Krupps
Earth
Earth Electric
Earthride
Electropathic
Front Line Assembly
Lazerpunk
Rome
Rougemarine
Satan’s Satyrs

https://www.facebook.com/daysofdarknessfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/events/146652199417747/
https://www.facebook.com/MarylandDeathfest/

Neurosis, Live at Days of Darkness 2017

After playing the album in full earlier this year at Roadburn 2017 in the Netherlands and very nearly doing so again last month at Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle, UK doomers Warning will hit the US next month to perform 2006’s landmark Watching from a Distance in its entirety at Psycho Las Vegas and at a one-off show alongside Conan in San Diego. Not only that, but as previously announced, the three-piece will be back Stateside in Oct. to take part in the inaugural Days of Darkness Festival put on by the Maryland Deathfest crew in Baltimore, MD.

So what’s new? What’s new is the tour surrounding that latter performance, which will include support from the likes of The Body, Worm Ouroboros and Thou — nothing against the other two, but I’d love to see Warning and Worm Ouroboros together — and lead up and through the Baltimore festival gig. They’ll hit both coasts in short order on a major-market run that also includes Austin, Chicago and New York before wrapping on Halloween at the ONCE Ballroom in Somerville, Massachusetts. Not sure who’s opening that one, but it’s sure to be a drunken madhouse, as Boston always is on Halloween. Go Sox and whatnot.

Dates posted via the social medias follow here:

Warning – Watching from a Distance US Tour

We’re happy to at last be able to announce our October US Tour dates. We’ve done our best to find replacements for the cancelled shows from last month and we’re still hoping to bring you an LA date. Thanks for your patience and we hope to see you along the way.

Warning live:
08/20 Psycho Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
08/22 Brick by Brick, San Diego, CA

Warning with support from The Body, Thou and Worm Ouroboros:
10/15 Seattle: Highline^
10/17 Portland: Tonic Lounge^
10/18 San Francisco: DNA Lounge^
10/20 Phoenix: Club Red^#
10/22 Austin: Barracuda#
10/26 Chicago: Reggies#
10/28 New York: Le Poisson Rouge#
10/29 Baltimore: Days Of Darkness Festival
10/31 Boston: ONCE Ballroom

^=support from The Body
#=support from Thou
10/15-10/20 = support from Worm Ouroboros

https://www.facebook.com/Warningdoom/
http://warningband.bigcartel.com/
http://tonedeaftouring.com/

Warning, Watching from a Distance (2006)

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 Warning, Dälek 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:

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

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:

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)