I’ve been pretty up front all along about my enduring affection for Virginian chaos weavers Lord, so I feel no need to search for excuses for posting this live video of their full-set from this summer’s inaugural Maryland Doom Fest. I dig the band, so there you go. Last month, they updated about the progress for their new album, Awake, which will be the follow-up to last year’s Alive in Golgotha EP (review here) and 2011’s Chief (review here), saying that the mix had been finalized and they’d be setting a release date soon, but part of the excitement with Lord is that you never really know. They could drop it tomorrow or they could completely revamp their lineup (again) and take three years off. They’re Lord. They’re not kidding when they say “No Explanations Necessary.”

Unsurprisingly, they crushed it at the Maryland Doom Fest in front of a not-quite-hometown-but-certainly-familiar crowd, playing new material and old. They’ve reportedly started writing for the follow-up to Alive already, and they’ve continued to do regional live shows, playing with the likes of Fistula and The Osedax, so they’re keeping plenty busy while they wait on artwork and so on for the pending release. One never really knows how things are going to shake out with Lord until they’re already shook, but a surge in activity would definitely be welcome by me, as I’ve said before, and I think the live video below gives a pretty good sense of why as they push into realms of extreme sludge and grind that no one else seems to capture with the same thickness or intensity. If you get the chance to check it out, hope you dig.

Filming was done by Jim Rosenkrans of LeadFoot Productions. Setlist and other info follow:

Lord, Live at Maryland Doom Fest 2015

Setlist:
1) breathe
2) what you may call the devil is amongst us
3) reset the wave
4) no explanations necessary
5) strangers on the road
6) one step away

The final mix for our new full length, Awake, has just been completed by Vince Burke! We’re hoping to get it out as quickly as possible. While we’re waiting on the final aspects (artwork, etc.), we’ve started writing new material and are already 2 songs deep into the next release. The fire’s been stoked and we’re keep the momentum going. Stay tuned for release info coming very soon!!!

Chris Dugay-Bass
Willy Rivera-Guitars/Vocals
Kevin “Skip” Marimow-Drums/Percussion
Todd Weurhmann-Guitars/Vocals
Steven Kerchner-Lead Vocals/Synths

Lord on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Hound Records

Maryland Doom Fest on Thee Facebooks

LeadFoot Productions on YouTube

I’ve officially decided that I’m going to at least semi-retire Wino Wednesday after the 200th edition. A fictional document has been written in legalese, signed and notarized — yes, my brain has its own internal notary — and included in that are clauses stipulating that the feature can be revived pretty much any Wednesday I feel like it and that all parties involved acknowledge that 200 posts will be plenty and that if there are any complaints, I’ll simply point the complainer back to the 200 editions preceding, because there’s no way he or she possibly read them all. I’m sorry, just no way.

So that’s that. We’ve got eight more Wino Wednesdays to go, however, and this week’s comes from Spirit Caravan‘s recent appearance at the inaugural Maryland Doom Fest in Frederick, MD. Organized by War Injun drummer JB Matson, the festival was by all accounts I’ve seen a rousing success, and well deserved. Matson put together a killer lineup and Spirit Caravan were among the headliners, playing as the trio of Wino on guitar/vocals, Dave Sherman on bass/vocals and Ed Gulli on drums in place of Henry Vasquez, who was in Europe with Saint Vitus at the time, that band being fronted by original vocalist Scott Reagers at least for the time being.

What makes Gulli‘s presence in the trio so special, particularly for a song like “Kill Ugly Naked” — which was released on Spirit Caravan‘s classic 1999 debut, Jug Fulla Sun — is the fact that he played drums for The Obsessed when that band recorded it on their 1985 promo demo. Gulli and “Kill Ugly Naked” quite literally have 30 years of history between them. Fucking awesome.

The shot’s a little odd — a 16:9 aspect ratio, vertical, is just bizarre looking — and where Sherman should be there seems instead to be somebody’s elbow, but the sound is decent and you get a sense for how killer the performance was, so I’ll take it. Enjoy and have a great Wino Wednesday.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the Maryland Doom Fest has already announced its 2016 dates. It’ll be the weekend of June 24, 2016, once again at Cafe 611 in Frederick. Excellent.

Spirit Caravan, “Kill Ugly Naked” Live at Maryland Doom Fest

If you ever find yourself in need of some Maryland doom cred, being able to say something like, “I played on the self-titled The Obsessed record” is bound to help out. Of course, there are only three dudes who can actually make that claim, and drummer Ed Gulli is one of them. The other two are guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich and bassist Mark Laue, but as news comes out that current Spirit Caravan drummer Henry Vasquez will be on tour with Saint Vitus at the time, it’s Gulli who’s stepping in alongside Wino and bassist/vocalist Dave Sherman to play in Spirit Caravan for their headlining set at the first Maryland Doom Fest this June.

Now, to hear War Injun drummer and fest-organizer JB Matson tell it, as he does below, Mark Laue will also be on hand helping Gulli run sound all weekend, so basically what you’ve got is the potential — not saying it’s happening, not saying anything’s been confirmed — for a scenario where self-titled era The Obsessed maybe gets on stage and does a song or two at some point either during Spirit Caravan‘s set or maybe after or who knows. Even if that doesn’t happen, having Gulli up there with Sherm and Wino is something pretty special, and it seems like a one-time thing exclusive at this point to the Maryland Doom Fest. Given just how much of a blueprint The Obsessed‘s The Obsessed has been for what’s followed in Maryland doom — second perhaps only to Pentagram in its influence — even just the potential of seeing that lineup together is noteworthy.

Here’s how JB put it, along with the fest’s schedule as previously announced:

Henry will be on tour with Vitus so Ed Gulli will be drumming for Spirit Caravan at The Maryland Doom Fest and they will be playing multiple Obsessed songs from the purple album…..yes, The Obsessed Caravan.

Mark Laue (purple album bassist) will also be present at the fest as Ed Gulli will be the stage manager and Mark is also helping keep things rolling. You never know what could happen having all three members present at the same festival.

The Maryland Doom Fest 1
June 26 – 28, 2015
Cafe 611, Frederick, MD

A weekend of doom metal in its purest form.

FRIDAY
The Skull 1225-130
Sixty Watt Shaman 1115-1210
Unorthodox 1005-11
Weed Is Weed 855-950
Into The Void 755-840
Banned From H.E.L.L. 655-740
Primer Grey 6-640

SATURDAY
Spirit Caravan 1215-130
Apostle of Solitude 1105-1200
Outside Truth 1010-1050
Valkyrie 910-955
Project Armageddon 815-855
Foghound 720-8
Balam 630-705
Slaves B.C. 540-615
Season of Arrows 445-525

SUNDAY
Iron Man 1045-1215
Foehammmer 945-1030
Lord 845-930
Mind’s Eye 745-830
Nagato 650-730
Serpent Witch 655-735
Mangog 6-640

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spirit-Caravan-Official/684094061621546
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-maryland-doom-fest-tickets-15022390374
https://www.facebook.com/events/562627560540323/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-maryland-DOOM-Fest/815331421863100

The Obsessed, The Obsessed (1990)

It turns out Pull had to them-out (get it?) of the first-ever Maryland Doom Fest, but they’ve been replaced by reunited riffers Nagato, who got back together last year after a cessation of activity in 2012. Thick on vibe, they’ll add progressive atmospherics and gorgeous tone to the lineup of the fest, which takes place from June 26-28 at Cafe 611 in Frederick, Maryland. I’ve only been fortunate enough to see the four-piece once, at Stoner Hands of Doom XI in 2011 (review here), for which they also played on a Sunday, but that set left enough an impression that four years later I keep hoping I’ll hear some news about them putting out a record sooner or later.

They might get there. I know the members of Nagato are involved in a few other projects as well, so maybe their playing Maryland Doom Fest is enough for the moment. They’ve joined a killer lineup, for which the final schedule has just been announced.

And just so we have it all in one place, alphabetically, here’s the full lineup as of now (there are still a couple months to go, things can change) for the inaugural Maryland Doom Fest: Apostle of Solitude, Balam, Banned from H.E.L.L., Foehammer, Foghound, Into the Void, Iron Man, Lord, Mangog, Mind’s Eye, Nagato, Outside Truth, Primer Grey, Project Armageddon, Season of Arrows, Serpent Witch, Sixty Watt Shaman, Slaves B.C., Spirit Caravan, The Skull, Unorthodox, Valkyrie, Weed is Weed.

Poster by Audrey Mantel and running order follow, along with Nagato‘s return show last August:

The Maryland Doom Fest 1

June 26 – 28, 2015
Cafe 611, Frederick, MD

A weekend of doom metal in its purest form.

FRIDAY
The Skull 1225-130
Sixty Watt Shaman 1115-1210
Unorthodox 1005-11
Weed Is Weed 855-950
Into The Void 755-840
Banned From H.E.L.L. 655-740
Primer Grey 6-640

SATURDAY
Spirit Caravan 1215-130
Apostle of Solitude 1105-1200
Outside Truth 1010-1050
Valkyrie 910-955
Project Armageddon 815-855
Foghound 720-8
Balam 630-705
Slaves B.C. 540-615
Season of Arrows 445-525

SUNDAY
Iron Man 1045-1215
Foehammmer 945-1030
Lord 845-930
Mind’s Eye 745-830
Nagato 650-730
Serpent Witch 655-735
Mangog 6-640

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-maryland-doom-fest-tickets-15022390374
https://www.facebook.com/events/562627560540323
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-maryland-DOOM-Fest/815331421863100

Nagato, Live at Guido’s Speakeasy, Frederick, MD, Aug. 23, 2014

There isn’t much more to the Maryland Doom Fest 2015 at this point than a list of bands, dates and a place, but that’s really all you need. In true Maryland doom style, no bullshit, no one-at-a-time teasers, just “here’s this awesome thing” and you can either show up or suck. The inaugural edition of the Frederick-based fest will take place at Cafe 611 and bring together a killer assemblage of acts, headlined by The Skull and Spirit Caravan and also boasting Apostle of Solitude and War Injun-offshoot Outside Truth.

To that point, while Maryland itself is well represented — Spirit Caravan, Outside Truth, Iron Man, Weed is Weed, Foghound, Mind’s Eye, Pull, Daydreams with Nightmares, etc. — the festival’s reach is immediately wider, not only pulling in Lord and Valkyrie (the latter of whom should have a new album out by then, on Relapse) from nearby Virginia, but reaching up the Eastern Seaboard to nab Rhode Island’s Balam and into the Midwest for The Skull and Apostle of Solitude, who together supplied some of 2014’s best doom in their latest albums.  What’s consistent throughout the lineup is the spirit of doom. There’s some variety around sludge, stoner, heavy rock and so on, but it’s a riffer’s delight front to back and it looks like it’ll be one worth traveling to see.

I’m not sure if more bands are being added, but presumably there will be a change here and there one way or another — June 26-28 is a long time away — and if I hear anything, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, here’s the poster and lineup for the first Maryland Doom Fest:

The Skull
Spirit Caravan
Apostle of Solitude
Outside Truth
Unorthodox
Iron Man
Valkyrie
Weed is Weed
Balam
Project Armageddon
Foghound
Pull
Mind’s Eye
Slaves BC
Foehammer
Season of Arrows
Lord
Daydreams with Nightmares

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-maryland-DOOM-Fest/815331421863100
http://cafe611.com/