Posted in Whathaveyou on January 19th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
It was like two weeks ago that The Knights of Doom 2026 — the inaugural edition of a two-dayer put on by JB Matson and the crew from Maryland Doom Fest, which ended its decade-plus run in 2025 — announced the first names for its lineup. The full bill has been revealed since, and if you’re getting mini-MDDF vibes off the list of names, many of whom are veterans of past years, I don’t think that’s unfair, but there are some newcomers as well. And if you do some quick division on 35 bands over two days, you know that’s 17.5 per day — actually it’s 16 on June 20 and 19 on June 21; yes I had to count — so those days are probably going to start early, go late, and be jam-packed in a spirit that should be familiar to anyone who hit MDDF during its time.
You can see how this might go, right? Folks show up for the family reunion — and MDDF was very, very much that; a more loyal crew would be hard to find on the Eastern Seaboard if you even deigned to look — and bands get added. This year is two days. It’s got room to grow, and I don’t know if it will — on some level, these folks have been-there-done-that in terms of building a festival culture and vibe, let alone managing four days’ worth of logistics with 50-plus bands shuffling about — but this will be the starting point one way or the other. It can only happen first once, and with love and respect for many in that family from a little ways north, I hope it goes off without a hitch.
The announcements were made on social media:
💀KNIGHTS OF DOOM ‘26 final band dump / rosters / complete lineup!!!
Wolftooth, Vanishing Kids, Foghound, Crop, Moonsinger, Uga Buga, Clamfight, Sun Voyager, Locust Pointe, End of Age, Thunderbird Divine, Black Manta, Bog Wizard, Faith in Jane, Black Night, Tommy Stewart’s Dyerwulf
June 21:
Lie Heavy, Borracho, Stone Nomads, Curse the Son, Bloodshot, Stormtoker, Hovel, Mourn the Light, Thunder Horse, Kulvera, Born of Plagues, Dreadstar, Professor Emeritus, Strange Highways, Gravedigger’s Biscuits, Grave Next Door, Double Planet, Bleak Shore, Burn the Martyr
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
No arguments to make here with the lineup for Grim Reefer Fest 2026. The Baltimorean all-dayer has been a regular feature of East Coast Springtime for the last however-many, and continues to grow its reach each time out. Black Tusk take a headliner position that in past years has gone the likes of Weedeater or Bongzilla, and that feels fair enough for the heft they bring, while Howling Giant provide a rocking counterpart as they support their well-received 2025 album, Crucible and Ruin (review here). They’ll be in Europe in May for Desertfest as well, if you’re in that part of the world and not this one.
Of course there’s more to it than headliners, with New York’s Shadow Witch and Pennsylvania’s Almost Honest representing Argonauta Records, the fest-associated Haze Mage playing a set as the house band, and Seasick Gladiator, Total Maniac, Necromancer and Cemetery Sex included. All told, it’s a nine-band day that starts at 3:30 and goes, well, probably until you’re ready to go to bed. Party hearty.
From the PR wire:
Grim Reefer Fest 2026
We are excited to announce the return of Grim Reefer Fest! Join us once again at the legendary Ottobar in Baltimore, MD for a full day of heavy music, dank vibes, and high spirits! Join us on Saturday April 18th, 2026 as we celebrate the High Holidays with a stacked lineup from start to finish with some of the best bands the scene has to offer! Featuring the heavy sludge sounds of Black Tusk, the heavy harmonized riffs Howling Giant (whose latest album was one of the best of 2025), the rockin sounds of Baltimore favorites Total Maniac, and many more (9 bands total)! Additionally, fest founders Haze Mage are announcing an indefinite hiatus after this year’s festival so all the more reason to come give these local heavy heroes a proper sendoff!
This is the 8th year of Grim Reefer Fest and one of our most ambitious lineups yet! We’re proud of what we’re accomplishing as a DIY grassroots festival. The genres and sounds for this year’s bands range are diverse, rocking, and full of some of our favorite underground bands on the scene today!
The full list of performers at this year’s fest includes:
Black Tusk Howling Giant Total Maniac Haze Mage Shadow Witch Cemetery Sex Almost Honest Seasick Gladiator Necromancer
Doors are at 2:30pm, Music starts at 3:30pm and runs until midnight
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 14th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Spiral Grave are no strangers to change. The band was born out of a succession of events that included the death of founding Iron Man guitarist/songwriter “Iron” Alfred Morris III and the dissolution of guitarist Will Rivera‘s since-reunited-at-least-somewhat outfit Lord. Spiral Grave‘s rhythm section remains the same as Iron Man‘s — bassist “Iron” Louis Strachan and drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann — and up until last September, the band was fronted by Dee Calhoun, who in addition to his solo career and past in a slew of bands was the final vocalist in Iron Man before Morris passed away and the band respectfully came to a halt.
Michigan-based singer Shawn Michelle Scott comes to the band after releasing the 2020 Sanitytizer LP fronting Hamtramck’s Karmic Lava, whose bass player, Rob Cedar, died in 2023. This new incarnation of Spiral Grave — Scott, Rivera, Strachan and Waldmann — will record the band’s third album and the follow-up to 2024’s Ill Repute, yet untitled, with Frank “The Punisher” Marchand at the helm, and perhaps a release in the waning hours of 2026 or early 2027. I won’t speculate, nor do I know if Scott will travel to record with the band or do vocal tracking in Michigan, but I’ll look forward to hearing how Spiral Grave move forward with what unquestionably will be a new era for them.
Their announcement came through social media:
Ladies & Gentlemen, please join us in welcoming Spiral Grave’s new lead vocalist, Shawn Michelle Scott! Shawn comes to us from the burgeoning Sludge/Doom scene of Detroit, Michigan. Having served time fronting Karmic Lava and Mound Road Engine, we know she has the experience, the talent and the drive to help take Spiral Grave to the next level. We’re excited for her to put her stamp on what will be a slamming 3rd album for us. We will begin dropping updates more frequently as we speed towards hitting the studio this summer with the one and only Frank Marchand… stay tuned cos something wicked your way comes!
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 8th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
So here’s what I know: The Knights of Doom isn’t quite a reboot for Maryland Doom Fest, which was held for the last time in 2025, and it’s not quite not. To wit, it’s being headed by that decade-plus-running festival’s founder JB Matson, being held at Cafe 611 in Frederick, Maryland, and seeming to pack as much music into its span as possible. A key difference is in the length of that span itself. This inaugural edition of the fest, to be held in June when otherwise MDDF might’ve taken place, will be two days as opposed to MDDF‘s four, and this first lineup announcement with seven bands is the first of four to come in the next two weeks.
You can do the math on that yourself. Four times seven is 28 bands, which if you break it evenly means 14 per day. I don’t know that each announce will have the same amount, and I don’t know what the total number will be, but clearly one thing The Knights of Doom will have in common with Maryland Doom Fest is the continued ethic of putting on as many acts as it can. And from Curse the Son to Crop, Hovel and Faith in Jane, there are names even in this first batch of reveals that will be familiar to the former denizens of MDDF, while Professor Emeritus, Bleak Shore and End of Age (formerly Black Cowgirl) are new to the fold.
A mix of familiar and not, then, and that should work well as the reveals play out over the next couple weeks. I guess staggering that is another form of departure from MDDF methodology, where Matson‘s prior fest would drop all the names at once each Halloween and let small changes shake out over the ensuing months, but it still looks like it’s going to be a family reunion for that crowd, who are great, and a way to welcome new folks without an overwhelming, 60-bands-in-four-days onslaught. Scaling back in some ways and trying some new things. When Maryland Doom Fest announced it was done, it was clear something needed to take its place. This looks like the readiest candidate.
From social media:
WE ARE PLEASED TO SHARE THE FIRST OF 4 SEPARATE BAND DUMPS SHOWCASING THE ROSTERS OF KNIGHTS OF DOOM!!!
The Knights of Doom ’26
Curse the Son Professor Emeritus Hovel End of Age Faith in Jane Crop Bleak Shore
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 2nd, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I’m not sure what the occasion might be that has them headed out, but I’m also not sure The Obsessed need an occasion in the first place. The Wino-led doom legends have eight shows over the course of nine days lined up for this coming March, and I can’t help but notice one of them is local to me. Like, very local. I got to see Electric Citizen at Autodidact Beer this past summer, having missed Howling Giant there in April, and finally I understood why everyone online complains when tours aren’t hitting their town. Turns out it’s really nice to have a touring band come through a local spot. I didn’t know, because until Autodidact, it had never happened. I think Wishbone Ash played an office space near here one time, but beyond that you’re driving at least half an hour to get to anything.
But the dearth of venues throughout Morris County, New Jersey, isn’t your problem so much as mine. I’d be going to the show because, well, it exists and it’s right there and it’s heavy and duh, but I’ll note it’s been since Freak Valley 2023 (review here) that I last saw the band, which was prior to the release of their 2024 album, Gilded Sorrow (review here), and before they were joined by “Monster Bob” Pantella (The Atomic Bitchwax, Monster Magnet, ex-Raging Slab, etc.), so yeah, I’m probably due to be steamrolled by Wino riffs. I’ve already got it on my new Baby Goats 2026 calendar. That’s an early show, so eat your gummy before you leave the house. Or, you know, just have a beer or six when you get there. I don’t drink, but my wife likes Autodidact, and she’s about as discerning as any aficionado I’ve ever met.
If you’re not here, maybe you’re in one of the other spots. All the ticket links are below, because even though I’m not presenting the Jersey gig I remain a shill:
Hello everybody, The Obsessed are excited to announce our March 2026 USA show dates ! We are looking forward to getting out and playing some music for you – get yer tickets early!!
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 30th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Since first encountering the title “Mellow Knees” on Darsombra‘s 2023 album, Dumesday Book (review here), I’ve made the phrase a part of my personal lexicon. That is to say, on a personal level, I aspire toward ‘mellow knees.’ If you’ve ever done yoga — and I’m pretty sure Darsombra‘s Brian Daniloski is certified to lead your class if you haven’t — it’s the kind of idea you might encounter there as gentle encouragement not to be kicking your own ass while forcing your body into a pose in some way it doesn’t want to go. I like yoga. I like Darsombra. And I have knee problems. Such confluence of interest and circumstance is rare.
Will “Mellow Knees” put the mellow in your knees? It might. It’s a rain-on-the-windshield tour through highway Americana. Some roads you’ve seen, some just in videos like this one, and some you don’t know. I’m pretty sure that, like George Washington, they cross the Chesapeake, which is fitting for a Baltimorean band to include. “Mellow Knees” is the sixth clip to come from Dumesday Book, and this isn’t quite a premiere, but it isn’t quite not either. You might recall exactly one year ago it was “Everything is Canceled” being unveiled. The band’s situation, with the loss this Fall of Ann Everton (synth, vocals, percussion, projections), who made this video as part of an ongoing project for the whole record, is obviously different than it was a year ago today.
Daniloski, who is the lone remaining member and founder of Darsombra (which began 20 years ago), is posting the video in Everton‘s honor today, Dec. 30, and has recently announced the initial lineup for Transmission (posted here), which will be a two-day festival Feb. 28 and March 1, also dedicated to Ann‘s memory. Of course, that context, and thinking of the Dumesday Book visual album as unfinished, brings grief into the context of the video’s arrival, but as you watch the two-and-a-half-minute twisty droner, slow your brain down if you can and take in the footage you’re seeing. This country is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes on this planet. Environmentally and aesthetically, that’s worth preserving.
If you need me, I’ll be over here trying to mellow out my knees so I don’t end up with a mellow cortisone shot into the bone. Thus harshing the mellow.
Enjoy the clip:
Darsombra, “Mellow Knees” official video
“Mellow Knees” by DARSOMBRA from the album Dumesday Book
2023 Pnictogen Records Filmed and edited by Ann Everton
In loving memory of Ann Everton
This video was completed in 2024. It is the ending sequence of what was supposed to be the Dumesday Book video album. Ann wanted to create a video for every song on the 75 minute album and have them all connect its pandemic-tymes storyline, from when we were all told to “Shelter in Place” in spring 2020, to its conclusion about a year or so later, which, for Darsombra and this video, meant being able to leave our home to go back out on the road and tour again. She had completed videos for over half of the album, including this one, before her passing in October 2025.
Confirmed locations: Black Willow Siphon – Oregon White Mountains – New Hampshire Badlands National Park – South Dakota Joshua Tree National Park – California Factory Butte – Utah Death Valley – California Maryland Diablo Canyon – New Mexico US Pacific Northwest
Unconfirmed locations: Colorado and/or Montana and/or Canada US Pacific Northwest and/or Atlantic Northeast Four Corners US Florida Keys Pennsylvania Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes – Utah and other places
Darsombra, Dumesday Book (2023)
Darsombra, “Shelter in Place” official video
Darsombra, “Gibbet Lore” official video
Darsombra, “Call the Doctor” official video
Darsombra, “Nightgarden” official video
Darsombra, “Everything is Canceled” official video
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Perhaps you, like me and a whole bunch of others, were blindside-gutpunched by the loss of Darsombra‘s Ann Everton in a vehicle accident early in October. In a year where human cruelty and horror perpetuated on a daily if not hourly basis, the presence of someone like Everton on the planet was akin to a source of light in a bitter, almost liquid darkness. Her partner in music and life, Brian Daniloski, has announced the lineup for Transmission — also the name of Darsombra‘s 2019 LP (review here) — which is a two-day event that will serve as homage and celebration of Everton‘s contributions in music and art.
The Ottobar in Darsombra‘s hometown of Baltimore — where I guess they still spent some time despite nomadic touring across seasons and years and the world — will play host to Transmission, which features the likes of tourmates Stinking Lizaveta, the heavy psych rockers Holy Fingers, Cultic and a slew of others I don’t know, which only makes it more rad as far as I’m concerned. There are apparently also more to be announced, so expect it to be a packed two days. No doubt Daniloski has had an easy time convincing anyone who knew Ann to take part. How would you not?
Info follows, as posted on socials:
Darsombra presents TRANSMISSION- A Celebration for Ann Everton
Feb 28th & March 1st at the Ottobar
Save the dates and join us to honor Ann’s legacy in art and music, as well as her colorful, effervescent spirit. We’ve got over two dozen bands, here are some of the kind folks scheduled to perform over two days. More bands and schedule to be announced very soon.
Celebration Stinking Lizaveta Quattracenta Curse War On Women acoustic Height Mrs. Paintbrush (Jackson from Grand Buffet) Holy Fingers Cultic Moth Broth Glorian Ala Muerte Curving Tooth Consumer Culture 50’♀ & the Worms
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 10th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I got to see Baltimorean progressive psych rockers Black Lung around this time last year, and as they announce a March 6 release for their impending fifth album, Forever Beyond (also their first on Magnetic Eye), and unveil a first single in the form of opening track “Traveler,” I continue to be struck by the sense of space they bring to their sound. Not just that there’s echo or whatever, that’s not what I mean.
Part of it is in the emotionality driving David Cavalier‘s vocal delivery here, or the video’s hints of mischief-in-the-public-domain ’60s psychery, but the thing is that Black Lung‘s sound can account for all of that and so much more. If they went full-on furious extreme tearing-at-the-sky black metal, or if they put a record that diverged 20 minutes into a dronescape, neither would be beyond the band’s reach. They’ve made a context for themselves that’s broad enough to let them do whatever they want in their songs and know that the foundation will be strong enough to hold.
The question as regards their next album is how they’ll revel in that, as they almost certainly will. They’ve been cognizant of pushing themselves, of growing, since their outset. For sure they showed that on a few different levels with 2023’s Dark Waves (review here), and the bigger surprise would be if Forever Beyond only did what was expected of it, whatever that might be.
There’s a lot of info here. I’m keeping it for posterity and for when I review. If you’re looking for the preorder link, it’s shortly after the headline, led into with bold text. I’m not in the business of selling records, but I do consider buying them a moral good in most cases. From the PR wire:
BLACK LUNG release first single ‘Traveler’ & details of forthcoming new album “Forever Beyond”!
BLACK LUNG drop the opening track ‘Traveler’ as the first single taken from the American heavy psych rockers’ forthcoming new full-length “Forever Beyond”. The fifth album from the Baltimore, Maryland outfit is scheduled for release on March 6, 2026, via Magnetic Eye Records.
BLACK LUNG comment on ‘Traveler’: “This song is about relying on one’s anxiety and depression -almost like a super power”, vocalist and guitarist David Cavalier writes. “You think, its the things that are going to keep you safe and sharp. In reality, it’s the complete opposite. The song also touches on the idea of living in a blameless world. Radical acceptance of people and who they are. Musically, this is one of my favorite tracks. We made it as dynamic as possible and each section feels like its own moment.”
Tracklist: 1. Traveler 2. Death & Co. 3. Savior 4. Follow 5. Forever Beyond Me 6. Border Hoarder 7. Scum
When you find yourself adrift at zero gravity with a dreamy smile on your face, you’ve probably booked a flight into space on BLACK LUNG’s latest inter-dimensional transport “Forever Beyond”.
The veteran trio from Baltimore, Maryland have fine-tuned the recipe of their musical rocket fuel, distilled from stoner doom, psychedelic rock, and other fiery ingredients. BLACK LUNG’s unique concoction drives every track with captivating tunes, melodic riffing, pumping rhythms, and the inimitable vocal cords of Dave Cavalier taking it home. Every single song on “Forever Beyond” hits its mark perfectly.
On their fifth album “Forever Beyond”, BLACK LUNG complete the hyper jump initiated on their fourth album “Dark Waves”, which was already venturing into new sonic galaxies. Undertones of anger and defiance manifest as many of the songs are artistic reactions to the historic political upheaval in the USA, dealing lyrically with the lure of fascism, blind nationalism, and corporate oligarchy.
BLACK LUNG came into being when two founding members of Baltimore’s well-established psych rock band THE FLYING EYES, guitarist and organ player Adam Bufano and drummer Elias Schutzman, teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Dave Cavalier in early 2014. The three set themselves apart from the crowded field of psych doom and heavy blues with a sonic interchange of fuzzed-drenched guitars, deep driving drumbeats, and Cavalier’s raw, blues-tinged vocals.
Their self-titled debut “Black Lung” appeared in 2014 and was not just celebrated locally, with the title “Best New Band” awarded by the Baltimore City Paper, but BLACK LUNG also crossed the Atlantic to embark on their first European tour. This was capped with a performance at the prestigious Rockpalast Crossroads Festival, broadcast on German national television.
BLACK LUNG released their sophomore album “See the Enemy” in 2016, building on the strengths of their debut while at times pushing into garage psych territory. The album paved the way for a headlining European tour, notably appearing at Freak Valley Festival and DesertFest Belgium.
In 2019, BLACK LUNG returned with “Ancients”. The third full-length channeled years of experience, touring, and songwriting into a more adventurous course, venturing further from familiar doom and psych rock tropes. During the pandemic years, BLACK LUNG managed to push forward with new guitarist Dave Fullerton, which resulted in fourth album “Dark Waves”. It was a milestone in the band’s career, as they abandoned some of their pet ideas such as eschewing bass guitar live in favour of guitars through bass amps, along with the black and white aesthetics that had dominated their artwork of their first three full-lengths.
BLACK LUNG are openly anti-Trump and anti-fascist to the core and make no secret of it. They have no intention to become dogmatically boring but rather aim for live performances that are both cathartic and fun.
With “Forever Beyond”, BLACK LUNG prove that it is possible to rage against injustice with an utmost joyful defiance!
Line-up David Cavalier – vocals, guitar Dave Fullerton – guitar Elias Schutzman – drums, keyboard, vocals Mac Hewitt (live) – bass
Recording line-up Dave Fullerton – guitar Elias Schutzman – drums, percussion, mellotron, synth, bouzouki Dave Cavalier – vocals, guitar Charles Braese – bass
Guest musicians Ms. Sara – vocals on ‘Traveler’ Robert Karpay – cello on ‘Follow’
Recording by Steve Wright at Wrightway Studios, Baltimore, MD (US) Mixing by Steve Wright at Wrightway Studios, Baltimore, MD (US) Mastering by Tony Eichler at Goldtone MasterWorks, LLC, Cape Coral, FL (US)
Cover image courtesy of the NASA/Ames Research Center Cover image hand-coloured by Zarahlena Layout by Łukasz Jaszak
