It’s a big ‘un. And if you’re like me, there are a couple names that stick out from the poster below, particularly Earthride and The Skull. Both are tribute sets, of course. The Skull frontman Eric Wagner passed away in 2021 after complications from a covid-19 infection and the loss of Earthride‘s Dave Sherman just a couple months ago continues to be keenly felt in and beyond the confines of the scene he called home. Karl Agell (ex-C.O.C.) will step in for The Skull, while Scott Angelacos of Hollow Leg is set to front a rotating cast of players for Earthride. You would be hard-pressed to find a more fitting occasion for honoring one’s own, except perhaps this gig in a couple weeks.

Plenty of familiar, returning acts as well as newcomers. Hippie Death Cult and will travel from the Pacific Northwest, Switchblade Jesus and Doomstress make an appearance (not the first for either) from Texas, and Red Mesa come straight out of the capital-‘desert’ Desert. Meanwhile, Faith in Jane, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Mangog, Mythosphere, Thonian Horde, Spiral Grave and plenty of others represent the Maryland home team, High Leaf and Thunderbird Divine trip down from Philly, Curse the Son (CT) and Guhts (NY) come from farther north, Hollow Leg make the trip out from Florida, and Lo-Pan, Doctor Smoke and Brimstone Coven head over from the Midwest. That’s just off the top of my head. I’m not sure there’s ever been a MDDF pulling so many bands from different parts of the country, though of course international bands have featured in the past as well.

There are always some shakeup between the first announcement and the final lineup, but so far so good here. Any way it works out, Maryland Doom Fest has nothing to prove at this point. Guaranteed banger.

Here’s the poster (oy) and the lineup, the latter in alphabetical order:

Maryland Doom Fest 2023

June 22-25 – Frederick, MD

We are proud to present to you The Maryland DooM Fest 2023 lineup roster and 2023 promotional art!!!!

We showcase over 50 kickass bands bringing you heavy riffs over these #4daysofdoom!!

The centerpiece art was created by Joshua Adam Hart (Earthride, Unorthodox, Revelation, Chowder, Stout, to name a few).

Josh is a career tattoo artist and is currently scheduling appointments at Triple Crown Towson Tattoo. Schedule to get ink from him at info@triplecrowntowson.com

The incredible flyer layout, coloring, and design is by our very talented Bill Kole (make sure to check out his band Ol’ Time Moonshine)!!

Above the Treachery, Akris, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Bonded by Darkness, Borracho, Brimstone Coven, Cobra Whip, Conclave, Crowhunter, Curse the Son, DeathCAVE, Doctor Smoke, Doomstress, Double Planet, Dust Prophet, Earthride, Faith in Jane, False Gods, Flummox, Fox 45, Future Projektor, Gallowglas, Grim Reefer, Guhts, Helgamite, High Leaf, Hippie Death Cult, Hog, Hollow Leg, Hot Ram, Las Cruces, Leather Lung, Lo-Pan, Mangog, Mythosphere, Orodruin, Red Mesa, Severed Satellites, Shadow Witch, Smoke the Light, Spiral Grave, Switchblade Jesus, The Skull, Thonian Horde, Thousand Vision Mist, Thunderbird Divine, Unity Reggae, VRSA, Weed Coughin, Wizzerd

https://www.facebook.com/MdDoomFest/
www.marylanddoomfest.com

Lo-Pan, “Ascension Day” live at Maryland Doom Fest 2019

This year’s Maryland Doom Fest has already begun. It started last night and will continue through Sunday, packing as much volume as possible between the first switched on amplifier and the final, inevitable broom swept across the floor afterward at Cafe 611 in Frederick, MD, where the fest is held. These shows are jammed. They start early. They go late. There’s nothing else quite like Maryland Doom Fest out there, and when you go, you’re made welcome whether you’re a regular or not. It’s too intimate a space and too cool a crowd for bullshit attitudes to survive. Relax and enjoy the tunes.

I’m sad to say I’m not there this year — let’s call it “family stuff” and leave it there — but the lineup is incredible and I wanted to do at least some tiny measure of tribute to that, so here we are. Some of these bands are MDDF veterans — Apostle of Solitude, Zed, Foghound, Faith in Jane, Caustic Casanova, etc. — but some are new to the event as well — Coven, Great Electric Quest, Formula 400, and others — so it’s a good mix, and you know I’m a sucker for ending epic, so The Age of Truth seemed perfect for that. They’re gonna kill it this weekend playing songs from Resolute and everyone there will know it long before they go on and they’ll still kill it. That’s just how it goes down there. You’re gonna have a good time.

Thanks if you listen, thanks if you’re reading. Thanks in general. And if you’re at the fest this weekend, enjoy it.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 06.24.22 (VT = voice track)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is July 8 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Facebook

Orodruin and UK doomers Iron Void teaming up for a split where they both cover Pagan Altar? That is a story I believe. Cool they’ve got originals as well, even if it’s just one per band. Based in Rochester, New York, Orodruin in 2019 released Ruins of Eternity (review here) and have since gone on to play shows with Kevin Latchaw of Argus on drums filling in for a permanent member. Newly announced in that regard is the addition of Randy Rowe to the four-piece alongside guitarist John Gallo, vocalist/bassist Michael Puleo and guitarist Nick Tydelski, and that’s the lineup that will take the stage at Pittsburgh’s Descendants of Crom and the Maryland Doom Fest this June.

They also note below they’ve started to write for their next full-length, but as it was some 16 years between Ruins of Eternity and the prior Epicurean Mass (discussed here), I’m willing to speculate that the wait might be a little longer on that one.

Still, doings:

We are happy to announce our new drummer Randy Rowe (of Haishen) from Rochester, NY. Please give him a warm welcome as we gear up to rehearse for upcoming shows at Descendants of Crom in Pittsburgh, PA on June 3rd & 4th as well as the Maryland Doom Fest June 23rd – 26th in Baltimore, MD. You will also hear him on our next split release with Iron Void (UK) in tribute to Terry Jones & Pagan Altar on Rafchild Records. Thanks to Raphael Päbst for making this happen as well as the blessings of Alan Jones and Annick Giroux.

Orodruin have finished recording our material for the split. Our cover will be “In The Wake of Armadeus” and Iron Void’s is “Highway Cavalier”. This will also feature an original song by both bands, “The Tolling Bell” by Iron Void and “In This Place” from us.

We’d also like to extend thanks to our doom brother Kevin Latchaw (Argus) who graciously leant his drumming services to us at Hammer of Doom in Germany, and our last two gigs in Rochester. NY. We are forever grateful and hope our paths meet again!

With a new year ahead of us we look forward to conjuring new material for our next full length on Cruz Del Sur and booking shows around the local area and beyond!

Thanks to Julia Rabkin for the incredible photo shoot as witnessed by the photo [above].

We’re also working on a new website to link all our pages together and get merchandise available to the masses.

Cheers again for all the support since Ruins of Eternity has been released and we will see you soon!

Orodruin is:
Nick Tydelski : Guitar
Michael Puleo : Bass, Vocals, Drums
John Gallo : Other Guitar
Randy Rowe : Drums

https://www.facebook.com/orodruinofficialband
cruzdelsurmusic.com
facebook.com/cruzdelsurmusic
cruzdelsurmusic.bandcamp.com

Orodruin, Ruins of Eternity (2019)

Nearly two years ago, Descendants of Crom IV did a full unveiling of its lineup for a fest set to take place that October. You know the story from there. That’s the bad news. Good news is that many of the acts announced for that lineup are carrying over to this one. And as that includes the likes of Rebreather, Heavy Temple, Horseburner, Horehound (yeah that’s right; I know it’s her festival; I actually think her band is good), Orodruin and Evoken, the news is even better. The roster of acts was announced the other day, but the schedule is new info — I happen to be somebody who appreciates a good timetable — and tickets are on sale as of right… now.

Hey, you know what? You go right ahead and you have yourself a great day. Maybe that means buying tickets for a thing? Don’t you kind of want to get it all in as quickly as possible before the next variant hits and we’re huddled down again, desperately hoping Costco has the Scott back in stock while trying not to breathe or to inhale from the side of our mouth that that person is standing way too close on? I do. Spend that fucking money.

From the ticket page:

DESCENDANTS OF CROM IV

A GATHERING OF THE HEAVY UNDERGROUND

Tickets: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/dociv

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/437759083832580

The fourth annual Descendants of Crom, A Gathering of the Heavy Underground, will be held again this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on both floors of Cattivo Nightclub. The events begin early Friday evening and are followed by an all-dayer Saturday.

The underground scene of heavy music is healthy and Pittsburgh is the perfect location to host such an event. We’re feeding great regional bands to a hungry crowd and utilizing legendary, international fan-favorites to entice music fans in the door with the support of our amazing local artists. Descendants of Crom began in 2017 and has been a strong contender among other established underground music festivals. We aspire to become the premier music event of the Northeast and I invite you to become part of the 2022 event! After all, we are all Descendants of Crom.

This event is 21+, ID Required
Your commitment now helps us prepare better so, mark your calendars and get your tickets today!

LOCATION
Cattivo
146 44th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201

DATE & TIME
June 3, 2022, 6:30 PM – June 4, 2022 – 11:30 PM

SCHEDULE

6:30 PM
FRIDAY, JUNE 3
Makeshift Urn 7:00 PM
Pillars 7:45 PM
Heavy Temple 8:30 PM
Howling Giant 9:15 PM
Rebreather 10:00 PM
Orodruin 10:45 PM

4:00 PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 4
We, the Creature 4:30 PM
Quiet Man 5:05 PM
Tel 5:40 PM
The Long Hunt 6:15 PM
Witching 6:50 PM
Ironflame 7:25 PM
Horehound 8:00 PM
Foehammer 8:35 PM
Bridesmaid 9:10 PM
Frayle 9:45 PM
Horseburner 10:20 PM
Evoken 11:00 PM

https://www.eventcreate.com/e/dociv
https://www.facebook.com/DescendantsOfCrom/
www.instagram.com/descendantsofcrom/
http://descendantsofcrom.com

Rebreather, “Drown” (feat. Frayle) official video

As suspected, the lineup announcement for the 2022 Maryland Doom Fest is relatively short on fluff. No flowery descriptions of the acts involved, no hype about how important it is to get together in these times of plague and support the community, the underground, whatever it is. That’s all true enough, but as ever, Maryland Doom Fest is putting the name out there for you to see, and if you know, you know. If you’re a part of that family down there in Frederick, you’ve already got your calendar marked. This is who’ll be at the reunion.

And to that, with bands like Horehound, Thunderbird Divine, Caustic Casanova, fest-organizer JB Matson‘s own Bloodshot, Faith in Jane, ZED, Helgamite, Shadow Witch, The Age of Truth, Apostle of Solitude, Horseburner, Dead East Garden, Strange Highways and Foghound on the bill, this one will no doubt feel like a reunion in no small part. These acts and some of the others as well have shared MDDF bills in the past, and indeed, some were included in the announcement for January’s Doom Hawg Day as well, as was speculated. Still cool to see some of those returning coming across the country to do it, though, be it ZED or Formula 400.

Set for June 23-26 at Cafe 611 and Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD, and of course subject to some changes between now and June, the lineup for Maryland Doom Fest 2022 is as follows:

Maryland Doom Fest 2022 Lineup

Black Road
Dust Prophet
Ol’ Time Moonshine
High Priestess
Wrath of Typhon
Alms
Black Lung
Thunderbird Divine
Atomic Motel
Byrgan
Faces of Bayon
Grief Collector
Crystal Spiders
Helgamite
Shadow Witch
The Age of Truth
Heavy Temple
Problem with Dragons
Strange Highways
Fellowcraft
Formula 400
Tines
Indus Valley Kings
The Stone Eye
Crow Hunter
Caustic Casanova
Coma Hole
Wizzerd
Mythosphere
Horehound
Bloodshot
NobleSoul
Coven
ZED
Faith in Jane
Future Projektor
Apostle of Solitude
Orodruin
Dead East Garden
Ritual Earth
Grave Next Door
Black Sabbitch
Lost Breed
Horseburner
Foghound
Hot Ram
Flummox

https://www.facebook.com/MdDoomFest/
www.marylanddoomfest.com

Apostle of Solitude, When the Darkness Goes (2021)

The Age of Truth, Resolute (2021)

Late May will see vinyl reissues of Pale Divine‘s 2007 album, Cemetery Earth and Orodruin‘s 2002 debut, Epicurean Mass (discussed here). The two offerings come as a benefit spearheaded by Tom Phillips of While Heaven Wept in support of Solstice guitarist Rich Walker. In other words, this is doomers helping doomers as part of a vibrant underground community that knows no borders and is there when support is needed. Even humans who don’t belong can belong to a thing, and in this instance, that thing is doom.

Both records are killer, which you probably already know if you’re reading this. I don’t know if they’re doing preorders or what, but you should probably be keeping a regular eye on Cruz Del Sur Music anyhow because they’re awesome. That’s the extent of the insight I have on the subject. This is a good cause.

From the social medias:

CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC To Re-Release Orodruin And Pale Divine Classics On Vinyl To Support Solstice’s RICH WALKER

Last summer, the metal community learned that legendary SOLSTICE guitarist Rich Walker needed crucial surgery. WHILE HEAVEN WEPT leader Tom Phillips and a few friends came up with an approach to assist Walker in offsetting his mounting medical expenses: A GoFundMe campaign, series of exclusive compilations and lastly, a collection of hand-picked limited-edition LPs re-releases. Phillips has teamed up with Cruz Del Sur Music to release for the very first time on vinyl, ORODRUIN’s 2003 “Epicurean Mass” debut and PALE DIVINE’s heralded third album, “Cemetery Earth”. The releases will be available late May.

“These titles are doom metal classics that are long overdue for the vinyl treatment,” said Phillips. “‘Epicurean Mass’ firmly established ORODRUIN as a powerful force out of the gate at the height of doom metal fever. And, ‘Cemetery Earth’ represents the culmination and consolidation of everything PALE DIVINE was building towards — a rock-solid package that was ‘all killer, no filler.

“The premise here was to do our best to make these companions to the original CD pressings rather than rewriting history. However, there were some subtle changes to both records after much dialogue — both to ensure the best LP listening experience possible and also to rectify some details that had always been intended but for one reason or another didn’t happen for the original releases.”

ORODRUIN frontman John Gallo says the band was first introduced to Walker when he reviewed SOLSTICE’s “New Dark Age” album for his “Born Too Late” website in 2000. From there, Walker was a regular advocate of ORODRUIN. The re-release of “Epicurean Mass” holds special significance for Gallo and his bandmates — the album effectively put ORODRUIN on the map and charted the course for the rest of their career.

“We’ll never forget how it opened many doors for us,” he says. “To host the debut Born Too Late Festival and premier our band alongside PENANCE, REVELATION, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, PALE DIVINE, THE GATES OF SLUMBER, UNEARTHLY TRANCE and SOULPREACHER to having our first United States ‘Doomination’ tour with THE PROPHECY and MOURNING BELOVETH. In 2004, we went out to Europe to support PENANCE along with our label master at ‘psycheDOOMelic’, the man…Mark Hegedus! It was an amazing ride and we even played ‘Doom Shall Rise II’ in Germany! I pray and hope for new exciting adventures with my band of grim-doomed hobbit-foot brethren! May doom rise from the ashes of the eternal flames from the heart of Mount Doom!”

PALE DIVINE’s Darin McCloskey said Walker has been there for the band “since the beginning.” Upon recommendation from Black Tears distribution head Russell Smith, they sent Walker an advance of their debut “Crimson Tears” demo for inclusion on one of Walker’s Miskatonic Foundation “At The Mountains of Madness” compilations. Walker soon became one of the first overseas supporters of PALE DIVINE, something McCloskey will never forget.

“He brought us into what would grow to become a doom metal family,” says McCloskey. “Rich always held true to his convictions and had no time for nonsense. He was a soldier for truth and integrity in a constantly compromising music scene. He held a quality of standard that oftentimes polarized him from the ‘herd,’ something that he often wore as a badge of honor.”

Now is the time to get your hands albums that have never been available on vinyl — until now. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Walker’s medical expenses right away.

“The first two stages of our fundraising efforts for Rich have been fairly successful, but the vinyl was always going to help get us over the top,” says Phillips. “These 2021 editions were a team effort across the board. Don’t miss your chance to grab these doom metal monoliths — they’re ‘one-offs’ and, quite frankly, they deserve a place in any respectable collection of the genre!”

https://www.facebook.com/orodruinofficialband
https://orodruin.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/serpentspath/
http://www.paledivineband.com/

cruzdelsurmusic.com
facebook.com/cruzdelsurmusic
cruzdelsurmusic.bandcamp.com

Pale Divine, Cemetery Earth (2007)

Orodruin, Epicurean Mass (2002)

The annual Descendants of Crom in Pittsburgh has become a reliable assemblage of heavy, with a lineup diverse in sound woven together by a consistent quality of taste that unites across styles. For evidence of the ongoing nature of this phenomenon, look no further than the first two names on the poster of Descendants of Crom IV — Bongzilla and Ruby the Hatchet. The former, a recongealed stoner-sludge exercise in Midwestern working-class bomber crust, and the latter, a more urbane newschool-via-oldschool heavy rock outfit laced with keys and nigh-on-glam melodicism.

Those differences are stark, but I’ll be damned if both don’t fit well at the top of the bill here, which includes plenty of shouldn’t-be-missed names in the likes of Orodruin, Valley of the Sun, Heavy Temple, Rebreather, Pale Divine, Horehound, Cavern, on and on. I guess I could probably just run down the whole list at that point. It’s a good fest, and more even than last year, you begin to see the sense of curation and the personality of the festival emerge in its blend of styles. It’s not just about more, more, more, in an overwhelming onslaught of bands, but about what each specifically brings to the lineup as a whole. Kudos, as ever, to Shy Kennedy and her crew on a job on its way to being well done.

Here’s the announcement:

DESCENDANTS OF CROM IV – A GATHERING OF THE HEAVY UNDERGROUND

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd & SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd

CATTIVO NIGHTCLUB – ­­­PITTSBURGH, PA, USA

The fourth annual Descendants of Crom will be held this year again in Pittsburgh on both floors of Cattivo Nightclub. The events begin early Friday evening and are followed by a Saturday all-dayer.

The underground scene of heavy rock and metal here is healthy and thriving and we’re feeding great regional bands to a hungry crowd and utilizing legendary, international fan-favorites to entice music fans in the door with the support of our amazing local artists. Descendants of Crom was planted in 2017 as a little black seed and has been growing and strong contender among other established annual music festivals. We aspire to become the premier music event of the Northeast and invite you to become part of the 2020 event. After all, we are all Descendants of Crom!

This year’s DESCENDANTS are:

Bongzilla, Ruby the Hatchet, Black Tusk, Valley of the Sun, Evoken, Orodruin, Rebreather, Horseburner, Heavy Temple, Horehound, Cavern, Pale Divine, Howling Giant, Ironflame, Cruces, God Root, Zom, The Long Hunt, Makeshift Urn, and We, the Creature.

Schedule and tickets will be on sale Friday, March 6th for single-day as well as two-day passes.

We’re looking for sponsors, vendors, and any entity that supports the heavy underground and all things psych, stoner, doom, sludge, and occult to reach out and be a part of our event and community.

Additionally, in anticipation for this year’s Descendants of Crom, there will be a DOC showcase held at Cattivo on Saturday, March 21st featuring bands that have all been part of the Descendants of Crom history. Urns, The Long Hunt, Horehound, Horesburner (WV), and Ironflame. This showcase is a taster of what sort of musicianship and energy that DOC brings to the stages.

Rritual event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/509381869977026/

https://www.facebook.com/DescendantsOfCrom/
www.instagram.com/descendantsofcrom/
https://www.facebook.com/events/437759083832580/
www.descendantsofcrom.com/Tickets.php
http://descendantsofcrom.com

Ruby the Hatchet, Live in Atlanta, GA, Dec. 5, 2019

As this is the final episode of The Obelisk Show… of the year — ha! gotcha — as well as being the 25th episode, it seemed only fair to make it a special one. As such, it’s a recap of Some of a Little Bit of the Best of 2019. Barely a snippet, really, but a digestible snippet as compared to, say, the full Top However Many list that’ll go up around here in the coming weeks.

This was a fun one to put together, and, frankly, easy. Yeah, I keep a running tally of what I think are any given year’s best records as the year plays out, but I pulled most of these just off the top of my head. Some are more recent, post-June, and some are from earlier in the year, but it’s all high-quality stuff, and though it by no means represents everything awesome that’s come my way — let alone all the stuff I’ve missed; Boris walks by and waves (on their way to the next Quarterly Review, anyhow) — it’s a fun look at some of a little bit of it. Hence the silly title.

I’ll be truthful and say I kind of miss doing this every other week, but it’s been once a month now for a couple months and I guess that’s fine. Gimme Radio has a couple other heavy rock-minded shows — John Brookhouse from Worshipper, Matt Bacon come to mind — but I’m still a little out there from that stuff, and I kind of like it that way. It’d be dishonest otherwise.

In any case, show’s on at 1PM today, and if you get to listen, I certainly appreciate it. Airs at http://gimmeradio.com

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 12.06.19

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every first Friday of the month at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Jan. 3, I think. Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Radio website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks