Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I don’t care who you are or where you lie on the political or social spectrum — if you claim you don’t think there’s something interesting about competitive eating, you’re a liar. I’m not saying you have to fantasize about winning the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on Coney Island, or that you dream of hoisting a trophy over your distended belly full of a 96 oz. steak surrounded by jealous cowboys at some restaurant in the Midwest where you just earned a free dinner for your entire family like the provider you are, but even if you’re a European looking across the ocean and wondering (once again) how on earth Americans can be so ridiculous and so excessive in our disdain for personal health, you have an opinion. You may find it gross, but you can’t look away.
For the last couple years I’ve posted about The Decemburger in Denver, both because I think the lineups have been cool and because DUST Presents, which puts it on, does good work generally, but there’s also a side of me that a little bit dreams of pounding sliders until the trophy below is secured, then taking that home and displaying it on my mantle — note: I do not have a mantle — for the rest of my days, relishing my moment of glory as it once was. I’m not especially proud of that, but it’s true.
That won’t happen, and I know that, but still. It’s a sick, kind of all over the place lineup this year, and even if you don’t enter the contest to get that trophy, well worth showing up to bear witness to whoever does.
Here’s the info:
The Decemburger III: The Greasy Gala
Dust Presents The Decemburger III: The Greasy Gala The World’s Only Heavy Metal / Competitive Eating Throwdown
When: Decemburger 15th, 2018 Where: Hi Dive – Denver, CO
Lineup: Uada, Axeslasher, Crypt Trip, Glacial Tomb, Bummer, The Ditch and the Delta, and The Decemburger Slider-Eating Contest
Tickets:www.thedecemburgeriii.eventbrite.com Eating Contest Rules: First to finish their plate of 10 sliders wins Water and cups are provided Vomiting = disqualification Interfering with another contestant = disqualification
1st Place Prizes: $100 cash Decemburger III Trophy Decemburger III poster Dust Presents merch package Ritual of Sin Magazine package All the Greasy Glory and more…
2nd Place Prize: Decemburger III poster Dust Presents merch package Ritual of Sin Magazine package
Sponsored by Terrapin Care Station, Atlas Cabinets, and Ritual of Sin Magazine
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 24th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
With the advent of the Psycho Smokeout in Los Angeles next April 20, Psycho Entertainment partners with RidingEasy Records and enters the fray of a busy Spring festival season, pushing Elder and Monolord into headliner positions that both deserve and importing other Psycho veterans like Amenra and Belzebong alongside RidingEasy groups Here Lies Man, Electric Citizen, BlackWater HolyLight, R.I.P. and Zig Zags. If you don’t see the significance of this, think of all the fests happening in Europe at the time, whether it’s Roadburn just one week before or Desertfest the first weekend of May. Lineup-wise, the first-ever Psycho Smokeout would seem to be more in line with the latter than the former, but still, it’s a packed Spring for those up for a bit of intercontinental travel.
However, a killer lineup is a killer lineup, and the Psycho Smokeout has one. Looks like it’ll just be the one day — fortunate that April 20 is a Saturday in 2019 — and I’ll assume it’s two stages, though I don’t have confirmation of that or really anything other than the groups playing, which, frankly, is enough for the moment. April’s a ways away, so there may be changes and whatnot, but especially if this takes off, it’s an important happening in the market and bound to turn heads.
RidingEasy‘s announcement and the lineup info follow:
The rumors are true! We’ve teamed up with Psycho Las Vegas For the first annual psycho smoke out on 4/20 in LOS ANGELES. We’ll be vending and loads of our bands are playing including but not limited to Monolord R.I.P. Electric Citizen Blackwater Holylight Here Lies Man Zig Zags and more!!!!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I don’t have any idea what Shadow Woods IV — the name trimmed down from the original Shadow Woods Metal Fest for reasons that will become clear as you continue to read — would possibly have to gain from any kind of endorsement on my part, official or not, but let me say anyway that if you can’t respect this idea, the fact that they’ve done it four years running, and the obvious blood-borne passion that goes into making each edition an event unlike anything else in the US when it comes to the mix of bands, the locale, the vibe and the very concept from which it’s working, you can basically fuck off. I may not be into every band on this list — it’s a really, really long list — but there are plenty here who would justify a trip to Harpers Ferry in September, and yeah, all this is is something special year after year.
The lineup this time around is completely over the top, as you can see first in the grim-grim-grim poster below, then in the running order for each for Shadow Woods IV‘s three nights, and then, finally, in alphabetical order, because they are thorough and that’s only one more reason to hold Shadow Woods in such high regard.
Behold:
Shadow Woods Productions LLC presents the fourth edition of Shadow Woods Metal Fest, now simply referred to as Shadow Woods IV.
What: Shadow Woods IV is a multi-day open air music and camping event in that includes bands from many subgenres of metal, rock, folk, experimental and noise. The fest will host more than 40 bands on two alternating stages with no overlapping sets so attendees can enjoy every set. There will also be delicious food, craft beer, a vendor marketplace with art, jewelry, home decor, music, and rock and metal merchandise.
Where: Our new fest venue is the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center (HFAC) located at 37410 Adventure Center Lane in Purcellville, VA 20132, situated in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains at the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers. HFAC features zip lines, ropes courses, tubing, white water rafting, cabins, campsites and an onsite craft brewery. It is located just a little more than a hour from Washington DC and Baltimore, MD near the intersection of the Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia state lines. Festival attendees receive a discount of HFAC activities as well as on the cost of campground and cabin rental with the Shadow Woods group rate.
When: Sept 20-22, 2018. Thursday night features primarily acoustic, folk and ritual noise from 6 p.m. until 11 pm. Friday and Saturday showcases rock and metal bands from noon until 11 pm each day.
How: Tickets are on sale now. A full weekend event pass is $130. Day passes for Thursday are $30; Friday and Saturday passes are $60 each. (Important note: Tent camping and cabin are not included in the tickets. Reservations must be made directly through the HFAC and you must request the Shadow Woods group rate. The venue is requesting that attendees hold off on reserving sites for the time being until a system can be put in place for managing this.)
Why: “It was pretty clear from the positive feedback I received after the 2017 fest that festival goers did not want to see Shadow Woods end, even though our property in Maryland had been sold,” said Mary Spiro, fest founder. So without a venue or a confirmed lineup, I started quietly raising the funds to do a new fest via the contributions of past attendees. In January 2018, I was able to find an fantastic site to host the fest that was even better than what we had before. The lineup came together very quickly and I am extremely proud and excited to present these past favorites and new discoveries.”
Here is lineup by day in roughly the reverse order of playing (so headliner at the top) subject to change of course. Then the lineup is in ABC order at the bottom. Brian Sheehan has done the poster.
At this time in terms of Vendors, you can say expect to see some of the ones seen last year plus many new ones.
Don’t have any food vendors or specific sponsors named yet. Beer is the Harpers Ferry Brewing Company which is part of the venue.
Thursday Xasthur – doomgrass, folk rock (Los Angeles, CA) On The Water – strange folk (Philadelphia) Goblin Hovel – metal folk (NY/PA) Skulsyr – occult noise (Doylestown, PA) Jerome Deppe and Miss Elizabeth’s All-Girl Band – folk ballads of the damned (Baltimore, MD) Bound For The Ground – the devil’s blues supergroup with members of Grave Gnosis, The Owls Are Not What They Seem, and Cultic (GA/FL/PA) Earendel – acoustic folk duo (Baltimore)
Friday Tombs – post metal (NYC) Rozamov – psyche-tinged grueling doom (Boston) Heavy Temple – Hard Fuzz, Psych and Doom (Philadelphia) Barishi – Gritty Progressive Metal (Brattleboro, VT) Aether Realm – Viking folk metal (Greenville, NC) Destroyer of Light – doom and roll (Austin, TX) Electropathic – doom hard rock with members from several foundational Maryland doom groups (Wheaton, MD) Husbandry – Fugazi meets Aaliyah (NYC) God Root – ritualistic sludge (Philadelphia) Dysfigure – modern heavy metal (Martinsburg, WV) Windfaerer – extreme aural entity (New Jersey) Witch Hazel – occult rock and roll/doom (York, PA) Forest of Legend – doom/stoner/sludge (Virginia Beach, VA) Hepatagua – sludge/doom/thrash (Boston) Flummox – nongenre specific doomy metal (Murfreesboro, TN) Ferus Din – black metal and flutes (Buffalo, NY) Haze Mage – stoner metal (Baltimore) Malphas – progressive blackened melodeath (Philadelphia)
Saturday Uada – black metal (Portland, OR) Cloak – black and roll (Atlanta, GA) Panzerfaust – black metal (Toronto, ON) Voarm – black metal (Richmond, VA) Imperial Triumphant – black metal (NYC) Athame – black metal (MD/WV) Hubris – black metal (Buffalo, NY) Enthauptung – atmospheric black metal (Rochester, NY) A Sound of Thunder – traditional/NWOBHM heavy metal (DC/VA) Bound By The Grave – death metal (Baltimore) Destroying Angel – dark folk rock (Philadelphia) All Hell – black and roll (Asheville, NC) Black Mass – death thrash (Boston) Hexxus – sludge metal (Birmingham, AL) Replicant – death metal (NJ) Tyrannis – death metal (Radford, VA) Sluagh – progressive metal (Martinsburg, WV) Sickdeer – death metal (DC)
Alphabetical Aether Realm All Hell A Sound of Thunder Athame Barishi Black Mass Bound By The Grave Bound For The Ground Cloak Jerome Deppe and Miss Elizabeth’s All-Girl Band Destroyer of Light Destroying Angel Dysfigure Earendel Electropathic Enthauptung Ferus Din Flummox Forest of Legend Goblin Hovel God Root Haze Mage Heavy Temple Hepatagua Hexxus Hubris Husbandry Imperial Triumphant Malphas On The Water Panzerfaust Replicant Rozamov Sickdeer Skulsyr Sluagh Tombs Tyrannis Uada Voarm Windfaerer Witch Hazel Xasthur
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
It’s only taken a few years for Psycho Las Vegas to establish itself as the premier underground festival in the US. All well and good. With 2018’s lineup, though, it’s time to start thinking of Psycho among the best in the world.
Sounds like too much? Consider Godflesh and Dimmu Borgir sharing a stage, both for exclusive West Coast appearances. Think of Sweden’s Witchcraft playing one of the two shows they’ll do in the US at Psycho, and ditto that for Japanese riff-madmen Church of Misery. Think of US exclusives from Lee Dorrian’s With the Dead, or Lucifer, whose Johanna Sadonis will also DJ the Center Bar. The commitment to up and coming underground acts local, domestic and foreign like Temple of Void, King Buffalo, Dreadnought, The Munsens and DVNE. Picture yourself watching Wolves in the Throne Room headline a pre-fest pool party with Elder, Young and in the Way, Dengue Fever, Fireball Ministry and Toke.
2018 is the year Psycho Las Vegas outclasses even itself and pushes further than it ever has in terms of stylistic reach (Integrity walks by and waves… at Boris) and the sheer power of its construction. If you’re looking for the future, you’ll find it in scumbag paradise.
Here’s the lineup:
Psycho Las Vegas 2018
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas 4455 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89169
PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2018 lineup: DIMMU BORGIR (west of chicago exclusive) HELLACOPTERS (one of two shows to be played in the USA in 2018) SUNN 0))) GODFLESH (west of chicago exclusive) WITCHCRAFT (one of two shows to be played in the USA in 2018) ENSLAVED AMERICAN NIGHTMARE HIGH ON FIRE ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT RED FANG ZAKK SABBATH CHURCH OF MISERY (usa exclusive 2018 with exception to one other show in San Diego) TINARIWEN GOBLIN CKY VENOM INC EYEHATEGOD VOIVOD BORIS COVEN INTEGRITY PALLBEARER WITH THE DEAD (USA exclusive 2018) MONOLORD LUCIFER (USA exclusive 2018) ACID WITCH SURVIVE DOPETHRONE BIG BUSINESS UNEARTHLY TRANCE MUTOID MAN TODAY IS THE DAY HELMS ALEE SPIRIT ADRIFT BATUSHKA PRIMITIVE MAN DVNE ALL PIGS MUST DIE EIGHT BELLS WORMWITCH INDIAN NECROT HOMEWRECKER BRAIN TENTACLES CLOAK BLACK MARE MAGIC SWORD UADA TEMPLE OF VOID DREADNOUGHT WOLVHAMMER ASEETHE DISASTROID FORMING THE VOID VENOMOUS MAXIMUS GHASTLY SOUND HOWLING GIANT KING BUFFALO NIGHT HORSE THE MUNSENS GLAARE
Paradise Pool Pre Party
August 16th
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM ELDER YOUNG AND IN THE WAY DENGUE FEVER FIREBALL MINISTRY TOKE
Center Bar DJ’s Andrew W.K. Nicke Andersson (Entombed/Hellacopters) Johanna Sadonis (Lucifer)
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 8th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Losing Warning is a bummer, but Northwest Terror Fest 2017 is taking it in stride and taking its game to another level entirely by adding Coven to the bill for their first US show in 27 years. I had the good fortune of watching Coven play at Roadburn in April (review here), and their classic sound has never been more relevant than it is today, and Jinx Dawson remains a mystifying presence as frontwoman, even nearly five decades after the band issued their landmark 1969 outing, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls, which you can hear in full below. The point of that massive fucking run-on sentence? Go see Coven if you can. There. I made it simple. I hear that’s what you’re supposed to do on the internet.
John Haughm of Pillorian and Agalloch will also play an acoustic set as part of the packed lineup, and as a side note, tomorrow I’ll have a Six Dumb Questions interview posted with David Rodgers of Godhunter, who organizes this fest as well as other Terror Fest incarnations like the Austin Terror Fest at SXSW and Southwest Terror Fest in Arizona. Dude breaks his ass in making these things happen, and you’ll note Godhunter aren’t on this bill, so it’s clearly not about just putting together an event to promote his own doings. Just something to keep an eye out for.
Northwest Terror Fest 2017 runs June 15-17. Here’s the latest from the PR wire, including the full schedule:
COVEN, JOHN HAUGHM JOIN NORTHWEST TERROR FEST
NORTHWEST TERROR FEST – SEATTLE JUNE 15-17
Due to matters out of control of Northwest Terror Fest, we regret to inform that Warning will no longer be able to perform during this specific weekend. But at the end of the darkness is light as we are proud to announce that the legendary Coven will be playing on the evening of Saturday June 17th in what will be their first stateside show in 27 years!
While its widely disputed that some have cited Coven as the first band to brandish the sign of the horns, their occult laced tunes have laid down an irrefutable influence on the world of metal and doom beginning with their mystic debut album, 1969’s Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls.
John Haughm of Agalloch will be performing an intimate set.
Inspired by Cormac McCarthy, Ennio Morricone, Neil Young’s “Dead Man” soundtrack, and the renegade years of the American old west, John Haughm’s solo performance is a haunting and sonic 30 minute journey through dystopian wastelands of the past. It is a bleak, atmospheric, and powerful droning Western soundscape in steadfast spirit of the years 1865 – 1895.
Northwest Terror Fest Schedule:
THURSDAY 6/15 Neumo’s: 10:10 – END – Wolves In The Throne Room 8:50 – 9:30 – Samothrace 7:35 – 8:10 – King Woman 6:30 – 7:00 – Lycus 5:30 – 6:00 – Uada
Barboza: 9:30 – 10:10 – Graves At Sea 8:10 – 8:50 – Take Over And Destroy 7:00 – 7:35 – Void Omnia 6:00 – 6:30 – Barghest 5:00 – 5:30 – Witch Ripper
THURSDAY AFTER PARTY
Highline: 1:00 – END – John Haughm 11:50 – 12:40 – Aerial Ruin 11:00 – 11:30 – Crowhurst
Barboza: 9:30 – 10:10 Cult Leader 8:10 – 8:50 – Call Of The Void 7:00 – 7:35 – Transient 6:00 – 6:30 – Endorphin’s Lost 5:00 – 5:30 – Recluse
FRIDAY AFTER PARTY
Highline: 12:40 – END – Usnea 11:50 – 12:20 – Burials 11:00 – 11:30 – Sol
SATURDAY 6/17
Neumo’s: 10:10 – END – Coven (First US Show in 27 years) 8:50 – 9:30 – Yob 7:35 – 8:10 – Marissa Nadler 6:30 – 7:00 – Young And In The Way 5:30 – 6:00 – Infernal Coil
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 20th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Stop me if I’ve said this before, but Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2017 has be as close to an absolute no-brainer as I’ve ever seen in terms of attendance. I mean, so you’re gonna go out to the woods and listen to a bunch of meticulously curated doom and folk and black metal and psych for a weekend, camp out and top the whole thing off with a Panopticon set under starlight? Jesus. How much more could you really ask of a live event than that?
Cheers to Mary Spiro on a job incredibly done with this lineup. I don’t even know what else to say about it other than it’s pretty unreal and there’s nothing else like it happening that I know of in the US or maybe even anywhere else. Seriously. Who’s pulling bands from both coasts and Europe across genres like this for an outdoor event the vibe of which you can already feel just from the press release? Who’s got Castle on the same bill with West Virginian folk black metal?
It’s not all my bag, but I tip my hat:
Shadow Woods Metal Fest 2017 – Official Lineup Announcement
SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST, the Mid-Atlantic’s only open-air camping heavy metal gathering, is pleased to announce the complete lineup for the 2017 festival, which runs from Thursday, September 14th through Sunday, September 17th at White Hall, Maryland’s Camp Hidden Valley. For the third year, the festival will host 39 of the undergrounds leading bands, representing all genres and subgenres of heavy metal.
Over three days, the four stages of SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST will come to life inside the woodsy landscape of Camp Hidden Valley. “Every year has been special, but I am just particularly stoked about what we have curated”, says Mary Spiro, organizer of Shadow Woods Productions LLC. “I am extremely honored to present the lineup this year because I think it reflects the best of the underground metal scene as well as some of the personal favorites of the festival organizers. Several of these bands, I have been trying to host at the fest since the first year and I am happy to finally have them play.”
Beginning on Thursday night, the Pavilion stage will light up and set the tone to the weekend with all-acoustic and intimate performances with Texas dark-folk maudit AMIGO THE DEVIL, Portland’s dark-folk soloist AERIAL RUIN and West Virginia’s Appalachian folk duo, NECHOCHWEN. Friday includes exclusive performances by Oregon’s haunting black metal band UADA and Georgia’s tortured blackened death quartet WITHERED.
On Saturday, as darkness falls over the Woodland Stage, atmospheric blackened folk giants PANTOPICON will play an exclusive, 70-minute set under the backdrop of the stars. Brooklyn black metal titans WOE, Rhode Island sludgy-doom foursome CHURCHBURN, mysterious blackened grind band DEAD IN THE MANGER (one of two east coast shows), and San Francisco extreme death quintet VASTUM (one of two east coast shows), will all deliver exclusive performances to SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST.
SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST is proud to be sponsored this year by Moxie Bookkeeping and Tridroid Records and to receive promotional support from Grime Studios, Leftover Pizza Productions, and Perfect World Productions.
SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST 2017 Complete Lineup (in alpha order): Aerial Ruin – Portland, OR (Ritual folk) All Hell – Asheville, NC (Crusty black metal) Amigo the Devil – Spicewood, TX (Dark folk) ** Bearstorm – Richmond, VA (Blackened southern death-prog) Black Table – NY/NJ (Progressive black metal) Castle – San Francisco, CA (Heavy doom metal) Churchburn – Pawtucket, RI (Blackened sludge) ** Cut the Architect’s Hand – Richmond, VA (Death metal) Dark Water Transit – Baltimore, MD (Instrumental heavy rock) Dead in the Manger – coast to coast – (Blackened grind) ** Dee Calhoun – Frederick, MD (Acoustic; vocalist of Iron Man) Earthling – Richmond, VA (Thrash metal) Elagabalus – Baltimore, MD (Experimental metal 2-piece) Erlkonig – Baltimore, MD (Blackened death metal) Fiakra – Freehold, NJ (LARPower metal) Foehammer – Annandale, VA (Sludge) Green Elder/Paul Ravenwood – Johnson City, TN – (Nature folk) Heavy Temple – Philadelphia, PA (Psychedelic-doomed rock) Hexis – Copenhagen, Denmark (Hardcore/black metal) Human Bodies – Boston, MA (Crusty blackened hardcore) Immaculate Deception – Baltimore, MD (Death metal) Infera Bruo – Boston, MA (Black metal) Kyoty – Dover, NH – (Instrumental post metal) Mome – Portland, ME (Power psych rock) Nechochwen “unplugged” – Wheeling, WV (Appalachian acoustic folk metal) ** Night Raids – Philadelphia, PA (Thrash/grind) Panopticon – KY/MN (Black folk metal) ** Percussor – PA/DE (Old school death metal) Seasick Gladiator – Washington, DC (Experimental doom prog) Sloth Herder – PA/VA/MD (Sludge grind) Take to the Woods/Jo Cosgrove – Baltimore, MD (Dark folk) The Owls Are Not What They Seem – York, PA (Ritual noise) Toke – Cape Fear, NC (Stoner doom) Uada – Portland, OR (Black metal) ** Vastum – San Francisco, CA (Death metal) ** Withered -Atlanta, GA (Black/death metal) ** Woe – Brooklyn, NY (Black metal) ** Worthless- NY/NJ (Black metal) ** ZUD – Portland, ME (Black and blues metal) ** EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCES
SHADOW WOODS METAL FEST DETAILS Location: Camp Hidden Valley White Hall, Maryland
Ticket Link: http://shadowwoodsmetalfest2017.bpt.me Price: $175 Full weekend package (Thursday evening-Sunday morning) including all musical events and camping Cabins: $20 bed (shared cabin)
Shadow Woods Metal Fest is 21+ Food & beverage vendors: Various food, beverage, and alcohol vendors will be on site with both vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore selections. No outside alcohol is permitted. Marketplace vendors: Multiple record labels, distros, and artisans will be located in the Hall. For more information on becoming a vendor, contact shadow.woods.llc@gmail.com
PROMOTIONAL ARTWORK: Brian Sheehan PROMOTIONAL VIDEO: Mary Spiro
