Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
As someone who’s known When the Deadbolt Breaks for most if not all of their 20 years, has sat in on vocals with them and collaborated with founding guitarist/vocalist Aaron Lewis, it warms my cold, dead heart to see the willfully caustic Connecticut-based darksludge creepers heading to Europe for their first round of international touring. How badass is that? They’ve got a limited tape and some new merch they’re taking over, and they go in the company of David Ellefson (Megadeth), with some wild travel involved like Poland to Ireland to Slovakia on what’s bound to be an adventure one way or the other.
Earlier this year Deadbolt took part in the Cathedral of Smoke tribute to Sleep (review here) and their latest full-length, last year’s In the Glow of the Vatican Fire (review here), is available to stream at the bottom of this post, should you be inclined to harsh whatever mellow you’ve currently got going on. Come on, you know you want to.
The band had the following to say via the PR wire:
Just announced! When the Deadbolt Breaks is embarking on our first European tour.
After 20 years of doing this, we’re finally crossing the Atlantic. We will be doing 12 dates as direct support for Dave Ellefson’s Bass Warrior Tour, starting in Rome on December 2, ending in Croatia December 19
We’re looking forward to plugging in, playing these songs in places we’ve never been, meeting new people, experiencing new cities and cultures, and seeing where this thing takes us.
In honor of the upcoming tour, We are excited to finally announce a few things that have been taking shape behind the scenes.
Under the Argonauta Records umbrella, two older When the Deadbolt Breaks albums are coming back into the world.
The Last Day of Sun was originally recorded between 2008 and 2009 and released in 2010, almost entirely on analog equipment. We were proud of the record when it came out, but over the years we always felt there were places where it could have gone further. Over the past few months, we’ve spent countless hours going back into the album, remixing and remastering it from the ground up.
The result is almost an entirely different beast. Same songs. Same era. Different life.
And for the first time ever, Drifting Towards the Edge of the Earth will be available again in all of its original glory.
Both albums have been sold out for quite some time, so we’re extremely happy to see them return under the Argonauta Records banner.
Alongside the reissues, we’ll also be releasing a limited-edition cassette, The Weight We Carry, through FuzzTown Records. The tape features 10 songs spanning the history of When the Deadbolt Breaks, along with a limited run of tour shirts.
These will be available specifically on the European tour. Whatever survives the journey will eventually find its way to our Bandcamp.
It’s a pretty massive undertaking for a band that has always operated on its own terms, but we can’t think of a better way to celebrate 20 years of When the Deadbolt Breaks.
A huge thank you to Mindsnap, David Ellefson and everyone involved in making this tour possible, and to Argonauta Records for continuing to support this band and helping bring these older records back into the light.
20 years in.
Still loud. Still strange. Still moving.
We’ll see you on the road.
Upcoming local dates:
9/19 @ 33 Golden New London Connecticut 10/24 @ 10 Selden Woodbridge Connecticut 10/31 @ Henniker Brewing Henniker NH 11/15 @ Tampa Doom & Gloom Fest 2026 Tampa Florida 11/28 @ Cherry Street Station Wallingford Connecticut
European Tour w/ Dave Ellefson 12/3 @ Kill Joy in Roma, Italy 12/4 @ Rock N Roll in Rho, Italy 12/5 @ Del Vino in Orchamps- Vennes, France 12/7 @ Music on the Hague in Den Haag, Netherlands 12/8 @ Metropool in Enschede, Netherlands 12/9 @ Iduna, Drachten, Netherlands 12/10 @ Burghof Huhnerstall in Frankfurt, Germany 12/12 @ Stary Dom in Domecko, Poland 12/13 @ The Barrel Venue in Drogheda, Ireland 12/15 @ JS Retro in Nitra, Slovakia 12/18 @ Fest Club in Belgrado, Serbia 12/19 @ Hard Place in Zagabria, Croatia
The Witching Buzz Records tribute to Sleep, dubbed Cathedral of Smoke and featuring an international roster of 10 bands, will be released tomorrow, Aug. 7. And a lot of what you need to know about it is told by the tracklist — the bands involved, what songs they’re playing, when they’re from — but as the California-based label follows its 2025-’26 tribute compilations honoring Kyuss and Ozzy Osbourne, they’re beginning to build a stable of acts. For example, France’s Poste 942, who here tackle “Hot Lava Man” from the 2022 Third Man issue of Dopesmoker, previously appeared on both other tributes, while Abel Blood, who open Cathedral of Smoke covering “Giza Butler” from Sleep‘s 2018 studio comeback, The Sciences, was on the Ozzy tribute, as was solo singer-songwriter Dee Calhoun (ex-Iron Man, etc.), who here provides a respite from the tonal largesse with a hard-strummed Western take on “From Beyond” from Sleep’s Holy Mountain, harmonica and all.
Notably, Cathedral of Smoke is shorter than either of the two prior Witching Buzz tributes, with 10 tracks included instead of 20 or 22 for Kyuss and Ozzy, and that leads one to believe the label is thinking of an eventual physical release, which obviously would introduce a time constraint. Nonetheless, as Buzzards of Babylon revel in the classic call-to-worship of “Dragonaut” early in the proceedings, you wouldn’t say the comp is missing anything. Some reinterpretations are more dramatic than others. Calhoun‘s is up there in terms of making the song his own, and the closing acoustic take on “Aquarian” from New York arthouse doom weirdos Shadow Witch works effectively to a similar standard. The growling, lumbering manner in which Italian stompers Owls Over Oaks dig back to 1991’s Volume One for a gurgling death-sludge perspective on “The Suffering” also belongs on that list, and these divergences are welcome amid the many rolling nods on offer, though whether it’s the noise of When the Deadbolt Breaks‘ interpretation of “Holy Mountain” or Serpent Kiln‘s raw but still melodic “Catatonic,” it’s not like anybody is trying to carbon-copy what Al Cisneros and company sound like. Greece’s Fuzzing Nation might come closest to that mark for the vocal delivery in “Marijuanaut’s Theme,” but there’s enough going on around it, including the instrumentalist jam on “The Botanist” from Lizzy that follows, that it never feels egregious or like anything less than the homage it is.
No, nobody takes on the 2026 Sleep singles “Have Spacesuit Will Travel”or the newly unveiled “The Morrisist,” and one suspects that’s because no one knew a new record was coming, or that Sleep would be making news this year with a sans-Matt–Pike lineup, but apparently that’s the timeline we live in, and it does nothing to detract either from what Cathedral of Smoke is doing or what it’s celebrating, which is the influence that Sleep has had across two generations and 35-plus years of riffs. These kinds of tributes were more of a thing in the aughts, assemblages of bands trying to get their names out or just to do a thing in the days prior to the whole-album ‘reduxes’ that have been more de rigeur since the 2010s. But being oldschool doesn’t hurt Cathedral of Smoke in the slightest, and as glaringly obvious as one would be, to my knowledge nobody’s done a Sleep album redux, so fair enough. The highlights here are plenty, whether it’s the bass tone in “Dragonaut” or that backwards guitar/maybe-organ/whathaveyou Shadow Witch employ for flourish in the midsection of “Aquarian,” the sheer grit and gnash of Owls Over Oaks or “Hot Lava Man,” which has the distinction of being the only song here-presented that I’d never heard before. So I got Poste 942‘s gallop-into-space-then-float interpretation before the original, which is an odd but resonant kind of fun, as far as I’m concerned.
And to expand on that point, obviously as release like Cathedral of Smoke is speaking to the converted. Those outside the subculture are neither going to understand nor care about how the lurch in “Catatonic” compares to the original, but that’s part of the intent here as well. Genre speaking to itself, celebrating itself and past accomplishments with fresh takes. It’s not a new idea, but at a time when the conversation has been forced into wondering what and who is Sleep and what typifies one of stoner metal’s most defining sounds, these bands step up to provide an answer that’s likewise expansive and entrancing in its plod. Sleep were a thing before the memefication of the heavy underground, before notions of the ‘weedian’ or their own coined ‘Iommic life’ existed, and the band’s effect not only on the conversation but the language used in it extends to the sounds conjured here in their honor, but at the end of the day it’s riffs on top of riffs, and as far as that kind of thing goes, there are precious few outfits who ever did it better. Cathedral of Smoke is a work of worthy, fun, relevant and due idolatry.
The tribute streams in its entirety on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire in the blue text. Please enjoy:
Witching Buzz Records will release Cathedral of Smoke: A Tribute to SLEEP digitally on August 7, 2026. The compilation features 10 international artists paying homage to the legendary stoner/doom pioneers Sleep, reinterpreting material drawn from across the band’s influential catalogue.
The release brings together a diverse selection of artists from the USA, UK, and Europe, each offering their own interpretation of Sleep’s signature sound. Spanning material inspired by the band’s early-era recordings through later-era compositions, the compilation remains rooted in heavy, slow, and atmospheric approaches that have defined and shaped modern doom metal.
Rather than straightforward replication, Cathedral of Smoke focuses on reinterpretation, with each contributor reshaping the original material through their own stylistic lens while preserving the hypnotic weight and psychedelic intensity associated with Sleep’s legacy.
Cover art by Captain Maoos.
Tracklist: 1. Abel Blood (USA) – “Giza Butler” (2018) 2. Buzzards of Babylon (UK) – “Dragonaut” (1992) 3. Dee Calhoun (USA) – “From Beyond” (1992) 4. Fuzzing Nation (Greece) – “Marijuanaut’s Theme” (2018) 5. Lizzy (USA) – “The Botanist” (2018) 6. When the Deadbolt Breaks (USA) – “Holy Mountain” (1992) 7. Owls Over Oaks (Italy) – “The Suffering” (1991) 8. Poste 942 (France) – “Hot Lava Man” (2022) 9. Serpent Kiln (Netherlands) – “Catatonic” (1991) 10. Shadow Witch (USA) – “Aquarian” (1992)
Cathedral of Smoke: A Tribute to SLEEP will be available exclusively in digital format via Witching Buzz Records. Follow the label’s Bandcamp page for updates and release notifications.
Posted in Reviews on August 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I couldn’t tell you off-hand when the last time I was at Cherry Street Station might’ve been, but I do remember the first time. There’s been at least one more night at Wallingford, Connecticut’s train-station-turned-rock-bar — which has on their website a rule against both cover bands and cover songs by otherwise original artists; dedication to the cause — but it’s in the ether.
The Connecticut connection for me is my wife’s family. I live in New Jersey, and on an average night, Wallingford would be about two and a half hours from my house — almost as long as it would take to get to Brooklyn — so a little out of the realm of possibility when one considers a drive back after. But my wife’s mombis about 40 minutes from there on the shoreline, so we were in the area visiting, brought my own mother up and everything, and as the living room dug into the evening on return from getting post-dinner ice cream — I’d stayed home with the dogs because The Pecan didn’t want me to go; mostly because I suck, I believe — I absconded. Felt a bit like something I’d have done 20 years ago. Mostly because it is.
Three bands on the night. Earplugs in. I wore sandals and cutoff pajamas because I “forgot” sneakers and a pair of pants. It was okay though, the evening was pretty casual. Place is amazing. A local institution and a vibe besides. You can’t go wrong. It’s the kind of joint where, if you live in the town and you like metal, you just go. I don’t get here much, living in another state, but hell’s bells I’m glad it exists.
It went like this:
Dirt Pile
Based in New London, which once upon a time hosted a SHoD, sans-bass trio Dirt Pile basked in the deathsludge of the downtrodden. Earlier this year, the band — vocalist Matthew Hamblin, guitarist Jeff (you know Jeff; he doesn’t need a last name) and drummer Dean Beauchamp — released the six-tracker Sonic Sewer, and if you’re looking for kind self-talk, look elsewhere. I’m not sure if it was intended to be an EP for a full-length, but if it’s an album, it’s their first one, and either way, it’s beastly. I’d checked it out ahead of hitting the show because I don’t know anxiety? and found its rawness of tone and throat given vivid realization live. Hamblin got his steps in hardcore pacing back and forth in front of the stage — there was room up there, but screw it — and while they unquestionably have an aggro sound, if you look at the lyrics, most not all of the ire on Sonic Sewer is inwardly directed. Knowing that lessened the impression of chestbeating, and with riffs drawn as much from noise rock as sludge, tight songs delivered raw, and a general air of despondency about them, they came on, hit it hard and split. It’s not an overly complex formula, but it works. I bought both the CDs they had.
Thunderchief
Ah, the touring band. Thunderchief are splitting their Fall run up over the next couple months, and this was the fourth show of a tour that goes to Sept. 5. They’ve got copies of 2023’s Dekk Meg… at the merch. The duo is comprised of guitarist/vocalist/hotsauceist Rik Surly and drummer Erik Larson (also Avail, ATP, Sun Years, about a dozen others before you get to the one-offs), and the tour they’re doing is called ‘DIY or Die Trying,’ by which they mean they booked it themselves. Furious, they were. Half-thrash, sludge in the slow parts, and nasty to spare. They were a good follow-up for Dirt Pile, who stood in front of the stage and rocked out, reasonably so. Surly’s scream is vicious and from a place in his throat where it’s sustainable. He can do that for a month on the road. And Larson is among the best drummers I’ve ever seen, in a heavy context or any other. Digs in, almost like a guitarist (he’s one of those too) where you get the sense of how the player and the instrument commune, the latter an extension of the former. As Surly played through a full guitar stack and the standard roll-up Ampeg 8×10 bass cabinet, Larson made his snare regret everything it had ever done, and I was really, really glad to have been there to see and hear all of it.
When the Deadbolt Breaks
A long, long time ago, Aaron Lewis of When the Deadbolt Breaks, myself, and the drummer of the band I was in at the time did a project together over a weekend, and our bands had played together before and this was about 20 years ago now, so yeah, I was happy to see them for the first time in however long. Lewis, vocalist/noisemaker Amber and low-key monster bassist Steve played to a drum machine and celebrating this year’s noise-drenched horrorfest In the Glow of the Vatican Fire (review here) — incidentally, “noise-drenched horrorfest” is my new answer to “how’s it going?” — their brand of darkness was familiar in its consumption. I don’t know the last time I saw them and I don’t want to look — 2019 if I had to guess — but whether they’re crooning and minimalist and atmospheric or raging grind riffs, their element of threat is their own. I’m probably guilty of taking for granted a band whose output has been steadily drifting into an aural black hole for the last 15 years, but if I call them a good time, understand that comes with an undercurrent of malevolence and a psychedelia that is all in shades of black. I wondered if, in the longer term, but having a live drummer might let Lewis and company experiment with different sounds and styles of rhythm. I swear got dancey twice. Maybe, maybe not, but the fact that they’re the kind of band who 20 years on might try something new is not to be ignored. They’ve always gone deep. They did this time too, and they remain loud as all fucking get out. A pleasure to be swallowed whole by that distortion.
—
A train went by the venue just before I pulled out of the parking lot. No stop at Cherry St. Hard not to be glad this venue exists — I’ll also note Wallingford is the home of Redscroll Records, which is also a boon to the planet — and that I was able to make it out. Thanks to my family for the understanding and support. There are some more pics after the jump if you’re up for it. Thanks for reading.
Alright, y’all. This is where it ends. The Quarterly Review has been an absolute blast, an easy, fun, good time to have, but inevitably it must come to close and that’s where we’re at. Last day. Last 10 releases. Thanks if you’ve kept up. I’ll be back I think in September with another one of these, probably longer.
Hope you’ve found something killer this week. I did.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Katatonia, Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State
Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State is the first long-player in the 34-year history of Katatonia — upwards of their 13th album, depending on what you count — to not feature guitarist Anders Nyström. That leaves frontman Jonas Renkse as the remaining founder of the band, with two new guitarists in Nico Elgstrand and Sebastian Svalland, bassist Niklas Sandin and drummer Daniel Moilanen, steering one of heavy music’s most identifiable sounds in new ways. “Wind of No Change” is duly subversive, and “Departure Trails” basks in texture in a way Katatonia have periodically throughout the last 20 years, but the Opethian severity of they keys in “The Light Which I Bleed” and the declarative chug at the end of opener “Thrice” speak to the band’s awareness of the need to occasionally be very, very heavy, even as “Efter Solen” shifts into dark, emotive electronics ahead of the sweeping finale “In the Event Of…” Renkse has never wanted for expression as a singer. If he’s to be the driving force behind Katatonia, fair enough for how that manifests here.
Black Moon Circle, A Million Leagues Beyond: Moskus Sessions Vol. I
Trondheim, Norway’s Black Moon Circle recorded the four-song set of A Million Leagues Beyond: Moskus Sessions Vol. 1 at the hometown venue of Moskus, a small bar that, to hear them tell it, mostly hosts jazz. Fair enough for cosmic heavy psychedelic grunge rock to join the fray, I should think. It was late in 2023, so earlier that year’s Leave the Ghost Behind (review here) full-length features readily, with “Snake Oil” following the opener “Drifting Across the Plains” — which is jazzy enough, certainly — ahead of the chunkier-riffed “Serpent” and a 20-minute take on “Psychedelic Spacelord (Lighter Than Air),” which has become a signature piece for the three-piece, suitably expansive. If you know Black Moon Circle‘s studio albums, you know they do as much as they can live. Honestly, A Million Leagues Beyond: Moskus Sessions Vol. I isn’t all that different, but it’s definitely a performance worth enjoying.
Kudos if you had ‘new Bloodhorse‘ on your 2025 Stoner Rock Bingo card or caught it when they launched an Instagram page last year. I certainly didn’t. The Massachusetts aughts-type prog-leaning riffmakers were last heard from with their 2009 debut album, Horizoner (review here), and the six-song/28-minute A Malign Star serves as a vital return, if not one brimming with good vibes as “The Somnambulist” dream-crushes its four-minute course, the band not so much dwelling in atmospheres like the relatively careening “Shallowness,” but getting into a song, making their point, and getting out. This works to their advantage in opener “Saboteur” and the chuggier title-track that follows, but even six-minute closer “Illumination” retains a sense of immediacy amid the dirty fuzz and comparatively laid back roll. This band was once the shape of sludge to come. 16 years later, the future has taken a different course and everybody’s a little more middle-aged, but Bloodhorse still kind of feel like they’re waiting for the world to catch up.
Should you find yourself thinking you didn’t remember Canadian riffers Aawks — also stylized all-caps: AAWKS — having quite such a nasty streak, you’re not alone. Their 2022 debut, Heavy on the Cosmic (review here), had a take that seems like fuzzy dream-pop in comparison to “Celestial Magick” and the screamy sludge that populates On Through the Sky Maze, their second LP. The nine-song 48-minute full-length is the first to feature bassist/vocalist Ryan “Grime Pup” Mailman alongside guitarist/vocalist Kris Dzierzbicki, guitarist Roberto Paraíso, and drummer Randylin Babic, and songs like “Lost Dwellers” or the mellow-spacier “Drifting Upward,” with no harsh vocals, seem to hit more directly, in addition to arriving in a different context with the “blegh”s of “Wandering Supergiants” and “Caerdoia,” and so on. In the end, Mailman‘s rasp becomes one more tool in Aawks‘ songwriting shed, and the band have more breadth and are less predictable for it. Call that a win, even before you get to the record being good.
The shimmering, floating guitar in “Echoes (The Empress)” tells part of the story in the deep-running The Cure influence, and the somewhat moody vocals of Charlie Suárez echo that emotional foundation, which is coupled in that song and throughout Moon Destroys‘ debut album, She Walks by Moonlight, with a willful progressivism in the songwriting, attention to detail in the arrangements, melodies, even the mix. Comprised of Suárez, guitarist Juan Montoya (ex-Torche), bassist Arnold Nese and drummer/producer Evan Diprima (Royal Thunder), the band are able to set a wash in place that’s not deceptively heavy in “The Nearness of June” (an earlier demo track) because it’s beating you over the head with tone, but still has more to offer than just its own heft. “Only” sounds like heavied-up proto-emo, while the roll of “Set Them Free” is massive in terms of both its riff and its big feelings. If you’re willing to let it grow on you, She Walks by Moonlight can be a space to occupy.
In Space We Trust is one of four-so-far full-lengths that Santtu Laakso — multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer and producer — has out between Astral Magic and related collaborations and projects. It’s not a pace of releasing one can keep up with, but if you need a check-in from the generation ship that is Astral Magic, chances are Laakso is out there on some voyage or other between classic space rock and clearheaded prog, spanning galaxies. The eight-song/42-minute In Space We Trust pairs him with lead guitarist Jonathan Segel (Øresund Space Collective, etc.), and one should not be surprised at the cosmic nature of the resulting music. The pair get into some sci-fi atmospherics in “Ancient Pilots” and “Alien Emperor,” but the synth and guitar are leading the way across the galaxy and the vibe across the board is more Voyager and less Nostromo, so yes, smooth solar-sailing the whole way through.
The dreamy guitar, semi-rapped vocal, and dub backbeat give the opening title-track of Never Never a decidedly ’90s cast, but it’s not the summary of what Toronto’s Lammping have to offer in their collaboration with weirdo-rockabilly solo artist Bloodshot Bill, bringing together their urbane, grounded psych and studiocraft, samples, etc., with the singer/guitarist’s low, sometimes bluesy delivery across seven songs totaling 15 minutes, peppering the vibe-on-vibes of “Never Never,” “One and Own” and “Won’t Back Down” — the longest inclusion at 3:23 — with ramble and flow alike, with experimental jawns like “Coconut,” “0 and 1” or “Anything is Possible” and the closer “Nitey Nite,” all under two minutes long and each going their own way with the casual cool one has come to expect from Lammping, quietly staking out their own wavelength while still sounding like something from a half-remembered soundtrack to a radder version of your life. This is one of four releases Lammping will reportedly have over the next year or so. Way on board for whatever’s coming next.
After the disbanding of Samsara Blues Experiment in 2021, guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters — who had already by then moved from Germany to Brazil — unveiled Fuzz Sagrado with EPs in July and October of that year. Fuzz Sagrado‘s 2021 self-titled (review here) and Vida Pura EPs are included on Strange Daze, a new compilation of tracks unified through a remaster by John McBain, showcasing the early outreach of keyboard and guitar that served as the foundation for the project. As Peters readies a live band for an eventual return to the stage, Strange Daze demonstrates how multifaceted the growth has been in terms of songwriting and still feels exploratory in hindsight as it did when the material was first released. Also included is the jammy “Arapongas,” which wasn’t on either EP but was recorded around the same time. Something of a curio or a fan-piece, but I ain’t arguing.
When the Deadbolt Breaks, In the Glow of the Vatican Fire
A couple different modes on When the Deadbolt Breaks‘ In the Glow of the Vatican Fire, which is the long-running Connecticut malevolent doomers’ umpteenth album, running 63 minutes and eight songs. Some of those are longer pieces, like opener “The Scythe Will Come” (12:24), “The Chaos of Water” (14:02), “The Deep Well” (10:42) and “Red Sparrow” (10:57), but interspersed with these are a succession of shorter tracks, and the breakdown between them isn’t just that the short songs are fast and the long songs are slow. Certainly the ripping early portions (and the later, more minimalist spaciousness) of “The Chaos of Water” argue against this, and the dynamic turns out to be correspondingly complex to suit the abiding murk of mood, as founding guitarist/vocalist Aaron Lewis and co-singer Cherilynne provide foreboding croon to suit the lo-fi, creeping, distorted terrors of the music surrounding. This is When the Deadbolt Breaks absolutely in their element; bleak, churn-chaotic, expressive, immersive. They’re able to put you where they want you whether you want to go or not.
It may have sat on the shelf for two years since recording finished in 2023, but don’t worry, it’s still from the future. Laughter is the second-on-Sulatron full-length from Italian experimentalists A/lpaca, and it sees them push deeper into electronic elements and ambiences, keeping some of the krautrock elements of their 2021’s Make it Better, but with songs that are shorter on average and that stand ready to convey a sense of quirk in the keyboard elements or the Devo verses of the title-track, which isn’t without its aspect of shove. Does it get weird? You bet your ass it does. “Bianca’s Videotape,” “Who’s in Love Daddy?,” the post-punk synthery meeting doomed fuzz on “Empty Chairs,” the list goes on. Actually, it’s just the tracklisting and it’s all pretty freaked out, so as long as you know going in that the band are working from their own standard of weirdoism, making the jump into the keyboardy gorge of “Kyrie” or the new wave-y “Don’t Talk” should be no problem. If you heard the last record, yeah, this is different. Seems like the next one will probably be different again too. Not everyone wants to do the same thing all the time.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 24th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Look at the blue text below and you know what you’re gonna see? Yes, a whole lot of skull emojis. Like a lot. But it happens that each individual one corresponds to a demonstration of the labor of love and community that is the Maryland Doom Festival. From Abel Blood through Zekiah, Maryland Doom Fest 2024 celebrates its 10th anniversary edition with its standard sans-bullshit glut of heavy. Once more the Frederick-based event looks your square in the eye, drops for absolutely immersive days on you and asks if you’re up for it. Well, are ya?
I’m not sure what my summer travel plans are yet — this and Freak Valley have overlapped the last couple years for me — but it’s been since 2019 that I was last down there and oh I’d be so eager to show up and have the three or four people who recognize me (and thus make it feel like an absolute family experience; love love love everywhere you go down there) quietly think to themselves I’ve gotten older and fatter en route to obliterating myself with volume for about 96 hours straight. Fuck. King. A.
Oh, and I hear Thunderbird Divine have new stuff in the works and it’s amazing. So that’s a thing too.
Social media had it like this:
We are super stoked to share with you the Maryland Doom Fest 2024 rosters, schedules, and lineups!!!
#4daysofdoom
THE MARYLAND DOOM FEST 2024
✝️Thursday June 20
Cafe 611-
💀 Thunderhorse 1115-1230 💀 The Magpie 1010-1055 💀 Born of Plagues 905-950 💀 Stone Nomads 800-845 💀 Pyre Fyre 700-740 💀 Dirt Eater 600-640
Olde Mother Brewery-
💀 Spellbook 920-1000 💀 Strange Highways 820-900 💀 Bailjack 720-800 💀 Stone Brew 620-700 💀 Abel Blood 520-600
💀 Ten Ton Slug 915-1000 💀 Thousand Vision Mist 815-855 💀 Crowhunter 715-755 💀 Asthma Castle 615-655 💀 Bonded by Darkness 515-555
✝️Saturday June 22
Cafe 611-
💀 WHORES. 1150-115 💀 AGE/S 1040-1130 💀 Bloodshot 935-1020 💀 O ZORN! 830-915 💀 Double Planet 730-810 💀 Sun Years 630-710 💀 When the Deadbolt Breaks 530-610
Olde Mother Brewery-
💀 Black Water Rising 915-1000 💀 Switchblade Jesus 815-855 💀 Wyndrider 715-755 💀 Indus Valley Kings 615-655 💀 Vermillion Whiskey 515-555 💀 Doctor Smoke 415-455
✝️Sunday June 23
Cafe 611-
💀 Cirith Ungol 1200-110 💀 Mythosphere 1055-1140 💀 Conclave 955-1035 💀 Compression 855-935 💀 Sons of Arrakis 755-835 💀 Curse the Son 655-735 💀 Kulvera 555-635 💀 Old Blood 500-535 💀 Cloud Machine 405-440
Olde Mother Brewery-
💀 Thunderbird Divine 920-1000 💀 Black Manta 820-900 💀 High Noon Kahuna 720-800 💀 Unity Reggae 620-700 💀 King Bastard 520-600 💀 Zekiah 420-500
52 bands over a 4 day weekend at 2 venues across the street from one another!! #4daysofdoom
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
With headlining performances slated from a soon-to-retire Cirith Ungol, noise crushers Whores., mostly-local melodic heavy proggers Mythosphere, Switchblade Jesus, Conclave, Ten Ton Slug (from Ireland; I got to see them one time; way burly; they’ll do well in Frederick), and plenty of other returning acts and newcomers alike, the lineup for Maryland Doom Fest 2024 could hardly be more appropriate a celebration of the annual Chesapeake gathering’s 10th anniversary. Based in Frederick, the four-day ultra-consuming sensory assault of volume will once again take place at Cafe 611 and Olde Mother Brewing, and if you’ve never been, I’ll tell you outright there’s nothing quite like it.
I mean that. Maryland Doom Fest goes harder than the average festival. A day might start at 1PM and not end until 2AM. And now more than ever, as the fest has grown with the two venues running alongside each other, the bill is packed. I think this year was 50 bands? Well, they’ve got 52 for 2024, and while next June is a while out, there’s a tradition to uphold of Halloween announcements, and festival honcho JB Matson (Bloodshot, War Injun, Outside Truth, etc.) pays tribute to his regulars — Shadow Witch, Bailjack, Thunderbird Divine, Thousand Vision Mist (congratulations to Danny Kenyon of Thousand Vision Mist on recently kicking cancer’s ass), among others here — while also giving showcase to outfits like Pyre Fyre, O Zorn! (whose very moniker heralds weirdness), WyndRider and more.
Congrats to Matson and all at Maryland Doom Fest on their 10th anniversary. To do something of this scope once is a lot. To do it across 10 years, well, aside from being fucking crazy, it’s also deeply admirable.
The aforementioned announcement — brief as ever; the poster lands heavy enough to cover any lack of verbiage — follows, courtesy of socials. Ticket link is there too:
WE ARE EXTREMELY PLEASED TO PRESENT TO YOU, THE MARYLAND DOOM FEST 2024 LINEUP!!!!! THIS WILL BE OUR 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!! (#128128#)(#129304#)(#128128#)
52 bands over a 4 day weekend at 2 venues across the street from one another!! #4daysofdoom
Posted in Questionnaire on November 2nd, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Aaron Lewis of When the Deadbolt Breaks
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Musically, I used to consider what I or we (When the Deadbolt Breaks), does as experimental, psychedelic doom, but now I feel it has evolved into so much more, that I have a hard time classifying it. Which, I thoroughly enjoy. Music and art is subjective and means something different to everyone, so to categorize it and tell someone what it is seems self-defeating. We started doing this band 15 years ago. I wrote the first riff to the first When the Deadbolt Breaks song while I was co-DJ’ing at a local radio station, and I tried to incorporate it into a few bands over the year or two, and it didn’t work. It was too slow, and oddball for what those bands were doing. Eventually, I decided to write a record based around the entire feeling of that one riff. A drummer and myself started recording ideas, and they kept getting more and more unique, heavy and spacey. That eventually became our first record, “In the Ruins, No Light Shall Shine”. We’ve kept at it.
Describe your first musical memory.
This is maybe not my first, but certainly one of the best. I remember being in 3rd grade, and I had a small handheld tape recorder that I brought with me everywhere. It was one of those blue and white ones with the huge buttons, and my friend had stolen the first Black Sabbath cassette from his brother. So we decided to listen to it at lunch on the playground. I remember hearing the song Black Sabbath for the first time that day. I had no idea what the hell was happening. It was a bright sunny day out, but when the intro to that tune began, it was like the clouds rolled in and something evil were coming. It was an amazing feeling and that feeling has never left. It made a huge impression on me and helped to mold my musical tastes.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Playing Stoner Hands of Doom Fest in Youngstown Ohio at Nyabinghi & The Kennefit at CBGB’s while I was playing guitar for Cable are easily two of the most amazing shows I have ever played. I am sure there are plenty more to come, but the opportunity to play with Cable and do those shows came at the right time, and I will always be grateful for that.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Lately, this seems to happen a lot. I am not a religious person at all, in fact, I despise organized religion, but I do believe in being good to those who deserve it, and just not being a prick in general. But the more time goes on, the more I realize that this is not an easy thing to ask from people. But, I roll with the flow, and avoid what needs to be avoided in order to keep my head up.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
It’s a gateway drug for sure. With my photography and music, if I don’t take chances I fear that I will become stagnant and boring. Trying new things, stepping out of that comfort zone, only lends itself to strengthening a vision and opening the door for new possibilities that may not have otherwise been found. If that makes sense at all…
How do you define success?
Happiness. I am not rich by any means, but I am doing the job that I dreamed of as a kid, I play in bands that I love and enjoy working with, and both my music and photography have introduced me to some amazing experiences and people. I consider that to be a great success.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I remember when I was younger, my friends and I were tripping on LSD, and the girl I was with had gotten sick, and threw up everywhere… I can’t say that I wish I hadn’t seen it, but that’s a lot to work with when you’re on a trip.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
As for musically, When the Deadbolt Breaks has already started with an idea for our 10th record, and it is going to be something really unique when we get it all down. But, as a bondage photographer I am working on plans for a pretty crazy shoot. I don’t want to get into details here, but it will be a weird accomplishment if I can make it happen.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Personally I know that art is subjective, but I feel like the essential function is to evoke emotion. No matter if that emotion is to just relax and be calm, get excited and throw shit, art is here for us to feel… or not feel.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Work-wise, I have had a great opportunity to begin working with a new client that could be the beginning of something I have been trying to obtain for a long time. I am very much looking forward to where this is all going to go.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 7th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Back in May, long-running Connecticut atmospheric/extreme doomers When the Deadbolt Breaks announced they’d release their next full-length, As Hope Valley Burns, through Argonauta Records. I’m still not sure when that’s actually coming out, but the band, along with Electric Talon Records, have set an Oct. 31 arrival for As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy, a companion-piece/continuation to the album itself. So. It’s entirely possible As Hope Valley Burns will be out by the time As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy is issued. Definitely possible. But you might also be getting what they call ‘part two’ before ‘part one’ arrives.
This is very much in the vein of Deadbolt. For over a decade and a half and amid a rotating cast around founding gutiarist/vocalist Aaron Lewis, the band have explored the darker recesses of doom — sometimes they’re downright creepy — and have refused any and all compromise or attempt to inhibit that mission. Their years have brought them into alignment with labels like Salt of the Earth, Sliptrick, Spare Change, FuzzTown and Ear One, and the expanses they’ve created have no doubt alienated as many as they’ve swallowed whole. That’s just how they do.
You can stream “I Live in the Dirt” on the player at the bottom of the post. PR wire info follows:
WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS to Release As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy
Connecticut psychedelic doom band WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS have joined forces with Electric Talon Records for the release of their 9th album, As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy. Featuring four original tracks and a mind-bending cover of THE DOORS’ “Not to Touch the Earth,” As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy ushers in a new era of doom.
Electric Talon Records will release As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy on digital, CD and vinyl formats on October 31.
As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy is the second chapter of a story that starts with As Hope Valley Burns (to be released in late 2021 by Argonauta Records). The band comments on the dual releases:
“’As Hope Valley Burns’ and ‘As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy,’ are unique albums for WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS. We have pushed our boundaries sonically. Originally recorded with the intention of a 10-song record, we found that the length of the songs did not fit the time frame of a single release. The decision was made to split the songs up, and release it as essentially, part one and part two. The heavy is heavier, and the mellow, spacial parts are even more so. Akin to our first few records, we have returned to more aggressive drumming, and psychedelic spaces, yet this record has a certain depth and maturity to it that was missing in the past.”
The album was written and recorded during the early part of the pandemic, sonically reflects uncertainty and hopelessness with massive volume. With gorgeous artwork crafted by Leanne Peters, and layout by the infamous Bill Kole, this album is a monstrous sculpture of beauty, angst and despair.
Music for As Hope Valley Burns: Eulogy was recorded and produced at Room SevenZeroEight. Drums were recorded and produced at Project 7:06 by Rob Birkbeck. The album was mastered by Juno-Six.
TRACK LISTING: 1) I Live In The Dirt 2) Cleanse the Death 3) Gods Eyes 4) Forever in the Fire 5) Not to Touch the Earth
Recorded by: Aaron Lewis at Project 7:06 HQ (except drums) Engineered and mixed by: Aaron Lewis at Room Sevenzeroeight Mastered by: Juno-Six Cover Image by: Leanne Peters CD Layout by: Bill Kole
Personnel: Aaron Lewis: Guitar & Vocals Charlie Platteborze: Bass & Vocals Rob Birkbeck: Drums Steve Wieda: Synth/Soundscapes Ambler Leigh: Additional Vocals
