Upcoming: New releases from Windhand and Kadavar

I'm very excited about two upcoming releases: RVA doom masters (and mistress) Windhand will release "Grief's Infernal Flower" on Relapse on Sept. 18, and German retro-rockers Kadavar will release "Berlin" on Nuclear Blast on Aug. 21.

Windhand's 2013 release, "Soma," was on non-stop repeat for me that year. The new album's first single, "Two Urns," hearkens back to Soma's two crushing opening tracks, and features some very fine singing from Dorthia Cottrell, and a pretty blistering solo from Garrett Morris. Check it out below. Pitchfork has tour dates here.

The video for Kadavar's "The Old Man" -- the first single from "Berlin," is awesome enough just for the shots of drummer Tiger playing the maracas (check him out at about 59 seconds). But Lupus Lindemann's "Sails of Charon"-esque riffing makes the song exciting, and has me eagerly awaiting the rest of the album. They'll be touring throughout Europe this fall.

Photos of Windhand, Mourning Cloak and Satan's Satyrs on Invisible Oranges

Last Saturday (Oct. 19) I checked out Windhand, Mourning Cloak and Satan's Satyrs at Legitimate Business in Greensboro. Since I lived in Greensboro for five years, you would think I could easily find my way around that town. Evidently Legitimate Business (the recording studio/show space owned by the guitarist of Mourning Cloak) is in a part of town I never visited because nothing about that space, street or neighborhood looked familiar. Anyway, it's a cool spot, and I'll be on the lookout for more shows happening there now that I know where it is. 

Windhand and Mourning Cloak were great, as expected, but I was most impressed with Satan's Satyrs, a young Hellacopters-ish band from Virginia. Looking forward to seeing them again. Check out the photos on Invisible Oranges. 

Catching up: Hopscotch and Windhand

(Sleep at Lincoln Theatre)

What a weekend! I am still recovering from seeing some great shows, and I am very grateful that all those great shows were concentrated together. Last year I spent Hopscotch Thursday wandering from club to club because there was nothing in particular I wanted to see, and ended up discovering some great new bands. This year I knew exactly where I wanted to be on each night. 

It was a hectic weekend because I was shooting for Invisible Oranges, and by extension, for Brooklyn Vegan. I am very happy that they published my photos of ASG and Golden Void (best band of the weekend BY FAR) here; photos of Pig Destroyer/Gorguts/Vattnet Viskar/Sannhet here; and Sleep/Evoken/Inter Arma/Solar Halos here. I also have a set from Bitter Resolve (who opened for Golden Void) here. I was very excited to be shooting for IO, and hope to shoot more for them in the future. 

Also, today my review of Windhand's new album, Soma, was published on About.com Heavy Metal. My interview with guitarist Garrett Morris will be published later this week. If you haven't checked out Soma, please go here and take a listen. Then buy the album and support this awesome band. These guys have worked really hard on this album, and have truly created something special. 

New music Tuesday: Windhand and Corrections House

"Orchard," the second single (and opening song) from Windhand's excellent upcoming album Soma is now streaming at a few locations, including NPR, Stereogum and Invisible Oranges. The album comes out Sept. 17, and is already being hailed as a possible album of the year.

Also, "Run Through the Night," the latest from Corrections House (Mike IX Williams, Eyehategod; Scott Kelly, Neurosis; Bruce Lamont, Yakuza; Sanford Parker, Minsk) is now streaming at German blog Noisey/Vice. The album Last City Zero will be released on Neurot on Oct. 29. 

Windhand release first single, tour dates

Windhand today released the first single off their upcoming Relapse full-length, and announced dates for a full US tour. No NC dates, unfortunately, but that Oct. 3 show in Richmond might be worth the drive for me. Listen to "Woodbine" here. Order your copy of "Soma," which will be out Sept. 17,  here. 

9/5: The Side Bar – Baltimore, MD %

9/6: St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
9/7: Golden Tea House – Philadelphia, PA %
9/8: Belvidere’s – Pittsburgh, PA
9/9: Shrunken Head – Columbus, OH
9/10: The Melody Inn – Indianapolis, IN
9/11: The Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL
9/12: The Cactus Club – Milwaukee, MN
9/15: Shooter’s – Billings, MT
9/16: VFW Hall – Missoula, MT
9/17: The Highline – Seattle, WA $
 9/18: Ash St. Saloon – Portland, OR $
9/19: Monstros Pizza – Chico, CA *
9/20: The Hemlock – San Francisco, CA
9/21: The Stork Club – Oakland, CA
9/22: The Complex – Los Angeles, CA
9/23: Burt’s Tiki Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
9/24: 3 Kings Tavern – Denver, CO
9/25: The Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NB ^
9/26: The Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
9/27: Doublewide – Dallas, TX #
9/28: The Grotto – Ft. Worth, TX #
9/29: The Mohawk – Austin, TX
9/30: White Water Tavern – Little Rock, AR
10/1: The Owl Farm – Nashville, TN
10/2: The Hideaway – Johnson City, TN &
10/3: Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
4/12/14: Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, The Netherlands
 % - w/ Ilsa
$ - w/ Bell Witch
* - w/ Amarok
^ - w/ Call of the Void
# - w/ Solomon & Pinkish Black
& - w/ Generation of Vipers

Windhand releases teaser for new album, 'Soma'

 Richmond classic-doom dealers Windhand have released a short teaser for their upcoming album, "Soma," out Sept. 17 on Relapse. I truly can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this one. In other big Windhand news, it was announced today that they and Inter Arma will be playing Roadburn 2014.

SOMA 
Relapse Records
N. America: September 17, 2013
Germany/Benelux: September 13, 2013 UK/World: September 16, 2013
Formats: CD/2xLP/Digital

 1 – Orchard
2 – Woodbine
3 – Feral Bones
4 – Evergreen
5 – Cassock
6 – Boleskin

Photos of Inter Arma, Windhand and Horseskull

I've been in a dry spell lately for seeing music. With the exception of Maryland Deathfest, which I didn't bother to photograph or document, I've only seen two shows since April: Krakenfest and Inter Arma/Earthling at Slim's. MDF was awesome, but I didn't even attempt to get a photo pass, and really I just wanted to go and have fun. I go through these dry spells occasionally, but this one's gone on a little longer than usual, leading me to wonder if it's time to retire altogether. But then I see a show like Friday's triple bill at Slim's with Inter Arma, Richmond occult doom outfit Windhand and Raleigh's impressive Horseskull, and I get excited all over again. 

I'm not too excited about the photos I got that night because it was dark (which I've come to expect), and it was pretty crowded, especially for Windhand. That's great for the bands, not so great for my shots. I actually think I got better Instagram photos than camera photos (btw, you can follow me here, where you'll see a few MDF photos, as well as lots of pics of my dog and my boyfriend). 

I've said before that Inter Arma has released the best album of the year. Every time I see them, they seem to play a different set, and get more and more fierce. Windhand, who released a really strong split with Cough earlier this year, was particularly crushing. There was some issue with the vocals in the PA, which was bad for both Inter Arma and Horseskull, but actually kind of worked for Windhand. I love Dorthia Cottrell's voice, but being so low in the mix gave it a super ghostly sound. But I certainly wouldn't recommend that for every show. It was my first time seeing Horseskull, and I liked their combination of classic doom and Southern rock. I especially liked the song that was about "bad women and bad drugs." If someone wants to tell me the name of that song I would appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing them again. 

Some other upcoming shows I'm planning to see: the metal cookout at Maywood on July 6, then Ramming Speed and Valient Thorr at Kings that night,  Hardcore Hank's birthday bash in Wilmington; the Gwar-b-cue in Richmond (maybe on this one); KEN Mode and Inter Arma at Local 506; Iron Maiden at Walnut Creek (I don't remember what it's actually called now). Debating Hawkwind in DC on Oct. 12. And, not metal at all, I will probably go see Woody Pines at Local 506.