This is one of the rare occasions on which I will shamelessly prompt you to see a show. Anybody who was at the legendary -- well, at least in the local doom metal scene -- Place of Skulls/Earthride/Unorthodox show in July 2004 at the Warehouse Next Door will attest to the magic onstage when Pentagram lead singer Bobby Liebling joined Place of Skulls for two fist-pumping doom anthems. And tonight -- barring a catastrophe -- Bobby will join the Hounds of Hasselvander to kick out a few more Pentagram gems! Opening will be Maryland doom legends Revelation (Hellhound/Rise Above Records), playing their first DC show in years, and Virginia sludgehogs Ol' Scratch. Sabbath never gets old, and these guys prove why:
Friday, March 14
Velvet Lounge
915 U St NW WDC
http://www.velvetloungedc.com 202-462-3213
$10, doors at 9pm, 18+
The Hounds of Hasselvander (doom-metal supergroup featuring Joe Hasselvander of Pentagram/Death Row/Raven/Cathedral/Blue Cheer) and Gary Isom of Spirit Caravan/Unorthodox)
Revelation (MD doom legends, had records on Rise Above and Hellhound)
Ol' Scratch (VA southern-fried sludge a la Weedeater/Eyehategod/Sourvein)
The Hounds of Hasselvander http://www.myspace.com/thehoundsofhasselvander The Hounds of Hasselvander is the newest solo album, on Rock Saviour Records, from Raven and Pentagram's Joe Hasselvander - THE GODFATHER OF DOOM!!!!!!!!!! On this release, Joe wrote all the material and plays all the instruments himself.
JOE HASSELVANDER needs no introduction in the world of metal. A driving force behind Doom Metal legends PENTAGRAM and DEATH ROW, drummer for British thrash pioneers RAVEN, as well as touring drummer for doom kings CATHEDRAL. Joe fronts The Hounds on vocals and mangling of the Gibson SG!
To promote the release, Joe has assembled a jaw-dropping collection of musicians to support him at live gigs -- THE HOUNDS of HASSELVANDER!!
GARY ISOM (drums): Gary is currently the drummer for Unorthodox. In the past he has played drums for SPIRIT CARAVAN, PENTAGRAM, IRON MAN, WRETCHED, NITROSEED, and VALKYRIE.
KAYT VIGIL (bass): Kayt is the founding member of HATCHETFACE (Philadelphia), SYSZLAK, Catheter (303 Grind). She has also performed with Forced Instinct, The Emmas, ZED, Downer, and Speedqueen.
Revelation http://www.againstnature.us http://www.myspace.com/revelationdoom Buy the re-releases of Salvation's Answer and Never Comes Silence at
www.leafhound.com. Both CDs feature bonus songs, old photos, and new, expanded liner notes.
Download Salvation's Answer, Never Comes Silence, ...Yet So Far, demos, and live concerts for FREE at
http://www.againstnature.us/BH/Artists/Revelation/Rsplash.htm Friends since childhood, the members of Revelation began exploring their vision in May of 1986. Originally comprised of John Brenner (guitar and vocals), Andy Kremer (bass), and Steve Branagan (drums), they released the demo Face Reality in January, 1987. Shortly afterward, Andy left the band and John began recording bass guitar temporarily. Revelation's doom metal sound and style became more defined and the demos Terminal Destiny and Images of Darkness were released, in the summer and winter, respectively, of 1987.
In February of 1988, Bert Hall Jr., who had played with John in bands since the early '80s, joined as bassist and made the line-up complete. After recording and scrapping a self-financed record, Revelation recorded their fourth demo, The Illusion of Progress. This new music with Bert saw them adding a progressive, Rush-influenced aspect to their style and gained them label interest.
Revelation appeared on the Doom Metal sampler Dark Passages in 1990 with the song "Blessed Realm," which led to a recording deal with Rise Above Records (owned by Lee Dorrian, of Cathedral and Napalm Death). Salvations Answer, their first full-length recording, was recorded in June of 1990 and released on Rise Above Records in early 1991. Shortly after their first release, and without a recording contract, instead of sitting idle, the band decided to record their fifth demo, The Unbearable Vision. Bert Hall left Revelation shortly afterward to pursue his personal music vision.
Josh Hart joined the band on bass in late 1991, and soon afterward, Revelation signed a recording contract with Germany's Hellhound Records. The band recorded Never Comes Silence, which was released in 1992.
Shortly after Never Comes Silence was released, John Brenner decided to leave the group. Faithful friend and fan of the group, Dennis Cornelius, joined as John's replacement. Josh Hart also left the group, but Dennis and Steve vowed to keep REVELATION alive. The two recorded a promotional demo in February of 1994 titled Mourning Son, which continued interest in the band from their fans and record label.
Jim Hunter joined in the Spring of 1994 as permanent bassist, and the three began preparing for their third full-length recording. ...Yet So Far was recorded in Nov.-Dec. 1994 and was released by Hellhound Records in early 1995. The album's release was followed by European tours with Saint Vitus in March and Solitude Aeturnus in May of 1995. The band followed the tours with local shows and began writing new material. After a brief split with Dennis in March of 1996, the band reunited and recorded a new demo in December of 1996 titled Frozen Masque. The band played a few shows and festivals in the ensuing 8 years, but because the members lived in different states, keeping the band afloat became all but impossible.
In May of 2007, after appearances as Revelation at Doom or Be Doomed Festival in Baltimore, John Brenner, Steve Branagan, and Bert Hall, Jr. decided to revive Revelation and write new music.
Leaf Hound Records re-released the Never Comes Silence CD in April 2007 and the Salvation's Answer CD in November 2007, and will also release, on vinyl only, an Unreleased LP Revelation recorded in 1988.
In January 2008, Revelation will record a new album titled Release for Leaf Hound Records in Japan:
www.leafhound.com. Ol' Scratch http://www.olscratch.com http://www.myspace.com/olscratch Beginning life in 2004, Ol' Scratch began as a five-piece monster in a garage in Northern Virginia. Playing metal with a sludgy southern tinge, they began playing shows locally in 2005. Switching bassists halfway through the year, the new lineup went on the road for a few tours and a ton of DC area shows supporting such acts as Alabama Thunderpussy, Trouble, and Dixie Witch. Early 2006 saw the release of Blood Puddin', a five song EP recorded at Harmonia Studios with engineer Greg Clark (Clutch, King Valley) and mastered by Uncle Punchy. More shows followed, playing with doom icons Unorthodox, Earthride and War Injun. On the road again, they made a strong showing at 2006's "Maine Stonerfest" and played shows everywhere from Maine to Florida. Late in 2006 the band recorded and released a split CD with Fredericksburg, VA metal band LORD, recorded by engineer Tim Otis (Admiral Browning, Black Canary) and mastered by Vince Burke (Sourvein, Beaten Back to Pure). 2007 brought big changes with the loss of another bassist, Steve changing from rhythm guitar to handle the low end duties, and their vocalist, Joel, mysteriously quitting the band. The new four-piece lineup finds Tim Otis (of Admiral Browning) temporarily on drums, Steven Kerchner (VOG, 7th Gate) on vox, Steve Payne on bass, and James Haun handling guitar. The new lineup shows the band evolving into a darker, heavier doom-metal style in the vein of Goatsnake, Weedeater and Electric Wizard with the release of their newest EP In Nex Illic Est Vita. Two tours then proceeded in support of the new disc, Hell or High Water with prog/sludge outfit Admiral Browning, and the second, a solo tour, culminating in a blistering performance at 2007's Stoner Hands of Doom 8 festival in Mesa, AZ. Even more touring and recording are on tap for Ol' Scratch in 2008. They are scheduled to enter the infamous Polar Bear Lair studios with analog recording wizard Chris Koslowski (Blue Cheer, Melvins, Pentagram, Internal Void, Earthride, Valkyrie, etc.) to begin work on their first full-length disc, tentatively titled "Cantos".
"Relentless, gut punching sludgefuck torture rock from a buncha hill dwelling hairballs from Virginia...It is music for dynamite fishing and fire eating, the call of backwoods savages to the great feast of fear and terror." (Sleazegrinder)
"Damn heavy and mindblowing...like old High On Fire mixed with Clutch and Melvins...really dirty and filthy...for sure a CD I will listen to more than once. (Daredevil)
"There is more than a hint of the DC doom...with a bit of Weedeater...and a bit of COC Southern groove. Lyrically, Ol' Scratch is all about the darker side of existence. Not the anxiety and depression fueled by loss and despair, but the anxiety and depression fueled by drug deals gone bad, bad drugs, and bad vagina on drugs." (Hellride)
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Spontaneous Infinity coming soon: sponinf.alkem.org. Arguably the first free-jazz/all-improv fest in DC since 2001 (when Visions made its brief run):
Saturday 3/22: Steve Lehman, DCIC (CD release)
Friday 3/28: Elliott Sharp, Blaise Siwula/David Wilson/Toshi Makihara, Jaimie Branch/Marc Riordan, Thus, Nate Scheible & Matt Wascovich
Saturday 3/29: UB-313 (featuring Marshall Allen of Sun Ra Arkestra), Sabir Matten & Michiko, Matthias Muller & Christian Marien, Uri Caine, PRV Trio
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Monday 3/17: St. Patrick's Day bash w/ Rose, Brandon Butler, John Bustine (DC's answer to the Country Teasers)
Friday 3/21: The Lookies (ex-Velvet Monkeys/Gumball), The Rambling Shadows (ex-Velvet Monkets/Crippled Pilgrims), 7 Door Sedan
Sunday 3/23: Admiral Browning (MD epic prog), Scale the Summit (Houston prog-metal), Periphery
Monday 3/24: Gestures (mem. of Caution Curves), Make A Rising (Philly indie-prog), Paul Joyner Band
Tuesday 3/25: The Empire Falls, The World That Summer (atmospheric post-metal from DC), Xeper
Thursday 3/27: Suns of Guns (DC gutter-punk psych-blues a la Birthday Party/Gun Club/Laughing Hyenas), Vincent Black Shadow (heavy fuzz-psych in the vein of Mudhoney/DMBQ), Rise of Man
Sunday 3/30: Kuschty Rye Ergot (DC improv psych, ex-Redeemers/Promise Breakers, mem. of Kohoutek), Dame Satan (SF folk-psych), Pablonious Bill
