Tag Archives: Boston metal

Skeletonwitch – Magic Circle – Lich King – Black Mass: Live at Once Ballroom, Somerville MA

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Skeletonwitch – Once Ballroom, Somerville MA ghostcultmag

 

After a fairly quick work day and speedy drive to the city we are met with the universal issue when in any city , PARKING! But after spotting a Wookie known as Tim Ledin (also of Ghost Cult) and acquiring a spot we await the start of the show!

Slowly the intersection is flooded with metal heads like zombies at a mall, and slowly we all shamble in to the hopefully air-conditioned venue. For those who have not been to Cuisine en Locale AKA Once Ballroom there’s an upstairs bar to the left of the main door way and straight ahead is the main dance hall, both excellent for watching the bands and having beers. Upstairs obviously having the best vantage point to the stage aside from of course directly in front of the 3 ft high structure.

First band of the night probably had the youngest members out of all of them Black Mass. Brendan O’Hare and two cohorts make up a thrashing mad three-piece akin to Blue Cheer but of speed metal. Brendan’s vocals sound a lot like Max Cavelera and Chuck Schuldiner’s love child of sorts and back up vocals from the bassist really add dimension and punch to the already catchy vocal lines. Ending their set with the sing along of “East Coast Thrash” with a very easy line to remember with three magical words!

Up next is Lich King keeping the thrash train a moving and if you’re reading this and haven’t witnessed them live its like a mash-up of all the good things about Slayer and Exodus rolled in to one! I’m not a thrash junkie like many of my friends may be but sometimes every thing blurs together and in a flash its gone , sadly that was my experience with this band, not saying they are bad or aren’t deserving of praise just not this writers cup of tea, check them out for yourself and form your own opinion. maybe you’ll have something to show me or a song I should listen to that may really get my attention and I will become as big a fan as some of you readers.

Magic Circle is next to take the stage and start of with a quick jaunt of ‘Kings and Queens’ by Aerosmith song then almost as quickly diving in to the opening song of their set. Two more songs in I am bathed in riffage similar to St. Vitus or Pentagram and I am finally in my element and enjoying my self and being swooned by vocals very similar to the late great Ronnie James Dio being channeled from the other side, I was almost sad to see them end but now we enter the main event, the reason we are all here sweating , now .. it is time for THE WITCH!

Between sets people step out side to take a smoke break and that is where I happen to find Adam Clemans having a smoke and had a quick chat about the tour and whats in store on the set and whats in BOTH Wolvhammer’s future and the witch with Clemens at he helm and 2017 sounds promising.

What do I really need to say about this new line up of Skeletonwitch that hasn’t already been said? Yes, Chance is no longer the singer no he probably isn’t coming back to the band, but most importantly, yes Adam Clemens is the best fit for the band for the foreseeable future. Let me tell you why: because he is a new fresh face and well of ideas the band needs at this time. the band didn’t want a chance sound alike they wanted to try and move forward from his leaving and go in a new direction while still maintaining the Skeletonwitch sound, and I believe they’ve achieved that. although at first I wasn’t overly enthused about the choice after seeing Clemens works with the guys and the sound of the songs found on their new EP The Apothic Gloom (Prosthetic) Clemans fits perfectly among the blackened riffs the band had been writing.

Skeletonwitch - The Apothic Gloom EP cover ghostcultmag

Pulling put all the stops and playing a majority of The Apothic Gloom as well as some older material mixed in with fan favorites (with the exception of my favorite ” submit to the suffering” which Adam assures me is going to be on the set in October but they will not be coming to Boston…) an other notable change is guitarist Nate Garnette  has picked up on backing vocal duties which also adds to the songs as well as the performance. Sweating through the expansive set and a few beers later sadly the set is over and now begins the mad rush out of the building and back to our homes to try and make it home safe and to bed after an amazing week night show.
ANDREW FRANCIS

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Sam Black Church Documentarian Gives An Update, Film Due Next Spring

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photo-main SBC doc poster

 

Duncan Wilder Johnson (Bring The Knife, Thrashachusetts, solo artist), a fixture in the Massachusetts hardcore and metal scene, has provided an update on his long in the making documentary about the seminal Boston genre definers Sam Black Church. Entitled Leave Behind A Groove In The Earth: The Story of Sam Black Church, the film is due early next and sees some light at the end of the tunnel after eight long years and a successful crowd funding campaign. The activity surrounding the film has the band enjoying some time back in the limelight, with members promoting the documentary, and a dominating main stage performance at last year’s New England Metal And Hardcore Festival.

 

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Jet from Sam Black Church At NEMHF16 last April. Photo by Meg Loyal Photography

 

The official update from Kickstarter:

Alright y’all!

I know everyone is itching to see this thing. No one more than myself wants to see it out there in the real world! There’s a lot of moving parts and my office is covered charts, emails, and post-it notes as I attempt to get this thing off the ground.

Making an independent film, as an almost completely solo effort, is tough to put it mildly. My lawyer and I are working our asses off over here, creating the best Sam Black Church film we can!

One of the main aspects of the film is to show a 20-year arc of heavy music, especially from the Northeast. With that, we’ve successfully licensed music by Tree, Stompbox, Overcast, Killswitch Engage, and we’re in the midst of working on Shadows Fall and Unearth. All of the later recordings of Sam Black Church have been cleared.

Everyone who contributed to the kickstarted campaign should have received merch, above and beyond the DVD itself by now. That means T-shirts, hoodies, posters and the like. The DVD is in process. After all this legal stuff, we’ll be doing the final cut, audio mix, and authoring it. Everyone who contributed to the campaign will receive a DVD. It’s doubtful that there will be a retail version of the DVD in stores because of structure of the music licensing. We’re still planning on a premier, submitting to and screening at various festivals, a number of independent screenings especially in the Northeast, and ultimately a streaming/downloadable version after the festivals and independent screenings.

So, what’s holding it up?

Well, mostly it’s people not getting back to me. People not returning phone calls for months, constantly having to hound people to sign legal documents so I can show their face in the film, and also the sheer amount of work that’s going into this thing. There’s a lot of photographs, fliers, live footage, and interviews and all of them have to be okayed. I NEED HELP WITH THIS (see below).

As I’m going through this legal process, I’ve realized a lot of the film has to change. This is caused by people not getting back to me or because we didn’t have enough money to pay for a certain license.

Therefore, I’m re-editing many sequences within the film.

We raised a little over $20K in the Kickstarter campaign and I can’t thank you enough for supporting this project. If you’d like to continue to support the film, you can purchase Prints, T-Shirts, posters in this store: https://thrashachusetts.bandcamp.com/merch We can always use a few extra bucks.

Will The band perform?

Well, that’s up to the band. I know they loved playing the last two shows at the House of Blues and The Palladium. I also know that they want to play when the movie drops, perhaps with some other old bands from their era, which would be rad!

We’re aiming for a March release. Originally I didn’t think it would take this long to negotiate with record labels, bands, lawyers, and everyone in between, but that’s the reality of it.

To cause a March release, I’ll need some help. It’s not glamorous stuff, but it has to happen. Basically it’s tracking people down who own various intellectual property (videos, photographs, and what not) and getting their permission to use it in the film. If they don’t agree, then we have to replace it in the editing with something we can use. If you’d like to help, we could really use it. Just send me an email. Thanks.

Finally, for your patience and my gratitude to you all, here’s a sneak peak of the film: http://vimeo.com/113132173


Thanks for everything. Enjoy.

In Metal, Duncan

 

Sam Black Church on Facebook

Thrashachusetts on Facebook


On The Road…. with Unearth

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dh-unearth-web FINAL

Unearth is currently riding high with the recent release of their new album Watchers of Rule (eOne). The band recently wrapped up the “Hell or High Wattage” tour with Darkest Hour, Origin, Black Crown Initiate and I, The Breather. That tour stopped off last month at The Worcester Palladium for the 11th Annual Rock And Shock Festival, where Unearth played a headline worthy set on the main-stage, being that they are truly a hometown band from nearby Boston. Meg Loyal caught all the chaos with her camera lens and she brings us this photo set.

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Make sure to catch Unearth starting next week on the road with their labelmates Crowbar and once again, Black Crown Initiate.

 

Unearth on Facebook

PHOTO SET BY MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY