Author Archives: Rachel Lange

Japan’s Babymetal sold out The Anthem in Washington, DC last Friday night, demonstrating once again that the DC area loves to headbang.

From the second The Anthem’s house lights go dark, and Babymetal’s logo is projected onto the nearly bare stage, the room belongs to the three young women. Founded in 2010, Babymetal’s is credited with creating kawaii metal (or “cute metal”), a genre that features a mix of pop-ish vocals and thrash/metal musicianship. Leading on vocals, Su-metal is joined by Moametal and newest member Momometal in intricate and impressive choreography.

The show’s opened with “BABYMETAL DEATH,” from 2014’s Babymetal. Live in 2024, the song serves to introduce the mythology of the band and get the crowd hyped. According to Babymetal lore, “A Long Time Ago in a Heavy Metal Galaxy Far Far Away…” the Fox God (the “spirit of heavy metal”) chose three metal spirits and summoned them to the metalverse. Those three metal spirits marched onto the stage in sync and got the choreography started, backed by the Kami Band. It was like a heavy metal pep rally and the sellout crowd ate it up.

The setlist pulled from across the trio’s four LP discography; based on the enthusiastic crowd reactions, Babymetal know what the fans want to hear and deliver on that. The women appear to barely break a sweat during their hour and change set, which included “Karate,” “PA YA YA,” and “Gimme Chocolate.” The set also included “Time Wave,” from the band’s latest album, The Other One, released in 2023. It’s a concept album based on a journey through alternate realities; Su-metal described the album as an attempt to move beyond old, stereotypical beliefs about Babymetal.

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Black Metal pioneer King Diamond stopped by the Fillmore Silver Spring Monday night (10/28), a stop on the Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920 tour. The production featured a stage set that just barely fit into the confines of the Fillmore. It was fitting for the spooky and over the top shows King Diamond is known for and just what the Washington, DC suburbs needed the week of Halloween.

This tour nailed the selections of support acts. Kicking off the night was Night Demon (vocalist/bassist Jarvis Leatherby, guitarist Armand John Anthony, and drummer Brian Wilson). Formed in 2011, and hailing from Ventura, California, the trio represents a resurgence in old school heavy metal. The men got the crowd amped up early in the night with riff heavy songs and a skilled performance that made me very glad I got to the venue early. The 30-minute setlist borrowed from across the band’s discography, and included a few selections from their latest release, concept album Outsider.

This band is fantastic, especially for those of us who like an old school, no fuss, no muss sound to our metal. Given how much Night Demon apparently tours, I’m kicking myself for not knowing about them until now. Better late than never. If you’re curious about this band, 2017’s Darkness Remains is a good place to start—it features a fun cover of the Queen classic “We Will Rock You.” Or just start from banger Outsider and work your way backward. Can you tell I’m a fan now?

In the metal world, it is commonly known that thrash metal originated in San Francisco back in the 1980’s (Metallica being among the most well-known of those early bands). The East Coast made its own contributions to the early days of thrash. One of those bands was New Jersey’s own Overkill. Lucky for all of us, Overkill is still around in 2024, and occupied the middle slot on the night’s bill, continuing the tour’s theme of old school metal.

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When one covers a gig, the evening begins at a venue’s box office, where the ticket and photo pass are picked up and any other important information is relayed. Wednesday night at the Fillmore Silver Spring, when I arrived to cover Till Lindemann on his current headlining tour, this additional information came in the form of signage posted at the box office, and the doors to the venue. It said, “Please be advised that this performance will involve exposure to certain foods containing the following ingredients, and potential allergens…” and listed the usual roundup, including shellfish. It was a reminder of what I already knew to be true—this show would be a visceral and wholly bonkers experience.

While Till Lindemann is most well-known as the front man for legendary German industrial metal band Rammstein, over the last decade or so, he’s also taken on solo work. In 2013, he paired up with Swedish multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren to form Lindemann; when Tägtgren departed, Lindemann became a solo project. His latest solo album is Zunge, released last year.

I’m a Rammstein fan, so I looked forward to seeing this enigmatic frontman in the confines of a club, as opposed to the football stadiums where I caught the band a few times on their last US tour. I’ll get straight to the point. In 2024, humanity, with endless access to media and images from all dark corners of the planet, can be a tough crowd to shock. At the same time, we (ok some of us) work to make sure our fellow human beings feel comfortable and safe on the ride we all share through space. Till Lindemann defenestrates the idea of comfort, doing his best to provoke and shock his audience. He’s great at it. The music is good too.

At 9PM on the nose, Lindemann took the stage in a red uniform that was one part military, one part Berlin bondage club. Accompanied by his backing band—guitarists Jes Paige and Emily Ruvidich, bassist Danny Lohner, keyboardist Constance Day, and drummer Joe Letz—Lindemann launched into “Zunge,” from the latest album.

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Thursday night the Fillmore Silver Spring transformed into a cathedral of power metal. Germany’s Powerwolf made a stop on their North American tour in the Washington, DC suburb, the band’s first ever show at the Fillmore. The faithful gathered for metal worship.

The night got started a whole 20 minutes earlier than expected. I was still going through security when the openers, Canadian power metal outfit Unleash the Archers, took the stage at 7:40PM. We scrambled to get to the photo pit but made it in time. Always get to the venue early!

Founded in 2007 in British Columbia, Unleash the Archers have gone through some personnel changes over the years. The current lineup is comprised of cofounders Brittney Hayes (vocals) and Scott Buchanan (drums), along with Grant Truesdell (guitar), Andrew Kingsley (guitar), and Nick Miller (bass). The band’s latest album is Phantoma, released in May.

Unleash the Archers performed for an entire 50 minutes, which is unusual for an opening band at a club show. Nonetheless, the crowd was into it. Many of the fans at the Fillmore had never seen or heard of the band until Thursday night (Hayes asked the crowd!); they responded with their wholehearted support. Indeed, what I found striking about the entire show was the amiable vibe bouncing back and forth between the bands and the crowd.

So the fans at the Fillmore might not have been entirely familiar wish Unleash the Archers, but that didn’t stop them from chanting “HO-LY SHIT! HO-LY SHIT!” several times through the set. The band responded with smiles and a lot of animation. They looked like they were having a wonderful time on stage while they ripped through songs like “Abyss,” “Gods in Decay,” and “The Matriarch.” Unleash the Archers wrapped up their successful set with a cover of Stan Rogers’ anthemic “Northwest Passage.” Everyone sang along.

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Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band made a triumphant return to Washington, DC Saturday night, performing at Nationals Park to a massive, elated crowd. This was one of several postponed dates originally scheduled for 2023 but put off so Springsteen could attend to health issues. DC was glad to have him back.

Nats Park was crammed to capacity with fans, and it was an amazing night. Having a few drinks and yell-singing “Thunder Road” with 40,000 or so strangers was just the experience I needed. Hell, from the looks of it, it’s what we all needed.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band need no opening act. For one thing, they have a back catalog to die for and there is just too much to get to, and it seems like they really could play all night if allowed. Besides that, who would dare open for Springsteen?

It was showtime at about 7:40PM. Bruce and the gang took the stage one by one to massive cheers, with the stadium erupting when the Boss himself appeared. The set kicked off with “Seeds,” a song Springsteen has played live a billion times, even though it’s never had an official release.

From there it was three full hours—29 songs—of rock and roll glory. With a discography like Springsteen’s, three hours of material is merely the tip of the iceberg. There’s lots of room to mix up a setlist while keeping enough of the hits in there to keep everyone happy.

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Washington, DC’s Anthem hosted a night of swaggering rock and roll, when The Struts blew through town last Thursday, a stop on the band’s Pretty Vicious tour. The night got started with an explosive and raucous set by rocker Barns Courtney. From the very moment he and his equally glam band took the stage, it was delightful chaos—and hard to know where to look!

Courtney hails from England and has released two albums—2017’s The Attractions of Youth and 2019’s 404—along with a few EPs. His next album is Supernatural and is slated for release in September. The 45-minute set pulled from his entire catalog, leaning on both his earliest work (songs like “Fire,” Glitter & Gold,” and “Kicks”) and most recent (“Supernatural,” “Young in America,” and “National Treasure”).

Courtney is a man who can’t be contained—he was at times engaging with the audience or letting the microphone dangle from his mouth while he grinned at the crowd. Stopping to dance with the guitarist, a man who has the looks of ’70s Jimmy Page and endowed with the back bending abilities of KK Downing circa 1982. It was hard to look away. Courtney’s ability to command both stage and audience is impressive. The crowd ate it all up and responded to Courtney as if he were the headliner.

It seems Courtney has a family connection to Washington, DC—he has a brother who (as of last fall, at least) attends Georgetown University. Hopefully DC will be treated to another show by Barns Courtney soon.

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It was a nostalgic night of punk, reggae, and silliness as The Aquabats stopped at the Fillmore Silver Spring Monday night on their latest tour, Finally! The Album Tour.

Left Alone got the Monday night festivities started with an enjoyable 30-minute set. A California-based punk rock band, it formed back in 1996 by lead vocalist and guitarist Elvis Cortez. In 2024, the rest of the lineup includes Pablo Fiasco, Jimmy Jam, and Ben Shaw. The ska-influenced punk went over well with the Silver Spring crowd; it was a cool set that even included some Spanish-language songs. Left Alone’s latest release was 2021’s Checkers & Plaid, released on the label Cortez formed, Smelvis Records.

Also from California, The Aggrolites took the baton from Left Alone to get the Monday night crowd hyped and they were successful. The Aggrolites (Roger Rivas, Alex McKenzie, Jesse Wagner, Jeff Roffredo, and Ricky Chacon), formed in 2002 and are purveyors of what they call “Dirty Reggae”—a fusion of soul, ska, reggae, and punk.

The crowd was filled with fans who sang along and danced. Instead of a mosh pit, the show had a dance pit. Late in the set, frontman Wagner picked out some kids from the audience to join the band on stage for a fun rendition of “Banana Song,” a song from the children’s show Yo Gabba Gabba! The kids danced and sang on stage while inflatable bananas got tossed around the crowd.

While ska/reggae/punk is generally not my “thing,” both Left Alone and The Aggrolites were great. The sets were enjoyable, and both bands got the crowd engaged and dancing. There were quite a few kids present; the resulting vibe was that of a light, fun, family-friendly party.

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Pride month went out with a “Stampede” in Washington, DC Sunday as country singer Orville Peck made a stop at The Anthem on his current tour. Goldie Boutilier and The War and Treaty round out the bill on the Stampede tour.

Goldie Boutilier kicked off the night, taking the Anthem stage before a still-gathering crowd on a very hot DC night. Boutilier hails from Nova Scotia and began singing as a child. Her first performance was at age five in her hometown of Reserve Mines; she sang with The Men of the Deeps Choir—North America’s only coal miners’ choir. Her family’s junkyard business was used as rehearsal space.

Boutilier’s music is notable for her themes of romance and glamour and she’s also a successful model, having appeared in campaigns for the likes of John Galliano and H&M. Sunday night, her 30-minute set included songs pulled from across her collection of EPs and LPs. While she may be labeled as “alt-country,” the sound generated by Boutilier and her all-female backing band has a distinctly rock edge. Boutilier’s latest EP is “Emerald Year,” released in 2023.

The night swung from alt-country to soul with The War and Treaty. The War and Treaty are a husband-and-wife duo—singer-songwriters Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter. Their first album was 2018’s Healing Tide—the lead single from that album was acclaimed by Rolling Stone as a “joyfully relentless title track, reminiscent of classic Ike and Tina Turner rock-infused soul.”

The pair hit some significant milestones in 2023, as The War and Treaty became the first black duo nominated for Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association. If that weren’t enough, they were the first black duo nominated for Duo of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. They have received two Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.

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The intimate, subterranean confines of Washington, DC’s Union Stage played host to night of heavy music Sunday, as Baroness made a stop on the band’s current tour. Ruby the Hatchet and Filth is Eternal played supporting roles for a handful of dates and rounded out the night of heavy music in DC.

Filth is Eternal kicked off the night, treating the still-assembling crowd to a quick, 30-minute set jammed with hardcore punk sounds. The Seattle-based band, led by dynamic vocalist Lis D’Angelo, hosted, as the band puts it, “their own brand of communal” exorcism at Union Stage. Unlike many hardcore bands who kick their way angrily through sets, Filth is Eternal brought a sense of joy and community to the stage. The band’s latest album is Find Out, released in 2023.

I was excited to see Ruby The Hatchet on the bill—I hadn’t seen them since they supported German doom metal band Kadavar at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery right before the COVID pandemic started in 2019. I enjoyed them then and was sure they’d be great at Union Stage. I was right.

The psych rock quintet, led by siren Jillian Taylor, has been around for over a dozen years. Emerging from New Jersey basements, Ruby the Hatchet (Taylor, Johnny Scarps, Lake Muir, Owen Stewart, and Sean Hur), relocated to Philadelphia and released their first EP in 2011. The band’s latest album is Fear is a Cruel Master, released in 2022. At Union Stage, the crowd got hit with RtH’s guitar- and organ-driven, 1970s influenced sounds. Coupled with Taylor’s charisma and smooth vocals, the result is sweet rock and roll honey. The entire set was fabulous, but I loved the cover of Quarterflash’s 1981 classic, “Harden My Heart.”

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This was fabulous. It was a night of firsts at Baltimore Soundstage, as Battle Beast made a stop in Charm City Saturday night, the penultimate date on their first North American headlining tour. Supporting Battle Beast was newcomers Blackbriar, touring North America for the first time ever.

I should have known this was going to be a special night when I queued up with everyone else right after doors opened at 7PM; the line to get into Baltimore Soundstage still snaked around the block. It was so long that I was a little nervous about making it inside in time to photograph Blackbriar. My fears were assuaged as security moved us through swiftly. Once inside at 7:58PM, I was told by security that Blackbriar would not be taking the stage until 8:15pm, as the meet and greet ran late. Relief!

Blackbriar took the stage and hit the crowd with gorgeous symphonic metal. The Netherlands-based band is promoting their latest album, 2023’s A Dark Euphony. This is an album that one reviewer praised as being “generation and genre-defining,” which is massive considering it is only the band’s second full length album (the first being 2021’s The Cause of Shipwreck). The songs explore gothic themes; sung by mesmerizing lead singer Zora Cock, they took on a magical quality.

The darkness of the songs was in direct contrast to the big smiles onstage, as the rest of the band (René Boxem, Bart Winters, Robin Koezen, Ruben Wijga, and Siebe Sol Sijpkens) all appeared to be absolutely stoked to be playing for the Baltimore crowd, which returned the love. Unusual for an opener, Blackbriar played for nearly an hour, even returning to the stage for an encore!

The Baltimore date of Battle Beast’s Circus of Doom Over North America tour was the first time I had ever covered or seen the Finnish power metal band (Juuso Soinio, Pyry Vikki, Eero Sipilä, Janne Björkroth, Noora Louhimo, Joona Björkroth). I will tell you right now, it will not be my last.

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Two years after Judas Priest last played the Washington, DC area, the OG metal giants returned to the MGM National Harbor Sunday night, one of the last stops on the current leg of the Invincible Shield tour. Like on the 50 Metal Years tour in 2021, Judas Priest brings Swedish power metal band Sabaton along for the ride.

The theater at the MGM National Harbor is part of the larger hotel/casino complex. As Sunday afternoon progressed, the place filled with fans—the line to get through security snaked through the atrium. Priest sold the joint out, so it took forever to get everyone through.

At 8PM, Sabaton (Joakim Brodén, Par Sunström, Chris Rorland, Hannes Van Dahl, and Thobbe Englund) took the stage to serve up their brand of historic power metal. For the unfamiliar, Sabaton is a Swedish band known for their war history-themed music. This started way back in 2005, with the release of Primo Victoria, the album to first take on historic themes. In the nearly twenty years since, the band has taken on broad topics like World War 1, World War II, and even Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Sabaton manages to pack a twelve song setlist into their opening slot, which is made up of crowd pleasers from across their discography

Despite the warmongering imagery, including gas masks, lots of camo, and a drum riser disguised as a tank, Sabaton comes across as just a happy, jovial bunch interested in cool stories about history. Brodén peppers his performance with lighthearted jokes while the rest of the guys engage with the audience, smiling broadly all the way. It’s very entertaining and the music is creative.

I’ve seen Sabaton perform many times with Judas Priest over the last few years; the National Harbor show was my fourth time on this tour alone. Something that stands out to me is just how strong a fanbase Sabaton has. It’s not unusual to show up at a Judas Priest gig and see many Sabaton t-shirts and even people dressed up in costume. Priest has done a great job here finding a band with crossover appeal for tours and is sticking with what works for them.

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Amon Amarth made a stop at the Fillmore Silver Spring Tuesday, a date on their Metal Crushes All tour, the band’s biggest ever North American tour. The venue sold out and it was an absolutely bonkers night of metal.

The insanity got started early, at 6:30PM, when Frozen Soul took the stage. The Dallas, Texas band (Samantha Mobley, Michael Munday, Chad Green, Matt Denard, and Chris Bonner) already had a mostly full house to play to when they laid down their 30-minute set of icy death metal. A still-young band, Frozen Soul’s latest album is Glacial Domination, released in 2023, and praised for its old school death metal sound. Vocalist Green wore a Bolt Thrower shirt, illustrating that the band does wear its death metal influences on its figurative sleeve.

The turnover took mere minutes before Obituary took the baton from Frozen Soul to continue the crowd’s annihilation. Formed in Florida back in 1984, Obituary is one of death metal’s pioneering bands, as well as one of the genre’s most successful. Forty years on, Obituary has eleven studio albums under its belt, the latest being 2023’s Dying of Everything.

Their seven-song set was heavy on new material, but the crowd didn’t seem to mourn the relative lack of older material. It was still fairly early in the night, but the roof was already starting to get ripped off the Fillmore—the venue was almost full by that point. Chanting and crowd surfing got started and never stopped. Not bad for a Tuesday night in the suburbs!

By the time Cannibal Corpse took the stage, the Fillmore was completely full, bursting at the seams with explosive energy from death metal fans ready to lose their minds. Cannibal Corpse (George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, Alex Webster, Paul Mazurkiewicz, Rob Barrett, and Erik Rutab), also from Florida, is another OG death metal band, forming with its original lineup in 1988. Despite having little to no radio or TV exposure, the band developed a cult following starting in the early ’90s of fans drawn to the technical death metal and horror-based lyrics.

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Swedish metal gods Avatar returned to the US last week and I have lots to say about it, having had the pleasure and privilege of covering the Norfolk, VA date Saturday night. Avatar continues to hit home runs with their support acts—last year’s tour with Native Howl and Orbit Culture was incredible, and on this quick headlining tour they knock it out of the park with Conquer Divide and Oxymorrons.

The freak show was still assembling when Oxymorrons took the stage at 8PM. From New York, Oxymorrons (brothers Demi “Deee” and Kami “KI,” drummer Matty Mayz and vocalist/guitarist/bassist Jafe Paulino) produce a mashup of rap, rock, funk, and punk that they refer to as “melanin punk.” It makes for an explosive sound and frankly an awesome way to get the night rolling.

The dual vocalist brothers have bottomless energy, weaving around and playing off each other while performing and working the crowd. They excel at it and are very easy to like. Meanwhile, Mayz and Paulino pound out the punk rock sounds. It makes for delightful, barely contained chaos and is a ton of fun to watch.

Arguably the cherry on top of all this is the band’s message of justice and self-acceptance. So, roll up wearing your bunny ears and mismatched socks with loafers, come out in your spiked ski mask and Wampa-looking furry boots. Be your “weird-ass” self. Oxymorron’s latest album is Melanin Punk, which includes banger “Look Alive,” a track that made Billboard’s Maintream Rock chart.

Michigan based Conquer Divide then took the stage as the next act. Interestingly, this band also has two vocalists (Kia Castillo and Madison Spencer) along with guitarists Kristin Sturgis and Isabel Johnson, and drummer Samantha Landa. I was at the show in Indianapolis earlier that week, and these young women bore the brunt of what was a disastrous sound problem at the venue. They were only able to play three songs before it was determined that the issue was unfixable, and they had to leave the stage. The women were pros about the whole thing, engaging with the crowd and treating us all to some impressive a cappella work before taking their bows.

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