Sound Obsession

Russian Circles, KEN mode, Inter Arma Date:  February 18, 2014 Venue:  Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington, DC Following January's blackened-thrash and viking metal onslaught at the 2,000 capacity Fillmore, a couple weeks back I hit another must-see package tour at the more intimate 350 capacity Rock & Roll Hotel -  Russian Circles with KEN mode and Inter Arma.  The evening served as a reminder of the wide spectrum of style and philosophy that exists in the metal scene.  Whereas populist showmen like Amon Amarth and Skeletonwitch relish in the fabricated drama and spectacle of viking lore and the occult, not shy to remind everyone that it's all in good fun, Russian Circles and their tour-mates are dead serious about this shit - it's about the art, man. Russian Circles - Brian Cook and Dave Turncrantz (left to right) Despite all the blog debate, "hipster metal" really is a thing.  Drawing heavily from non-metal genres like post-punk, post-rock,...

High on Fire, Kvelertak Date:  November 12, 2013 Venue:  Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington, DC My relatively recent dive into the pool of brutal rock & roll madness known as heavy metal proved fruitful earlier this week as I attended one of the most epic live shows of my life. No joke. No exaggeration. Oakland stoner metal titans High on Fire and Norway's "black & roll" powerhouse Kvelertak simply decimated the Rock & Roll Hotel Tuesday night. I had considered not writing a review at all, as there really aren't enough words to describe how ridiculously good this show was. Being as that I've got this blog to feed, I'll try anyway. . . Kvelertak I arrived midway through opener Doomrider's set. The Boston-based stoner/doom foursome just put out a new record produced by Kurt Ballou called Grand Blood (Ballou and Doomrider frontman Nate Newton are bandmates in metalcore band Converge). Despite looking great on paper, I just can...