Nothing rings in the holiday season like unbridled capitalism and this year is no different! Metal heads are notoriously hard to shop for because we like weird crap that you often can’t just find on Amazon, so I’ve thrown together this list of some suggestions for the metal head in your life, or ya know, just get this stuff for yourself because we all deserve some joy in our lives. Oh, and don’t forget that Thanksgiving metal playlist I made a few years back that you can listen to here. First up, music always makes a great gift but figuring out which specific albums someone wants can be hard ..read more

Local stoner/doom masters Borracho have released their 5th full length album, Blurring the Lines of Reality, and on Saturday, September 9th, they’re holding an album release show at the Runaway in Brookland! DCHM are long time fans of Borracho so I’m excited to be giving away a pair of tickets to the album release show as well as a prize pack that includes some sweet swag like a signed copy of the new album (on your choice of vinyl or CD), a Borracho t-shirt in the size of your choice, a Borracho sticker and high fives from the band! All you’ve got to do to enter is leave a comment on this po ..read more

“Dixie” Dave Collins is bringing his band Weedeater to the Black Cat on Thursday, August 31st! We’re hoping you’re as hungry for those yummy stoner riffs as we are so DCHM is giving away a pair of tickets to this very concert! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite stoner album of all time is (by any band). Master of Reality, Welcome to Sky Valley, Dopesmoker, or even Weedeater’s own Jason… the Dragon, any killer stoner album counts! Then on Monday, August 28th at 5pm Eastern, this contest will close and a winner will be selected from all val ..read more

I just thought I’d let you all know about the kid friendly, all ages, totally free rock concert that I’m putting on at DC Brau brewery on Saturday, July 15th from 2pm to 5pm. I did one of these last year and people seemed to really enjoy it so I’m doing another one this year. Since most rock concerts happen way past bed times it’s a fun chance to bring the kids out to a rock show but these aren’t silly kid bands like Rocknoceros so even if you don’t have kids you can come out to enjoy the tunes. There’s also a Facebook event page I made here that you can invite people to if you want. Here’s t ..read more

Hell in the Harbor Fest really was a hell of a way to spend Memorial Day Weekend. The entire block of Market Street in front of the Baltimore Soundstage was blocked off and fenced in for the festival. The single outdoor stage located on the northbound lane of Market Street faced North with East Pratt Street to its back which lead to lots of pedestrians hanging around gawking and the bands performing there. The event was sold out and it got pretty crowded in the street near the stage when the more popular bands were playing there, especially since some of the food and drink vendors were located ..read more

The inaugural Hell in the Harbor Fest is just days away now (May 27th and 28th) and with tickets almost sold out I figured now would be a great time to give away a pair of weekend passes to the fest. To really sweeten the deal I’ve also got a pair of tickets to the pre-fest party on Friday, May 26th at Baltimore Soundstage that is headlined by Candlemass. But wait there’s more! I’ll also be throwing in a swag bag full of merch (some of which is still to be determined) that the winner will pick up at the fest. That’s right, the winner gets 2 weekend passes, 2 pre-fest passes and a swag bag of ..read more

Alright you primitive screwheads listen up! There’s a new installment of the Evil Dead movies titled Evil Dead Rise coming to theaters on April 21st! As a big fan of the Evil Dead/Army of Darkness franchise myself I’m really excited to be giving away 10 pairs of tickets (for a total of 20 tickets!) to an advance screening of the film this Tuesday, April 18th at the Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. The screening starts at 7pm but you’ve got to be there by 6:40pm to pick up these special advance tickets at will call. In addition, one extra lucky winner will also be getting a prize pack full of ..read more

With shows starting to really come back full swing this spring we’ve seen some new DIY venues in the area popping up, as well as some older venues returning to hosting DIY metal shows. I often hear people telling me they didn’t know certain shows or venues even existed, so hopefully this post will enlighten some of you on some of the places to catch upcoming metal bands play live. Of course you can always check out the handy DCHM calendar (here) for listings of every upcoming metal show in the area from DIY to arena bands. First up this Friday, March 17th, (which is also St. Patrick’s Day) we ..read more

Katatonia is coming all the way from Sweden to play the Black Cat on Wednesday, November 9th, and they’re bringing The Ocean Collective and Cellar Darling with them! Even better, DCHM is giving away a pair of tickets to this very show! All you need to do to enter: is just tell me your favorite band to listen to when you want to get into the Halloween mood. Then on Halloween, Monday October 31st, at 5pm Eastern the winner will be selected from all valid entries using Random.org. Be sure to use a valid email you check regularly when you enter so I can contact you if you win. Don’t worry, I won ..read more

I recently interviewed Andrew Lee, the mastermind behind the death metal band Ripped to Shreds, which aired on the Metal Embassy Radio Show. I also posted the interview portion of the radio show as a podcast so if you missed it you can listen to the interview that way. We talked about the new Ripped to Shreds album 劇變 (Jubian), working with the Japanese band Pharmacist, his solo project Heavy Metal Shrapnel, plus other subjects like what it’s like being an Asian American involved the heavy metal world of the West. Metal Embassy Podcast episode 14: Andrew Lee of Ripped To Shreds https://mcdn.p ..read more