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Arts & Entertainment

Metal May

Baltimore braces for two straight weekends of metal and mayhem.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the rest of this month should best be designated as Metal May.

This Friday Converge is playing at the Ottobar.  The Boston based Converge is one of the few significant hardcore metal bands that have remained active, steadily touring and recording, and more importantly, relevant for the past 21 years.

Part of the reason Converge will more than likely sell out on Friday night, as it frequently does, is its approach to post punk hardcore and metal.

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In case you’ve been living in a monastery or otherwise outside of the post punk and metal world for the last 15 years or so, here’s a brief history of Converge.

Formed in 1990-91 by Jake Bannon, Kurt Ballou, and two other guys who were constantly switched out, their hardcore take on Slayer songs made sure they were never ignored or unnoticed pretty much from their first release.

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Fast forward to the 2001 release of the fan polarizing, yet critically hailed  album Jane Doe, and the formation of Bannon’s successful label, Deathwish, and Converge have gone from innovators of metal to definers of an entire genre of metalcore and math rock.

Think along the lines of Relapse Records without as much nu metal.

Opening for Converge are Trap Them from New Hampshire, Burning Love from Toronto, and Passage Between from Baltimore.

Now I like metal, I’d say more than the average person. I think it’s the guitars. Or maybe the drums. Even so, I’m not a superfan that spends time on message boards dissecting and discussing every new style of metal that’s emerged since Priest disbanded, but seeing Trap Them and Converge together should be a pretty intense experience.

If you leave thirsting for more, then clear out your calendar for the end of May in order to attend the mother of all metal festivals.

Maryland Deathfest IX, one of the largest annual music festivals in Baltimore, will take place next weekend. The event will feature more than 50 metal bands including Coroner and Neurosis. Fans from all over the world are expected to attend. 

Passage Between, the only local band on the bill, is working on its first release now. Show up early to catch them at Ottobar on Friday at 7:30 p.m., or if you run late and miss them, they’ll be playing Frazier’s on the Avenue on Saturday at 9p.m. 

And if metal's not your thing here are some other shows to occupy your time:

  • Sunday at The Wind Up Space, Mondo Baltimore’s 1 year anniversary, 7 p.m.  Joyeaux l’anniversaire, Mondo Baltimore
  • Tuesday at Golden West; The Biters, The Booze, Lazlo Lee and the Motherless Children. 10 pm, $7.
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