California Deathfest Archives

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST 2016 (DAY THREE)

Oct 182016

Monday morning, Oakland waterfront

This wraps up our coverage of the second installment of CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST, which took place from October 14-16, 2016, in Oakland, California. As was true of my posts on Day One and Day Two, I haven’t written fulsome reviews of the performances I saw on the final day, though this time I have included a few more impressions than in the earlier installments — but I’ve once again included photos and videos I made using my iPhone.

Yes, this is a half-assed way to document a festival compared to what you will probably see from a few of the more well-healed metal publications out there who employed professional photographers and videographers. However, because “Half-Assed” is in fact my middle name, I’m being true to myself. Continue reading »

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST 2016 (DAY TWO)

Concert Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 162016

I started this Sunday morning in Oakland earlier than I would have liked, but it had its compensations. Grabbing coffee and my smokes, I sat for nearly an hour along the Oakland waterfront enjoying the peacefulness of it, with no one else around except a hopeful seagull and a swooping flock of starlings.

Yesterday was not peaceful, but it was electrifying. It was the second day of this year’s edition of California Deathfest. Between a late lunch, a dinner break, and my inability to physically make it to the bitter end, I only caught about two-thirds of the 12 bands on the line-up. And as was true of yesterday’s write-up on Day One, I’m not going to take the time to write reviews of the performances. Instead, here’s what I’ve done: Continue reading »

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST 2016 (PART 1)

Concert Reviews 1 Response »

Oct 152016

I’m in Oakland, California, this weekend for the second edition of California Deathfest, which began yesterday afternoon (Friday, October 14, 2016) and continues through Sunday. The photo above captures one of the sights that greeted me this morning a few steps from our waterfront hotel. I’m here with my NCS comrades DGR and BadWolf and some other good Seattle friends, enjoying some mild and occasionally drizzly weather while Seattle is getting beat to hell by a weekend windstorm. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Usually when I go to metal festivals I take lots of photos (and more recently videos) and try to write up reports on the performances for the site. This time, before leaving for Oakland, I decided not to do that. I decided I would just devote myself to watching the sets and talking with people and not worry about “work” for NCS. So far I’ve mostly kept to that resolution — but not entirely. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ROTTING CHRIST, RAGNAROK, CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST, DECAPITATED, CHARM DESIGNER

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 6 Responses »

Dec 102015

The end of the year is fast approaching, but the freight train of metal isn’t slowing down. Here are just a few of the things that caught my eyes and ears over the last 24 hours, sifted from my scanning of the NCS in-box and my daily dive into the interhole.

ROTTING CHRIST

I’ve probably mentioned somewhere in the dim mists of the past that Rotting Christ were the band whose music first convinced me that I needed to learn more about black metal — my first step along a musical left hand path from which I’ve never turned back. The following announcement, received yesterday, was thus an especially exciting piece of news:

On February 12, Season of Mist will release Rotting Christ’s twelfth studio album, Rituals. In addition, Stereokiller premiered the album’s first advance track, “Elthes Kyrie“, in the U.S. (it also appeared at many other sites around the world). Continue reading »

FEST-IVITIES: CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST 2016, UNCONQUERED DARKNESS FEST, NIDROSIAN BLACK MASS V, NORTH DISSONANT VOICES

Metal News 5 Responses »

Dec 012015

Over the last 24 hours I spotted some announcements about some unholy festivals that I thought were worth passing along:

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST 2016

They probably still haven’t finished cleaning up the Oakland Metro after the inaugural edition of the California Deathfest in October (which I scribbled about in these posts), and now CDF has already announced the initial list of bands for the follow-up installment of the festival on October 14-16, 2016 — and it’s a damned fine beginning. Take a look: Continue reading »

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST MMXV (DAY TWO)

Concert Reviews 10 Responses »

Oct 142015

From last Friday through Sunday, October 9-11, 2015, I and two of my NCS comrades (DGR and BadWolf) attended the inaugural edition of California Deathfest in Oakland, CA, brought to us by the same good people responsible for the long-running Maryland Deathfest.

On Saturday morning I managed to scribble some notes and pull together a few photos from the first day of the festival (here). Though delayed for various reasons, this post will now focus on Saturday’s show, and before this week runs out I hope to prepare a feature on Sunday’s third and final day of the event. Continue reading »

MY EXCUSE (PART 2): CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST MMXV

Uncategorized 20 Responses »

Oct 112015

I’ve failed. This makes the seventh day in nearly 6 years, weekend and holidays and inclement weather included, when I haven’t been able to post something of substance. I blame California Deathfest, and my inability to spend the hours before the next night preparing something for our putrid blog.

I have photos and lots of thoughts about the bands I saw on Saturday night, but that will have to wait until Monday. All I’ll say for now is that the photo above is a hint about the band whose Saturday set, for my tastes, was the best of the day. But it was a very, very close call, because it was a very strong night of metal, which included these people: Continue reading »

MY EXCUSE: CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST MMXV

Metal News 7 Responses »

Oct 102015

Don’t worry, I was just walking past that place last night with some friends rather than actually being escorted inside by some of Oakland’s finest. But it’s true that I’m in Oakland, attending the inaugural installment of California Deathfest, and so far it’s been a good time. It’s also the reason we won’t have much content on the site this weekend.

Yesterday, I rendezvoused with my NCS comrades DGR and BadWolf around mid-afternoon in Oakland. We took a stroll around Jack London Square on the waterfront under glorious blue skies, and then parked ourselves for a late lunch (where we were joined by a couple of other metalheads) and what became 2-3 hours of drinking. Willpower is not our strong suit. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST, ALKALOID, THULCANDRA, MANILLA ROAD, WERESQUATCH, AND A VIKING CHANT

Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Dec 132014

Happy hangover day, aka Saturday. I myself do not have a hangover, though not for lack of trying to sew the seeds for one last night. I can’t really explain the good fortune, but I’ll take it. Having a relatively clear head this morning, I did a bit of catching up on metal news and song premieres and randomly selected the following items for your entertainment and edification. Most of these items include eye-catching artwork, too.

CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST

This first piece of news sure caught me by surprise yesterday. It appears that the organizers of the Maryland Deathfest have decided to franchise their operation. They’ve announced a three-day event named California Deathfest that will take place from October 9-11, 2015, at the Oakland Metro Operahouse in Oakland, California. The show on Friday, October 9, will feature grind, punk, and hardcore bands, and the shows on October 10 and 11 will feature death, black, and doom metal bands.

Unlike MDF, there will only be one stage, in a club setting, though if this first California Deathfest proves to be a success I’m guessing it will grow — and given the stellar line-up for this debut event, it will surely succeed. Continue reading »