20 Maryland Bands You Ought to Know

Radamanthys support! (Photo by Mary Spiro)

I am feeling pretty lazy today what with it being the end of the year and I am on vacation and not feeling 100 % metal for the last five weeks. However, I thought it would be a good thing to encourage you to get out there in 2013 and check out some of the talent we have here in the merry metal state of Maryland. Oh, I know it’s not all metal, but still, it should be.

I was going to write a nice little description of each band, you know, talk about the members and where they are from and what style they play. But again >lazy< so instead, I gave each group a semi-descriptive, sometimes sarcastic, categorization. I figure you can just click the link and check them out your own damn self. You will probably hate them.

But if you don’t hate them, go see these groups live because there really is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you did something to support your local music scene. Well maybe a nice plate of spaghetti is also satisfying. I think it’s lunch time.

Anyway, give a listen and give me some feedback. There are only 20 bands on this list, but there are many more groups out there. These are just some of the ones I saw and/or listened to this year that left an impression. Or in case of some of the live shows, they left a bruise.

1. We Lost the Map and are Now Being Threatened by Blackened Western Maryland Goatmen: Wolfnuke

2. Teased-up Blackened Death Thrash with Sunglasses Inside At Night: Extermination Angel 

3. The Band Formerly Known as Alhazred That Still Plays Technical Death Metal: Existentium

4. Completely (Un)Intentionally Instrumental: Balor’s Eye

5. Sir, You are a Scholar and A Gentleman: Radamanthys

6. I Can’t Believe Adam Jarvis Could Play This Slowly: Asthma Castle

7. Indie/Alterna-Rock Something-er-other That Mother Might Not Approve Of: On Standby 

8. Psyche-Doomy/Experimentally/ Jazz Rock That’s Way Too Cool For You: Whoarfrost

9. Too Young to Use Their Free Drink Tickets: Necropsy

10. Sludge Was Never Meant to Be This Hardcore: Sloth Herder

11. I’m Going to Slit My Wrists. No Wait. I’m Fine: Barbelith

12. Post Rock Sludge with That Fat (b)Ass: At The Graves 

13. Whee! I Took Too Much Meth: Witchhat

14. Our Beards Are Way Better Than Your Last Boyfriend’s: Arbouretum

15. All Death? No, just...: Part Death

16. We Like (the) Melvins and We Also Have Two Drummers: Heaviness of the Load

17. Robots, Aliens, Vikings and A Shared Fez: Admiral Browning 

18. Don’t Make Me Try to Explain This Djent Thing to You Again: To The Ark 

19. Somebody Get This Heavy Metal Up Off of Me, It’s Crushing My Soul!: Butcher’s Hill 

20. I am Married to the Drummer, But Don’t Let That Influence You: Iron Man