This weekend, Maryland doom metal godfathers Iron Man travel to upstate New York and then Ottawa, Ontario for their first-ever Canadian gig. Friday night finds them at The Downtown Quarterback in Endicott, NY and Saturday, they will share the stage with Blood Ceremony for the All That is Heavy II festival at Mavericks.
The current lineup for Iron Man includes Alfred Morris III, who has lead the band for more than 20 years, bassist Louis Strachan who joined in 2007, vocalist Dee Calhoun who joined in 2010 and drummer Jason "Mot" Waldmann, who started playing with the band officially in January 2012. Waldmann also took the drum throne during the group's last performance of 2011 on November 5 when the group played a benefit show with many area doomsters and the legendary Pentagram.
"It is a great honor to be invited to play the All That's Heavy festival," said Morris. "Iron Man has never played in Canada! It will be so much fun to see all of our fans. They probably thought they would never get the chance to see us, but the wait is finally over!"
Vocalist "Screaming Mad" Dee Calhoun echoed Morris' enthusiasm about the group's first show for our neighbors to the north.
"Speaking on behalf of the band, it's always a thrill to be asked to play a show like this, with so many other great bands. Speaking for myself, I'm beside myself, as this will be my first show that's not on U.S. soil. This is the realization of a dream for me," Calhoun said.
Canadian radio show host and promoter Derek Bradshaw seemed almost as excited about the festival as the iron men were. A huge Iron Man fan, he and his wife Jenn host the show Crossing Boredom on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa.
"I thought that the only way I would ever see Iron Man was to buy a plane ticket and make a trip somewhere they were playing in the U.S." said Bradshaw. "Unbelievably, almost one year later, after getting up enough money together to fly to Las Vegas to see Iron Man, here they are travelling to Ottawa Canada only 30 minutes from my house! We are so lucky, because this is Iron Man’s only Canadian date!"
Bradshaw is also impressed with caliper of performers arranged for the All That Is Heavy II festival.
"We have such an excellent line up this year for All That Is Heavy II. Local (Ottawa) bands Loviatar and Monobrow begin the night. Then it’s Revelation (Baltimore, MD), Blizaro (Rochester, NY), Iron Man (Baltimore, MD) and we finished off the evening with Canada’s powerhouse Blood Ceremony," Bradshaw said.
Tickets to All That is Heavy II can be purchased at the door for $20 or $15 in advance from Vertigo Records, Birdman Records or The Record Shaap.
Friday night's show at The Downtown Quarterback features rock/alternative band Mobday (Endicott, NY) and Break of Aggression (also of Endicott), who describe themselves as Southern Metal. $5 at the door.
The current lineup for Iron Man includes Alfred Morris III, who has lead the band for more than 20 years, bassist Louis Strachan who joined in 2007, vocalist Dee Calhoun who joined in 2010 and drummer Jason "Mot" Waldmann, who started playing with the band officially in January 2012. Waldmann also took the drum throne during the group's last performance of 2011 on November 5 when the group played a benefit show with many area doomsters and the legendary Pentagram.
"It is a great honor to be invited to play the All That's Heavy festival," said Morris. "Iron Man has never played in Canada! It will be so much fun to see all of our fans. They probably thought they would never get the chance to see us, but the wait is finally over!"
Vocalist "Screaming Mad" Dee Calhoun echoed Morris' enthusiasm about the group's first show for our neighbors to the north.
"Speaking on behalf of the band, it's always a thrill to be asked to play a show like this, with so many other great bands. Speaking for myself, I'm beside myself, as this will be my first show that's not on U.S. soil. This is the realization of a dream for me," Calhoun said.
Canadian radio show host and promoter Derek Bradshaw seemed almost as excited about the festival as the iron men were. A huge Iron Man fan, he and his wife Jenn host the show Crossing Boredom on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa.
"I thought that the only way I would ever see Iron Man was to buy a plane ticket and make a trip somewhere they were playing in the U.S." said Bradshaw. "Unbelievably, almost one year later, after getting up enough money together to fly to Las Vegas to see Iron Man, here they are travelling to Ottawa Canada only 30 minutes from my house! We are so lucky, because this is Iron Man’s only Canadian date!"
"We have such an excellent line up this year for All That Is Heavy II. Local (Ottawa) bands Loviatar and Monobrow begin the night. Then it’s Revelation (Baltimore, MD), Blizaro (Rochester, NY), Iron Man (Baltimore, MD) and we finished off the evening with Canada’s powerhouse Blood Ceremony," Bradshaw said.
Tickets to All That is Heavy II can be purchased at the door for $20 or $15 in advance from Vertigo Records, Birdman Records or The Record Shaap.
Friday night's show at The Downtown Quarterback features rock/alternative band Mobday (Endicott, NY) and Break of Aggression (also of Endicott), who describe themselves as Southern Metal. $5 at the door.
