This review is a little late. Sorry. I’ve got another one sitting and waiting in the wings, that will hopefully be up shortly.

Wooly Mammoth doesn’t play nearly enough shows in the area. The DC-hailing rockers come up here once a month during a good stretch; and part of that is due to their self-imposed sabbatical starting late 2007.

Since then, they’ve emerged for a few scant shows in DC.  I’ve had their debut LP The Temporary Nature in intermittent rotation since I first got my hands on it over a year ago, and the moon and stars had yet to align and allow me to experience them live.

Their performance at the Talking Head June 23 was to be my first exposure and I had high expectations.  A number of things conspired to prevent these from being met.

The first was the abysmal attendance.  By all indications only a few dozen people showed up and stuck around for Wooly Mammoth’s set.  And that’s being optimistic.

Secondly, half the crowd were either friends, acquaintances or other band members.  This does not bode well…

Read the rest…

Dream Theater – Fatal Tragedy

Dream Theater – Master of Puppets (Metallica Cover)

Darkest Hour – The Sadist Nation

Wooly Mammoth – Head Full of Collision

Mastodon – I am Ahab

Isn’t that heavy metal image hilarious?

The first two tracks come from progressive metal standard-bearers Dream Theater. Almost all of them students from the Berklee school, their instrumental prowess is awe-inspiring. Fatal Tragedy comes from their prog opus/concept album, 1999′s Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory while the second track is a cover of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” For a previous tour, Dream Theater played several “Evening with…” format shows where they played seminal albums from rock history, namely Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Metallica’s Master of Puppets, in their entirety.

DC locals follow with the bands Darkest Hour (lead track from their ridiculously good LP Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation) and Woolly Mammoth (channeling some classic metal ala Sabbath and a load of blues-inspired rock). Mastodon rounds out your 4-for set. Enjoy!