New York Rock and Metal Club Blackthorn 51 Closes its Doors Due to the Pandemic


In a move echoed by countless small clubs all around the work catering to rock and metal, Blackthorn 51 has closed its doors at it’s former Queens location permanently. The management of the club cited the closures over the COVID-19 pandemic, and no ability to become profitable at anything less than 100% capacity. They have not ruled out returning to a new location in several years if conditions in the word reverse to their previous levels for shows. Ghost Cult covered many shows and held several interviews at the venue over the years including Doyle of The Misfits and Narcotic Wasteland. Blackthorn 51 represented the history of two legendary old-school clubs: The Blackthorn and Castle Heights. Continue reading


Dallas Toler-Wade Of Narcotic Wasteland Talks Touring, New Music, And Metal Gods


Narcotic Wasteland released their second album in 2017, and it is a death metal gem. Their frontman is none other than Dallas Toler-Wade, late of the band Nile where he put his distinctive musical, and lyrical stamp on the band. Now that he is directing his full attention to Narcotic Wasteland, the band has hit the road in support of Delirium Tremens (Megaforce) for their first headline tour of the US. The band stopped off at Blackthorn 51 in Queens, New York where Ghost Cult caught up with the band and Dallas chatted about many topics. Interview by Keefy with video and live photos by Omar Cordy/OJC Photography. Continue reading


Doro: Live at Blackthorn 51, Queens New York


doro-february-march-2016-tour-promo-flyer-ghostcultmag

Even after thirty-plus years of being a metal lifer, Doro Pesch still displays a youthful glow and attitude in every song she and her band performs. If you didn’t know what year it was, you wouldn’t be able to tel from her voice. Doro is one of the strongest vocalists in a live setting. She’s damn near timeless. With a 20 song mix spanning her entire career from Warlock to more recent songs, they are a high-energy outfit.

Right from the start, they hit you with classic Warlock songs ‘Earthshaker Rock’, the mega sing-along ‘Burning the Witches’ and ‘I Rule the Ruins’. There was very little room for rest as they went into newer songs like ‘Raise Your Fist in the Air’. Nearly every album Doro sang on was covered in this thunderous set list.

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

 

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Doro took a moment to mention her dearly departed friend and rock and roll legend Lemmy (If I have to tell you who he is, than you shouldn’t be reading this). She dedicated the night and song ‘Without You’ in his honor. You could really feel the emotions resonating from the stage on this one. It was truly a powerful moment. To help bring the energy back up, long time drummer Johnny Dee dazzled the audience with a killer drum solo. Then both guitarists, Luca Princitto and Bas Maas traded their axes in for keyboards on ‘Fuer Immer’. Fellow tour mates Madame Mayhem joined the band onstage for the Warlock über fan favorite, ‘All We Are’. Of course just about everyone in the place also joined in singing this metal anthem.

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Doro, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Closing out the show, they went with the Judas Priest classic, ‘Breaking the Law’ and ‘Love Me in Black’. Seeing Doro live isn’t just a metal history lesson, it’s a right of passage.

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WORDS AND PICTURES BY OMAR CORDY

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On The Road… with Karyn Crisis – The Gospel Of The Witches


Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

On a hot summer night in New York City; Queens to be exact saw the mighty return of the one and only Karyn Crisis. She didn’t really go away anywhere, as she has continued to work and create music for years, if somewhat under the radar. While the denizens of The Big Apple might recall the death wail that was her voice at the front woman/force of nature at the helm of death metal legends Crisis in the 90s, Karyn’s new project is no less deadly, yet in different ways. The Gospel of The Witches is a different kind of brutality, one with all the shades of her soul on display. Several years in the making, The Gospel of the Witches’ album Salem’s Wounds (Century Media) seemed destined to be made by Karyn and her partner Davide Tiso (Ephel Duath). Joining them for this live performance were Ross Dolan (Immolation) Bob Vigna (Immolation), Charlie Schmid (Tombs) and Larry Burns on sound. The crowd at Blackthorn 51 was enraptured by Karyn et all and their rituals, as captured here by photography Omar Cordy for Ghost Cult.

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

Gospel of the Witches, by Omar Cordy/OJC Pics

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