This Little Underground

LOCAL RELEASES

That’s it, Q-Burns Abstract Message is officially dead. Oh, Michael Donaldson — the mind behind the iconic act that was one of the most accomplished, respected and, up until now, enduring names to emerge from the belle epoque of Orlando’s storied 1990s dance music scene — is still alive. He’s just closing the illustrious Q-BAM chapter of his career.

The good news is that he’s just opened a brand-new one with a fresh release under the moniker Grottoes. Debut single “Straw Belle” — released on Donaldson’s own 8-D Industries label and now streaming everywhere — plumbs waters even more abstract than his longtime former namesake.

If “Straw Belle” is any bellwether, Donaldson’s no longer shooting to move you. He’s looking to immerse you. This first taste of his new post-dance electronic music crafts judiciously detailed atmosphere with dynamics that are, in turns, glacial and dramatic. It’s a sound that’s actually more in line with the experimental electronic music currently being put out by his label.

Even as the more floor-minded Q-BAM, Donaldson was always cerebral and forward-looking. Now, as Grottoes, he’s liberated from the genre and staking an artistic claim beyond DJ culture.

With the just-released Relics of the Dead, Orlando death-doom band Druid Lord are clawing their way out of the crypt with their first new album in two years. On their second record on Midwestern metal label Hells Headbangers, these disciples of darkness offer up another full-length serving of macabre metal that keeps it ominous.

In subject, imagery and style, Druid Lord are all in on the death fetish. With its hell-bound riffs, incantatory growls and spell-conjuring guitar solos, Relics of the Dead is the rock soundtrack for a blood ceremony. It’s a lurid vision of extreme teenage imagination, only manifested with adult intensity. Unlike their traditional deathmetal contemporaries, Druid Lord’s horror fantasy is less about simply banging your head than it is about creeping into your very soul.

Relics of the Dead is streaming everywhere but is available for digital download on Bandcamp for, naturally, $6.66.

BY BAO LE-HUU

MICHAEL DONALDSON | PHOTO COURTESY THE ARTIST

Q-Burns Abstract Message is now dead. Don’t get it twisted, Michael Donaldson — the mind behind the iconic act — is still alive. He’s just closing the Q-BAM chapter of his unique career

CONCERT PICKS THIS WEEK

Omicron don’t give a shit about your plans so definitely double-check the latest listings for anything you’ve got planned. And mask hard if you head out.

The Kernal, Jordan Foley & the

Wheelhouse: The son of longtime Grand Ole Opry bassist Charlie Garner, Tennessee’s Joe Garner laces his country music with a subversive sensibility under the name the Kernal. Though his music echoes the classic sounds he was brought up around, his lyrics are unmistakably current and could only come from his iconoclastic mind. Excellent Orlando country-rockers Jordan Foley & the Wheelhouse open. (8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, Tuffy’s Music Box, $12 general admission or $40 table for two/$80 table for four)

Zeta, Andy the Doorbum, Felicity,

0 MPH, Fingerstipes: The last time Zeta and Andy the Doorbum came together in Orlando, they both stunned as part of a legendary bill for Zeta’s album release show at Soundbar in the final months B.C. (Before Covid). Florida-based Venezuelan transplants Zeta have been electrifying the scene with the dynamism and color of their wildly progressive and distinctly Latin punk rock. And Andy the Doorbum is an absolute original whose darkly experimental folk and intense theatricality make for a transfixing live experience. (5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, The Abbey, $15)

Prof, Mac Turner, Tae Supreme, Willie

Wonka: In the age of hip-hop’s mainstreaming, and the decline that entails, it’s heartening to know that the art form still has truly fresh voices and ideas. And Minneapolis indie rapper Prof is one of those weird-ass wonders that shines from outside the box with his oddball swag. For his G League Tour, he’s bringing an allMinneapolis crew. (7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, The Social, $20)

Thelma and the Sleaze, Body Shop,

Kaleigh Baker: The raw rock & roll of Nashville’s Thelma and the Sleaze is steeped deep in old-fashioned dirt and attitude. Their boss-ass-bitch perspective, though? That’s now AF. Body Shop and Kaleigh Baker will provide well-rounded and legit local support. (8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, Will’s Pub, $12-$15)

34 ORLANDO WEEKLY ● FEB. 2-8, 2022 ● orlandoweekly.com

orlandoweekly.com ● FEB. 2-8, 2022 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY 35