Metal and Hardcore

Last Shot: Chemical Warfare

[Editor's Note: Longtime concert photographer and fellow Weekling Andrew Youssef found out almost two years ago that he had Stage IV colon cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events for us on top of other freelance work and holding a day job at a hospital, of all places. As ... More >>

Unlikely Songbird Joey Diaz Gets Up Every Morning and Tweets Random-Ass Music From His iPod

Joey "CoCo" Diaz isn't really the guy you'd expect to go around singing songs in public. But we'll be damned if he doesn't post them on Twitter. Every day, the hefty, foul-mouthed comic wakes up his followers with a blast of noise, whether it's Tool or 2Pac. It's the kind of ritual that proves there ... More >>

Finch Get Fired Up Again

The post-hardcore outfit reunites for the 10th anniversary of their album 'What It Is to Burn'

Paul Banks

Constellation Room

Suicide Silence Singer Mitch Lucker Killed in Motorcycle Crash in Huntington Beach

Mitch Lucker, the lead singer of Suicide Silence, died on Thursday morning after succumbing to injuries from a motorcycle crash on Wednesday in Huntington Beach. He was 28 years-old. According to the Press Enterprise, the Orange County Coroner's office said Lucker was hospitalized after th ... More >>

Converge

Glass House

August Burns Red

House of Blues

Top 10 OC Shows of Summer 2012

The only thing tougher than realizing that yet another summer concert season has come and gone is taking the time to sort all the best moments together an relive them in numerical order. For us, the difficulty of the latter usually means that we got to experience enough slam-dancing, chorus-shouting ... More >>

Iron Maiden - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - 8/9/12

Iron Maiden Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 8/9/12 See Also: *Aerosmith at the Hollywood Bowl *Van Halen at the Honda Center *Quicksand at the Glass House Southern California is a second home for the British based heavy metal legends, Iron Maiden. Their classic live album, Live After Death was recor ... More >>

Lacuna Coil

House of Blues

Michael Schenker

Coach House

Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth: Torn Asunder, But His Destiny is in Sight

​Jon Schaffer is the founder and only original member left in his over-20-year-old band, Iced Earth, but they're stronger now than ever. Iced Earth is hitting the City National Grove of Anaheim tomorrow, (co-headlining with Symphony X) as a part of their World Dystopia Tour. He answers some questi ... More >>

UPDATE: Metallica's Own 2-Day Fest in New Jersey Called Orion; Avenged Sevenfold on the Bill

​Update, Feb. 7, 11:25 a.m.: Metallica is hosting their own music festival on June 23 and 24 at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Called Orion Festival, it's going to be held on the East Coast in an abandoned airport. ("There's water around if there's a fire," the band joked.) The band pic ... More >>

Railroad to Alaska

Tiki Bar

Local Record Review: 'Anna Vexa' by Anna Vexa

​Anna VexaAnna Vexahttp://annavexa.comWe here at Beat Blvd. have been along long enough to know a few truths, and one of them has become clearer with time -- there are always going to be some form of goth/prog/metal bands out there doing something anthemic, sometimes cryptically and sometimes open ... More >>

Metalachi

Slidebar

Vampires Everywhere

Chain Reaction

Prayer: Best Shirt Design Ever

​ I don't know how I feel about thie Qwertee designer coopting the classic Slayer tee and putting the Pope's face on it...it's a parody, sure, and maybe fans would wear it to celebrate its sly irony--but it's more likely that people won't get it and just wear it in earnest!

Dwarves' Blag Dahlia: Ready to Piss On OC, But Not Tea Partiers, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents

J Fischer​Dwarves, legendary punks who intentionally offend those around them -- faking the death of their guitarist, HeWhoCanNotBeNamed, is said to have gotten them dropped from Sub Pop, for instance -- are descending into Orange County for a good ol' fashioned punk show with fellow legends LA ha ... More >>

3hree Things: Major League Baseball Players Have Horrible Taste In Music

Watch out for 3hree Things every Tuesday, where Riley Breckenridge, drummer of Orange County's favorite local alt-rock band Thrice, gives his take on life in Southern California as an OC native. "Durr Durr Hurrka Durr Deeoodle Dee Dooo Hurka Murr Murr Hem Haw Durkle Doo..." -Stapp​Major ... More >>

Road Trip Soundtrack Recommendations

Here's a gratuitous road trip photo, care of whatsisface...​Summer means barbecues, beaches, sleeping in and wearing next to nothing, but the best part of the season is the annual road trip (although, seeing people wearing next to nothing is a close second) taken by many across the vast country of ... More >>

Deftones

Fox Pomona Theater

Memorial Day Metal: Free Sampler from Victory Records

​If you're looking for a thunderous soundtrack for the Memorial Day barbecue scene, check out the Victory Records Facebook page for a free 13-track sampler available through Monday.    The highlights are "Unravel" from Cleveland's Ringworm, and "Firefight" from Blackguard's newest releas ... More >>

Aska Kask

diPiazza's

Adam Gadahn's Background: Loves Death Metal

​[via The Stranger]In "Al Qaeda's Up-And-Comers", Newsweek named the Al Qaeda Hydra--the eight people most likely to succeed Osama bin Laden--with OC's Adam Gadahn on the list. The article says that 32-year-old goat boy Gadahn, who converted t ... More >>

The Eyesores

The Doll Hut

Avenged Sevenfold Names Arin Ilejay as New Drummer

Avenged Sevenfold in 2007.​Huntington Beach-based Avenged Sevenfold suffered a loss in December 2009 when drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan passed away at age 28. Now, just a little over a year later, Avenged Sevenfold has named Arin Ilejay (formerly of the now defunct "metalcore" band Confide) as ... More >>

Ill Repute

Alex's Bar

Senses Fail

House of Blues

Assuming We Survive

Slide Bar

Five Reasons To Watch Queensryche Cabaret Tomorrow

www.queensryche.com​So, yeah, no one has joined our ticket giveaway for tomorrow's Queensryche cabaret show at the Grove.  Which is a TOTAL MISTAKE because it will be filled with vestiges of glam rock, acrobats, contortionists and semi-nude women shimmying to "Silent Lucidity."In a conversati ... More >>

Benefit Shows for Eagles of Death Metal's Brian O'Connor

Flickr user SydigillBrian O'Connor playing with the Eagles of Death Metal at the Commodore Ballroom in 2009​Eagles of Death Metal bassist Brian O'Connor has been diagnosed with cancer, and is undergoing surgery in LA today. He'll begin chemotherapy in three weeks, and because he doesn't have heal ... More >>

Cause Of Death Revealed: Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Died of Accidental Overdose

​[via Rolling Stone] Orange County Deputy Coroner Mitchell Sigal confirmed today that Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan died on December 28, 2009 from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol. The toxicology report said Sullivan suffered "acute polydrug intoxica ... More >>

Sweethead: Blood And Rockets

Guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen brings the reckless abandon he showed in Queens of the Stone Age to his new band

Q&A: Atreyu Drummer Brandon Saller on New Solo Project, His Pal James Sullivan

Brandon Saller has spent the past decade-plus drumming, co-writing and singing backup vocals for Atreyu. The Orange County metalcore band's string of hit singles--"Ex's and Oh's" (2006), "Becoming the Bull" ('07), "Falling Down" ('08) and "Storm To Pass," off Areyu's latest album Congregation of t ... More >>

Avenged Sevenfold Drummer Found Dead in Huntington Beach

​Sadly already time to add another one to the 2009 death list: Avenged Sevenfold drummer James Owen Sullivan was found dead earlier today in his Huntington Beach home. Sullivan, better known to fans as the Rev, was 28.According to the OC Register, Sullivan seems to have passed away due to natural ... More >>

Last Night: Metallica At Honda Center, Anaheim

Andrew Youssef​Click For More Of Andrew's Killer Pics of Metallica. Click For Fan Shots.The Hype: After establishing themselves as thrash gods in the 1980s, Metallica became mainstream rock stars with their excellently accessible self-titled 1991 album. The band then proceeded to pretty much suck ... More >>

Metallica

Honda Center

Sublime Reunion Part Deux

​Bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh are hitting the stage as Sublime, just like they did in February. But unlike the previous gig, held at some tiny Mexican restaurant in a Nevada town no one's ever heard of, this show is actually pretty big.It's part of Cypress Hill's Smokeout, a gathering ... More >>

Layne Staley...Back From the Dead?????

There's a new Alice in Chains song floating around the Intranets. Depending on what sort of music fan you are, you either A. think it's awesome that new singer William DuVall sounds eerily similar to the late Layne Staley or B. you think it's never a good idea for bands to replace dead members with ... More >>

Warrant

The Galaxy Concert Theatre

Incoming: D12, Jedi Mind Tricks, Children of Bodom at the Glass House--Plus Free Warped Tour Pre-Party Tonight!

A lot of things have changed since that publicity photo of D12 was taken--most notably, the death of group member Proof in 2006, not long after finally hitting the mainstream with the goofy-fun video for "My Band." But the hip-hop crew consisting of Eminem and his long-time pals from Detroit--surviv ... More >>

Trying to Make Sense of the OC Music Awards Nominees

Everyone I've talked to about the OC Music Awards nominee list, released yesterday, seems to have the same reaction: Huh? Why are young, unsigned bands like The Jakes competing against veteran, internationally known acts like The Offspring, who had Billboard's #1 Hot Modern Rock Track for 11 weeks l ... More >>

What You Missed Over The Weekend Part XXIII

This weekend Gustavo Arellano sharpened his writing pen and wrote a post calling-out historian Chris Jepsen for not referencing his pieces on a historical blog. Alex Brant-Zawadzki reported (again) on the continuing construction cost climb on estimates for the 241 Toll Road through Tressles. Been ... More >>

LA Times: Galaxy Theatre to close

The LA Times is reporting, via their Buzz Bands blog (monitored by the fabulous Mr. Kevin Bronson), that the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana will shut it's doors forever in two weeks. Set to take its place, according to the LAT: a 25,000-square-foot club called RevolveR, which will "cater to upscale clu ... More >>

The 100 Most Important OC Musicians of All Time

DJ Nobody: Twice as important as most OC musicians. Orange County has been a fertile breeding ground for musicians of many stripes since the beginning of electricity. We at Heard Mentality would like to ask you—the good-looking, intelligent readers of this blog—for your opinions on this impor ... More >>

A Rivers Runs Through It

Ska-brones!

Viernes 13 are the vanguards of a new Latino musical rebellion