If there’s at least one positive thing we’ve learned in the ongoing chaotic aftermath of the Trump administration, it’s that as a modern civilized society, we can’t take things like diversity and inclusion for granted. When it comes to musical genres like punk rock and heavy metal, one should keep in mind that there have […]
About Alex Distefano
Jonathan Davis’ Dark Solo Project Gets a Moment in the Sun at Belasco Theater
As this weekend marked the beginning of the Coachella music festival in Indio, there were still a considerable amount of local concerts happening that many still found worth attending. This was the case at the Belasco Theater in Downtown LA, as frontman from nu metal rock super superstar band Korn, Jonathan Davis performed a special […]
Ministry’s Al Jourgensen is Done Playing With Our Puppet President
When Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States in 2017, Al Jorgensen felt the immediate need to make another Ministry album. The pioneering musician in the worlds of industrial and heavy metal music has been in the music business for over three decades, as his sound has evolved from synth-pop electronic […]
The Grindmother Gets Better (And More Brutal) With Age
Most metal heads will tell you from personal experience that extreme metal isn’t family friendly music. Whether it’s black metal, death metal, thrash or grindcore, this music will not be enjoyed or appreciated by your grandparents. Unless of course, you’re talking about the Grindmother, a Canadian grindcore metal group of the same name, fronted by the […]
Scott Ian of Anthrax Remembers The Band’s Craziest West Coast Gig
Since forming the seminal heavy metal band, Anthrax in New York in the early ’80s, guitarist Scott Ian has been a vocal presence and ambassador for thrash metal going on 35 years. Ian not only formed a band that would contribute to the bible of thrash metal, but managed to keep Anthrax alive, despite turbulent times […]
Santa Ana Noise Fest Ends 2017 With a Bang
There’s no shortage of music festivals dedicated to indie rock, reggae, punk, metal, hip-hop, country and even ’80s-flashback acts. But for nearly a decade, only one festival in Orange County has been geared 100 percent toward bands that thrive on dissonance, primordial sludge, atmospheric bliss and the genre-defying sounds of the aural arts. And on […]
The 20 Best Metal Albums of 2017
Despite all the negativity and division, we have endured one constant positive aspect to 2017; all the great heavy metal music being released. When the shit hits the fan in the rest of the world, headbangers can at least be thankful for the endless array of new music that came out this year. We now […]
Holy Grail Bring Old-School Metal to OC With the Dead of Winter Festival
It’s been nearly a decade since the LA-based heavy metal band Holy Grail entered the picture, and since day one the band has been hard at work shredding across the metal scene locally to embark on national and even international tours with everyone from Exodus and Anthrax to Blind Guardian and Dragonforce. The band has […]
Ozzfest Meets Knotfest Rages Hard Enough to Stave Off the Rain
Ozzfest Meets Knotfest Glen Helen Amphitheater 11/4-5/2017 Even though the weather forecasts predicted rain, it was never more than overcast the entire weekend for this year’s special installment of the Ozzfest meets Knotfest in San Bernardino at the San Manuel Amphitheater. By 11:30 am the three side stages were cracking, with thousands already catching the […]
The Must-See Opening Acts of Ozzfest Meets Knotfest 2017
Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest firs hit in San Bernardino in 1996. Since then, the tour has become a namesake of the summer touring season, featuring some of the biggest names in heavy metal music and even branching out internationally. Twenty-one years later, Ozzy will bring back this celebration to where it all began, as his Ozzfest […]
The Best Metal Halloween Costumes
Halloween is that one night of the year where being a freak is not only accepted it’s encouraged, especially among adults. Whether you are into masks, makeup, dressing up flashy, trying to be sexy /flamboyant, or you want to be soaked in gore and zombified, there are endless options and categories to chose from when […]
The Best OC Metal Shows in October
Only three more months left in 2017, and we all know that despite the constant influx of metal shows we are used to year-round, October doesn’t disappoint in regards to live music, and heavy metal is at the top of our list. Halloween awaits us in less than a month, so in preparation for the […]
The Best OC Metal Concerts in September
Just because the Summer season is coming to an end, it doesn’t mean things will slow down when it comes to all the metal shows the OC is used to. To the contrary, the Fall season brings with it a plethora of shows, making sure the region will be saturated with metal concerts, from club […]
Metal Blade Celebrates 35 Years of Making Music That Refuses to Rust
If you’ve bought a metal album any time in the past three-plus decades, there’s a good chance you’ve had your eardrums shredded by Metal Blade Records. The global music outlet for all things heavy started in 1982 as a tiny passion project by founder Brian Slagel in Agoura Hills. The young Southern Californian developed that […]
Dead Cross Comes Out Swinging at the Observatory
Dead Cross The Observatory 8/10/2017 After at least a year’s worth of buzz and anticipation, Dead Cross made its live debut to a packed house at the Observatory on Thursday night, giving fans a taste of the inner frustration and anger that fueled the music- a potent mix of caustic hardcore punk and thrash with […]
Gojira Brought a Monster Crowd to the House of Blues Anaheim
Gojira House of Blues Anaheim 8/5/2017 The massive amount of people stuffed into the House of Blues in Anaheim for Saturday night’s performance by French heavy metal band Gojira was impressive, considering that evening in Southern California there were many other competing concerts, including several high profile punk, metal, industrial and even hip-hop events. Despite […]
Metal Musicians Talk About How to Tour Safely While Traveling Abroad
As much as musicians love to romanticize the idea of playing shows abroad, the hazardous realities of being in a foreign country should never be ignored just because you’re in a band on tour. Earlier this month New York hardcore band Pro-Pain’s vocalist Gary Meskil was brutally beaten and robbed while on tour in Europe. […]
Punk Invasion 2K17 Turns Observatory into a Slam Pit Paradise
Punk Invasion The Observatory 7/30/2017 As tens of thousands flocked to see Metallica at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday night, a slightly smaller crowd of rabid fans invaded the Observatory in Santa Ana for the 2017 Punk Invasion festival, a multi stage all day event, that featured bands like Peter DFL, Lower Class […]
Lord Dying Bring a Taste of the Portland Metal Scene to Costa Mesa
Portland, Oregon’s purveyors of demented doom inspired heavy metal, Lord Dying are playing only three exclusive Southern California shows, for several months, as the band keeps chugging away at its third yet to be released album. One of these intimate gigs is at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, on Friday, followed by a show […]
The Best OC Metal Shows in July
July in Southern California usually means sweltering temperatures, longer days, and of course the endless amounts of metal shows, including many local, regional and national tours hitting the OC and surrounding areas. So whether you want to dive bar it up for some local extreme metal for less than 100 people, or rock out with […]
Iced Earth Hosts Listening Party With Affliction For New Album Incorruptible
Acclaimed American heavy metal band Iced Earth celebrated the release of the band’s new album, Incorruptible on Wednesday night in Seal Beach, at the Affliction headquarters, where a record release party was hosted by Jose Mangin DJ of Sirius XM Liquid Metal. With a crowd of roughly 100 people, fans were given a sneak peak […]
