Among the countless varieties of bakeries located within the vastness of Orange County, only one has the power to brighten the day for the blackest of souls. Located in a semi-industrial shopping center in Los Alamitos, Dark Craft Desserts specializes in heavy metal themed cookies, brownies, cakes and more, all custom baked to order. Among […]
About Alex Distefano
Sweet and Tender Hooligans Bring Morrissey Magic to Mile Square Park
Ever since there have been massive rock bands on the national level, there have been tribute bands on the local level, to pay an homage to their favorite artists. In Southern California, every single band has a tribute band regardless of genre, or era. However, there is one tribute band which has lasted […]
The Best OC Metal Concerts in August
Aside from the annual summer heat wave, August is always on fire when it comes to concerts and live music events. This month, metal heads and rockers in the region are especially in luck when it comes to hard rock, neo-prog/death metal, splatter thrash, traditional old school heavy metal. Here are the best metal shows this […]
Voices Of Ruin: Anaheim’s Melodic Death Metal Band
Over the past 15 years, a slow, steady swarm of local extreme metal bands have codified the OC/Long Beach music scene, taking things to the next level while still maintaining a tightly knit community. Among the plethora of local thrash, death and black metal bands, one that currently stands out is Anaheim’s melodic death metal band Voices of […]
RIP to the Legendary Metal Roadie ‘Big Rob’
On May 17, 2018, the LA and surrounding Southern California underground extreme metal community lost an instrumental figure, who stayed behind the scenes for every gig but was just as important as any of the band members themselves. Robert Guitierrez, also known as “Big Rob” passed away unexpectedly from natural causes at the age of 49. […]
Could Audio Bar Be OC’s the Next Step in Nightlife Evolution?
With over a dozen years of experience in marketing and event planning local music fan, Vincent Do is bringing his passion for EDM and Hip Hop to the OC with a new concept for a music-themed bar/restaurant known as the Audio Bar. However, this won’t just be your average music oriented dive bar. According to […]
The Best OC Metal Concerts in June
Once again we find ourselves at the beginning of the summer season, and in Southern California, we are not only blessed with great weather, but also the number of metal concerts in the region. June is just the start of the concert and music festival season and if you are a metal head this is […]
SLAYER Rain Supreme One Last Time in Irvine
When it was announced that the thrash metal legends Slayer would officially retire after a final world tour, the band ’s concerts across the country began to sell out, and their OC stop at Irvine’s Five Point Amphitheater on Friday, May 11 was no exception. Despite the overcast rainy weather, and horrible traffic nightmares it inevitably […]
The Best OC Metal Concerts in May
We’re already five months deep into 2018, and as usual, the month of May is always a time when many concerts and tours pass through Southern California. Get ready, as the LA, OC and IE areas are going to be saturated with metal and punk shows, and if you consider the annual Punk Rock Bowling […]
11 LGBT Punk and Metal Artists Who Made An Impact
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 […]
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 […]