When I heard Rex Brown’s Southern twang on my phone, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview all the other surviving former members of Pantera, and Brown was the last in line. I wanted to know about his recently released Pantera memoir — Official Truth:…

The Devil Wears Prada excels at dark, blanketing instrumentals that sweep from brutal crowd-moshing breakdowns and atmospheric bridges to intricate riffing and uplifting melodics that reflect their collective faith. When you throw in commanding roars and unflinching, post-hardcore vocals, it paints a picture of how the band bridges the gap…

Megadeth is such a strong act that it needs little introduction. One of the underground metal groups of the ’80s who achieved lasting commercial success, the band has sold more than 50 million albums over the course of more than 30 years. The four musicians have a knack for creating…

Smeared black-and-white corpse face-paint (with a little red blood spatter thrown in for good measure) is synonymous with extreme metal. Whether it’s to enhance a demonic theme or carry on cultural tradition, musicians that utilize the medium are definitely projecting a bold message. (For me, it often points to the…

Beloved local metal quartet St. Madness has been stirring the pot of metal insanity for about 20 years, and you usually won’t know what to expect from them, especially at a live show. But anyone who has met lead vocalist Prophet — a.k.a. Patrick Flannery — knows that the band…

It can be easy to miss unless you’re looking for it, but there’s a lot of metal in the Valley, locals and touring acts alike. That’s why we’re looking for it. Here’s a list of nine shows–the 10th was Thursday’s Testament/Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God/Huntress bonanza–you must see this month, as…

Killswitch Engage has gone through some major changes during the past few years. Since 2000 the Massachusetts’ metal act has put out six studio albums, sold more than four million albums in the U.S. alone, and is known as one of the defining bands for the New Wave of American…

Since 1983, California-bred Testament has evolved into one of the biggest names in thrash metal. If you were a metal fan in the past three decades, chances are such albums as 1987’s The Legacy, 1992’s The Ritual and 2008’s The Formation of Damnation. And of course, the band’s most recent…

There’s a lot to love about Huntress, and it’s not just because frontwoman Jill Janus is gorgeous, bad-ass and intelligent. The band’s debut album Spell Eater, recorded and produced by Chris Rakestraw, earned stellar reviews. The musicians–Janus, guitarist Blake Meahl, bassist Ian Alden, and drummer Carl Wierzbicky–thrive on heavy riffs…

Since 1983, metal band Megadeth has sold more than 20 million albums, and earned eleven Grammy nominations. The band has built an enduring fanbase around their intelligent take on heavy metal, lyrical themes like religion, politics, and addiction, and densely driven grooves. Most recently the band toured the world with…

Eccentric Swedish metal act Ghost B.C. released their second LP, Infestissumam, in April and are currently in the midst of a massive world tour, bringing a theatrical, mesmerizing and ghastly show to the masses. For the most part, Ghost have maintained anonymity. Five of the musicians, dubbed Nameless Ghouls (which…

There’s been a lot in the news lately about vinyl records. Vinyl sales hit a 10-year high in Britain, and people are preparing for record store day, a mere month away. This past week on Up on the Sun columnist Steve Wiley presented five reasons CDs are better than vinyl,…

So Dave Mustaine said that he hates to be singled out. Yeah–absolutely despises being the center of attention. One time he was at a Kenny G. concert and the musician asked him to stand up in the crowd because he was going to play at that same venue a couple…

Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk to Ministry’s legendary frontman and all-around heavy metal veteran Al Jourgensen. We had a slightly concerning start to the interview (Jourgensen was sick from food poisoning caused by Chobani yogurt that had since been recalled, and was sitting around, drinking vodka…