Much to the enthusiasm of my pop-loving girlfriends, I agreed to go to Wednesday’s Ke$ha show at Ak-Chin Pavilion. The tickets were free, and we had a car with a driver, so I figured I could at least drink enough whiskey to dull the shame brought on by my seething…
Extreme metalheads have at least two festivals on their calendars for this fall. Each promises a collision of heavy metal and horror, and both are looking very exciting. The first is the inaugural Housecore Horror Film Festival on October 24-27 in Austin, hosted by none other than Down/Pantera front man…
She climbed the entertainment ladder by writing songs for artists like Britney Spears and Flo Rida before releasing her debut album, Animal, in 2010, and its follow-up, Warrior, in 2012. To this day, her party anthem “Tik Tok” is the second-best-selling digital single in history. Her live performances are known…
Few metal bands rocked as hard as Pantera, and few of the many tribute bands that try to project their image on stage are up to the task. The biggest Pantera tribute bands are either appreciated or hated, and most of them don’t even merit consideration. On stage, Arizona’s Cowboys…
People either love or hate cover bands. Some think they are fantastic tributes, while others think they are blatant rip-offs. Personally, I love tribute bands. They give music fans a chance to hear songs live and celebrate a favorite band–and often it’s a band that’s disbanded, one you’ll never be…
Metalheads are some of the most devoted music fans on the planet. No–I mean we really love our music. Oh, you memorized Lady Gaga’s music video dance moves? Check out my Kreator Coma of Souls back piece, and meet my friend’s daughter, Sabbath. Later we’re going to karaoke to cover…
We all have bands that defined our youth–that made us love music, that maybe even introduced us to a new feeling that we didn’t know existed. Whether it’s the psychedelic rock of the ’60s, punk of the ’70s, thrash of the ’80s, or grunge of the ’90s, every generation has…
Music festivals have been around for decades, and they’re only becoming more popular. Each year, millions of fans fly around the world to attend more than 270 fests of various genres in the United States alone. They aren’t a cheap experience, either: between festival tickets, travel, hotels and basics like…
It’s rare that musicians or other people in the public eye actually admit they’ve been lying–unless they’re found out, Tiger Woods-style–but Trent Reznor is excited about his own “betrayal” of Nine Inch Nails fans. I guess the lie is okay when the truth stuns and excites millions of fans, right?…
The atmospheric, bluesy local rockers in Mergence may already be known for keeping it weird with communes, nomads and robots with the release of their first album, Those Vibrant Young People Are Dead–but with their upcoming EP they are taking it to an entirely new level. It makes sense, since…
Founded in 2007, Columbus, Ohio’s Rock on the Range has become one of heavy metal’s largest events, and every year, it just gets bigger and better. As Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach said in an interview: “As far as rock festivals in America go, Rock on the Range in No…
Let’s face it: Arizona isn’t exactly prime real estate for music festivals. Yes, we have the party-hard atmosphere of Country Thunder and the locally beloved McDowell Mountain Music Fest, the EDM-drenched Soundwave and some killer jazz fests. But our fair desert doesn’t yet have the appeal or pull of such…
Ask him what he wishes someone had told him 30 years ago, when he began his music career, and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst’s answer might surprise you. “To remain.” Long pause. “Silent.” For a man who once was as much in the public eye for his controversial statements and…
Am I the only one who is sick to death of the ever-growing list of metal subgenres? It seems to evolve and pulsate and throw out even more obscure genres on a daily basis. Honestly, if there’s one thing metalheads should be able to have faith in when it comes…
Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman died of cirrhosis on May 2, the same day as the Golden Gods Awards. It was devastating that on a day meant to celebrate the lives of the best musicians in metal, one of those artists was taken from the world of music. It also came…
For decades, punk and metal have been an outlet — a means for fans and musicians to escape reality. For Suicidal Tendencies, that’s changing. With the release of 13, the band’s first album since 2000, singer Mike Muir is looking for listeners to embrace his realities. It has been 30…
If you’ve been reading this whiskey-drenched, devil-horn-throwing column every week for more than a year, here’s a little thank-you flashback to the beginning. In one of the first Metal Mondays installments, I talked about the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles — basically the heavy metal Grammys. I couldn’t…
UFIESTA (view the full slideshow here.)Quail Run Park, MesaMay 4, 2013 When I arrived at KUPD’s UFIESTA on Saturday afternoon, a 50-something blonde with blue-tipped hair was stumbling out of the Powerman 5000 mosh pit, wide-eyed and yelling about her head getting stomped in, but still refusing medical attention. This…
Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is pulling double duty this year in more ways than one. Stone Sour is putting out its second album in as many years; the first was House of Gold & Bones Part 1, which dropped last year, and the second, House of Gold…
Metal act Mushroomhead is rarely mentioned in the mainstream music media, and if it is mentioned, it’s usually because it’s being compared to Slipknot. Not that the comparisons don’t make sense — both bands are similar-sounding seven-piece groups in creepy masks. Except Mushroomhead has been around since 1993 (Slipknot was…
Rob Zombie is now a force to be reckoned with in the world of heavy metal and cinema, and his footing is only growing stronger. Starting with White Zombie and solo albums like Hellbilly Deluxe and Educated Horses and continuing with his decade as a film director and screenwriter, Rob…
It’s about time someone finally brought heavy metal and sex toys — a match made in heaven — together in one package. And Swedish heavy metallers Ghost (also known as Ghost B.C.) was just the band to do it. Known for their eccentric on-stage presence — five of the members…
