Skillet slays Mt. Pleasant, Michigan with Pop Evil

On Saturday November 29th, I attended the Pop Evil and Skillet concert in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and — as always with Skillet — it was absolutely insane. It also happened to be the day of the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game… a detail I’ll come back to later. As someone who has always enjoyed […]

Fit For A King & friends get St. Louis feral-level rowdy

It was another talent-filled night at The Pageant in St. Louis, beginning with metalcore act 156/Silence. The Pittsburgh band took over the stage with their gritty, industrial tracks like “Target Acquired” and their recent single “Our Parting Ways”. Vocalist Jack Murray set the energybar high right off the bat, getting the first mosh pits moving. […]

Catching up with Babe Haven in Nashville alongside Die Spitz

They say ‘third time’s a charm’, but in the case of Babe Haven’s third 2025 performance at Nashville’s Blue Room, it’s been nothing but charm — each time. If you can believe it, this was supposed to be their fourth time in Nashville this year, if it hadn’t been for a cancelled Jhorts Fest appearance. […]

Aurorawave avalanches with sophomore album, ‘Monument’

When Aurorawave dropped their debut album last year, visionary frontman Nathan Aurora set out to create a space where sun-soaked reggae rhythms could successfully throw down in a pit with the gritty heaviness of rock and the flexing muscle of metal. In the band’s second effort, titled Monument and released August 15th through Ineffable Records, […]

Pantera unleashes fire & ferocity on St. Louis, with all-star backing

The night of Pantera in St. Louis started off with Aussie grindcore sensations King Parrot. Named after the similarly Australian bird, King Parrot were a colorful bunch. They opened the night with an aggressive, screaming, hair-flipping set that left the already sweaty crowd drenched by the end of it. Lead vocalist Matt Young — shirtless […]

Bruce Dickinson annihilates Iron Maiden fans in Anaheim

Scream for me, Anaheim! Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson brought his Mandrake Project Tour to the United States — with Anaheim, California being the first tour date. In 2024, Bruce and his House Band from Hell played two warm-up shows — one at the famous Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, and the other […]

Attending San Diego’s Summer of Loud Fest 2025

When it was announced, Summer of Loud Festival was destined to be special, but when the details of San Diego’s stop being July 2nd at the beautiful Gallagher Square emerged, I knew it was going to be the best on the whole tour. Since its inception, the festival has taken on a whole new meaning, […]

Aftershock is off the richter scale for 2025 in Sacramento

The west coast’s premier rock festival presented by Danny Wimmer, Aftershock, is set to return to Discovery Park in Sacramento from October 2nd through the 5th, 2025 — and it’s shaping up to be the festival’s biggest year to date. Last year’s record-breaking attendance was over 160,000 fans. Building on the momentum, Aftershock 2025 promises […]

Babe Haven blows the doors off Nashville’s Blue Room

Born out of the vibrant Boone, North Carolina music scene, Babe Haven has quickly established themselves as one of the most compelling new forces in modern metal. Yet, at their core, the band’s inception was refreshingly simple — there was a desire to “just play”. Guitarist Naomi Poesel recalled during our sit-down conversation that she […]

Poppy packs House of Blues Chicago with pop metal

On Friday, March 21st, the House of Blues in Chicago became a haven for fans of metal, pop, and everything in-between as Poppy performed for a sold-out crowd. With her seamless blending of genres, Poppy’s They’re All Around Us Tour was a captivating ride through her multifaceted sound and stage presence. All of the recent […]