A night of metal majesty with Avenged Sevenfold in Des Moines

As the echoes of heavy metal reverberated through the halls of the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on March 15th, fans knew they were in for a night of epic proportions. Headlined by the iconic Avenged Sevenfold, the concert promised a relentless onslaught of blistering riffs and thunderous drums, with support from the […]

Escape the Fate rocks Basement Transmissions in Erie, PA

Escape the Fate — a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada — played live in Erie, Pennsylvania at Basement Transmissions. The band has come a long way since forming in 2004 and has continued to churn out heavy metal bangers over the last 18 years. Even though almost all of their founding members have been […]

SXSW 2022: Best Bands

SXSW made its cautious, yet triumphant return earlier in March after its abrupt cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The city of Austin took a safe approach to this year’s festival by opening many onsite testing facilities, as well as administering a digital pass for all vaccinated festival-goers. Even with safeguards in place, the […]

Daughtry’s intense, yet inspiring show in Los Angeles

On March 21st, Daughtry brought some heavy rock to Los Angeles, supporting his fresh release, Dearly Beloved, which came out in September. Tremonti was the opening act. Since November, both bands have been traveling all around the country, with plenty of dates left on tour! A nice dark stage setting, virtuoso guitar, drum solos and […]

Louisville’s Louder Than Life is larger than ever for 2022

The Louder Than Life 2022 lineup has finally been announced!! This is said to be the festival’s biggest year yet and rightfully so, because the lineup is just… wow! The fest will return to the Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville, Kentucky on September 22th through 25th. Four full days of INSANE rock bands?!? The lineup […]

Eclectic Soundtrax Podcast, Ep. 67: Tarantula Mountain

On this episode, Eclectic Soundtrax hosts Skunk Manhattan and Victor Ramos are joined by John “JB” Mendez and Jasmine Jew, members of the Austin-based heavy alternative rock band, Tarantula Mountain. The duo are currently riding high off the release of their debut album, Virgo Sunday, recorded locally at Antimatter Studios. The two originally met in […]

Daughtry brings rock back to St. Louis

Walking into The Factory before the Daughtry concert felt like walking back into the year 2006. Anyone who was alive back then probably remembers a little show called American Idol. Most of them probably also remember feeling outraged when Chris Daughtry was eliminated from the competition after reaching the top four during the show’s 5th […]

Skillet unveils eleventh album, ‘Dominion’

The impact the band Skillet has had on modern rock is substantial. For those unaware, Skillet is a band that has been around since 1996 — that alone is not only crazy, but impactful! Known for many hits, such as “Forsaken” and “Out of Hell” to their name, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of […]

Opeth shakes Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium was rumbling the Tuesday night of November 23rd, as Opeth, Mastodon and Zeal & Ardor rocked the legendary Nashville venue. This particular evening felt as if Christmas had come early for local metalheads, as three of the greatest names in heavy music took the stage. The night began with Zeal & Ardor […]

Blue Ridge Rock Fest 2021: Day Four

We finally made it to Day Four of Blue Ridge Rock Festival! We were hot and dragging ass a bit, but so ready for this amazing lineup to close out the fest. By the last day of any festival, you know the fastest food lines, the cleanest port-a-potties (we vote BRRF as the cleanest festival potties […]

WORLD VIDEO PREMIERE: A Good Rogering “Face Value”

Fans of eclectic rock, rejoice! Austin’s favorite heavy rockers A Good Rogering return with “Face Value”, the debut video from their upcoming album, Systematic Paralysis. Premiering today exclusively on Top Shelf Music, the video features a long-overdue message, paired with a less-than-delicate dystopian aesthetic. The video was created by graphic artist and videographer Eric Alan […]

IDLES & Gustaf destroy Atlanta

Friday, October 22nd was one of those days that absolutely drained me. I left Nashville around 8 o’clock in the morning to drive four and a half hours to the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta. It would be an understatement to say that, by the end of the evening, I was completely exhausted. Anyone who […]

Trivium to release ‘In The Court Of The Dragon’ album

Why are dragons so good at making music? Because, they really know their scales!! In celebration of their upcoming tenth studio album, In The Court Of The Dragon, Trivium has announced they will be playing a special album release headlining show!! They are currently on the ‘Metal Tour of the Year’ with Hatebreed, Lamb of […]

Blue Ridge Rock Fest announces official ticket exchange for 2021

It’s not too late to get your tickets to Virginia’s upcoming Blue Ridge Rock Fest! The ‘fan driven’ fest sold out only four days after the full lineup was announced, with 50,000 attendees expected to be there… and you can still be one of them! There’s an official fan exchange/resale platform where you can be […]

Welcome to Rockville returns to Daytona Beach

Rock in the sunny state… When you think of Florida, you may think of beaches, good restaurants and fun times in the heat. Me, personally, I think of the best festival since Warped Tour! Welcome To Rockville is a yearly festival (like Warped Tour, only stagnant) that has a really, really, really good lineup of […]