On August 31st, instrumental rock band, Polyphia played a sold-out show in Tempe, AZ, at The Marquee Theatre with support from the German metal band, Unprocessed, who immediately had the crowd’s attention. The energy flowed throughout the venue with fans crowding, surfing, and bopping around to the music.

On August 25th, Silverstein made their first stop on their co-headlining tour with The Amity Affliction in Tempe, AZ at The Marquee Theatre with support from UnityTX and Holding Absence. First, to take the stage was UnityTX who put on a great set that got the crowd’s energy going with a mosh pit starting up early in the night. Second, was Holding Absence who pushed through despite some technical difficulties with their microphones not working during the first three songs. They did not let that get them down though and continued performing with vocals going in and out before finishing out their set strong. Finally, Silverstein took the stage.

Many metalheads will recognize the Russian deathcore band Slaughter To Prevail from lead vocalist Alex Terrible’s insanely popular YouTube channel. In addition to highlighting the band’s official videos and live performances, Terrible also does reaction videos and sings covers. With 922k subscribers, the channel attracts more than 36.5 million YouTube views and 305 million cross-platform streams. With such a high-profile platform Terrible has chosen to voice his concerns about recent world events through his music.

Alt-pop band The Driver Era has announced the release date of their latest studio album, Summer Mixtape which is due to release September 16th. This release comes nearly a year after their critically acclaimed sophomore album Girlfriend. The Driver Era’s first single off Summer Mixtape was the dance song “Keep Moving Forward,” which featured soul and blues singer Nikka Costa. Now the band has released their second single entitled, “Malibu.”

Progressive rock and metalcore converge in Loathing Light, the new album from ONI. The project is the brainchild of Jake Oni, the Canadian singer/songwriter. Taking the name of the traditional demon of Japanese folklore, ONI debuted in 2014. Since then, ONI has released the well-regarded album Ironshore (Metal Blade Records), and the EP Alone (Black Light Media), whose title track single garnered 1.3M spins on Spotify alone. Promoting those releases, ONI has toured with acts such as Gojira, Children of Bodom, and Rob Zombie. Loathing Light is the first studio album from ONI in seven years. 

Banks is a truly powerful performer, and for the Serpentina tour, I would expect nothing less. She and her artistry are effortlessly beautiful, and her energy draws the audience in. As much as anyone, I already knew how amazing Banks was before I went to this show, but I was truly blown away.

On August second, fans of all ages crowded into the Marquee in Tempe, AZ, to see Sleeping With Sirens on the CTRL + ALT + DEL Tour with support from Garzi, Point North, and Don Broco. After over a decade together, the band sure knows how to put on a show, and the fans keep on coming back. Many of us have been going to their shows since we were kids, and now as adults, we have made strong friendships with those that we have met in the crowd.

On Saturday, July 23rd, Broadside made a stop in Phoenix, AZ, at The Rebel Lounge on their first ever headlining Into The Raging Sea tour. Starting the night off was local musician Rio Wiley who got the crowd going as fans filled out the venue. Up next was Cherie Amour before another local artist, First And Forever. Both bands put on great sets that had the crowd going. Lastly, before Broadside took the stage was Young Culture, who solidified the mood for the night. The room was buzzing, and fans were bopping to the music in anticipation of Broadside taking the stage.

On Friday July 8th, the extreme metal and hardcore band The Machinist from Queens, NY headlined a killer show for their latest album release for All Is Not Well at a venue in Brooklyn, NY known as The Meadows.

It’s really incredible. We’ve been working on this record since we started as a band over three years ago. We had hoped to put it out last year, but you know, it became difficult to do that… so we’re totally thrilled that it’s out into the world and that people have been so receptive.

I arrived at the venue almost 40 minutes after the doors opened, and the line outside was still growing. The floor was already packed as people were eagerly awaiting at the barricade. Everyone wanted a spot, and they were running out. The opener, Kitty Cash, had an amazing set. Everyone in the audience was getting pumped; the anticipation was building. The crowd started chanting when the lights went out. “Thundercat! Thundercat! Thundercat!” These were some die-hard fans, and it was great to experience such a community for the night. Pure adoration was written all over the crowd’s faces. Thundercat's passion while playing bass on stage in a room full of people who love and admire him is something rare and beautiful that everyone needs to experience live. Check out the rest of his tour dates now through September, or you’ll miss out. 

Despite the sun being down, the infamous Arizona heat made its appearance at The Wrecks’ show at The Nile in Mesa, AZ, on July 21st. Fans partied the night away, packed into the venue, ignoring the heat and humidity. Thankfully the band had taken precautious measures, and six-hundred water bottles were distributed throughout the night. Mothe and Girlhouse got the crowd warmed up with incredible sets before The Wrecks took the stage.

On Sunday, July 17th, Grayscale stopped at The Nile in Mesa, AZ, on The Summer Dream Tour with support from The Ivy, Bearings, and Guardin. With it being monsoon season here in Arizona, the skies go from clear to dark and cloudy in a matter of minutes, so it was no surprise that the night Grayscale came to town, there would be a storm, especially with all of their songs about rain. It was practically a rain dance waiting to happen.

Machine Head, the Bay Area metal legends, has announced the release of their new album ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN. This marks the tenth studio album from the group. The album is set to be released on August 26th, 2022, via Nuclear Blast x Imperium Recordings. Machine Head has already released a music video for the track “UNHALLØWED” to promote the album. In an unusual move, the video doesn’t feature the song's album version but a live performance. The video features Machine Head playing “UNHALLØWED” on the band’s own Electric Happy Hour web series.

“Today is the greatest day I've ever known” because 90s alternative legends Smashing Pumpkins have announced dates for their North American tour. This 32-date tour will start in  Dallas, Texas, and then circle the United States and Canada till they end in Los Angeles, California. The Spirits on Fire Tour is produced by Live Nation and will kick off on October 2, 2022.

Ask Doc Hammer what they are about, and they will tell you, “Doc Hammer likes to party. You like to party. Let's get together and make normal situations weird.” The San Diego punks have been playing hardcore party rock up and down the west coast since their explosive debut, the 2019 album Neon Devil. Their follow-up album, the 2021 EP Final Form featured the heavy-hitting single, “Firewalker” with its hilarious music video, highlighting the band’s irreverent sense of humor. Their latest EP is titled, Paradise, which is an appropriate title for a hardcore album by a band that enjoys wearing Aloha shirts as they rage out in the mosh pit. The album dropped on April 1st, but don’t be fooled. Doc Hammer takes their music seriously. 

Fans of dark music may manage to crack a rare smile upon hearing the news that Kooper Kain has released a new album titled, Dose Dredge. This is one of the latest releases from the vampiric Canadian goth rocker. Kain self-produced Dose Dredge at his S/N RATIo studio in Vancouver, British Columbia which has been putting out music and animation projects that embraces darker aesthetics in art.

On Saturday, June 25th, I had the pleasure of attending Music of Curiosities Coney Island Presents "QVEEN OF ATLANTIS MUSIC FESTIVAL" in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY at this amazing place known as Freak Bar. The venue of choice is a staple for the neighborhood and is famously known for its very own Circus Sideshow By The Seashore. For this special event, some very dear and close friends of mine both hosted and starred in the show.

Today, NJ/NYC based metallic hardcore band Court Order is BACK with a brand new single “Göz Taşı” off their soon to be released album Kingdom Gone which will be available everywhere on August 12th. This is only a small taste of what is to come and I have to say, the world isn’t ready.

The latest video from German thrash metal innovators Kreator delves into the shadowy world of folk horror. The third single from the band’s newest album, Hate Über Alles, is the song “Midnight Sun.” The lyrics explore ancient rites and death cults. Visually the video takes its cues from the most recent horror film trends.