Metal and Hardcore

Mike Scaccia of Rigor Mortis Died With His Boots On: Echoes and Reverberations

Safe to say that I was doing bong hits on the couch one afternoon back in 1987 when Michael Alago, the A&R rep from Elektra Records who discovered and signed Metallica, called me up out of the blue and asked what was happening with the music scene here in Dallas. Alago was based in New York City, an ... More >>

Last Shot: Meeting Meshuggah

[Editor's Note: Longtime concert photographer Andrew Youssef found out almost two years ago that he had Stage IV Colon Cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events for our sister paper OC Weekly on top of other freelance work and working a day job at a hospital, of all places ... More >>

Warbeast - The Boiler Room - May 18, 2013

Rigor Mortis, Gammacide, Devilfist and Demonseed are all the musical ingredients the supergroup Texas Metal Alliance needed to create Warbeast, a legendary Texas thrash metal super supergroup. Adding just a dash of "no bullshit metal onslaught" by local acts Protest and The Black Moriah, Warbeast se ... More >>

A Family-Friendly Music Festival and Cannibal Corpse: Just Another Saturday in Dallas

Saturday in Dallas was a day you could choose to paint in the starkest possible contrasts, if that's your thing. Two big gatherings cut from an extraordinarily different cloth were happening within a relatively pleasant fifteen-minute stroll of each other, and how often do you get to travel from one ... More >>

This Week's Top Show Announcements: Divine Fits, Blue Oyster Cult, Ben Folds Five, Rob Zombie and More

As we sit in our cubicles, school chairs or desks today, the Texas sky is relentless with its 73-degree beauty, tempting all of us to turn on some tunes, throw up our hands and have recess. Texas has just reached the perfect time of year when all of the alchemy is correct for hosting a plethora of m ... More >>

Rex Brown is Ready to Talk About the Rise and Fall of Pantera

Pick up a copy of Official Truth 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera at any local bookstore or online at Amazon. Rex will be signing copies of the book at Barnes & Noble on Northwest Highway in Dallas on Tuesday night, March 19, at 7:00 p.m. Back in the Nineties, Panetra rocked venue after venu ... More >>

Top Show Announcements: Big Boi, Smashing Pumpkins, Bruno Mars, Black Flag and More

This particular announcement post stirs up some old memories: The last time Big Boi was in town, a handful of my friends--after dancing with him onstage--somehow made their way onto his tour bus, and proceeded to happily dance, smoke weed and partake in all sorts of fun, drunken debauchery. I was st ... More >>

How to Appreciate Metal: A Four-Step Guide

Step One: Admit the world and worry obliterating limitations of Indie Rock, Top 40 and basically everything else. Boss getting you down? Spouse (or partner) ripping you a new one? Fido pissing in the house? Friend forgetting to pay you the $20 that you loaned him (or her) last Friday night? Is your ... More >>

Gojira

Thursday, January 31, at The Granada Theater

The Atlas Moth Genesis: Metallica, Talent Shows and Peter Gunn

The Atlas Moth will be in town on Thursday with opening for death metal proggers Gojira at the Granada. Frontman Stavros Giannopoulos took some time out to talk about the first shows he saw as a kid, The Blues Brothers, and Peter Gunn. Growing up, was there anybody that inspired you to play music? ... More >>

Father John Misty, Jim James, Cannibal Corpse and More of This Week's Show Announcements

Father John Misty Monday, May 6, at Granada Theater It's no news that J. Tillman has had many musical past lives, including a short-lived stint with the Fleet Foxes, but after the release of Fear Fun last summer, the first album under his moniker Father John Misty, he's perhaps never been more at ho ... More >>

10 Heavy Metal Albums You Need to Hear Before You Die

In the near or not so-near future,when you're lying on your deathbed, you'll reflect on things in your life that you've failed to accomplish: the kiss you never gave, the boss you never slugged and the metal album you never bought because your partner was bitching about the money that you "wasted o ... More >>

Ten Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2013

2012 did not end with the bang promised by the Mayans. Fortunately, 2013 is gearing up to be the year of Heavy Metal. Some of the industry's oldest and newest legends are conjuring some tunes to help nurse the no-apocalypse blues. Here are the ten metal albums likely to get the most attention in 201 ... More >>

Warbeast split EPs, skulls in 2013

Warbeast Split EPs, Skulls in 2013

When Arlington thrashers Warbeast flew overseas to co-headline a tour with legendary Pantera/Down vocalist Phil Anselmo, the band's pulverizing riffs and grueling lyrics slew metal fans across Europe. A joint album seemed like another one of the devil's pipe dreams until the two entities announced t ... More >>

Lamb of God - Palladium Ballroom - 12/7/12

Lamb of God, Hellyeah, In Flames, Sylosis Palladium Ballroom Friday, December 7 Christmas came early this year, as Sylosis, Hellyeah, In Flames and Lamb of God imploded eardrums on Friday night. British band Sylosis started the show, offering a modernized version of old-school Bay Area thrash metal ... More >>

The 10 Best Metal Songs of 2012

Compiling a list of the best metal songs of the Apocalypse nearly drove us insane, especially when the tiny devils swarmed our offices, screaming, "We said Warbeast, assholes!" But we ignored their irritating voices and came up with a list that would make David Letterman's original body turn over in ... More >>

Dethklok's Brendon Smalls Talks About How This Tour Is a "Disney Ride But With Murder"

Brendon Smalls is the creator of the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse, and the driving force behind the most successful animated death metal band in the history of metal, Dethklok. He's an amazing guitarist who graduated from Berklee College of Music. His band has two of the highest-rat ... More >>

Dethklok

Friday, November 30, at House of Blues

The Five Best Concerts In DFW This Weekend, Nov. 29-Dec. 2

Bettye LaVette, Bobby Patterson Thursday, November 29, at The Kessler Theater, $25-$35 Bettye LaVette's 1965 single "Let Me Down Easy" was the song that should have put the Detroit singer in the ranks of the Supremes and Marvin Gaye. LaVette's fame came later in life, however, namely as she's re-eme ... More >>

The 25 Creepiest Heavy Metal Album Covers

By Jason Roche Halloween is the time where it's acceptable to wallow in the creepy, the crawly, the dark, and the macabre. Sounds like the themes of heavy metal, year-round! Here then, are those most spine-tingliest metal album covers, for your All Hallow's Eve viewing pleasure. Step inside...

Phil Anselmo On His First Gig: "I Was About Seven Octaves Out Of Key"

See also: A not-so-vulgar discussion of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power Next Tuesday, Phil Anselmo comes back to Dallas with Down, to play a show that was originally planned for the Ridglea Theater, but has now moved to Trees. Anselmo talked about the first show he played, how he befriended fell ... More >>

Top Ten Underrated Iron Maiden Songs

Seeing that the first show I ever took my son to was Iron Maiden, I get a special feeling every time the legendary metal act makes its way to our area. Anyone who calls themselves a metalhead knows the "hits," so in honor of the band playing tonight at Gexa Energy Pavilion, here is my list of the te ... More >>

Cannibal Corpse's Alex Webster: "A Good Attack And A Good Tone Are Important"

Over two decades, Buffalo's Cannibal Corpse has become one of the best-selling death metal bands in the United States. Unflinchingly confrontational, bassist Alex Webster and crew have created a catalog of extreme metal that is as consistent as it is intense. The band's most recent effort, Torture, ... More >>

Mayhem Festival - Gexa Energy Pavilion - 7/10/12

Mayhem Festival Gexa Energy Pavilion Tuesday, July 10 See also: The fans of Mayhem Festival As I parked next to the Amsterdam and walked through Fair Park's Esplanade yesterday, I took in the neo-modernist sculptures and murals that adorn the Art Deco buildings. The closer I got to the Gexa Ener ... More >>

A Not-So-Vulgar Discussion of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power

In honor of the recent 20th anniversary reissue of Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power, two music writers sat around a kitchen table and talked about it. One is clearly older than the other one. Eric Grubbs: When that record came out in 1992, what do you remember, aside from grunge and Nirvana being ... More >>

Opeth, Mastodon, Ghost - Palladium Ballroom - 4/19/12

Opeth, Mastodon, Ghost Palladium Ballroom Thursday, April 19 Last night started with Sweden's Ghost, a wonderfully over-the-top six-piece that lit uncountable amounts of incense before they even hit the stage. I felt like I had entered a heavy metal meditation therapy session. Featuring costumes th ... More >>

Gigantour Featuring Megadeth, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil - The Palladium Ballroom - 3/1/12

Megadeth,Volbeat and Lacuna Coil The Palladium Ballroom Thursday, March 1 Not better than: Seeing Motörhead on this bill. So, if a ticket for a hot co-headlining tour with two legendary metal acts costs $50, wouldn't it make sense for the price to be lowered if one of those bands couldn't play? ... More >>

Preview: Gigantour at Palladium Ballroom

Thursday, March 1, at Palladium Ballroom

Megadeth's Dave Ellefson Talks About Christianity and Lady Gaga

After leaving Megadeth in 2002 and bringing a lawsuit against Dave Mustaine in 2004, very few people thought original bassist Dave Ellefson would ever appear with the band again. Yet, behind the scenes, over a period of six years, Mustaine and Ellefson were both rediscovering Christianity and havin ... More >>

Mark Heylmun of Suicide Silence: "The Purpose of Our First Record Was To Offend Everyone"

Intense barely scratches the surface when talking about Suicide Silence. The California extreme metal outfit has been around for just over a decade, and in that time, they've created three of the severest slabs of deathcore to be found. Speaking from a Houston restaurant in anticipation of tonight' ... More >>

Preview: Machine Head, Monday, February 13, at House of Blues

Lenny Kravitz, Gigantour With Megadeth and Motorhead and This Week's Show Announcements

Lenny Kravitz​The last time we heard from Lenny Kravitz, he was creating his own home video of an impromptu performance with a youth band from First Baptist Church of Lewisville on the streets of New Orleans. The people loved it, which is more than can be said of his 2011 funk album, Black and Whi ... More >>

Over The Weekend: GWAR, Every Time I Die and Warbeast at House Of Blues

GWAR, Every Time I Die, WarbeastHouse Of BluesNovember 19, 2011 Better than: a Pulsar action figure whose blood has congealed. GWAR​A cloaked Death character entered the House of Blues darkened stage set up like a castle littered with weapons and viscera. As theatrical metal band GWAR came on st ... More >>

Q&A: Jerry Only of The Misfits: "A lot of Punk and Metal Bands Came From Our Loins."

In various incarnations over the course of three decades, New Jersey's The Misfits have made a mark in the history of punk rock. Starting way back in 1977, singer Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only had a vision of combining punk rock's roar with imagery from horror movies. What they did was creat ... More >>

All That Remains' Mike Martin Would Gladly Fly on a Plane Just to See John Mayer Live

All That Remains.​All That Remains, like their peers in Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Unearth, keep the flame of modern metal burning. Clearly influenced by '90s European metal but filtered through an American hardcore sensibility, the Springfield, Massachusetts, quintet makes their seco ... More >>

Scott Ian: "If More People Worshipped Music, The World Would Be a Better Place."

For three decades, Anthrax has been one of the most consistently interesting bands to emerge from the thrash metal heyday of the early 1980s. Founded by guitarist Scott Ian, Anthrax has always stood out among the sweaty throng. The band was one of the first metal bands to incorporate rap music int ... More >>

Last Night: Judas Priest, Black Label Society and Thin Lizzy at the Allen Event Center

Judas Priest, Black Label Society and Thin Lizzy Allen Event Center Sunday, October 16, 2011 Better than: getting all decked out in studs and leather and going to Oak Lawn.Judas Priest​ Back in the '80s, when Allen, Texas, was nothing more than a speed trap between Dallas and Oklahoma City, folk ... More >>

Q&A: Rob Halford of Judas Priest Talks Coming Out and His Band Continuing On.

For over four decades, England's Judas Priest has been making one hell of a heavy metal racket. Formed in 1969, the band didn't find widespread success until the late '70s and early '80s. But classic metal songs such as "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking the Law" (both off the seminal album Bri ... More >>

Get To Know Your DOMAXXIII Nominees: Best Song, Best Metal Act, BestFunk/R&B Act

​Welcome to our 2011 Dallas Observer Music Awards breakdown, wherein we'll use the weeks leading up to the DOMA showcases on Saturday, October 15 (which is also when voting ends), to explain the nominees in each category Today, we look at the nominees in the Best Song, Best Metal Act ... More >>

After the Burial's Trent Hafdahl: "We Want To Be The Band People Hear and Go, 'Holy Shit.'"

Minneapolis' After the Burial plays a brand of progressive metal that is technically impressive and catastrophically heavy. They're somewhat self-destructive, too: The band has been around for seven years, and they are already on their third singer and drummer. Such turmoil would certainly tear ap ... More >>

Raised An Army Brat, Jerry Rutherford's Now a Deep Ellum Metalhead Through and Through.

Jerry Rutherford​Within Deep Ellum's metal scene, Jerry Rutherford is everybody's friend. It seems like he's at all the shows, always up to do a shot and let out that rallying, supportive cry-of-the-rocker that barely edges up above the volume of whichever hard rock act is blaring not far in front ... More >>

Maleveller Shines Despite Its Members Lack of Metal Backgrounds

Neither A Phoenix Project Nor Nu-Metal Band, Maleveller Ventures Into The Metal Unknown

Dylan HollingsworthMaleveller​ Heavy metal is a genre that is famously and often unintentionally self-parodying. Bands that are in on the joke, but that take their craft seriously, are rare. Local metal masters Maleveller seek to fill that void. Since their first show in 2009, they have careful ... More >>

White Arms of Athena's Tom Sifuentes: "The Metal Scene in Dallas is Getting Bigger"

White Arms of Athena​Many bands start out with big dreams and big plans. But very few of them even make it to studio, much less get a recording contract. Most bands go at it a few years, play a few bars and then the members go on to other bands or go back to their day jobs for good. This is not ... More >>

On Metal Bands and Their Undying Affection For Indecipherable Band Logos...

Impaled. Not impaler.​Once upon a time, when I was living in Minnesota, I saw a concert flier that appeared to be advertising a show by Impaler, one of my favorite Minneapolitan metal bands. So I went to a local record store to score some my tickets.But, when I announced that I intended to purchas ... More >>

Manic Monday: Five Awesome Shows To Get Your Week Started Off Just Right.

Quite the extra busy start to the week we have here. Gotta be something for just about everyone music wise this particular evening...

A Busy Thursday Night? A Busy Thursday Night!

Good Lord. Aside from a trio of metal bands, everything on the musical plate tonight is home grown. And guess what? It's all pretty great.

Three Shows Worth Seeing in Dallas Tonight

Not a bad Tuesday night coming at you this evening. After the the jump, we highlight the three best.