Some bands happily forget their hits of years ago. Last night in Hollywood, Megadeth paid tribute to a month-long tour of doing just the opposite. more ›

Rob Halford, making fetish gear safe for frustrated hetero youth once again following a twelve-year absence, is leading a crowd of heavily amped looking dudes through a catchy singalong chorus that all of them know by heart. Dudes are grabbing dudes by the shoulders and hollering “Living after midnight! Rockin’ till the dawwwwn!” at each other with great feeling, gazing into each others eyes. The band behind him sounds tight and powerful, twin guitar lines pinching off the air between the strings. It’s the end of the seventies once again, my friends, like the entire decade of eighties metal never happenned and we’ve returned to the source. Long live Judas Priest. more ›

Metallica. Slayer. Megadeth. These local boys gone legends are always worth a good mosh, but it's their lesser-known Canadian counterparts, Anvil, who have grabbed the city's heart by the horns. Continuing their residency at the Landmark, where documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil has rocked audiences for a month and counting, Anvil appears alongside film director Sacha Gervasi for two special Q&A sessions tonight, May 6th, at the 7:50 & 9:55 shows. And the rock doesn't stop there! Renegade punk-a-billy outlet Devil's Night fires up the Angel City Drive-In with Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly & derby girls. Yowza! more ›

THIS IS NOT SPINAL TAP: LAist loves Anvil! The Story of Anvil! about an '80s rock band that didn't quite make it as far as its peers Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth. Now while the film's been playing since April 10 at West LA's Landmark Theater, tonight two screenings (7:50pm; 9:55pm) will be followed by a special Q & A with director Sacha Gervasi, joined by band members Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner. While it seems like a scene ripped from Spinal Tap, this is real life. A true rockumentary. more ›

In 2003, writer Bill Tuomala offerred a career overview of Van Halen from an alternate universe in which The Stooges, The Ramones and the Clash had become stadium rockers and knocked heavy metal bands deep into the underground. “If you were lucky and knew someone in the know or if you hung out in the right record store, you might have gotten turned on to some metal during the seventies. Like there was underground favorites Led Zeppelin…” Tuomala describes Halen as dogged explorers who pursued their own path in the face of total commercial failure, but who finally got some belated respect when Nirvana became famous in 1991 (“The Year Metal Broke”) and had Eddie and Dave join them on their MTV Unplugged special. more ›

Southern Californians with a taste for the ballsy, beery hard rock sounds of the seventies have already bought their tickets for AC/DC's long-awaited return to LA this coming Saturday and Monday. (We hope so, for your sake, because they’ve been sold out since around the time they went on sale.) The Forum, the site of many historic metal gigs, seems like the perfect venue for their special brand of mass gathering, and according to the reviews, the new album Black Ice is their best album since the last one that was actually pretty good. Consider us About To Rock. more ›

If you noticed the faint smell of burning plastic mixed with dust and Rockstar energy drink this past Sunday, then you were probably hanging around San Bernardino where metal gala Mayhem Fest was in full swing. Gearing towards the Hot Topic and KROQ generation, thousands of oppressed youth and the seemingly browbeaten citizens of the Inland Empire gathered to take part in the manufactured anger fest to support bands like Walls of Jericho, Suicide Silence, and 36 Crazyfists. But Mayhem Fest wasn’t all about massive fist fights, $11 Miller Light, and swastika tattoos; it was all about spectacle. If not for headliners Slipknot and Disturbed, the main reason to head over to San Berdoo was unquestionably for Iron Maiden incarnates Dragonforce and brass-knuckle-clad Five Finger Death Punch. more ›

The 2008 installment of KROQ's Annual Weenie Roast Y Fiesta was decidedly nostalgic this year with sets from punk legends Bad Religion, Orange County rockers the Offspring and the biggest force in metal in its history, Metallica. It was a return to force for the latter band as they finally broke out of a touring holding pattern and "escaped" from the studio to show why they are one of the loudest and most commanding bands in live music today or ever more ›

Just when you thought stoner doom metal was dead, Austin natives the Sword have stormed onto the scene with some of the darkest riffs and sickest solos since Sabbath. With their sophomore release entitled "Gods of the Earth" in their arsenal of show material, the Sword took the stage at the El Rey and just started destroying ear drums one song at a time. more ›

It's been a long time since EARLY MAN did that sold out show at Spaceland in Feb. 06. But the early boys are back, and they expect Los Angeles to prove their worth in metal pride. That means come out, get wild, and show the boys why they need to visit LA more often. And if you haven't heard of EARLY MAN, let's just say they are a couple of shredders who hail from the school of Motörhead, Judas Priest, and Mercyful Fate. more ›

It's hard to imagine someone surreptitiously making off with something that's 7 feet tall and made of bronze, but it seems that's what has happened in a park located in the Mid-City neighborhood of Carthay Circle. more ›

Xasthur Subliminal Genocide Hydra Head (2006) As with any hyper-stylized music genre, black metal walks a fine line between inspired emulation and unintentional parody. With Xasthur's latest album, Subliminal Genocide, multi-instrumentalist and sole band member, Malefic, manages to defy both. Although adhering to certain conventions of the genre -- tinny, claustrophobic production, raspy, unintelligible vocals and bleak thematic elements -- his use of silence, extended instrumental passages, repeating melodic motifs and changes in tempo reveal... more ›