Heavy metal concert reviews that go deep, with show analysis, setlist review, and live video recordings and pictures!
Amazing power metal invades British Columbia! Alestorm just finished a headlining tour across Canada with support from Sweden’s Twilight Force and Seattle’s Greyhawk. The last stop of the tour was this past Sunday, May 31, in Vancouver, BC, and my son and I drove up for the occasion! The show was at the Commodore Ballroom, […]
A terrific metal festival in Chicago! I attended my first Legions of Metal at Reggies in Chicago, Illinois, the weekend of May 1 & 2, 2026. In general, I tend to bias more toward smaller indoor festivals, and I had been curious about this one for a few years. The focus tends to be on
Legions of Metal 2026 in Chicago, IL, May 1 – 2, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
Ludicrous speed and heavy brutality! Vancouver, BC, ludicrously speedy technical death metal band Archspire recently released their new full length, “Too Fast To Die” and have been headlining the Long Roads Big Loads Tour across North America. They live in my PNW zone, and normally I would have seen them in either Seattle or Vancouver.
A terrific festival goes on indefinite, but hopefully not permanant, hiatus, with a killer lineup for the seventh edition! Hyperspace Metal Festival has been a great power/prog/symphonic/melodeath festival in the Pacific Northwest since 2018, based in beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada. I went for the first time last year and discovered so many new bands that
Hyperspace Metal Festival VII in Vancouver, BC, April 16 – 18, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
A melting pot of European melodic death and progressive metal, live in Portland, Oregon! Back in October, Dark Tranquillity and Soen did the Ultima Ratio Fest tour across Europe together, with support from Iotunn and Equilibrium. For this tour, Dark Tranquillity was playing a special set, celebrating 30 years of “The Gallery” and 20 years
Four flavors of black metal providing plenty of atmosphere, intensity, and brutality, for a great show in Portland! I was in Portland for the weekend with plans to see the Dark Tranquillity / Soen / Persefone show on Saturday. Since I had Friday night available, I was curious to see if there was another show
Various flavors of heavy metal collide in Uster, Switzerland, for a fantastic early year Festival! Elements of Rock Festival took place March 13 – 15 at Stadthofsaal in Uster, Switzerland. It started in 2004 and has run annually since, with exception of a few years during COVID. I have only been once before, in 2007,
Tribunal headlines a night of myriad doom flavors! Vancouver orchestral death doom masters Tribunal are a band I absolutely love, having traveled to Vancouver from Seattle multiple times in 2025 to see them perform, including what ended up being my last show of 2025 in mid December. They just played a handful of shows in
An epic night of bombastic heavy symphonic metal! On my recent European trip, I scheduled a couple stops outside my main destination of Switzerland to take the opportunity to see some bands that seem unlikely for me to see in the US. I am thankful for my local scene in Seattle and the international bands
A mesmerizing live progressive metal experience that was melodic and heavy! Finnish progressive metal band Wheel is currently wrapping up The Dark Side Tour 2026, a headlining tour across North America with support from progressive hard rock band Sound&Shape. What is cool about this tour is that, in addition to playing fan favorites, they are
