Heavy metal concert reviews that go deep, with show analysis, setlist review, and live video recordings and pictures!
North America is taking prog seriously with an amazing new fest: A review of Progstorm 2026 Progstorm Festival held its second edition at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Friday, Aug 21 – Sunday, Aug 23, 2026. I was unable to attend the inaugural edition in 2025 even though I wanted to, and all the […]
Progstorm in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, August 21 – 23, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
Seattle’s newest metal festival is on fire in its second year: A review of Soldiers of Steel 2026 Soldiers of Steel, Seattle’s newest metal festival, just held its second edition at Substation in Seattle, WA, August 13 – 16, 2026. I sadly missed the inaugural edition last year and was quite excited to attend this
Soldiers of Steel in Seattle, WA, August 13 – 16, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
Community, camping, Yeti games, and a metric ton of metal: A review of Armstrong Metal Fest 2026 Armstrong Metal Fest, which takes place in Armstrong, BC, Canada, has legendary status. An hour north/northeast of Kelowna, Armstrong is a small town that feels like it is in the middle of nowhere. And yet it has bred
Armstrong Metal Fest in Armstrong, BC, Canada, July 17 – 18, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
Friends, family, community, video games, and of course lots of incredible metal: A review of Mad with Power Fest 9 Mad with Power Fest takes place each year in Madison, Wisconsin, at an amazing venue called The Sylvee. It is run by Ty Christian, lead vocalist of Lords of the Trident, and he does an
Mad with Power 9 in Madison, WI, June 5 – 6, 2026 – Festival Review Read More »
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
