Concert Reviews

Texas Hippie Coalition, Kobra and the Lotus – May 7, 2018 – Alchemy, Providence, RI

Back from round two of heavy shows at Alchemy, this would lean more towards the heavier rock, groove, and melodic metal side of things for a Monday night. It’s always a challenge to be successful on Read more […]

Týr, Orphaned Land – May 6, 2018 – Alchemy, Providence, RI

The second date of their current North American tour run hits Providence, RI for its lone New England stop – promising to be a night filled with exotic metal and it’s surrounding symphonic, progressive, Read more […]

Kamelot – April 25, 2018 – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY

With the initial announcement for this tour coming out around a year ago at this time, there’s been plenty of time to anticipate one of the spring’s biggest tours for melodic metal fans. Three bands that Read more […]

Krosis – April 4, 2018 – Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ

With the rather horrendous winter/spring weather here in the northeast, it’s been spotty for this scribe to be able to get out to many shows (particularly living in the middle of nowhere). So when a show Read more […]

Saxon – March 16, 2018 – The Chance Theater, Poughkeepsie, NY

Call it the nostalgia factor – or call it just putting in the plain old-fashioned elbow grease – Saxon are riding high these days in terms of popularity. Their latest studio album Thunderbolt has hit Read more […]

Judas Priest – March 15, 2018 – Covelli Centre, Youngstown, OH

The news of Glenn Tipton having to sit out Firepower touring activities due to his battle with Parkinson’s rattled many a cage, particularly those of the belief that Tipton is Judas Priest’s musical Read more […]

Crowbar – March 15, 2018 – Alchemy, Providence, RI

Consistently bludgeoning their core followers with a sound that can only be Crowbar, the legions came out to pay homage to the quartet that they’ve held near and dear to their hearts since the early Read more […]

Dying Fetus/Thy Art is Murder – March 15, 2018 – The Chance Theater, Poughkeepsie, NY

Cutting into the death metal market from seemingly all sides is the current Dying Fetus and Thy Art is Murder co-headlining run. Hitting its first stop of a 5-week tour across the US (with one Canadian Read more […]

Ne Obliviscaris – November 22, 2017 – (le) poisson rouge, New York City, NY

Always interesting to hit up a new venue in NYC. In more frequent trips within the last two years, I’ve been able to get to a number of different spots, and this time (le) poisson rouge was up, hosting Read more […]

Arch Enemy/Trivium – November 4, 2017 – The Palladium, Worcester, MA

With Worcester working out a bit better for personal scheduling reasons, a weekend road trip was in order to catch Arch Enemy, whom this scribe hasn’t caught since the beginning of their touring cycle Read more […]

Manilla Road – October 22, 2017 – Jewel Music Venue, Manchester, NH

Every Halloween for the past six years, Ralph’s Rock Diner in Worcester, Mass., hosts a three-night series of cover sets and tributes by mostly local bands dressing the part and performing songs by their Read more […]

Epica – September 29, 2017 – Playstation Theater, New York City, NY

There’s always something extra special about being able to attend the last gig on a tour run. While the bands might be running on sleep exhaustion, you can usually bank on them catching one last ‘second Read more […]

Dark Tranquillity – September 14,2017 – The Chance Theater, Poughkeepsie, NY

The energy of a late summer metal tour can be palpable, especially if the package includes a band that you’ve been into for years and finally hits an area close enough to experience live. Months back Read more […]

Stoned to Death II – June 3, 2017 – Hawks and Reed Arts Performing Center, Greenfield, MA

New England has a thriving and vibrant metal scene that stretches from Vermont to Rhode Island, but one area of the region I had yet to experience was western Massachusetts. That all changed on June 3, Read more […]

Evergrey – June 3, 2017 – Jewel Music Venue, Manchester, NH

In 1999, this scribe witnessed the first United States show of Evergrey, who flew over from Sweden based on internet message board fan support (pre-crowdfunding) with Perpetual Motion to play the Powermad Read more […]

Devastation on the Nation – May 22, 2017 – Trickshots, Clifton Park, NY

Those who enjoy technical death metal had to be smiling from ear to ear when this year’s edition of Devastation on the Nation was announced. Putting together long-running acts like Cryptopsy and Decrepit Read more […]

Arkona/Sirenia – May 14, 2017 – Firehouse 13, Providence, RI

Sunday, May 14 would mark only the second day of the Arkona/Sirenia co-headlining North America tour, in which Arkona is celebrating their 15th anniversary and Sirenia is visiting North America for the Read more […]

Xandria – May 9, 2017 – Webster Hall, New York City, NY

Xandria has been making a more committed push towards North America as of late, and with their latest release Theater of Dimensions in tow, it was time to time to finally deliver a headlining set (they Read more […]

Delain/Hammerfall – April 24, 2017 – Stage 48, New York City, NY

The expression ‘life gets in the way’ has applied to opportunities to catch Delain live on a number of occasions in the past few years. After the official US headlining run was announced following Read more […]

Sabaton – April 23, 2017 – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY

Coming down off the almost 12 hours of music the day before at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival (which, yes, included all three acts in this tour package in slightly smaller doses), it was time Read more […]

Katatonia – Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA, March 18, 2017

Katatonia last visited Pittsburgh in 2013, playing to a relatively tepid crowd. Perhaps it was because the show was on a weekday, but the not-so-impressive turnout led this scribe to believe the Swedes Read more […]

Maximized – A Trinity of Amaranthe Shows

When it comes to doing show reviews, I have a tendency to cut to the chase and dive in, but when I go “Amaranthe-ing” (verb: to hit a string of Amaranthe tour dates) it seems like that would merely Read more […]

Epica – December 3, 2016 – The Palladium – Worcester, MA

Objectively, it seems a little silly to drive all the way to Worcester Massachusetts when there’s a perfectly viable alternative in New York City right there on the tour routing. However, given the Read more […]

Flotsam & Jetsam – November 18, 2016, The Chance Theater, Poughkeepsie, NY

A Friday night power/thrash delight, courtesy of a couple veteran outfits who have benefitted greatly thanks to their 80’s discography given a second go around in the digital consumption age. There’s Read more […]

Leaves’ Eyes, Omnium Gatherum – November 10, 2016 – Firehouse 13, Providence, RI

When headliners take nights off from a long tour run, support bands do whatever they can to set up smaller club shows and keep the financial needs floating. Leaves’ Eyes and Omnium Gatherum accordingly Read more […]

Dark Tranquillity – November 8, 2016 – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY

With all of the tour hubbub going on in the fall, sometimes it’s nice to kill two birds with one stone. This particular concert merged the current Sonata Arctica and Dark Tranquillity tours, both great Read more […]

Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper – October 20, 2016 – The Chance Theater, Poughkeepsie, NY

Journeying back to my youth, Grim Reaper were a staple of the 1980’s traditional metal scene, a group on the tail end of the world renowned NWOBHM movement. Originally disbanding in the late 1980’s, Read more […]

Soilwork – October 15, 2016 – Stanhope House – Stanhope, NJ

Having headed to the Stanhope House during the summer for a much lower profile show, it was quite the surprise to see that the Fury Tour, comprised of Soilwork, Unearth, Wovenwar, Battlecross, and Darkness Read more […]

Among Creatures: 2 Nights of Huntress

Having gained a full appreciation for Huntress after their stint on the Arch Enemy US tour back in 2014, their current tour with Trivium and Sabaton seemed a great way to catch up with the band. But then Read more […]

The Dread Crew of Oddwood – By Bar and By Faire

September 16, 2016 – Tobacco Road – NYC, NY With a folk metal line-up from start to finish, it seemed a Friday night trip down to NYC would be needed. The Dread Crew of Oddwood teaming up with Read more […]