Review by Greg MakiPhotos by Alana Lopez—If 2024 was the year of Poppy, what are we going to call 2025? After last year’s breakthrough collaborations with Bad Omens ("V.A.N.") and Knocked Loose ("Suffocate," scoring her second Grammy nomination), a headline-making performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (with Knocked Loose) and her superb sixth full-length, “Negative Spaces”... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: Steel Panther, Stone Horses—By Greg Maki—I’ve written quite a bit about Steel Panther on this site over the years, and there’s a simple reason for that: Nearly a quarter century since its beginning, Steel Panther continues to be one of the most entertaining live acts around. Its latest tour, celebrating 15 years of... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: Exodus, Havok, Candy, Dead Heat—By Greg Maki—Baltimore came to throw down on this Saturday night. Maybe my perception was clouded because I haven’t been to a lot of shows this year, but this near-capacity crowd was rowdy almost from the start. And Exodus’s “Battle of ‘24” tour, its first headline run in many... Continue Reading →
PHOTOS: Ice Nine Kills Q&A, Eli Roth Q&A, Welcome to Horrorwood Q&A, Terrifier Q&A—By Greg Maki—Billed as a weekend of “music, horror, gore and more,” the third annual Silver Scream Con brought a horde of bloodthirsty souls together for an unforgettable weekend. Jamie Kennedy, left, and Jose Mangin at Friday night's RIP Party at Off... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: Judas Priest, Sabaton—By Greg Maki—A casino strikes me as such an odd place for a concert. Here you have the massive, bustling casino floor with patrons calmly—or not so calmly in extreme cases—playing the slots, sitting around blackjack tables, betting on sports, having drinks, grabbing a bite to eat. It’s a day or... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: Kamelot, Seven Spires, Ad Infinitum—By Greg Maki—It was a night of symphonic metal mastery on a late-April Thursday in Baltimore, as Kamelot kicked off its North American Awaken the World Tour 2024 supporting its latest release, 2023’s “The Awakening,” at Rams Head Live. MELISSA BONNY OF AD INFINITUM A modest yet enthusiastic crowd... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: KK’s Priest, L.A. Guns, Burning Witches—By Greg Maki—The Priest is back! Actually, one Priest (Judas) is back, while the other (KK’s) has just arrived. What a time to be a Judas Priest fan. The mighty metal institution recently released its superb 19th studio album, “Invincible Shield,” and is touring throughout 2024, while erstwhile... Continue Reading →
ALEXANDRA JAMES OF TWIN TEMPLE LIVE PHOTOS—By Greg Maki—Satanic doo-wop wasn’t something I knew I needed in my life until I encountered Twin Temple a couple years ago when the married duo of Alexandra and Zachary James, along with a tight backing band, opened for Ghost and Volbeat on their co-headline arena tour. Much of... Continue Reading →
PANTERA LIVE PHOTOS—By Greg Maki—In the 1990s, when groups were softening their sounds, embracing alt rock and grunge, and turning to nu metal in an effort to cling to relevance, no band stayed true and flew the flag for real heavy metal more than Pantera. If you weren’t around then, it might be hard to... Continue Reading →
LIVE PHOTOS: Falling in Reverse, Ice Nine Kills, Slaughter to Prevail, Crown the Empire—By Greg Maki—It’s no secret that rock music—hard rock in particular—does not occupy the esteemed place it once did in American pop culture. Stop a random person on the street and ask them about any of the four bands on this bill,... Continue Reading →
