Global AZ Media

All That Remains & Miss May I at Encore
2022-04-22 18:30 - 23:30 (America/Phoenix) | Encore, 5851 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ, 85713, United States
Formed by guitarist Oli Herbert and ex-Shadows Fall vocalist Phil Labonte in 1998, Massachusetts’ All That Remains debuted in 2002 with Behind Silence and Solitude on Metal Blade. Rounded out by drummer Michael Bartlett, guitarist Chris Bartlett, and bassist Danny Egan, the record first showcased the band’s blistering and heavy take on melodically infused hardcore death metal. All That Remains went through some lineup changes, and guitarist Mike Martin was added for their 2004 breakthrough on Prosthetic Records, This Darkened Heart. Produced by Killswitch Engage‘s Adam Dutkiewicz and released to rave reviews, the record landed All That Remains on various shows and tours with the likes of GWAR, the Crown, Arch Enemy, Darkest Hour, and more. They continued touring nonstop behind Heart, taking a break only in late 2005 to begin writing new material for their third full-length. Working again with Dutkiewicz and Prosthetic, the band recorded The Fall of Ideals, which appeared in July 2006. By this time, the group comprised Labonte, Herbert, Martin, drummer Shannon Lucas, and bassist Jeanne Sagan. All That Remains hit the road once again, spending time on the European leg of the Sounds of the Underground tour and that summer’s Ozzfest; nationwide headlining dates were completed that fall.
Overcome followed in 2008, and included two singles (“Chiron,” “Two Weeks”) that also appeared in the video game franchise Rock Band. Their fifth album, For We Are Many, was produced by Dutkiewicz and appeared in 2010. The album shot to the tenth spot on the Billboard 200 while the band set out on tour with Hatebreed and Five Finger Death Punch. All That Remains’ eclectic sixth album, A War You Cannot Win, arrived in 2012; it was almost, though not quite, as successful as its predecessor, going to number 13 on the Billboard chart. It was three years before the band dropped another record. For 2015’s The Order of Things, produced by Josh Wilbur, they upped the ante, making it faster, heavier, and more melodic than ever before. The album was preceded by the brutal single “No Knock.” In 2017, All That Remains issued their eighth studio long-player, the Howard Benson-produced Madness, via Razor & Tie. Channeling the sonic heft of 2010’s For We Are Many, the band issued the punishing Victim of the New Disease in 2018, this time via Fearless Records. ~ Corey Apar, Rovi

The sound and fury of MISS MAY I is deeply embedded in the hearts and minds of a legion of fans. These are people from different backgrounds, of different ages, with diverse life experience, who all come together and connect with MISS MAY I’s combination of brutal proficiency and impassioned delivery. The five-piece powerhouse, from the fertile metalcore grounds of America’s heartland, have become an integral part of the worldwide heavy music community, transcending boundaries and limitations, galvanizing crowds, and energizing each person they encounter.
Miss May I celebrates a decade of savage metalcore and soaring melodic refrains, newly revitalized, and poised for an insurgent career renaissance; armed with unmistakable power, road hardened experience, a steadily building catalog, and unrelenting spirit, supported by a diehard community.

The Hu & The Haunt at The Van Buren
2022-04-21 20:00 - 23:30 | The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
Founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, The HU, comprised of producer Dashka along with members Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush, are a modern rock group rooted in the tradition of their homeland. The band’s name translates to the Mongolian root word for human being, and their unique approach blends instruments like the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp) and throat singing with contemporary sounds, creating a unique sonic profile that they call Hunnu Rock. Their debut album, The Gereg, debuted at #1 on the World Album and Top New Artist Charts. They have accumulated over 250 million combined streams and video views and have received critical acclaim from the likes of Billboard, NPR, Revolver, Vice, GQ, and even Sir Elton John himself. Proving their global appeal, the HU have sold out venues across the world in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, with scheduled festival appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Download Festival, and more, creating a community of fans from all walks of life. They’ve quickly grabbed the attention of the industry, leading to collaborations with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, and Metallica, who most recently gave the band’s Mongolian rendition of their hit, “Sad But True,” the official seal of approval. The band has also explored eclectic ways to reach audiences with their sound, most notably writing and recording music for EA Games’ Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

The Haunt conjures a wild, youthful and stylish indifference that reflects an era when rock n’ roll was ‘by and for’ the beautiful outcasts. Led by siblings Anastasia (18) & Maxamillion (22), the group creates a strong bond with fans through their live shows and online, by encouraging confidence and authenticity.   Their Alt-Rock-Pop sound elicits a feeling of both classic and contemporary rock/pop icons who have influenced their music, and denies any claim to chasing trends.   The band released their self-titled debut EP in 2018, produced by Josh Diaz, and Maxamillion Haunt. After touring with Palaye Royale throughout late 2018 and early 2019, the band spent time recording their sophomore EP “Social Intercourse” produced by Matt Good.   “MAKE ME KING” the first single off of the band’s debut full-length album, out now!!!

Behemoth & Arch Enemy at Marquee Theatre
2022-04-16 17:30 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
“It doesn’t get more blasphemous than this.”
That’s Behemoth mastermind Nergal talking about the title of the band’s 11th and latest album, I Loved You At Your Darkest. While it certainly seems an unlikely title for a black metal band—especially one that called their last album The Satanist—its origin might surprise you even more than the words themselves. “It’s a verse from the Bible,” Nergal reveals. “It’s actually a quote from Jesus Christ himself. For Behemoth to use it as the basis of our record, it’s sacrilege to the extreme.”
Nergal and his bandmates—Orion (bass) and Inferno (drums)—have channeled that passion into I Loved You At Your Darkest. A crushing salvo of black metal majesty replete with hellish riffs, thundering drum cannonades and soaring liturgical choirs reminiscent of classic horror cinema, the album is also bejeweled with nimble-fingered rock guitar solos on songs like “God=Dog,” “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica” and “Sabbath Mater.”

Time passes, the world changes, but some things remain constant and unassailable. Heavy metal has endured for more than four decades because its spirit is eternal, and few bands embody the intensity, integrity and lofty artistic ambitions of the genre with more dazzling aplomb than Arch Enemy. Formed in Sweden in the mid-90s by former Carcass/Carnage guitarist Michael Amott, this most explosive and proficient of modern metal bands have spent the last 20 years propagating an unerring creed of technical excellence, songwriting genius and thunderous, irresistible live performance, accruing a huge global fan base along the way.

When Arch Enemy released their debut album Black Earth in 1996, death metal was stagnating and in desperate need of a kick up the ass. Amott’s blueprint for the purest of metal strains proved an instant underground hit, both in Europe and Japan, and almost single-handedly resurrected death metal as a viable art form with mainstream potential. Signed to Century Media Records for 1998’s sophomore effort Stigmata, Arch Enemy marched purposefully towards a new millennium with a rapidly growing reputation. 1999’s Burning Bridges added to the band’s momentum, their razor-sharp blend of brutality and epic melody becoming more refined with each creative step. But it was in 2001, when original vocalist Johan Liiva stood aside and mercurial frontwoman Angela Gossow stepped in, that Arch Enemy truly took off.
Released in 2001 in Japan and nearly a year later in Europe, Wages Of Sin showcased a revitalised line-up and newfound gift for immortal anthems, Gossow’s feral roar adding many layers of charisma and power to Arch Enemy’s already monstrous sound. Swiftly dedicating themselves to a relentless touring schedule, the band’s upward trajectory continued throughout the first decade of the 21st century, with each successive album enhancing the band’s reputation and bringing legions of new fans to this resolute heavy metal campaign.

Hi Napalm heads ! Shane bouncing in here late Sunday night ! 49 mins left before we face another Monday Morning .. i am gonna chip in frequently now on this Spotify page as regular as i can with new playlists – Stuff i or members of Napalm are into musically – and playlists of stuff we are liking – bands that have influenced etc !! meanwhile check out the latest @Venomous Concept album Politics Versus the Erection.. cheers and good night

Apocalyptica & Lacuna Coil at The Van Buren
2022-04-15 20:00 - 23:30 | The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
“Cell-0 represents the core of everything. For us it is a particle that symbolizes the essence of all. That is to say, where everything comes from and where everything ends up…” Apocalyptica are true explorers, always seeking new frontiers and uncharted territories in which to express themselves. With Cell-0, their 9th studio album, the ambitious and electric quartet have not simply returned to their non-vocal roots, they have traveled deeper and further into the universe of instrumental music than ever before. That first love and passion which fueled Apocalyptica to form during 1993 in Helsinki now carries richer layers of knowledge and experience, which in turn have led to the band to a fundamental realization and creative path.

Formed in 1994, Lacuna Coil quickly became one of Century Media’s biggest selling bands. From Comalies (2002) and Karmacode (2004) to Shallow Life (2009) and Broken Crown Halo (2014), the high-flying Italian act demonstrated an uncanny ability to pull in rock, gothic, and metal audiences. The band’s spirited and lauded live performances have also earned them a solid reputation for a band that not only delivers night in/night out, but also a band whose stage performance reverberates long after the show is over. Indeed, Lacuna Coil’s heartfelt, heavy, melodic, and rhythmic metal—a hybrid of gothic, groove, and alternative—has created a rabid worldwide following. Whether it’s “Our Truth” and “Delirium” or “Nothing Stands in Our Way” and “Trip the Darkness,” Lacuna Coil’s dual-vocalist assault is immediately identifiable. New album, Black Anima, continues the Italian’s reign atop the metal stack. BLACK ANIMA line up Cristina Scabbia – Vocals Andrea Ferro – Vocals Marco ‘Maki’ Coti Zelati – Bass Guitar, Keys & Synth Diego ‘DD’ Cavallotti – Guitars Richard Meiz – Drums

Poppy - Never Find My Place Tour at Marquee Theatre
2022-04-13 20:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Runeterra has no shortage of valiant champions, but few are as tenacious as Poppy. Bearing a hammer twice the length of her body, this determined yordle has spent untold years searching for the “Hero of Demacia,” a fabled warrior said to be the rightful wielder of her weapon.
As legend describes it, this hero is the only person who can unlock the full power of the hammer and lead Demacia to true greatness. Though Poppy has searched the furthest corners of the kingdom for this legendary fighter, her quest has proven fruitless. Each time she has attempted to pass the hammer on to a potential hero, the results have been disastrous, often ending in the warrior’s death. Most people would have abandoned the task long ago, but most people do not possess the pluck and resolve of this indomitable heroine.
Poppy was once a very different yordle. For as long as she could remember, she had been in search of a purpose. Feeling alienated by the chaotic whimsy of other yordles, she preferred to soak up stability and structure where she could find it. This drive brought her to the human settlements of western Valoran, where she gazed in wonder at the caravans striping the countryside in an endless file. Many of the people there looked tattered and weary, but they stumbled on in pursuit of some ephemeral better life that might lie just beyond the horizon.
One day, however, a different sort of caravan passed through. Unlike the other travelers, these people seemed to move with purpose. They all awoke at the exact same time each morning, roused by the sound of a watchman’s horn. They took their meals together every day at the same hour, always finishing within a few minutes. They set up their camps and took them down with remarkable efficiency.
While yordles used their innate magic to fashion extraordinary things, these humans achieved equally astounding feats through coordination and discipline. They acted in concert like the cogs of a gear, becoming something much larger and stronger than any single person could ever be. To Poppy, that was more marvelous than all the magic in the world.
As Poppy watched the camp from the safety of her hiding place, her eyes caught the gleam of armor emerging from a tent. It was the group’s commanding officer, wearing a brigandine of gleaming steel plates, each piece overlapping, each an integral part of the whole. The man’s name was Orlon, and his presence seemed to stir the souls of everyone there. If someone became discouraged, he was there to remind them of why they pressed on. If someone collapsed from exhaustion, he inspired them to get up. It reminded Poppy of certain yordle charms, though again, without magic.
Poppy crept in for a closer look. She found herself following this shining commander, as if drawn to him by fate itself. She observed Orlon as he led his soldiers in training exercises. He was not a large fellow, yet he swung his massive battle hammer with surprising alacrity. At night, Poppy listened intently to his hushed discussions with the elders of the camp. She heard them making plans to pull up stakes and head west to build a permanent settlement.
Poppy’s mind was overwhelmed with questions. Where was Orlon going? Where did he come from? How did he assemble this meticulous band of travelers, and was there a place for a yordle in it? At that moment, she made the most important decision in her life: For the first time ever, she would reveal herself to a human, as this was the first time she’d ever felt a connection with one.
The introduction was a jarring one, with Orlon having just as many questions for Poppy as she had for him, but the two soon became inseparable. He became a mentor to her, and she a devotee to his cause. In the training grounds, Poppy was an invaluable sparring partner–the only member of Orlon’s battalion who was unafraid to strike him. She was never obsequious, questioning his decisions with an almost childlike innocence, as though she didn’t know she was supposed to meekly follow orders. She accompanied him to the site of the new settlement–an ambitious new nation called Demacia, where all were welcome, regardless of station or background, so long as they contributed to the good of the whole.
Orlon became a beloved figure throughout the kingdom. Though few had actually seen him wield his hammer, he always bore it on his back, and the weapon quickly became a revered icon for the fledgling nation. People whispered that it had the power to level mountains and tear the earth itself asunder.
Orlon passed the hammer to Poppy on his deathbed, and with it, his hope of an enduring kingdom. It was only then that Orlon told her the story of his weapon’s creation, and how it was never truly intended for his hands. He explained to Poppy that the hammer was meant to go to the Hero of Demacia–the only one who could keep Demacia whole. As her friend drew his last breath, Poppy swore to him that she would find this hero and place the weapon in his hands.
But what Poppy possesses in resolve, she lacks in ego, as it never even occurred to her that she might be the hero Orlon described.

Ministry with Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity at The Van Buren
2022-04-12 19:00 - 23:30 | The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
Born in 1981 in Chicago, Ministry has been the lifetime passion project of founder Al Jourgensen, considered to be the pioneer of industrial music. In its early days, Ministry was identifiable by its heavy synth-pop material in line with the new sounds and technology that were being developed in the ‘80s. Ministry’s output began with four 12” singles on Wax Trax! Records in 1981 before the first LP With Sympathy in 1983 via Arista Records. As time progressed however, so did Ministry, quickly developing a harsher, and more stylized sound that the band soon became infamous for on seminal albums Twitch (1986), The Land of Rape and Honey (1988), and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (1989). With the release of Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and The Way to Suck Eggs (1992), Ministry hit an all time high in the mainstream musical realm and received its first Grammy nomination. In total, Ministry has been nominated for a Grammy award six times. After an indefinite hiatus in 2013, Ministry’s 2018 album, AmeriKKKant, continued to reflect Jourgensen’s views on the frightening state of society and politics. Ministry’s newest album MORAL HYGIENE is set to be released on October 1st, 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The Melvins weren’t the first band to acknowledge the heavy metal influences that most left-of-center bands had been trying to shake off since punk rock broke in 1977 (that honor would go to Black Flag on their polarizing 1984 album My War). But no other band to emerge from the punk/alternative underground would mine Black Sabbath‘s slow, monolithic roar with greater effect than the Melvins, and they would prove to be wildly influential despite barely breaking out of cult status. The drop-D tunings and brontosaurus stomp of grunge icons such as Tad, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden would be unthinkable without the trails the Melvins blazed, and Kurt Cobain often sang their praises, helping them land their first major-label recording deal in 1993. They became a bridge between the edges of the punk and metal communities, who would find greater common ground from the ’90s onward. (Their debut EP, 1986’s 6 Songs, found them wavering between speedier punk-oriented numbers and full-on heaviness, but by 1991’s Bullhead, the Melvins’ trademark gargantuan sound was firmly in place.) And while the Melvins were as recognizable as any band of their day, they also proved to be more creatively flexible than nearly all their peers, willing to experiment with different styles (the massive suite on 1992’s Melvins [aka Lysol], the ambitious studio experimentation of 1996’s Stag, the noisy soundscapes in 2017’s A Walk with Love and Death) and a variety of musical configurations (bringing in multiple guest vocalists on 2000’s The Crybaby, using two drummers on 2006’s A Senile Animal, working with a rotating team of bassists on 2016’s Basses Loaded, recording with two bassists at once on 2018’s Pinkus Abortion Technician, and recording an epic-scale acoustic set for 2021’s Five Legged Dog), all of which helped the band remain productive and prolific more than three decades after they launched.
The band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, the same town that produced Nirvana‘s Cobain and Krist Novoselic. For Nirvana and many other Seattle-area bands, the Melvins’ sludge was inspirational; the younger bands took the Sabbath-styled heaviness of the Melvins and added an equally important pop song structure, which the group tended to lack. While all of their disciples became famous after Nirvana broke big in 1991 (including Mudhoney, which featured former Melvins bassist Matt Lukin), the Melvins only expanded their cult slightly. They did earn a major-label contract with Atlantic, but after releasing three records for the label, they were dropped in late 1996 and the group returned to indie status, landing with Amphetamine Reptile for 1998’s Alive at the F*cker Club. The late ’90s and early 2000s saw a flurry of releases by the band: The Maggot, The Bootlicker, The Crybaby, Electroretard, The Colossus of Destiny, Hostile Ambient Takeover, Pigs of the Roman Empire, and Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony and Lust, all of which (except for the fourth one) were issued on Mike Patton‘s Ipecac label.
In addition to their Melvins activities, singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne joined Patton (and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn) for the experimental outfit Fantômas, resulting in a number of releases (1999’s self-titled debut, 2001’s The Director’s Cut, 2002’s Millennium Monsterwork by “the Fantômas Melvins Big Band” (recorded live in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve 2000 but not released until two years later), 2004’s Delirium Cordia, and 2005’s Suspended Animation), while the Melvins’ latest bassist, Kevin Rutmanis, joined Patton in another side project, Tomahawk. In 2006, Big Business bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis joined the Melvins, appearing on that year’s Senile Animal album. The follow-ups, 2008’s Nude with Boots, 2010’s The Bride Screamed Murder, and a live album titled Sugar Daddy Live, were recorded with the same lineup and released by Ipecac.
The band returned in 2012 with a stripped-down lineup, dubbed Melvins Lite, for Freak Puke, which found Crover and Osborne recording without the boys from Big Business and instead adding standup bassist Dunn to their roster to round out the band’s already formidable bottom-end sound. Mixing things up even further, the band invited a host of guests, including the likes of Jello Biafra and J.G. Thirlwell, for Everybody Loves Sausages, an album of covers that arrived in 2013. Another new album, Tres Cabrones, released in November of that same year, saw them reunited with original drummer Mike Dillard — who had previously appeared only on their early demo tapes — while usual drummer Dale Crover took over on bass duties. Another odd combination occurred in 2014, as Crover and Osborne joined the Butthole Surfers‘ Jeff “J.D.” Pinkus and Paul Leary on the eclectic Hold It In.
Two unusual releases from the Melvins arrived in 2016. An album the group began recording in 1999 with Mike Kunka of Godheadsilo was finally completed and released as Three Men and a Baby, credited to Mike & the Melvins. And in the middle of 2016 they issued Basses Loaded, where the group recruited a handful of favorite bass players to collaborate on songs. The guest artists included Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, Steve McDonald of Redd Kross and OFF!, J.D. Pinkus, Trevor Dunn, and Jared Warren. One of the few things the Melvins hadn’t done was release a double album, but they were finally able to cross that off their list in 2017 with A Walk with Love and Death. The 23-track release included material written and recorded as the score to a film by Jesse Nieminen. In 2018, the Melvins broke ground with a lineup featuring two bassists on the album Pinkus Abortion Technician. The sessions found J.D. Pinkus (returning from his previous appearances on Hold It In and Basses Loaded) handling the bottom end along with Steve McDonald (also heard on Basses Loaded), while King Buzzo and Dale Crover took their usual places on guitar and drums. The band reunited several times with first drummer Dillard, releasing several EP-length or stand-alone recordings under the sub-moniker Melvins 1983. In 2021, this formation of the band released a full-length titled Working with God. With touring off the table during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hard-working Melvins played a series of live streamed concerts under the banner Melvins TV, and set to work on an unusual project. Five Legged Dog, released in October 2021 and featuring the Osborne/ Crover/McDonald lineup, was the group’s first all-acoustic album, running nearly two-and-a-half hours, and featuring new interpretations of songs spanning their recording career, as well as covers of songs that influenced them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, Rovi

One of the first punk-metal fusion bands, Corrosion of Conformity were formed in North Carolina by guitarist Woody Weatherman during the early ’80s. In their early years, C.O.C. became known for their aggressive sound, intelligent political lyrics, and willingness to break away from both hardcore and metal conventions. In the ’90s, their shift to a more stripped-down, deliberate sound — sort of Black Sabbath filtered through the Deep South — brought them enough in line with the alt-metal Zeitgeist to bring them a measure of mainstream popularity.
C.O.C. debuted in 1983 with the thrashy, Black Flag-influenced Eye for an Eye, featuring a lineup of Weatherman, drummer Reed Mullin, vocalist Eric Eycke, and bassist Mike Dean. They began to build up a cult following with 1985’s Animosity, but their label at the time, Death, grew tired of their internal instability — lineup changes found Eycke replaced by vocalist Simon Bob — and dropped them following 1987’s Technocracy. It took several years for a new lineup to come together — featuring Weatherman, guitarist Pepper Keenan, Mullin, vocalist Karl Agell, and bassist Phil Swisher — but when it did, the result was 1991’s Blind, a powerful, focused, more metallic record that increased their audience by leaps and bounds. Agell was fired following its success, and he and Swisher went on to form Leadfoot; meanwhile, Keenan became the full-time lead vocalist on 1994’s even more Sabbath-esque Deliverance, which also featured the return of original bassist Mike Dean. During 1995, Keenan took a short detour into the Southern metal supergroup Down (which also featured Pantera‘s Phil Anselmo and members of Crowbar).
Thanks to a shift in popular taste in favor of the ultra-heavy brand of alternative metal, the group had helped pioneer, C.O.C. found themselves with a larger audience than ever before when they released 1996’s Wiseblood, which continued and expanded their rock radio success. After a lengthy break from recording and a world tour with Metallica, C.O.C. returned with a new album in the fall of 2000, titled America’s Volume Dealer. Another break ensued, resulting in the release of the live recording Live Volume in 2001. It wasn’t until April of 2005 that the band regrouped for the hard-hitting and complex In the Arms of God. C.O.C. went on hiatus, with the members working on various side projects until 2010, when drummer Reed Mullin rejoined the band, reuniting the Animosity lineup while Pepper Keenan continued working with his other band, Down. The remaining trio began work on new material, and in 2012 released their eighth album, the eponymous Corrosion of Conformity, on Candlelight Records. Their ninth album, aptly titled IX, arrived in 2014. Shortly after the latter LP’s release, C.O.C. reunited with Keenan and began work on their tenth studio long-player, No Cross No Crown, which dropped in January 2018. The band announced the death of Reed Mullin on January 27, 2020. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi

Journey & ToTo at Gila River Arena
2022-04-09 19:30 - 23:30 | Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ, 85305, United States
JOURNEY is one of the most popular American rock bands of all time, creating some of the best-known songs in modern music. Since the group’s formation in 1973, the band has earned 19 top 40 singles and 25 Gold and Platinum albums and has sold nearly 100 million albums globally. Their Greatest Hits album is certified 15 times-Platinum, bringing Journey into the elite club of Diamond-certified award holders. The band continues to tour and record into the 21st century, performing concerts for millions of fans worldwide, and received the prestigious Billboard “Legends of Live” touring award. 2018’s massive co-headlining tour with Def Leppard was the band’s most successful tour to date, landing them in the Top 10 year-end touring chart with more than 1 million tickets sold. In 2017, Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In March 2019, Journey released a live DVD/CD set from their concert at the Budokan in Tokyo, featuring the first-ever performances of the band’s “Escape” and “Frontiers” albums in their entireties. Journey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and is the subject of the award-winning documentary, “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.”

Few ensembles in the history of recorded music have individually or collectively had a larger imprint on pop culture than the members of TOTO. As individuals, the band members can be heard on an astonishing 5000 albums that together amass a sales history of a half a billion albums. Amongst these recordings, NARAS applauded the performances with more than 200 Grammy nominations. Toto has over 400 million streams on Spotify alone along while views on YouTube far exceed over a half billion.
With close to 40 years together and literally thousands of credits, including the biggest selling album of all time: Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and accolades to their names, TOTO remains one of the top selling touring and recording acts in the world. They are the benchmark by which many artists base their sound and production, and they continue to transcend the standards set by the entire music community, being simply synonymous with musical credibility. Their repertoire continues to be current via high profile usage on broadcast television. They are pop culture, and are one of the few 70’s bands that have endured the changing trends and styles to a career enjoy a multi-generational worldwide fan base.
On February 9, 2018, TOTO will release their brand new Greatest Hits package 40 Trips Around The Sun featuring three new tracks.

10 Years, Black Map & Vrsty at Crescent Ballroom
2022-04-06 18:30 - 23:30 | Crescent Ballroom, 308 N 2nd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
For nearly two decades, 10 Years have quietly pushed themselves and modern rock towards evolution. Building a formidable catalog, the group’s gold-selling 2005 breakthrough The Autumn Effect yielded the hit “Wasteland,” which went gold, infiltrated the Billboard Hot 100, and clinched #1 at Active Rock Radio and #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart. They landed three Top 30 entries on the Billboard Top 200 with Division [2008], Feeding the Wolves [2010], and Minus the Machine [2012]. Most recently, 2017’s (How to Live) As Ghosts marked a reunion between Jesse, Brian, and Matt and achieved marked success. Not only did the album bow in the Top 5 of the US Top Hard Rock Albums Chart, but it also yielded the hit “Novacaine.” The single ascended to the Top 5 of the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs Chart and tallied 16 million Spotify streams, alongside 29 million streams across all dsp’s. The cumulative total for all track streams from repertoire on How To Live (As Ghosts) exceeds 51 million plays. Along the way, they sold out countless headline shows and toured with everyone from Korn, Deftones, and Stone Sour to Chris Cornell and Linkin Park. The new album, Violent Allies, is a collaboration with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer and Feeding the Wolves collaborator Howard Benson [My Chemical Romance, Halestorm, Papa Roach, Three Days Grace].

A muscular American prog metal/hard rock trio with an impressive pedigree, San Francisco’s Black Map is the creation of Dredg guitarist Mark Engles, Far drummer Chris Robyn, and Trophy Fire vocalist/guitarist Ben Flanagan. While Driver, their 2014 debut EP, offered gritty vocals and overblown distorted guitars, by the time they issued their first full-length album, …And We Explode, they had begun crafting more deliberate hooks and prog riffs. On 2017’s In Droves, their sound showcased clean, melodic vocals with detuned, multi-pedaled, hook-laden guitar riffs and syncopated prog drumming. They dug into harder-edged prog and alternative metal for 2022’s Melodoria.
Black Map was formed in 2014 in San Francisco. They came together as the trio’s respective primary bands were on hiatus and discovered a solid penchant for writing together. The group issued their debut EP, Driver, shortly after forming, with their full-length debut, …And We Explode, appearing from Minus Head Records just eight months later. It drew favorable reviews from critics, who made comparisons to bands like A Perfect Circle, Deftones, and Chevelle.
The trio moved to eOne for their Aaron Hellam-produced sophomore long-player, In Droves, which arrived in 2017. Garnering an even larger array of positive reviews, Black Map hit the road and played the American music festival circuit for the lion’s share of the next 12 months, racking up more than 150 gigs in the process. Between festival dates, they booked studio time with producer Mike Watts in Long Island, New York, and cut three songs. They recorded a fourth with Hallam upon returning home, and the tracks were all released as the prog metal-oriented Trace the Path EP later that year. The band toured across 2019 before being sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Black Map reunited in 2021 and spent many hours writing at home in San Francisco. They booked time in several studios across the Bay Area. Deciding to produce themselves, they enlisted Zach Ohren (Machine Head, the Ghost Inside, Set Your Goals) as a guiding light and co-producer. That September, they issued the pre-release single “Chasms” on Minus Head; it served as the opening track for 2022’s ten-song Melodoria. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

New album WELCOME HOME out 1/21 on Spinefarm Records. Learn more @ www.vrsty.nyc.
Sure, it’s easy to believe everything has been done before. VRSTY (Var-Si-Ty) prove it hasn’t. The New York City quartet—Joey Varela [vocals], Javy Dorrejo [bass], Chris Cody [drums], and Paul Gregory [guitar]—layer R&B vocal styles over heavy metallic grooves and chugging riffage. After posting up over 2 million streams and charting Billboard with their independent releases, the group crafted a unique and unexpected hybrid on their 2020 debut EP for Spinefarm Records, Cloud City.
Fueled by the success of Cloud City – which saw hit singles Massive & Shameless rack up over a million streams each in under a year – VRSTY will release their label debut full-length WELCOME HOME on January 21, 2022.
“When people ask me what we sound like, I say, ‘We’re whatever you want us to be’,” states Joey. “I can’t put a genre on us, because I’m a pop and R&B singer who loves metal. There are pop tracks, metal tracks, and R&B tracks. It’s super different heavy music with pop-inspired vocals. The genre has enough bands who sound similar. If you spend time trying to do what’s popular, you fall into a mode. That’s not something we’re interested in. The music has to be fun for us and the people listening to it.”
In the end, VRSTY break all of the rules and ultimately break ground.

Motionless In White + Ice Nine Kills + Black Veil Brides at Mesa Amphitheatre
2022-03-17 19:00 - 23:30 | Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St, Mesa, 85201, United States
While their hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania is mostly known in popular culture for being perfectly mundane, gothic metalcore band Motionless in White make music that’s anything but tame. Blending the raw fury of metalcore with the dramatic atmospherics of goth-metal and industrial, the band has cultivated a dark and moody sound that owes as much to Type O Negative as it does to Slayer. Emerging in 2010, the group entered the mainstream four years later with the release of their third studio LP Reincarnate, which debuted at number nine the Billboard Top 200.
Formed in 2005 while members Chris Cerulli (vocals), Angelo Parente (drums), Mike Costanza (guitar), and Frank Polumbo (bass) were still in high school, they become a quintet after the addition of keyboard player Josh Balz in 2007, the same year the band would release their debut EP, The Whorror, on Masquerade. In the years following that release, Polumbo and Costanza parted ways with Motionless in White, with Ryan Sitkowski and Ricky Olson coming on board to fill in the gaps, allowing the band to forge ahead after the release of their second EP, When Love Met Destruction, on Tragic Hero in 2009. The group signed to Fearless Records in 2010, and their first full-length album, Creatures, arrived that year, followed by their sophomore effort, Infamous, in 2012. A third album, Reincarnate, arrived in the summer of 2014. In June 2016, the band announced their signing to Roadrunner Records. They released the single “570” the same day.
At the beginning of 2017, Balz announced his departure from the band. His synth duties were taken over by Marie Christine-Allard for the recording of the band’s fourth set, Graveyard Shift. Issued in May 2017, the album featured the singles “Rats” and “Loud (Fuck It),” as well as an appearance by Korn‘s Jonathan Davis. The group headed back into the studio the following year, returning in 2019 with their fifth studio long-player Disguise. ~ Gregory Heaney, Rovi

Like the undead slashers celebrated in their songs, Ice Nine Kills return with The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood, a sequel of gruesome movie-sized proportion to The Silver Scream. The new album carves out a fresh, bloody homage to the VHS celluloid classics that possessed singer Spencer Charnas at an early age, with a devilish new twist.
Ice Nine Kills make music both timeless and timely, mixing metal, hardcore, and punk, with accessible power. New anthems like “Rainy Day” and “Hip To Be Scared” demonstrate Spencer’s fascination with fright, pop culture obsession, and his expertise with inescapably wicked melodic hooks and clever twists of phrase. Producer Drew Fulk returned for Welcome To Horrorwood which includes cameos from members of Papa Roach, Cannibal Corpse, Atreyu, Fit For A King, and Senses Fail.
Decadent, devious, and fiercely insane, Ice Nine Kills celebrate pop culture’s darkest edges, mining a cinephile library’s worth of iconic horror on The Silver Scream and its sequel. The creative marriage made in hell of music and fiction began in earnest with the Every Trick In The Book, which brought the previous three records’ themes to new levels.
The band’s synergy of music and lifestyle draws favorable comparisons to Slipknot and Rob Zombie. Visionary trailblazers and multimedia raconteurs, INK built a thrilling world for a growing legion of devoted true believers, with theatrical shows, high-concept videos, and inventive band-to-fan communion.

In an era when rock music is regularly declared “dead,” Black Veil Brides music videos have been viewed over a half a billion times. The band (and its members) Instagram and Twitter accounts command close to 10 million followers between them. Vale, the group’s most re- cent full-length album, went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart.
With a rightful reverence for the pop cultural icons of the past, the young outfit has never- theless fashioned their own collective future, with relentless fury. In the hearts and minds of their fans, Black Veil Brides represents an unwillingness to compromise and a resistance to critics (personal and professional), fueled by the same fire as the group’s own heroes, the iconoclasts whose creative output, once dismissed, is now canonized.

Lilith Czar arrives with the force of an otherworldly thunder, arising in visceral rebirth from an untimely grave of surrender and sacrifice. Her voice is the sound of supernatural determination, summoned with a confessional vulnerability and unapologetic authenticity. The girl who was Juliet Simms – her dreams discouraged and dismissed, her identity confined and controlled – is no more. In her place stands Lilith Czar, a new vessel forged in unbridled willpower and unashamed desire.
Her motivation is simple: if it’s truly a man’s world? She wants to be King.
Created from Filth and Dust, the debut album from Lilith Czar, is an evocative invitation into her bold new world. It’s aggressive music with warm accessibility; huge hooks with driving hard rock—the new larger-than-life icon channels the fierce combativeness of Fiona Apple and Stevie Nicks’ seductive witchery. Lilith Czar arms herself with sonic power, theatricality, and confidence. It’s a sound where the pulse of Nine Inch Nails, Halestorm’s songcraft, and the libertine spirit of David Bowie converge, all in service of a ritualistic ache for a more just and equitable world.

Judas Priest and Queensrÿche at Arizona Federal Theatre
2022-03-16 19:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
One of the most influential heavy metal groups of all time, Judas Priest emerged at the dawn of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Decked out in leather and chains, the band combined the gothic doom of Black Sabbath and blazing speed of Led Zeppelin with the inventive art rock of Queen, powered by the dynamic banshee wail of Rob Halford and the vicious dual lead guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. Judas Priest set the pace for the genre from 1975 until 1985 with iconic albums like British Steel (1980), Screaming for Vengeance (1982), and Defenders of the Faith (1984) and helped lay the groundwork for speed and death metal. The group struggled after Halford‘s departure in the early ’90s but were restored to prominence in the 2000s upon his return, issuing a string of acclaimed efforts — Angel of Retribution (2005), Nostradamus (2010), Redeemer of Souls (2014), and Firepower (2018) — that skillfully married melody, pageantry, and muscle.
Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1970, the group’s core members were guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill. Joined by Alan Atkins and drummer John Ellis, the band played their first concert in 1971. Atkins’ previous group was called Judas Priest, yet the members decided it was the best name for the new group. The band played numerous shows throughout 1971. During the year, Ellis was replaced by Alan Moore; by the end of the year, Chris Campbell replaced Moore. After a solid year of touring the U.K., Atkins and Campbell left the band in 1973 and were replaced by vocalist Rob Halford and drummer John Hinch. They continued touring, including a visit to Germany and the Netherlands in 1974. By the time the tour was completed, they had secured a record contract with Gull, an independent U.K. label. Before recording their debut album, Judas Priest added guitarist Glenn Tipton.
Rocka Rolla was released in September 1974 to almost no attention. The following year, they gave a well-received performance at the Reading Festival and Hinch departed the band; he was replaced by Alan Moore. Later that year, the group released Sad Wings of Destiny, which earned some positive reviews. However, the lack of sales was putting the band in a dire financial situation, which was remedied by an international contract with CBS Records. Sin After Sin (1977) was the first album released under that contract; it was recorded with Simon Phillips, who replaced Moore. The record received positive reviews and the band departed for their first American tour, with Les Binks on drums.
When they returned to England, Judas Priest recorded 1978’s Stained Class, the record that established them as an international force in metal. Along with 1979’s Hell Bent for Leather (Killing Machine in the U.K.), Stained Class defined the nascent New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. A significant number of bands adopted Priest’s leather-clad image and hard, driving sound, making their music harder, faster, and louder. After releasing Hell Bent for Leather, the band recorded the live album Unleashed in the East (1979) in Japan; it became their first platinum album in America. Les Binks left the band in 1979; he was replaced by former Trapeze drummer Dave Holland. Their next album, 1980’s British Steel, entered the British charts at number three, launched the hit singles “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight,” and was their second American platinum record; Point of Entry, released the following year, was nearly as successful.
At the beginning of the ’80s, Judas Priest was a top concert attraction around the world, in addition to being a best-selling recording artist. Featuring the hit single “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance marked the height of their popularity, peaking at number 17 in America and selling over a million copies. Two years later, Defenders of the Faith nearly matched its predecessor’s performance, yet metal tastes were beginning to change, as Metallica and other speed/thrash metal groups started to grow in popularity. That shift was evident on 1986’s Turbo, where Judas Priest seemed out of touch with current trends; nevertheless, the record sold over a million copies in America on the basis of name recognition alone. However, 1987’s Priest…Live! was their first album since Stained Class not to go gold. Ram It Down (1988) was a return to raw metal and returned the group to gold status. Dave Holland left after this record and was replaced by Scott Travis for 1990’s Painkiller. Like Ram It Down, Painkiller didn’t make an impact outside the band’s die-hard fans, yet the group were still a popular concert act.
In the early ’90s, Rob Halford began his own thrash band, Fight, and soon left Judas Priest. In 1996, following a solo album by Glenn Tipton, the band rebounded with a new young singer, Tim “Ripper” Owens (formerly a member of a Priest tribute band and of Winter’s Bane). They spent the next year recording Jugulator amidst much self-perpetuated hype concerning Priest’s return to their roots. The album debuted at number 82 on the Billboard album charts upon its release in late 1997. Halford had by then disbanded Fight following a decrease in interest and signed with Trent Reznor‘s Nothing label with a new project, Two. In the meantime, the remaining members of Judas Priest forged on with ’98 Live Meltdown, a live set recorded during their inaugural tour with Ripper on the mike. Around the same time, a movie was readying production to be based on Ripper‘s rags-to-riches story of how he got to front his all-time favorite band. Although Priest was originally supposed to be involved with the film, they ultimately pulled out, but production went on anyway without the band’s blessing (the movie, Rock Star, was eventually released in the summer of 2001, starring Mark Wahlberg in the lead role). Rob Halford in the meantime disbanded Two after just a single album, 1997’s Voyeurs, and returned back to his metal roots with a quintet simply named Halford. The group issued their debut in 2000, Resurrection, following it with a worldwide tour that saw the new group open up Iron Maiden‘s Brave New World U.S. tour and issue a live set one year later (which included a healthy helping of Priest classics) — Live Insurrection.
In 2001 the Ripper-led Priest released a new album, Demolition, and Priest’s entire back catalog for Columbia was reissued with remastered sound and bonus tracks. In 2003 the band — including Halford — collaborated on the liner notes and song selections for their mammoth career-encompassing box Metalogy, a collaboration that brought Halford back into the fold. Owens split from the group amicably in 2003, allowing the newly reunited heavy metal legends to plan their global live concert tour in 2004, with their 16th studio album, Angel of Retribution, to be released the following year. In 2008 the band released Nostradamus, a sprawling, two-disc conceptual piece that charted the life and times of the famous French seer. On December 7, 2010, Priest broke the news that their upcoming Epitaph world tour would be their last. The following month, however, they clarified that they were not disbanding, announcing that they were working on new material. Before the tour began, founding member Downing left the band over differences with the other members and their management; he was replaced by Richie Faulkner.
Priest worked on their new album during the tour, which ran until 2012. The record’s release was delayed several times, but it was eventually announced that it would see the light of day in July 2014. Entitled Redeemer of Souls, it was described by Priest as a traditional, crowd-pleasing return to their roots, and went on to become the group’s first Top Ten album in the U.S., landing at the number six slot on the Billboard 200 chart. A lengthy tour followed, and in early 2016 Priest issued the concert album Battle Cry, which featured highlights from their August 1, 2015 performance at Germany’s Wacken Festival.
Judas Priest began loosely demoing ideas for a studio album in 2016, but they didn’t enter the studio as a band until a year later. It wasn’t until January 2018 that they announced to the press and social media that they’d completed Firepower, their 18th studio album. They revisited their original, organic way of recording, with the entire band playing together at the same time in the studio. They underscored this by enlisting producers Tom Allom — who worked on all of the band’s records from 1979 through 1988 — and Grammy-winning veteran Andy Sneap. In a press release, Halford explained, “Tom Allom has got this classic metal thing, and Andy is a bit more of a ‘modern metal producer’,” adding, “I think to get this balance between that classic old-school metal to what Andy’s world is was just a remarkable coalescence.”
In January 2018, the band announced the March release of Firepower with a teaser video for the single “Lightning Strikes” and news of a forthcoming world tour. In February, guitarist Tipton — diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a decade earlier — announced that it had progressed to the point where he had to retire from touring. Sneap would fill his slot on the road. Former guitarist K.K. Downing, who claimed he was shocked that he wasn’t asked to replace Tipton on tour, asserted in public that “Sneap’s role was actually much more than as a producer on Firepower” — i.e., he actually played Tipton‘s parts on the album. Halford took to the media to respond, saying that “everything that you hear from Glenn on Firepower is the amazing Glenn Tipton.” He called Downing’s accusation “completely superfluous” and “a thousand percent false.” On March 2, Judas Priest released the lyric video for second single “Never the Heroes.” Firepower was issued on March 9 and soared to number five in the U.K., making it their first Top Ten album there since British Steel. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, Rovi

One of rock’s most respected names who have weathered the storm and emerged in 2019 with ‘The Verdict’. It’s an album that echoes Queensryche’s three decades of career high-points while pushing ahead with the confidence and urgency of a band just now coming into its own.
With a legacy behind them that’s shifted over 30 million records and built a dedicated legion of fans while touring the globe alongside giants including Metallica, Def Leppard and The Scorpions, Queensryche have exceeded themselves once again. If Queensryche’s 15th studio album sounds like a young, hungry band just hitting its stride, it’s because that is precisely the case. Produced and mixed by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Hatebreed, Rob Zombie), who helmed 2015’s Condition Human, it’s also Queensryche’s third album with frontman Todd La Torre, who joined the veteran band in 2012, taking the reins from erstwhile voice, Geoff Tate.
Queensryche’s impact on other bands and musicians is undeniable. While they dominated rock radio in the 90’s with a string of hits including “Jet City Woman” and “Silent Lucidity”, their influence on rock and progressive bands including the likes Dream Theater or the late, lamented Nevermore has been undeniable.
The Verdict is in and it’s testament to not merely Queensryche’s staying power as a force in rock in a turbulent new world, but a band without boundaries who continue to prove how timeless they truly are.

Sevendust, Tetrarch & Dead Poet Society at Marquee Theatre
2022-03-16 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Atlanta-based quintet Sevendust are one of the most prominent nu-metal acts, rising above their contemporaries with an aggressive blend of bottom-heavy riffs and soulful, accessible melodies delivered by vocalist Lajon Witherspoon. Over the years, the band balanced the raw energy and brutality of early albums like 1997’s Sevendust and 1999’s Home with increasingly atmospheric production and even late-era acoustic sets on releases like Time Travelers & Bonfires (2014) and Kill the Flaw (2015), home to the Grammy-nominated single “Thank You.”
The band — comprising frontman Witherspoon, John Connolly (guitar), Clint Lowery (guitar), Vince Hornsby (bass), and Morgan Rose (drums) — first appeared in 1995 as Crawlspace, releasing the single “My Ruin” on the Mortal Kombat: More Kombat soundtrack. Shortly thereafter, the group changed their name to Sevendust and released a 1997 self-titled debut, home to the breakthrough singles “Black” and “Bitch.” Two years later, they issued the gold-selling sophomore set Home (TVT), which featured their mainstream rock hit “Denial.” As the band’s audience grew, they played over 800 shows alongside such groups as Korn, Godsmack, Disturbed, and Metallica, even making an appearance at Woodstock ’99. Their angst-ridden third album, the aptly titled Animosity, appeared in fall 2001 and landed in the Top 30 on the Billboard 200. Seasons followed in 2003, their highest-charting album to date and last with TVT.
In late December 2004, word surfaced that Lowery had left the band, and those rumors proved true the following February when Sevendust announced ex-Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo as Lowery‘s replacement. (Lowery, a co-founder of Sevendust, eventually surfaced in the hard rock supergroup Dark New Day.) Sevendust’s fifth album and first self-produced effort, Next, appeared in October 2005 on Winedark Records. The record failed to sell as much as its predecessors, and Sevendust later signed to Asylum Records, issuing Alpha in March 2007. Alpha fared better than Next, climbing to number 14 on the Billboard charts and paving the way for the band’s seventh effort. Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow arrived a year later and featured appearances by Chris Daughtry, Myles Kennedy, and Mark Tremonti.
At this time, the band parted ways with Mayo, welcoming Lowery back to Sevendust and restoring their original lineup. The reunited crew followed with Cold Day Memory in 2010. Landing just outside the Top Ten, it was their highest-charting set to date, yielding the trio of mainstream rock hits “Unraveling,” “Forever,” and “Last Breath.” Their ninth album, Black Out the Sun, arrived in 2013, topping the hard rock chart.
Looking to change things up, Sevendust stripped away their metal edge for their next effort, issuing an album of acoustic tracks. Time Travelers & Bonfires, released in the spring of 2014, debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200. Bouncing back to basics a year later, the group returned with the heavy yet atmospheric Kill the Flaw, which included the Grammy-nominated single “Thank You.” After touring, they returned to the studio to record their 12th album. Produced by Michael Baskette (Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus), All I See Is War arrived in May 2018 on Rise Records. Two years later, the band returned with Blood & Stone, which included an emotionally charged cover of Soundgarden‘s “The Day I Tried to Live.” ~ Kirk Dombek & Neil Z. Yeung

Tetrarch is a Metal band from Atlanta, GA, currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. They are tried-and-true blend of intense heavy riffage and driving drums with the dark vibes and the haunting choruses of hooky modern hard rock. Throw in Diamond’s thrash influenced guitar solos and you have Tetrarch. Tetrarch’s influences are evident but never replicated, as they stay true to their own unique sound that will appeal to any heavy music fan.
The bands debut full length album FREAK debuted at #3 on the iTunes metal charts and #16 on the Rock Charts. They were heavily championed on Sirius XM Liquid Metal and Octane and became one of the most played artist in 2018. The single FREAK also hit the active rock charts.
Tetrarch has received extreme amounts of major press including Guitar World Magazine, Loudwire, Grammy.com, Red Bull, Guitar Player Magazine, Afropunk, Alternative Press, Revolver Magazine and several others. They have also left a lasting impact of those who have seen them on countless tours and festivals around the country including DWP Epicenter Festival (with bands like Korn, Rob Zombie, Tool), Exit 111 (with Guns n Roses, Ghost, Gojira, Deftones) and several others. Their guitar player Diamond also became the first female african american lead guitar player to be featured in major rock/metal publications around the country.
The band has a very promising future and budding fanbase and they always deliver exactly what their fans and metal fans want to hear.

Dead Poet Society are poised to have a major year in 2022. The band released their debut album -!- (said as “The Exclamation Album.“) a year ago and have since accumulated over 30 million global streams, with over 10 million in the U.S. alone. The single “.CoDA.” was a Top 15 single at radio, spending over 20 weeks on the chart. The track was also featured on Spotify’s Rock This playlist. The band hit the road last fall in support of Badflower and made appearances at the Welcome to Rockville and Louder Than Life festivals. Across the pond, the band appeared at the Reading and Leeds festivals. At Reading, they drew one of the biggest crowds of the day.

Flogging Molly at Marquee Theatre
2022-03-15 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Los Angeles-based seven-piece Flogging Molly are an interesting mix of traditional Irish music and spunky punk rock. Former Fastway acoustic guitarist/frontman and Dublin native Dave King formed the band with fiddle player Bridget Regan, guitarist Dennis Casey, accordion player (and former pro skateboarder) Matt Hensley, bassist Nathen Maxwell, drummer George Schwindt, and mandolinist Bob Schmidt. Getting their start playing regularly at the L.A. bar Molly Malones, Flogging Molly eventually took their music to the road; their explosive and passionate live show was the heart of the band, after all, and they toured relentlessly around the world throughout their career. Their rowdy folk-rock punk revival sound has been compared to the likes of other Irish bands such as the Pogues and Black 47, but the raucous septet opted for its own unique brashness that defied genre lines.
Flogging Molly released their debut, Swagger, in March 2000 on Side One Dummy and followed up two years later with Drunken Lullabies. Crafting exuberant anthems to raise up a full Guinness to, King often used personal touchstones — such as his childhood in a war-torn Ireland, his father’s premature death, and an eight-year exile in the United States — for the band’s compelling lyrical content. Within a Mile of Home appeared in September 2004, and the band continued to hit the road hard in support. The DVD documentary Whiskey on a Sunday was issued in July 2006; it was a candid look at Flogging Molly as both a band and seven individuals, and came with a ten-song CD of acoustic and live tracks. In early 2007, as the group geared up for a U.S. headlining run, Hensley amicably departed to spend more time with his family.
In March 2007, Flogging Molly released the Complete Control Sessions EP. Their fourth studio album, Float, followed a year later. The band then hit the road, documenting the tour in 2010 with the release of Live at the Greek Theatre. Eventually they settled back into the studio with producer Ryan Hewitt, and the following year released their fifth album, Speed of Darkness. Prior to the recording, original drummer Schwindt was replaced by Mike Alonso, who had formerly played with King in the hard rock band Katmandu. Flogging Molly continued to tour over the next several years, and began curating their annual Salty Dog Cruise, which set sail each year over St. Patrick’s Day. They eventually returned to the studio, heading to Dublin to record their sixth album, Life Is Good, which was released in early 2017. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi

Russkaja play with Slavic clichés and melancholic minor melodies which then pick up speed again and invite you to dance. The beat of the so-called “Turbo Polka” with a Jamaican Ska-offbeat makes the people’s feet and souls celebrate, dance and happily forget all their woes.
Excursions into punk rock, metal and dub-step also make even lovers of the harder genres shake their heads. Upbeat powerful songs swing between countries, languages and cultures – High Speed Polka Ska Groove hits virtuoso dirt guitars. Gorgeous violins let the big bass baritone voice of lead singer Georgij Alexandowitsch Makazaria shine as bright as the stars. Since 2005 RUSSKAJA have been touring their modern and cosmopolitan Austro-Soviet roots.
Georgij Makazaria – voc / Lea-Sophie Fischer – violin / Nico Loro Ravenni – sax / H-G. Gutternigg – potete / Engel Mayr – guitar / Dima Miller – bass / Mario Stübler – drums /

Vandoliers are the next wave of Texas music. The six-piece Dallas-Fort Worth group channels all that makes this vast state unique: tradition, modernity, audacity, grit, and—of course—size. While tracking alongside the muddy path that country-punk bands like Old 97’s, Jason and the Scorchers, and the True Believers blazed in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Vandoliers define their own style; no one else is upending the genre quite like them.

Imagine Dragons at Footprint Center
2022-03-14 18:00 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Formed in 2009, Imagine Dragons first revealed their emotionally charged and inventive sensibilities with a series of independently released EPs that earned them grassroots following. Signed to KIDinaKORNER/Interscope by hitmaking producer Alex Da Kid, the band greatly expanded their fanbase with the release of their multi-platinum breakthrough single “It’s Time” (featured on the 2012 EP Continued Silence). With their past hits also including “Radioactive” (a diamond-selling smash that won Best Rock Performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards), Imagine Dragons went on to see Smoke + Mirrors debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart upon its release in early 2015.
For Imagine Dragons, one of the greatest achievements of Evolve is its unfettered honesty. “Instead of hiding behind metaphors, I was able to be more direct in my lyrics,” says Reynolds. “I really focused on searching deeper for lyrical value.” Along with giving the album untold emotional depth, honesty cuts through everyday chaos to reveal a luminous truth. “Right now the world can seem like a very dark and daunting place,” says Reynolds. “We wanted to create something like a lot of the records we grew up on, where it feels like you’re escaping into a world that’s much more vibrant. Our hope is that the album helps people focus on the beauty of each moment, and really see all the brilliance and color of life.”

Papa Roach "Kill The Noise" Tour With Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves
2022-03-02 19:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
Papa Roach doesn’t do lanes.  Be it rap-rock, electronic rock, rock ’n’ roll or anything in between, the quartet – vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo – have spent more than 20 years veering across freeways that most bands barely have the nerve to occupy, creating one of the most diverse and fearless discographies in music.   A hard left turn that sees them making their most daring maneuver yet, new single ‘Swerve’ is breathless in its unpredictability. Drawing inspiration from everything from jazz, funk and old-school hip-hop to hard rock and electronica, it’s a white-knuckle ride featuring a blistering array of rock solid beats, thumping bass lines, curveball saxophone licks and crunching guitar grooves, built around a chorus that features a stark warning cry of “Don’t swerve in my lane”, the track displays the fearless ability of its creators to cross as many as they desire.  With Fever 333 frontman Jason Aalon Butler and rap sensation Sueco joining proceedings to create a triple-pronged vocal attack, ‘Swerve’ provides a first glimpse at one of the most varied and compelling periods of the the group’s career. Clear, confident and above all competitive, it sees them challenging perceptions and breaking new ground, tossing the handbrake out of the window in the process.

Hollywood Undead hail from the streets of Hollywood, California, mixing brash hip-hop, rock, and minor metalcore touches with cocky posturing. With their colorful pseudonyms and unique hockey goal tender-inspired masks, the band debuted in 2008 with Swan Songs, but didn’t hit their commercial stride until the release of their 2011 sophomore effort, American Tragedy, which cracked the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 chart. Subsequent outings like Notes from the Underground (2013), Five (2017), and the two-volume New Empire (2020) performed just as well, if not better, cementing the group’s reputation as one of rapcore’s leading lights.
Owing much of their popularity and exposure to the social networking website MySpace, the group started as the musical project of J-Dog and Tha Producer in June 2005. They uploaded some new music to their profile and very quickly started amassing song plays and online friends with tracks about drinking, sex, and emo kids. “The gang,” as the guys liked to refer to themselves, grew to include six members: J-Dog and Tha Producer alongside Charlie Scene, Johnny 3 Tears (formerly called the Server), Funny Man, and Da Kurlzz. As the band’s online profile steadily increased, MySpace head honcho Tom Anderson wasn’t immune and wound up featuring Hollywood Undead‘s song “No. 5” on MySpace’s first compilation album, in addition to giving them the distinction of being the first act signed to the site’s new record label (distributed by Interscope) in 2005.
Swan Songs finally appeared in 2008 on A&M/Octone Records. A year later, that label released an album of B-sides, live tracks, and covers titled Desperate Measures. In 2010, vocalist Aron “Deuce” Erlichman left the group; he was replaced by Daniel “Danny” Murillo, a former contestant on American Idol and lead singer of Lorene Drive. After shows with Avenged Sevenfold on The Nightmare After Christmas Tour, Hollywood Undead released their sophomore album, American Tragedy, in April of 2011, and the album debuted in the Top Five of Billboard’s Top 200. The following November, A&M/Octone Records released a remix version of the record called American Tragedy Redux, which featured mixes by Andrew W.K., Borgore, and KMFDM, among others.
In January of 2013, after embarking on The Underground Tour, Hollywood Undead released their third studio album, Notes from the Underground, which proved to be their highest-charting outing to date, landing at the number two spot on the Billboard Top 200 and soaring to number one on the Canadian albums chart. Their hotly anticipated fourth studio album, Day of the Dead, arrived in March 2015, and was preceded by the singles “Usual Suspects,” “Gravity,” “How We Roll,” and the explosive title cut. The band returned to the studio in late 2016 to record its fifth studio album, Five. With their contract with Interscope finished, Hollywood Undead set up their own label, Dove & Grenade Media, in collaboration with BMG to release the album. The first single, “California Dreaming” — a scathing look at the inequalities between the two sides of Los Angeles culture — was released in mid-2017, with the full-length Five arriving later that October. In 2018 the Undead released the standalone single “Gotta Let Go,” a summery blast of feel-good nostalgia about letting go of pain. The EP Psalms also arrived that year. Two years later, the band released their sixth album, New Empire, Vol. 1. A deliberate attempt to change their sound, it was heavier than before, with more electronic elements. The like-minded sequel, New Empire, Vol. 2., arrived in 2020.

Expectations never mattered to Bad Wolves. Instead, the Los Angeles band fused unpredictable metallic intensity and impressive instrumental proficiency to arena-ready hooks, transforming from underdogs into elite platinum-certified hard rock contenders without compromise or apology. Since 2017, the core group—John Boecklin [drums], Doc Coyle [lead guitar, backing vocals], Chris Cain [rhythm guitar], and Kyle Konkiel [bass, backing vocals]—have consistently subverted expectations and accomplished the seemingly impossible. In 2018, the band earned a platinum plaque, topped iTunes, and ruled Active Rock at #1 for three weeks straight. This momentum also propelled their debut album, Disobey, to a Top 25 debut on the Billboard Top 200. In between performing to sold out audiences on multiple continents with heavyweights such as Five Finger Death Punch and Megadeth, 2019’s N.A.T.I.O.N. yielded their fifth straight #1 at Active Rock, “Sober,” and brought their total stream tally past the half-billionmark—unprecedented for a modern rock band. Not to mention, LoudWire hailed it among the “50 Best Rock Albums of 2019” as Billboard and Consequence of Sound chronicled their rise. In the midst of 2021, Bad Wolves welcomed Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz—previously of The Acacia Strain—as lead vocalist, ushering in a new chapter with their third full-length offering, Dear Monsters,[Better Noise Music], led by the single “Lifeline.”

Ghost & Volbeat with Special Guest Twin Temple at FootPrint Center
2022-03-01 19:00 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Ghost are a Grammy® Award-winning rock band from Linköping, Sweden. The band’s critically acclaimed third full length, Meliora and its accompanying EP Popestar, elevated the Swedish rock band into the pantheon of rock greats and resulted in a Grammy Award for ‘Best Metal Performance’. Meliora debuted at No. 1 at Independent Retail, No. 2 at Rock, and in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, selling over a quarter million copies globally. Popestar debuted at the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart. Fans have come along for the ride for years, not knowing for certain who was behind the anonymous band… that is, until Tobias Forge revealed himself as the man behind Ghost in August of 2017. Ghost released their critically acclaimed fourth studio album Prequelle on June 1, 2018 on Loma Vista Recordings. Previous Ghost albums have dealt with broad themes like impending doom (Opus Eponymous – 2010), the antichrist and the Inquisition (Infestissumam – 2013), humanism and avarice (Meliora – 2015). Prequelle delves into the plague, the apocalypse, and dark ages.

Servant of the Mind, Volbeat’s eighth album, takes the signature heavy metal, psychobilly, punk ‘n’ roll sound on which they have built their reputation up a notch while showcasing front man Michael Poulsen’s keen ability for songwriting and storytelling.
Lead single “Wait A Minute My Girl” drafted as a love song to his fiancé, became the band’s ninth No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Airplay chart. The rest of the songs on the album weave intricate and fascinating tales. “The Sacred Stones” tells the story of “an earthly being who has committed himself to the dark side.” “Shotgun Blues” explores the ghostly paranormal events he had recently experienced upon moving into a new home. “The Devil Rages On” looks at the idea of the devil taking human form, while “Temple of Ekur” returns to the ancient themes explored in past songs, and epic album closer “Lasse’s Birgita” explores the story of the first witch burnings to occur in Sweden. “Dagen Før” offers a brief respite from the ‘thunder and lightning’ and features guest vocals from Stine Bramsen.
“I wrote the whole album in three months,” recalls Poulsen, noting that the process of drafting a Volbeat album is normally two years in length. “I was in a good place and mood while at home [during the pandemic] and had a captive audience of myself.” He found himself inspired and as a result, the music and lyrics just flowed out of him, resulting in the thunderous Servant of the Mind.

Pioneering the “Satanic Doo-Wop” genre, Twin Temple combines Occult aeshetics with classic 1950’s and 1960’s Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Although you may expect heavy guitar riffs and a thumping bass to accompany cries of Hail Satan, instead you’ll hear old-school, classic riffs and Alexandra’s crooning voice that sounds straight out of the ‘60s. While many confine Satan to the likes of black metal, the duo is breaking the notion that Satan has a musical type. Inspired by the golden era of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Twin Temple rejects conformity of any kind, whether it’s through their magick, performance, or sound.
And while a lot of “Satanic” metal bands begin and end their worship of Satan on stage, the same can’t be said for Twin Temple. Both their music and their practice of Satanism, on and off the stage, are rooted in the ideals of free will and giving space to those who are often not allowed any.
So no, Twin Temple doesn’t drink the blood of virgins or kill babies to sacrifice on the full moon. They are challenging notions about what it means to free the oppressed, fight back against dated and binary ways of thinking, and doing it all while hailing Satan herself.
If there’s anything to expect with Twin Temple, it’s the unexpected.

Justin Bieber at Gila River Arena
2022-02-22 19:00 - 23:30 | Desert Diamond Arena, 9400 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ, 85305, United States
Justin’s recent album JUSTICE includes the chart-topping global smashes “Peaches feat. Daniel Caesar & Giveon”, “Holy” feat. Chance The Rapper, “Lonely” feat. Benny Blanco, “Anyone,” and “Hold On.” The album also features guest appearances from The Kid LAROI, Dominic Fike, Khalid, Beam, Burna Boy, Lil Uzi Vert, Jaden, Quavo + more. The JUSTICE campaign has reasserted Justin’s dominance as a live performer; from his triumphant return to the live stage with his T-Mobile-sponsored NYE livestream concert, to his record breaking TikTok performance “Journals Live” to his stunning AR-assisted performance for Spotify, to his epic Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards set and this week’s blockbuster NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Justin has delivered undeniable, show stopping performances. Along the way, Justin has appeared as musical guest twice on Saturday Night Live, performed on The American Music Awards, The People’s Choice Awards, and much more.
With over 86 billion career streams and over 78 million albums sold worldwide, Justin Bieber continues to reign as one of the biggest artists in the world. Bieber is the #1 artist on Spotify with over 75 million monthly listeners!

Killswitch Engage, August Burns Red, Light The Torch at Marquee Theatre
2022-02-17 17:30 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
Killswitch Engage first shook the structure of heavy music upon climbing out of snowy industrialized Western Massachusetts in 2000. The band pioneered a union of thrashed-out European guitar pyrotechnics, East Coast hardcore spirit, on-stage hijinks, and enlightened lyricism that set the pace for what the turn-of-the-century deemed heavy. 2002’s Alive Or Just Breathing became avowed as a definitive album, being named among “The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade” by Decibel and celebrated by everyone from Metal Hammer to Revolver. They also garnered two GRAMMY® Award nominations in the category of “Best Metal Performance” in 2005 and 2014 and gold certifications for The End of Heartache [2004] and As Daylight Dies [2006]. The group landed three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with Killswitch Engage [2009], Disarm The Descent [2013], and their career high best bow at #6 with Incarnate [2016]. The latter two releases would also both capture #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. Their total streams have exceeded half-a-billion to date.
2019 represents another turning point. The quintet—Adam Dutkiewicz [lead guitar], Joel Stroetzel [rhythm guitar], Mike D’Antonio [bass], Justin Foley [drums], and Jesse Leach [vocals]—sharpen every side of this signature sound on their eighth full-length and first for Metal Blade, Atonement.

Upholding artistic pillars of tightly wound technical proficiency, airtight grooves, and pensive lyricism, August Burns Red fulfill a quiet, yet staunch 17-year commitment to a diehard audience worldwide. The two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated Pennsylvania quintet—JB Brubaker [lead guitar], Brent Rambler [rhythm guitar], Matt Greiner [drums], Jake Luhrs [lead vocals], and Dustin Davidson [bass]—have preserved this level of integrity since first emerging in 2003. Following the seminal Messengers [2007] and Constellations [2009], the band infiltrated the mainstream via 2015’s Found In Far Away Places. Not only did the latter stand out as their second straight #9 bow on the Billboard Top 200, but it also garnered the group’s first GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Metal Performance” for “Identity.” The momentum increased with the arrival of Phantom Anthem in 2017. Marking the group’s fourth Top 20 debut on the Billboard Top 200, it paved the way for their second “Best Metal Performance” GRAMMY® nod for “Invisible Enemy.” Between sold-out shows worldwide, they continued a 15-year tradition of holiday shows by launching the Christmas Burns Red Festival. Now, their 2020 eighth full-length, Guardians [Fearless Records], sees them not only preserve but perfect this definitive sound as evidenced by the likes of “Defender” and “Bones.”

Since emerging in 2018, Light The Torch have grown stronger in lockstep together as a band and as friends. Through this growth, the Los Angeles trio—Howard Jones [vocals], Francesco Artusato [guitar], and Ryan Wombacher [bass]—only enhanced their signature sound. Upheld by head-spinning seven-string virtuosity and skyscraping melodies, the group crafted twelve no-nonsense anthems on their 2021 second full-length album, You Will Be The Death of Me [Nuclear Blast].
The group shot out of the gate as a contender on their full-length debut, Revival. It bowed at #4 on the Billboard US Independent Albums Chart and at #10 on the Hard Rock Albums Chart in addition to receiving acclaim from Revolver, Outburn, and many more. “Calm Before the Storm” racked up a staggering 14.5 million Spotify streams, while “The Safety of Disbelief” remains one of SiriusXM Octane’s all-time most requested songs. They toured North America and Europe with the likes of Trivium, Avatar, In Flames, Ice Nine Kills, Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red to name a few.
The guys returned to Sparrow Sound in Glendale, CA in late 2019 to once again work with the production team of Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen [Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Suicide Silence]. This time around, they also welcomed Whitechapel’s Alex Rudinger on drums.
In the end, the bond between Light The Torch burns brighter than ever in the music as they deliver a definitive statement with You Will Be The Death Of Me.

Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators at Arizona Federal Theatre
2022-02-15 19:30 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
SLASH–the iconic, GRAMMY-winning, American rock guitarist, songwriter and film producer–has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, garnered a GRAMMY Award and seven GRAMMY nominations, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is a New York Times Best-selling author. SLASH is considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time and one of the most recognizable faces in pop culture worldwide. Time magazine placed SLASH at #2 (Jimi Hendrix was #1) in its list, “The 10 Greatest Electric Guitar Players.” SLASH created signature sounds like the guitar riff on #1 hits for Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” After leaving the band, SLASH went on to critical acclaim with SLASH’s Snakepit and global success with the supergroup Velvet Revolver before embarking on his own solo career. After landing on the top of the charts with his first solo album, Slash (2010)–which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Myles Kennedy and more–he formed his current band SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS (SMKC)–which features Myles Kennedy (lead vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass/vocals) and Frank Sidoris (rhythm guitar)–who’ve been touring worldwide and making music together non-stop for over a decade. SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS (SMKC) released their debut album, the critically acclaimed Apocalyptic Love (2012) which stormed the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart debuting at #4 on the overall chart as well as the #1 Top Rock album, and spawned SLASH and the band’s first-ever #1 solo radio hits “You’re A Lie” and “Standing In The Sun.” The band’s second album, World On Fire (2016) debuted to global praise and the album’s title track, “World On Fire” ascended to #1 at U.S. Rock Radio. In 2016, Guns N’ Roses re-united and SLASH joined Axl Rose and Duff McKagan for the historic and ongoing world tour which Billboard magazine now ranks as the third highest grossing tour of all time. SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS’ most recent release is their critically–acclaimed third album Living The Dream (2018) which Rolling Stone declared “a biting blues filigree at the end of a riff, weeping solos full of long notes and boogie-woogie riffs” and the Los Angeles Times added is full of “unexpected funk, boogie, blues and garage rock influences.” Living The Dream debuted with 12, Top 10 Chart placements across the globe and fueled by the Top 5 song “Driving Rain,” and the single “Mind Your Manners”

Lindsey Stirling in Mesa, AZ on February 4th at Bell Bank Park
2022-02-04 19:00 - 23:30 | Bell Bank Pak, 1 Legacy Drive, Mesa, AZ, 85212, United States
Platinum-selling electronic artist, violinist, and multi-talented entertainer Lindsey Stirling, known all over the world for her unique, futuristic violin-driven electronic music and exquisite live show, is bringing her talents home to Arizona to headline the grand opening of the new Bell Bank Park in Mesa on Friday, February 4th. The upcoming Mesa show will mark Stirling’s first performance of 2022, following her wildly successful 22-date annual holiday outing, The Lindsey Stirling Christmas Program, which wrapped at the end of December.

The multi-hyphenate star, who is currently helping families in need through her nonprofit charity outreach program The Upside Fund, also recently launched the Lindsey Stirling “Crystallize” Signature Yamaha Violin and Intentional Beauty by Lindsey Stirling Citrine Palette. The limited-edition violin model, which immediately sold out its first run last year and now has a new batch available for pre-order, features unique details exclusively designed by Stirling; PRESS HERE to watch a special video from Lindsey describing the violin and PRESS HERE for more info. Stirling’s Citrine Palette, available via bellapierre, is a 12-color eyeshadow palette infused with Citrine crystal, known for facilitating positive energy, creativity, intuition, and abundance, featuring a variety of highly pigmented, pressed-powder eyeshadows ranging from velvety mattes and shimmery neutrals to bold metallics, all formulated with natural and cruelty-free ingredients; PRESS HERE to purchase.

DIAMANTE at The Rebel Lounge - Feb 2022
2022-02-03 19:00 - 23:30 | The Rebel Lounge, 2303 E Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85016, United States
Undeniable rock chanteuse DIAMANTE has today dropped her latest single “Difícil De Amar” (out via Anti-Heroine). The track is the Spanish version of her heartbreaking single “Unlovable” which has already clocked up a staggering 763,000 views and counting on YouTube. Speaking on today’s release, DIAMANTE shares:

“‘Difícil De Amar’ is the Spanish version of my latest single “Unlovable”. Not only was this version the most requested version I have ever received for a song, but it was also important for me to do this because I am proud of my Mexican heritage, and I wanted to give this gift to all my Latin American fans!”

Fans also have their chance to see DIAMANTE hit the stage on her headlining American Dream Tour across the US starting on Monday, January 31, in San Diego, CA, as well as on The Revolution’s Live Tour with Shinedown and The Pretty Reckless later this spring. Watch the visual stream for “Difícil De Amar” here or at the link below, click here for American Dream Tour tickets, and click here for more info on The Revolution’s Live Tour.

With a show-stopping voice, runway-ready fashion swagger, and an empowering message, the Boston-raised and Los Angeles-based Mexican-Italian-American siren brings new fire to rock and alternative music.

Diamante spent her teenage years cutting her teeth at local gigs on the Sunset Strip to become the powerhouse performer she is today. A disciple of both P!nk and Guns N’ Roses who doesn’t fall into rockstar excess or even sport tattoos, she devoted every waking minute to honing a signature “hard rock sound with a modern alternative edge.” This unique and undeniable approach caught the attention of Better Noise Music who signed her in 2015. She hit the studio with super producer Howard Benson [My Chemical Romance, Halestorm, Kelly Clarkson] to record what would become her full-length debut, ‘Coming In Hot’.

Now three years later, and after extensive touring with bands like Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, and Shinedown… Diamante is in full force shining brighter than ever before. In 2019, Diamante reunited with Howard Benson along with Neil Sanderson of Judge & Jury as an independent artist to make her sophomore album, ‘American Dream’. Diamante capitalized on her newfound ultimate creative freedom and independence by being her own CEO throughout every facet of the album process. On working with Benson and Sanderson, Diamante praises that they were instrumental in “bringing my stories to life and pushing me to embrace my vulnerabilities”. With her most recent music video for “Unlovable”, she has also previously shared smash hits such as fan-favorites “Ghost Myself”, “Serves You Right”, the beautiful reimagination of Goo Goo Dolls classic “Iris” (featuring Breaking Benjamin), and “I Love Myself For Hating You”.

‘American Dream’ shows exponential growth from ‘Coming In Hot’ sonically and in its raw authenticity, proving now more than ever that Diamante’s fearlessness to bare her soul in her music is what truly sets her apart.

Falling In Reverse - Wage War - HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS - JERIS JOHNSON at The Van Buren
2022-02-01 19:00 - 23:30 | The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
The fine line between genius and insanity, self-seriousness and self-deprecation, implosion and explosion: that is the phantom zone where FALLING IN REVERSE thrives.
Falling In Reverse founder, frontman, and Machiavellian heroic supervillan / villainous superhero Ronnie Radke is the walking, talking, breathing, spitting, screaming, singing, fighting, loving, hyper-confident, sensitive, and vulnerable embodiment of a generation’s id. He’s the ego and super-ego in the classic Freudian sense, “slipping” all over the place with vicious bite and playful innuendo. With his music, art, and life, he is the living embodiment of broken homes, the frustrated contradiction of self-destruction, and everyday single-minded defiance against a world gone mad.
COMING HOME is his latest reinvention, coming full-circle back to the start, reinvigorated as mad scientist conductor of soaring, transcendent, engaging alternative pop-rock with massive radio hooks and a still-beating heavy metal hardcore heart. “Broken,” “Loser,” “Hanging On,” “I Don’t Mind,” and “Coming Home” are shocking in their epic scope, vibrant authenticity, and unrelenting dedication to personal truth.
He shoved the world of Warped Tour kicking and screaming into the vintage decadence of the hard rock scene with the band he formed with his childhood best friend in Las Vegas. Then, even as countless bands followed in his wake, he was on the stylistic move, dominating the social media conversation and crowd sing-alongs with Falling In Reverse’s debut album, The Drug in Me is You, now based in Southern California.
As Revolver, Kerrang!, Alternative Press, and the rest of the rock and metal press anointed him the scene’s new king on the strength of playful self-examinations-turned-anthems like “Raised by Wolves,” “Tragic Magic,” and “I’m Not a Vampire,” Radke and his crew shook up conventions once again, dropping the ironically titled Fashionably Late years before the audience at large had any suspicions about what would hit ‘em.
What began as the “worst music video of all time” (according to media tastemaker VICE) turned into another 20 million YouTube views (for a band closing in on roughly 100 million views total) in “Alone.” Like many parts of the eclectic album, it’s a rap-metal hybrid with a forward thinking step into modern electro beats. Like the best of Radke’s work, the song serves as both hyper masculine anthem and anxiety confessional. The press and fans followed the band’s every move, documenting each twist and turn.
Just Like You mined similar territory with even more precision, from the title track to undeniable metalcore bangers like “Chemical Prisoner” and “Guillotine IV (The Final Chapter),” to the poppy crowd-mover “Sexy Drug,” and heartbreaking ballad, “Brother.”
Coming Home is the most focused Falling In Reverse album, thematically and artistically. Crafted once again with Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Slash, Trivium), who has worked on every one of Radke’s records going back to the now-classic debut album from Escape The Fate, the record sees the group at their most atmospheric. It’s the latest bold step for a frontman who has defined himself by a mixture of courage and vulnerability, of bravado and introspection. He’s tightened his personal inner circle and withdrawn from the antics of the past as he’s poured even more of himself into his art.
Coming Home is the album Radke dreamed about making as a kid, teaching himself to play guitar with Blink-182 and Green Day songs, rapping along to Dr. Dre and Eminem, skipping school, going to shows, and doing whatever it took to redefine his life beyond the hardscrabble circumstances of his upbringing, even when the obstacles were of his own design. Now it’s time to get Coming Home to as many people as possible.
FALLING IN REVERSE continues to champion the outsider, the cast aside, the underestimated, making music to empower and inspire life’s underdogs.

Through an unwavering dedication to progression, Wage War sharpen their patented hybrid of heavy pit-starting technicality and hummable hypnotic melodies with each subsequent evolution. Look no further than the aptly titled third full-length from the Florida quintet, Pressure [Fearless Records]. The band—Briton Bond [lead vocals], Cody Quistad [rhythm guitar, clean vocals], Seth Blake [lead guitar], Chris Gaylord [bass], and Stephen Kluesener [drums]—drove themselves to fully realize their ambition by pushing harder. A whirlwind four years set the foundation for such a statement. The group’s 2015 debut, Blueprints, yielded multiple fan favorites with “Alive” cracking 12 million Spotify streams and “The River” exceeding 8 million to date. Meanwhile, 2017’s Deadweight established the boys as a rising force. Totaling nearly 50 million cumulative streams in two years, the single “Stitch” racked up 14 million streams on Spotify as Deadweight received widespread praise from MetalInjection, New Noise, Metal Hammer, and Rock Sound who dubbed it, “a relentless, genre-evolving treat.” Meanwhile, they toured alongside everyone from I Prevail and Of Mice & Men to Parkway Drive and A Day To Remember, logging countless miles on the road. In order to approach their next evolution from a different angle, Wage War enlisted the talents of producer Drew Fulk (Motionless in White, Lil Peep, IDKHOW)and recorded in Los Angeles for the first time, delivering a bold body of work.

“I couldn’t sleep at all while making this record,” admits HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS frontman JT Woodruff of his band’s eighth full-length, THE RAIN JUST FOLLOWS ME, out September 10, 2021 on Pure Noise Recs. “It was an 18-year breakdown in the making.”
Throughout their long and storied career as one of the most iconic emo acts of the new millennium, the quartet have overcome obstacles at every turn – but these roadblocks always seemed to come from external forces, unscrupulous record labels & the shifting whims of fickle audiences to unimaginable personal tragedy threatening to derail them.
Despite the odds, Hawthorne Heights have overcome: earning two Gold albums (’04’s The Silence In Black And White and ’06’s If Only You Were Lonely), penning some of the genre’s most well-known songs (“Ohio Is For Lovers,” “Saying Sorry”), & remaining a touring act nearly two decades after forming in Dayton, Ohio.
“Are we a heavy band with melodic vocals, or are we a pop-punk band with screaming?” he asks rhetorically. “What we realized was we were separating the songs more than we realized. On one side, we had killer pop-punk songs, on the other there were super-heavy songs. At its core, Hawthorne Heights is both of those things.”
It was this moment that cements THE RAIN JUST FOLLOWS ME as an essential entry into the band’s discography, as the group adroitly swerve between soaring pop melodies and caustic breakdowns with little warning – keeping audiences, & even themselves, guessing.

For Jeris Johnson, music is quite literally in his blood. Jeris’ parents are both musical, his dad a drummer and his mom a singer, who met while playing in bands. Jeris grew up surrounded by music, and his parents’ unwavering support of his musical aspirations bred a lasting love and passion for music. Music was always second-nature, and Jeris began playing the piano and the drums at the early age of two. At the age of 13, Jeris began rock band camps where he was able to hone his skills as a vocalist and drummer. It was through this experience that he met his future bandmates and decided music was what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Jeris spent his high school years in his metal band, Audiophobia as a vocalist and drummer. Once the band went their separate ways, Jeris was ready to pave his own musical path. Yearning for his own license on creativity, Jeris quickly realized he needed the skillset and software capability to create his own unique sound. It was during these formative years, while Jeris taught himself how to produce, that he also fell in love with the angst and aggression of ‘Soundcloud rap’. With influences stemming from Ski Mask The Slump God and XXXTentacion, Jeris began to meld the chaotic energy of Soundcloud rap with the grit of alternative rock creating a sonic melting-pot that would become his signature sound. At 21 years old, Jeris began traveling to LA to perfect his sound. In 2020, Jeris released his most recent single “Damn!”.

System of a Down + Korn at Footprint Center - JANUARY 2022
2022-01-31 19:00 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Striking a balance between ’80s underground thrash metal and metallic early-’90s alternative rock, Armenian-American quartet System of a Down effectively pushed their socially conscious, politically charged messages into the mosh pits during the turn-of-the-century’s nu-metal wave. Their dark and wild style led them from a cult following to a full-blown movement with breakout hit Toxicity, which debuted at number one in 2001 and planted them at the top of the charts through the early 2000s with a pair of related albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Soon afterward, the band took an extended hiatus, branching off into various solo projects while maintaining a cultural presence with sporadic concerts and continued efforts to spread awareness of the Armenian Genocide. They would not return until 2020 when they released their first fresh material in 15 years, “Protect the Land” b/w “Genocidal Humanoidz,” the proceeds of which went to the humanitarian needs of families displaced by the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan formed System of a Down in Southern California in the mid-’90s. They quickly earned a strong following in Los Angeles, largely based on strong word of mouth. A three-song demo began circulating through metal collectors, and their fan base soon spread throughout not only America, but Europe and New Zealand.
By the end of 1997 the group had signed to American, distributed by Columbia Records. American/Columbia released the group’s eponymous debut in the summer of 1998, securing the band opening spots on the Slayer and Ozzfest tours. Carried by alternative radio hits “Sugar” and “Spiders,” System eventually went platinum, leading to the September 2001 release of the even more ambitious Toxicity. Their first chart-topper, System’s second effort was another heavy music triumph, shaming the majority of their nu-metal competition and running away with multi-platinum honors around the world. Featuring the singles “Chop Suey!” and “Aerials,” the album would become a landmark release for the period and their defining statement.
Without losing momentum, Malakian started the eatURmusic imprint, and Tankian founded a label called Serjical Strike; Tankian also collaborated with Armenian avant-garde folk musician Arto Tuncboyaciyan in a project called Serart. In November 2002 System issued the bare-bones but no less powerful odds-n-ends set Steal This Album!, culled from the Toxicity sessions.
By 2004, System of a Down was back in the studio with Rick Rubin. The bold result of those sessions was a single epic album released in two parts. Mezmerize/Hypnotize kept System’s furious creativity alive, incorporating the wild vocal melodies, lyrical passion, and rabid structural shifts that had become their trademark. Mezmerize (Pt. 1) appeared in May 2005, while Hypnotize (Pt. 2) appeared later in the year, and both hit the top of the album charts.
The following year, the group went on hiatus, with Malakian forming Scars on Broadway; Dolmayan opening an online comic book store and forming the group Indicator (he also briefly played with Scars on Broadway); Odadjian working with RZA, AcHoZeN, and George Clinton, and Tankian embarking on a solo career. While they toured off-and-on throughout the 2010s, the foursome remained split, working on their personal musical projects while continuing to raise awareness for Armenian causes. One of those — the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war — prompted System to reunite for the charity single “Protect the Land” b/w “Genocidal Humanoidz,” which raised over half-a-million dollars for families displaced by the fighting. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi

KORN changed the world with the release of their self-titled debut album. It was a record that would pioneer a genre, while the band’s enduring success points to a larger cultural moment. The FADER notes, “There was an unexpected opening in the pop landscape and KORN articulated a generational coming-of-angst for a claustrophobic, self-surveilled consciousness. KORN became the soundtrack for a generation’s arrival as a snarling, thrashing, systemically-restrained freak show.” Since forming, KORN has sold 40 million albums worldwide, collected two GRAMMYS, toured the world countless times, and set many records in the process that will likely never be surpassed. Vocalist Jonathan Davis, guitarists James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch, bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, and drummer Ray Luzier, have continued to push the limits of the rock, alternative and metal genres, while remaining a pillar of influence for legions of fans and generations of artists around the globe. The level of KORN’s reach transcends accolades and platinum certifications. They are “a genuine movement in a way bands cannot be now,” attests The Ringer. They represent a new archetype and radical innovation, their ability to transcend genre makes barriers seem irrelevant.

Shinedown & Ayron Jones at Arizona Federal Theatre
2022-01-30 20:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
Over the last two decades, multi-platinum band Shinedown – Brent Smith [vocals], Zach Myers [guitar], Eric Bass [bass, production], and Barry Kerch [drums] – have cemented their status as one of the most vital and forward-thinking powerhouses in modern rock, firmly in the pantheon of artists capable of moving the culture forward on the strength of their singular vision, uncompromising honesty, and fierce commitment to constant evolution. The record-breaking band have achieved astronomical success while embodying the kind of creative dynamism that defies expectation and transcends boundaries. They were recently named #1 on Billboard’s Greatest Of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists Chart, after notching the most ever #1s in the 40-year history of the Mainstream Rock Songs Chart with a string of consecutive #1 hit singles “Atlas Falls,” “ATTENTION ATTENTION,” “GET UP,” “MONSTERS,” and “DEVIL.” With 10 million albums sold worldwide, 14 platinum and gold singles, over 4.5 billion global streams, platinum or gold certification for all their albums, and 17 #1 Active Rock hits, and all 27 career singles reaching the Top 5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, Shinedown have also become an essential cultural force as evidenced by their major media acclaim and participation in the prestigious 92Y Talks series. Hailed for their high-octane live shows, explosive rock ‘n’ roll spirit, thought-provoking lyrics, and melodic sensibility, Shinedown continues to engender diehard love from millions of global fans and has racked up countless sold-out arena tours and festival headlining sets propelled by the undeniable power of front man Brent Smith’s voice.

Guitarist & singer Ayron Jones whose songwriting is filled with raw emotion is the new sound of Seattle. The gritty, genre-blending artist is an amalgam of the incredibly rich history of the city from Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana. Cultivating a robust following in the Pacific Northwest his independent rise allowed him to hone his creative vision before signing with Big Machine/John Varvatos Records. His debut single “Take Me Away” cemented that vision and chart topping success, hitting Top 5 at Rock Radio and setting the bar for singles to come, including his latest “Mercy.” The song, full of charged lyrics and melodies, strongly captures a collective consciousness of the time. It is also, though, underscored by a vision of hope and endurance: through it all, we persevere. His highly anticipated forthcoming album CHILD OF THE STATE is out 5/21! As Jones continues his ascent in the Rock World he also continues breaking barriers, as he explains “being black in the rock industry, I was forging a path into establishments and onto tours that had not previously embraced an artist like me. But the one thing that always changed minds and spoke for itself was the music.” His reach now extends well beyond Seattle, playing alongside such acts as Run DMC, Public Enemy, Rahkim, Jeff Beck, Theory of a Deadman, Robin Trower, and Spearhead, as well as opening for iconic acts such as Guns ’N’ Roses at the Gorge and B.B. King.

Tool At Footprint Center - JANUARY 2022
2022-01-21 19:30 - 23:30 | Mortgage Matchup Center, 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, 85004, United States
Tool established themselves as one of America’s most enduring and unpredictable acts with an ever-evolving brand of muscular but mind-altering sonics, a wry sense of humor, and a mystical aesthetic that attracted a cult-like following of devoted fans with just a handful of albums spread across decades. Their greatest breakthrough was to meld dark underground metal with the ambition of art rock, crafting multi-sectioned, layered songs as if they were classical composers. While embracing the artsy, they also paid musical homage to the relentlessly bleak visions of grindcore, death metal, and thrash. Even with their post-punk influences, they executed their music with the sound and feel of prog-rock, alternating between long, detailed instrumental interludes and lyrical rants in their songs. Debuting in the early ’90s with Undertow, they were initially lumped in with the nu-metal contemporaries of the time, which made them a hit on rock radio with their sophomore effort, 1996’s Ænima. However, they soon broke away from those associations, evolving beyond the confines of traditional song structures and song lengths, crafting epics that often clocked in past the ten-minute mark on LP head-trips Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006). After a lengthy 13-year hiatus, they returned to the fold in 2019 with their fifth opus, the chart-topping, Grammy-nominated Fear Inoculum.
Formed in Los Angeles by percussionist Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, vocalist Maynard James Keenan, and original bassist Paul D’Amour, Tool had a knack for conveying the strangled, oppressive angst that the alternative nation of the early ’90s claimed as its own, which helped them slip into the scene during the post-Nirvana era. Buffered by a prime slot on the third Lollapalooza tour in 1993, their debut full-length album, Undertow (Zoo Entertainment), rocketed to platinum status. Fervor for the band even resurrected their first effort, 1992’s Opiate EP, on the Billboard charts. While they were in the studio recording a follow-up, D’Amour amicably parted ways with Tool and his spot was filled by Justin Chancellor. By the time the fresh quartet delivered their sophomore album, Ænima, in late 1996, the alternative rock mainstream was ready. The album shot to number two on the Billboard charts and was certified multi-platinum in less than a decade. Singles “Stinkfist,” “Forty Six & 2,” and the Grammy-winning title track were all Top Ten hits on the U.S. Rock chart, boosted by the twisted and often disturbing music videos created by Jones. After a co-headlining slot with Korn on Lollapalooza ’97, Tool remained on the road, supporting Ænima into the next year.
As nu-metal established its mainstream dominance at the close of the decade, Tool returned to the shadows. During their hiatus, Keenan formed a side project with former Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel. A Perfect Circle debuted in 2000, and their album Mer de Noms was a surprise hit. Their ensuing tour was a sold-out success as well, which only served to fuel Tool breakup rumors. To quell the speculation, they issued the stopgap B-sides/DVD set Salival late the same year. Meanwhile, in the studio, the band continued to journey down a new path that further distanced them from the mainstream. Delving deeper into their own mythos, songs grew longer, lyrics more inscrutable, and artwork increasingly psychedelic. Though they retained their pummeling, metal-oriented base, the quartet smashed the formula by further experimenting with complex time signatures, expansive atmospherics, and a classical approach to song compositions. The first taste of 21st century Tool arrived in January 2001 with the Grammy-winning single, “Schism,” which was also their first song to chart on the Hot 100. Lateralus (Volcano) arrived that May, topping the Billboard 200. Subsequent singles “Parabola” and “Lateralus” were favorites on the U.S. Rock charts, and the album soon went multi-platinum.
After another several-year sabbatical — during which time Keenan bounced back to A Perfect Circle — the group returned with another chart-topper, 2006’s 10,000 Days. Their most esoteric statement yet, the album spawned the singles “Vicarious,” “Jambi,” and U.S. Mainstream Rock number one “The Pot.” Although it was also the band’s lowest-selling effort to date, the record still managed to win the group their third Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. At the conclusion of touring, Tool began another extended hiatus. Although the band re-emerged for a brief summer tour in 2009, it would be another ten years before fans could hear new music. During this period, Keenan debuted his de facto solo project, Puscifer, and returned for a third album with A Perfect Circle. Behind the scenes, the band was also bogged down by a lawsuit that wouldn’t be resolved until 2015. The next year, shaking off the cobwebs, Tool returned to the road for another quick jaunt in the U.S., kicking off another cycle of speculation from fans starved for new material.
After an interminable 13-year gap between albums, Tool returned in 2019 with their epic fifth album, Fear Inoculum. Their third straight chart-topper, the set also featured their second Hot 100 placement to date, the ten-minute title track, which became the longest song to ever appear on that chart. Meanwhile, for the first time, Tool made their entire discography available for streaming; this propelled all of their past albums back to the charts, breaking records in the process. They embarked on a sold-out arena tour of the U.S. alongside Killing Joke and capped their successful comeback with a pair of Grammy nominations for “7empest” and “Fear Inoculum.” The former track scored them a Grammy in 2020 for Best Metal Performance. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Sebastian Bach - 30th Anniversary Tour At Marquee Theatre
2021-12-14 19:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
1989 Skid Row 1991 Slave To The Grind 1992 B-Side Ourselves 1995 Subhuman Race 1996 The Last Hard Men 1998 Best Of Skid Row 1999 Bring Em Bach – Live * 2002 An Absence of Empathy 2004 Battle With The Bottle 2009 Angel Down 2011 Kicking & Screaming 2013 Abachalypse Now 2014 Give ‘Em Hell 2015 Born To Rage

After amassing over 2+ Billion global streams, 60+ international certifications, and countless sold-out headline shows spanning from London to Moscow, Grammy-nominated Icelandic rock band, KALEO, has proven to be a worldwide phenomenon. Known for their electrifying live performances, KALEO completely sold out their first U.S. headline tour and was a standout at Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo and were hand-picked to open stadium dates for the Rolling Stones. After wrapping up nearly 3 years of non-stop touring in support of their major label debut album “A/B” in October 2018, frontman JJ Julius Son began working on the highly anticipated follow-up. In 2020, KALEO unveiled the first taste of sophomore album “Surface Sounds” with the simultaneous release of “Break My Baby” and “I Want More,” which reached #6 on Billboard’s Triple A radio chart and was performed live in studio on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” KALEO subsequently released rock heavy “Alter Ego,” the brooding ballad “Backbone,” powerful and thought-provoking “Skinny” and funk-forward “Hey Gringo.” All five tracks appear on the band’s forthcoming, full length album “Surface Sounds,” available now via Elektra/Atlantic. KALEO set out on their worldwide Fight or Flight Tour in 2022.

Jinjer & Suicide Silence at Marquee Theatre
2021-12-12 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
A versatile, progressive groove metal unit based out of Ukraine, Jinjer have found success both in their Eastern European homeland and abroad with their punitive blend of post-hardcore and death/progressive/nu-metal. Drawing from a wide array of influences, including R&B, soul, hip-hop, and the full spectrum of heavy metal, the band formed in 2009 and features a lineup consisting of Tatiana Shmailyuk (vocals), Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitar), Eugene Abdiukhanov (bass), and Vladislav Ulasevich (drums). Jinjer issued a pair of EPs, 2009’s OIMACTTA and 2012’s Inhale, Do Not Breathe, before breaking big at home with the release of a full-length version of the latter album in 2013. The group’s sophomore long-player, 2014’s Cloud Factory, caught the attention of heavy metal institution Napalm, which signed Jinjer and released their third full-length effort, King of Everything, in 2016. The group toured heavily in support of the LP, hitting the European festival circuit and making their presence known overseas as well. In early 2019, the band returned with the Micro EP, again on Napalm. By the end of the year, its natural counterpoint, Macro, arrived. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi

An American deathcore group that draws on elements of black metal, grindcore, mathcore and groove metal, Suicide Silence emerged in 2007 with the punishing full-length debut, The Cleansing. Subsequent efforts continued to look to artists like Sepultura, Cannibal Corpse, Death, and Possessed for inspiration, while the band’s eponymous fifth studio long-player, released in 2017, saw Suicide Silence incorporate clean, nu-metal style vocals into the mix.
Formed in Riverside, California in 2002, the band managed to get things rolling quickly, save for a few lineup changes, and went from formation to a deal with Century Media in a mere two years. In the meantime, Suicide Silence issued one pre-deal EP — the simply titled Suicide Silence — which saw the light of day on indie labels At the Deep End and SOS Records.
The band’s Century Media debut album, The Cleansing, was released in September of 2007, and was produced by John Travis. The album was a bit of a mover and shaker in the genre, breaking through to the Top 100 on the Billboard charts, and became one of the label’s biggest-ever sellers. Following the release of the album, the band toured steadily in the U.S. and Europe with Parkway Drive and Bury Your Dead. Members Mitch Lucker (vocals), Chris Garza (guitar), Mark Heylmun (guitar), Mike Bodkins (bass, but later replaced by Dan Kenny), and Alex Lopez (drums) had more reason to celebrate in 2008, as the band was added to the Mayhem Metal Festival, which hit stages that summer.
No Time to Bleed, released in 2009, found the band in the Top 40 of the album charts for the first time, accompanied by positive reviews. Third album The Black Crown switched from anti-religious topics to personal themes from lyricist Mitch Lucker, and it became the highest-charting album of their career. Lucker, however, died in November 2012 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. A memorial tribute show later that year featured Suicide Silence backed by different vocalists for each song, and by the fall of 2013, the band had found their new lead vocalist, Hernan “Eddie” Hermida from All Shall Perish. The Lucker memorial show was released early in 2014 as Ending Is the Beginning: The Mitch Lucker Memorial Show 12.21.12. 2017 saw the release of the band’s eponymous fifth studio long-player, which featured a shift in tone from their deathcore roots into a more melodic, nu-metal-driven direction. For their sixth full-length effort, 2020’s Become the Hunter, the band enlisted producer Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura, Hatebreed), and dialed back the clean singing in a return to their extreme metal roots. ~ Chris True, Rovi

Evanescence + Halestorm with PLUSH at Arizona Federal Theatre
2021-11-15 18:00 - 23:30 | Arizona Financial Theatre, 400 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
About Evanescence
Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Evanescence has made an impact on people around the world. The group’s 2003 landmark debut album Fallen laid the foundation spending 43 weeks on the Billboard Top 10 and selling more than 17 million copies worldwide. Debut single and global hit “Bring Me to Life” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked their first U.K. #1 hit single. The equally popular “My Immortal” peaked at #7 in the U.S. and U.K. Following multiple worldwide tours, The Open Door came next, which went on to sell more than five million copies followed by the self-titled Evanescence which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts. Evanescence lead singer-songwriter and pianist Amy Lee, bassist Tim McCord, drummer Will Hunt, lead guitarist Troy McLawhorn, and guitarist and backing vocalist Jen Majura went down both very new and familiar paths for their fourth and most ambitious release to date, Synthesis, in 2017 via BMG. The symphonic effort scored four Billboard #1s, debuting atop the Independent, Alternative, Rock, and Classical Album Charts. Evanescence launched their worldwide “Synthesis Live” tour in October 2017 combining their intense live performances and timeless songwriting with a powerful live orchestra. The Bitter Truth, out now on BMG, is Evanescence’s fourth studio album.

About Halestorm
Grammy-Award winning band Halestorm has grown from a childhood dream of siblings Lzzy and Arejay Hale into one of the most celebrated rock bands of the last two decades. Currently at work on their follow-up to 2018’s Vicious, Halestorm’s music has surpassed a billion streams worldwide. Called a “muscular, adventurous, and especially relevant rock record” by Rolling Stone, Vicious earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song “Uncomfortable,” the band’s fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name Halestorm “Rock Artist of the Decade” in 2019. Fronted by the incomparable Lzzy Hale with drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bass player Josh Smith, Halestorm has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including Heaven & Hell, Alice Cooper, and Joan Jett.

Knotfest Roadshow: Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Fever 333, Code Orange at Ak-Chin Pavilion
2021-11-02 17:30 - 23:30 | Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2121 N 83rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85035, United States
Twenty years ago, nine inspired musicians from Des Moines, Iowa, shattered the scope of what was possible in rock music. From the moment Slipknot emerged in 1999 with their self-titled debut, it was clear they were like nothing the world had seen before, but were everything they needed. Where a similarly creative act might have burned out or lost their relevance chasing mainstream acceptance, Slipknot has only proven that an enduring commitment to hard work, constant evolution, their craft, and their fans can allow a rock band to not only continue- but to actually push the envelope on what defines heavy metal, and rock in general. With “We are Not Your Kind,” Slipknot’s first new album in five years, the band deliver when they are needed most. In an increasingly claustrophobic psychic landscape, “We Are Not Your Kind” brings back the violence, to meet the darkness blow for blow. The band’s creative strength and vision propelled “We Are Not Your Kind” to a #1 debut on the Billboard Top 200 chart this past August. Always a global band, the album also debuted at #1 in United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, Spain, and in the Top 3 in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

Killswitch Engage first shook the structure of heavy music upon climbing out of snowy industrialized Western Massachusetts in 2000. The band pioneered a union of thrashed-out European guitar pyrotechnics, East Coast hardcore spirit, on-stage hijinks, and enlightened lyricism that set the pace for what the turn-of-the-century deemed heavy. 2002’s Alive Or Just Breathing became avowed as a definitive album, being named among “The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade” by Decibel and celebrated by everyone from Metal Hammer to Revolver. They also garnered two GRAMMY® Award nominations in the category of “Best Metal Performance” in 2005 and 2014 and gold certifications for The End of Heartache [2004] and As Daylight Dies [2006]. The group landed three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with Killswitch Engage [2009], Disarm The Descent [2013], and their career high best bow at #6 with Incarnate [2016]. The latter two releases would also both capture #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. Their total streams have exceeded half-a-billion to date.
2019 represents another turning point. The quintet—Adam Dutkiewicz [lead guitar], Joel Stroetzel [rhythm guitar], Mike D’Antonio [bass], Justin Foley [drums], and Jesse Leach [vocals]—sharpen every side of this signature sound on their eighth full-length and first for Metal Blade, Atonement.

Rebellion needed a soundtrack. It got that and a whole lot more from FEVER 333. Rallying around a mission of “art as activism” in 2017, the group first publicly assembled with an unpermitted D333MONSTRATION in front of a South Central Los Angeles landmark—ducking out before the cops came, but leaving a mark on the streets of their hometown. Shockwaves rippled through the culture. The title track of their MADE AN AMERICA EP scored a 2019 GRAMMY® Award nod in the category of “Best Rock Performance.” Their full-length Roadrunner Records/333 Wreckords Crew debut LP, STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS, toppled 60 million total streams. KERRANG! (UK) christened it, “The best debut album of 2019,” honored the group with “Best Song” at the 2019 KERRANG! Awards, and included them on the magazine cover alongside Metallica, Jimmy Page, Ghost, and Skunk Anansie. Not to mention, they have collaborated with everyone from POPPY to RUN-D.M.C. and Vic Mensa. In addition to selling out headline D333MONSTRATIONS everywhere, they ignited the stages of Lollapalooza South America, AfroPunk, Reading, Download UK and more. Standing up alongside the people, they regularly participate in activism with a focus on community, charity, and change. FEVER 333 vocalist Jason Aalon Butler created the Walking In My Shoes Foundation to benefit organizations that generate empathy, understanding, and change within the communities they serve.

SKILLET & ADELITAS WAY at Marquee Theatre
2021-10-15 18:00 - 23:30 | Marquee Theatre, 730 N Mill Ave, Tempe, 85281, United States
One of the best-selling rock bands of the 21st century, two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum Wisconsin quartet Skillet—John Cooper [lead vocals/bass], Korey Cooper [guitar/keys], Jen Ledger [drums/vocals], and Seth Morrison [lead guitar]—write the soundtrack to triumph. An undying spirit humbly asserted and affirmed the band as one of this generation’s most successful rock acts. However, as all classic underdog stories do, it happened quietly under the radar. By 2019, they not only garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nods and sold over 12 million albums worldwide, but they also took home a Billboard Music Award for the double-platinum Awake. Its breakout single “Monster” remains “one of the most-streamed rock songs of all-time” with 285 million global audio streams. 2016’s Unleashed bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200. Going #1 on Rock Radio, the lead single “Feel Invincible” cracked 150 million global audio streams and went platinum. Meanwhile, the gold-certified Unleashed became their fourth consecutive album to receive either a gold, platinum, or double-platinum plaque. To date, nine original tunes earned RIAA recognition in tandem with high-profile syncs by everyone from WWE and Marvel to ESPN and NFL. Between selling out arenas on four continents, the group performed on CONAN and graced the pages of USA Today and New York Times, to name a few. In 2018 alone, the band clocked 1 billion streams. This momentum continues on their 2019 tenth full-length, Victorious.

Edgy Las Vegas-based Adelitas Way broke into the mainstream in 2009 with the song “Invincible,” which appeared on numerous television spots for CSI Miami and served as the theme song for the weekly WWE Superstars show, Raw vs Smackdown Video game, appeared on FAW ,served as The legacy Theme song, and performed at numerous Large WWE events. A Blue collar grass roots work ethic has the band touring the world for over a decade, building one of the strongest fan bases in Music today. Independently AW has over 180 Million Streams on their strong Catalog of songs. Formed in the mid 2000s by vocalist/songwriter Rick DeJesus, the band (includes drummer Trevor Stafford, Bassist Andrew Cushing, Guitarist Tavis Stanley) released its debut in July 2009. AW sophomore effort, the acclaimed Home School Valedictorian was a massive success. In July 2013 the group entered the studio to record Stuck, which featured the hit single “Dog on a Leash,” which peaked at number Five on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart. 2016, the band issued their fourth studio album, Getaway Independently, and featured the Top 10 Rock radio hit “Bad Reputation”. 2017’s Notorious album included hit singles “Ready for War (Pray for Peace),” which served as the theme song to TLC: a WWE PPV event. The hit single “Notorious” was released In the fall Of 2017 and is one of the bands Most successful songs to date with over 40 Million streams. Adelitas way is a fan Favorite for their songwriting, Live shows, and Fan Experiences

Flogging Molly & Violent Femmes at Mesa Amphitheatre
2021-10-08 16:00 - 23:00 | Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St, Mesa, 85201, United States
Los Angeles-based seven-piece Flogging Molly are an interesting mix of traditional Irish music and spunky punk rock. Former Fastway acoustic guitarist/frontman and Dublin native Dave King formed the band with fiddle player Bridget Regan, guitarist Dennis Casey, accordion player (and former pro skateboarder) Matt Hensley, bassist Nathen Maxwell, drummer George Schwindt, and mandolinist Bob Schmidt. Getting their start playing regularly at the L.A. bar Molly Malones, Flogging Molly eventually took their music to the road; their explosive and passionate live show was the heart of the band, after all, and they toured relentlessly around the world throughout their career. Their rowdy folk-rock punk revival sound has been compared to the likes of other Irish bands such as the Pogues and Black 47, but the raucous septet opted for its own unique brashness that defied genre lines.
Flogging Molly released their debut, Swagger, in March 2000 on Side One Dummy and followed up two years later with Drunken Lullabies. Crafting exuberant anthems to raise up a full Guinness to, King often used personal touchstones — such as his childhood in a war-torn Ireland, his father’s premature death, and an eight-year exile in the United States — for the band’s compelling lyrical content. Within a Mile of Home appeared in September 2004, and the band continued to hit the road hard in support. The DVD documentary Whiskey on a Sunday was issued in July 2006; it was a candid look at Flogging Molly as both a band and seven individuals, and came with a ten-song CD of acoustic and live tracks. In early 2007, as the group geared up for a U.S. headlining run, Hensley amicably departed to spend more time with his family.
In March 2007, Flogging Molly released the Complete Control Sessions EP. Their fourth studio album, Float, followed a year later. The band then hit the road, documenting the tour in 2010 with the release of Live at the Greek Theatre. Eventually they settled back into the studio with producer Ryan Hewitt, and the following year released their fifth album, Speed of Darkness. Prior to the recording, original drummer Schwindt was replaced by Mike Alonso, who had formerly played with King in the hard rock band Katmandu. Flogging Molly continued to tour over the next several years, and began curating their annual Salty Dog Cruise, which set sail each year over St. Patrick’s Day. They eventually returned to the studio, heading to Dublin to record their sixth album, Life Is Good, which was released in early 2017. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi

The textbook American cult band of the 1980s, the Violent Femmes captured the essence of teen angst with remarkable precision; raw and jittery, the trio’s music found little commercial success but nonetheless emerged as the soundtrack for the lives of troubled adolescents the world over. Their self-titled 1983 debut was a blueprint for legions of sardonic alternative rockers that would follow, and they continued their blend of searing, darkly humorous lyrics and sharp-edged folk-rock on other standout albums like 1991’s Why Do Birds Sing?
The Violent Femmes formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the early ’80s, made up of singer/guitarist Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie, and percussionist Victor DeLorenzo. After being discovered by the Pretenders‘ James Honeyman-Scott while they were busking on the street, the band signed to Slash and issued their self-titled debut, a melodic folk-punk collection which struck an obvious chord with young listeners who felt a strong connection to bitter, frustrated songs like “Blister in the Sun,” “Kiss Off,” and “Add It Up.” Though never a chart hit, the album remained a rite of passage for succeeding generations of teen outsiders, and after close to a decade in release, it finally achieved platinum status.
With 1984’s Hallowed Ground, Gano‘s lyrics began to reflect his devout Baptist upbringing, while the Femmes’ music approached more traditional folk and country structures. Produced by Talking Heads‘ Jerry Harrison, 1986’s The Blind Leading the Naked advanced toward a more mainstream sound; a cover of the T. Rex chestnut “Children of the Revolution” even became a minor hit. After the record’s release, the Femmes temporarily disbanded: Gano recorded a self-titled 1987 album with his gospel side project the Mercy Seat, while Ritchie issued a series of solo LPs including 1987’s The Blend and 1989’s Sonic Temple & Court of Babylon for SST. (I See a Noise appeared on Dali Records in 1990.) In 1989, the group resurfaced with 3, followed by 1991’s Why Do Birds Sing?, which featured the Femmes’ deconstructionist cover of Culture Club‘s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”
Following the release of the 1993 compilation Add It Up (1981-1993), DeLorenzo exited the Violent Femmes to resume the solo career he began two years prior with the release of Peter Corey Sent Me; his sophomore effort, Pancake Day, appeared in 1996. Former Oil Tasters and BoDeans drummer Guy Hoffman was tapped as DeLorenzo’s replacement in time to record 1994’s New Times for Elektra Records, which proved their sole release for the label. Rock!!!!! was released in 1995 on Mushroom Records only in Australia; the live Viva Wisconsin followed on the American indie label Beyond in 1999, trailed early the next year by a new studio effort, Freak Magnet. In the spring of 2001, the Femmes released their first MP3-only album, Something’s Wrong, through the website EMusic.com; it collected an assortment of rarities, including covers, acoustic live tracks, alternate versions, demos, and the like. In 2002, Rhino/Slash reissued their debut as a two-disc deluxe edition that featured 22 previously unreleased tracks, followed by Permanent Record: The Very Best Of in 2005.
The Violent Femmes closed out 2005 with a New Year’s Eve show featuring all three original members and Guy Hoffman. This union was punctured in 2007 when Ritchie filed a lawsuit against Gano, seeking proper accounting of royalties while also claiming he was denied credit for songwriting; additionally, he stated Gano licensed “Blister in the Sun” for use in a Wendy’s commercial without permission. During the lawsuit, the Violent Femmes managed to release a single — a cover of Gnarls Barkley‘s “Crazy,” appearing in June of 2008 — but the tensions caused the group to split in 2009. Ritchie and Gano settled out of court in 2012 and the Violent Femmes reunited in 2013, playing a number of shows, including a slot at that year’s Coachella festival, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their landmark debut. Following these shows, drummer Victor DeLorenzo departed acrimoniously — in a statement, he claimed “In regards to my history with the Violent Femmes, the dream never quite got there” — and was swiftly replaced by Brian Viglione, a drummer with the Dresden Dolls. Over the next couple of years, this lineup played frequently and released a four-song EP for Record Store Day in 2015, a teaser for the full-length We Can Do Anything in 2016. By the time that album appeared in March 2016, Viglione had resigned from the band. John Sparrow signed on as the Femmes’ drummer in time for the tour supporting We Can Do Anything; recordings from the tour were compiled into a 2017 live album, 2 Mics & the Truth. In 2019 the band returned with their tenth studio album Hotel Last Resort. The album’s punchy sound and direct songwriting was reminiscent of their earliest work, but they expanded their palette to include multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza as well as opening up a few songs for guest spots by both skateboarding celebrity Stefan Janoski and guitar legend Tom Verlaine. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
