Author Archives: Chris Loomis

There is nothing better than a metal tour that is all killer and no filler, where all the bands are more than worthy—and that is exactly what hit the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday night, June 25 as Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Iron Reagan, and Havok played the second to last night of their three-week US trek that rocked every venue from coast to coast.

Southern California traffic had a different take on allowing for an on-time arrival to witness Havok. Still, based on the band’s history and their ultra-active live show, it was surely a killer way to begin this night of metal madness. Iron Reagan has been around since 2012, but has not played SoCal in several years, so this was a highly anticipated performance. Led by Municipal Waste members Tony Foresta on vocals and Phil Hall on guitar, the band’s sound and delivery does not vary too much from Municipal Waste, although maybe a bit more hardcore and less thrash, but totally killer, nonetheless.

The band played 16 songs, with an average song length of about 2 minutes. Highlights consisted of “Eat Shit and Live,” “Your Kid’s an Asshole,” “Fuck the Neighbors,” and three new songs off their June 9 released EP “Demonetization,” and the set ended with “Miserable Failure.”

Now Machine Head is out supporting their 2025 release UNATØNED and is a true headliner in their own right, having carved their own path in the groove metal/thrash scene since 1991. Robb Flynn’s pedigree also includes a former membership in Vio-lence. This tour may have been better billed as a co-headline tour, but anytime you can see Machine Head and Killswitch Engage on the same stage, back-to-back, is a good night indeed.

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For fans of classic “hair metal,” Friday night, June 5, at the Grove of Anaheim felt like a celebration of an era when powerful vocals, memorable hooks, and flashy outfits ruled the stage. Stryper kicked off their 2026 summer tour with former White Lion frontman Mike Tramp opening the evening, and the capacity crowd was treated to a night that balanced nostalgia with a clear reminder that these veteran performers still have plenty left in the tank.

Mike Tramp took the stage at 8:00 pm, greeted warmly by an audience that clearly appreciated his legacy. Backed by a super-tight band, Tramp delivered a set that focused on the songs that made White Lion a staple of late ’80s rock radio while also showcasing his continuing passion as a performer. His voice may have a bit more grit than it did during White Lion’s MTV heyday, but it remains expressive and authentic.

Highlights included fan favorites such as “Lonely Nights,” “Little Fighter,” and the emotional crowd sing-along of “When the Children Cry.” Tramp’s easygoing stage presence and storytelling between songs combined for a memorable performance. Of course, the biggest crowd reaction was for the massive hit song “Wait,” and the night ended with “Lady of the Valley.” Tramp thanked all for the decades of support and was truly appreciative of the opportunity to be on stage doing what he does best.

Anticipation quickly turned to excitement as Stryper took the stage and immediately proved they remain one of the premier bands of the ’80s and one of the few that can still deliver as they did at the beginning. Opening the set with “Sing-Along Song” and then into “Calling on You,” it was obvious it was going to be an epic night of music. Somewhat of a hometown show, with the band originating only 10 miles up the 5 freeway in La Mirada, Michael Sweet thanked all for coming, pointed out friends in the crowd, and apologized for not having time to greet everyone.

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The Hollywood Palladium transformed into a cathedral of extreme blasphemy as Behemoth, Deicide, Rotting Christ, and Immolation delivered the heaviest touring lineup to hit the iconic venue this year. This convergence of legends ended their five-week The Godless IV tour on Thursday night, May 21, in Hollywood after kicking off this evil trek back on April 13 in San Diego.

With each band carrying their own altar of destruction on stage, Immolation kicked off the night at 6:25 PM to a surprisingly already packed venue. Supporting their brutal new album Descent, released on April 10, the band opened the show with new songs “These Vengeful Winds” and “The Ephemeral Curse” and played a total of five songs from Descent, proving these new songs are true Immolation classics already.

Vocalist Ross Dolan remains one of the OG extreme vocalists, having paved the way for New York death metal back in 1986, and his delivery is as strong as ever (Dolan also has the longest hair in death metal as well). Immolation ended their 30-minute set the same as they started—with a new song, “Bend Towards the Dark.” It was killer seeing these warriors who typically play small clubs on the big stage in Hollywood.

Rotting Christ shifted the atmosphere from brute-force death metal into something darker and more hypnotic. With many controversies surrounding the name of the band, these Greek metal warriors took the Palladium through a dark ride of evil and occultism as vocalist, guitarist Sakis Tolis delivered a high-energy performance that had the venue barking the lyrics in unison with Tolis in ceremonial fashion. The thundering drums of Sakis’ brother, Themis, shook the Palladium floor as guitarist Kostis Foukarakis and bass player Kostas “Spades” Heliotis played their parts with laser-guided precision.

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Two nights at the House of Blues Anaheim turned into a full-scale Southern California punk rock celebration on May 16 and 17 as Pennywise, Circle Jerks, H2O, and (DFL) Dead Fucking Last produced a weekend that felt equal parts reunion, catharsis, and controlled chaos, concluding their seven-date West Coast tour.

On Sunday, May 17, a crowd took over Garden Walk just down the road from Disneyland with a mix of old-school hardcore veterans in faded tour shirts mingling with teenagers discovering these bands possibly for the first time. After a rowdy show on Saturday night, the bands and the fans were primed and ready to do it all over again—this was an epic gathering of some of punk rock’s OG’s, and with Pennywise, Circle Jerks, and DFL all SoCal natives, a massive hometown celebration was pending.

DFL began the night with exactly the kind of raw energy needed to ignite House of Blues and set the tone for the remainder of the night. Their set was fast, loose, and unpolished in the best possible way, with the pit churning almost immediately. Led by original member Tom Davis on vocals and Monty Messex on guitar, the band crammed 17 songs into 30 minutes on stage, ending with “Proud to be DFL.”

H2O followed with a super high-energy set led by the charismatic Toby Morse, balancing positivity with nonstop movement and intensity. The band was tight and ripping while the floor became a high-speed community gathering for the entire set.

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GWAR continues to celebrate their uncontrollable and destructive pet T-Rex Gor Gor, with metal heavyweights Soulfly and King Parrot on The Gor Gor Strikes Back tour. This is beyond a concert; it is a traveling demolition crew that happens to play metal with a bit of theatrics thrown in. Each band intensifies the chaos in its own way, resulting in the wildest extreme music tour of the season. Saturday night, April 11, the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles hosted this madness, and it was a loud, intense, bloody good time.

Kicking off the night, Australia’s King Parrot delivered pure unhinged energy for a solid 30 minutes with their brutal, frantic Grindcore sound. Vocalist Matt Young paced the stage like a pissed-off kangaroo ready to kick your ass. These lads sparked chaotic circle pits with songs “It’s a Rort” and “Shit on the Liver,” which had the crowd in an early heavy metal frenzy. Young had the crowd separate for a Wall of Death, and he also did some crowd surfing as he belted out his vocals. The set ended with the song “Fuck You and the Horse You Rode In On,” which had the crowd singing the chorus back to the band with angst.

Building off the energy conjured by King Parrot, Soulfly hit the stage and took the night from frantic to crushing, opening with “No Hope = No Fear” as Max Cavalera, along with his son Zyon on drums, guitarist Mike DeLeon, and Chase Bryant on bass, quickly had the Los Angeles Soulfly Tribe banging their heads in unison for the next 45 minutes. Cavalera, a founding member of Sepultura, who also fronts Cavalera Conspiracy and Go Ahead and Die, is the epitome of all things heavy. He looks fit and trim and is more active on stage than he has been in years, banging his head and jumping around throughout the set.

Touring in support of their most recent release Chama, Soulfly played three songs from the album “Favela/Dystopia,” “Storm the Gates,” and the title track “Chama,” ending the set with the one/two knockout punch “Jumpdafuckup” and “Eye for an Eye.” Cavalera and Soulfly remain one of metal’s premier extreme bands, destroying the stage every night.

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Low light, smoke curling across the stage, and corpse-painted faces emerging from the haze—Belphegor took the stage and detonated a death metal ceremony for a capacity crowd at The Observatory in Santa Ana on Tuesday night, March 10.

This was the closing night of the Praise the Beast Tour, completing a SoCal trifecta that had already blazed through Los Angeles and San Diego on previous nights. The bill was stacked: openers Narcotic Wasteland, Hate, and Incantation each brought their own brand of extreme metal devastation before Belphegor even touched the stage.

With ritualistic intensity, Belphegor opened their set and Helmuth led the charge as the band tore into “The Procession,” “Baphomet,” and “The Devil’s Son”—a blistering opening salvo designed to pull the crowd straight into the abyss. From there, the set drew from across their catalog with surgical precision, including the two new singles “Sanctus Diaboli Confidimus” and “Scarlet Beast – Leviathan,” both released in February to considerable anticipation.

Helmuth’s vocal arsenal—a commanding collision of deep demonic growls and razor-edged black metal shrieks—anchored a sonic assault powered by thunderous blast beats, glacial tremolo melodies, and earth-splitting breakdowns. A Belphegor concert doesn’t feel like a set list; it feels like an invocation. With the tour officially at its end, Helmuth took a rare moment to thank both the supporting acts and the faithful crowd before the night reached its violent, euphoric conclusion with “Belphegor – Hell’s Ambassador,” leaving the room shattered and satisfied.

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In the music industry, the term “legend” is thrown around quite a bit, but in reality, there are very few legends who continue to perform live. Well, Friday night, February 27, 2026, the Grove of Anaheim hosted the guitarist for one of, if not the most influential and controversial rock acts ever to take the stage, Robby Krieger from The Doors, who played an epic two-hour set focusing on the hits and some deep cuts from The Doors’ critically acclaimed catalog.

Krieger, who has been musically active on and off since the 1971 passing of Jim Morrison, has kept The Doors legacy alive in many forms and on this night performing with his solo band that currently consists of his son Waylon Krieger on vocals, Ed Roth on keyboards, Dan Rothchild on bass, and drummer Ty Dennis delivered a tight, attuned performance that had the capacity crowd in a peaceful, psychedelic frenzy all night long.

The night kicked off with a bang via the groove of “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” as Waylon nailed the vocals, and aside from the spotlight being on Krieger, the star of the show was Roth on keyboards. “Five to One” and “Love Me Two Times” followed, with Krieger very relaxed and truly appearing to be totally enjoying playing these iconic songs. In between songs, he often told a brief story about writing a song or about his interactions with Jim Morrison and other band members, very soft-spoken but very genuine in reliving these memories.

Rothchild sang lead on several songs, and Roth and Krieger would throw in extended jams here and there, showcasing their skills and Krieger’s ability to nail every note at 79 years young, effortlessly. The band played twenty songs, all Doors music except for a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?”

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John Bush, best known as the frontman for veteran rock band Armored Saint, also spent time fronting thrash metal masters Anthrax from 1992 to 2005. He made four albums with the band during that time. When Bush left Anthrax, and Joey Belladonna rejoined, the Bush-era music has never really been played again, which is unfortunate, as the songs are heavy, catchy, and well worth continuing to be played and heard.

Bush was often asked about performing solo shows that focused on these Anthrax songs, and after many years of fans requesting it, it finally happened in 2025. Saturday night’s show, in front of a capacity crowd in West Hollywood, was simply incredible and highlighted why John Bush is so beloved by many around the world.

Bush announced three special shows earlier this year, playing songs from his era in Anthrax, taking place in Hollywood, New York, and St. Charles, IL. The first occurred at the world-famous Whisky A Go Go on Saturday night, December 13, to a sold-out crowd.

The night gave the fans a double dose of John Bush as his other band, Category 7, opened the show, and then Bush returned with his Category 7 bandmates backing him to play Anthrax songs from Sound Of White Noise, Stomp 442, Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, and We’ve Come For You All. The Whisky had fans packed in like sardines, and the anticipation was high to hear these songs, some of which had not been played in over 20 years.

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The Cult is by far one of the most iconic and legendary bands ever to roam the planet. Their use of post-punk, hard rock, and experimentalism has pushed musical boundaries across multiple genres, influenced countless bands worldwide, and yielded numerous hits. With their mystical musical prowess, uncompromising attitude, and captivating stage presence, they have forged an unmistakable identity.

The band’s fall tour concluded in Los Angeles on October 30 at The Shrine Exposition Hall, featuring two sets in one night: one as Death Cult and one as The Cult, revisiting their gothic post-punk roots while celebrating their enduring modern-day legacy. Opening acts were Patriarchy and Failure.

While The Cult is active with touring, it is always a truly special event when they play in Los Angeles, and the anticipation was heightened on this night as fans swarmed the Expo Hall to secure a close spot to the stage. The show was beyond your typical greatest hits concert that bands of this status typically perform. The magic started shortly after 9:00 PM with a set of Death Cult classics, beginning with “Ghost Dance” from their 1983 EP. The raw guitars and trance-inducing drumbeats echoed through the Shrine as the band performed behind a white curtain, their black silhouettes the only visible elements.

Ian Astbury remains active onstage, waving his tambourine. His voice sounds strong and healthy, while guitarist Billy Duffy cranks out some serious rhythms and solos with his unique tone on his hollow-body Gretsch guitar. Long-time drummer John Tempesta and bass player Charlie Jones controlled the tempo. The set was indeed a nostalgic trip celebrating the past, and what made it even more special was Astbury mentioning that this performance would be the final Death Cult show.

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The Undisputed Heavyweight Champions of Death Metal, Cannibal Corpse, took over House of Blues in Anaheim, CA on Saturday night, October 4, for a sold-out live massacre along with Municipal Waste, Full of Hell, and Fulci. About halfway through a 5-week US headline tour, this four-headed monster of a show left all bruised, bloodied, and wanting more. Still out supporting their September 2023 release, Chaos Horrific, Cannibal Corpse continue to bring the brutality like no other as they cement their legacy as the most controversial death metal band in existence.

Three banger bands opened the show, starting with Italy’s own Fulci, a vicious Death Metal band using violent horror-themed images on the large video screen backdrop. Playing in almost pure darkness, the band kicked off the night in the perfect way, fast and heavy, and the crowd was into this band from start to finish. Fulci earned their stripes on this night, with only 30 minutes on stage, they more than warmed up the audience to commence this night of extreme music.

Maryland’s Grindcore masters, Full of Hell, took the stage at 7:45 and blasted out some blisteringly fast songs that had a large circle pit moving about. Playing in the dark must have been a theme on this night as Full of Hell played their set in darkness as well. While the set was moving along in fine fashion, it seemed to have ended as fast as it started, as they abruptly left the stage after only 25 minutes of playing. It is unclear whether that was part of the schedule or if something unexpected happened. In any event, the crowd was now fully primed for what was to come next… Municipal Waste.

Virginia’s crossover thrashers, Municipal Waste, now 25-year veterans in the scene, are always one of the most intense live bands, as the crowd is always trying to get onstage and diving back into the crowd. Vocalist Tony Foresta always brings the fun with his intensely high-energy delivery, and the rest of the band is just as fast and furious. Opening the show with “Unleash the Bastards,” “Grave Dive,” and “Breathe Grease,” Foresta welcomed “Ana-Slime” and encouraged more crowd surfing, stating the show the night before in Ventura was much more active.

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