Houston Press | The Leading Independent News Source in Houston, Texas

Book Tells the Whole Horrific Story of the Station Nightclub Fire

By Bob Ruggiero

Oct 27, 2020

Ninety seconds doesn’t seem like a long amount of time. Most people can sing all of “The Star Spangled Banner” in that period. But a minute and a half was all that it took for 100 people to die and 200+ more to be seriously injured on the night of...

Steve Souza and Tom Hunting of Exodus remember the beginnings of the thrash metal scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.

How the San Francisco Area Speeded the Sowing of Thrash Metal

By Bob Ruggiero

Oct 2, 2020

Maybe it was something in the water, but the San Francisco Bay Area certainly produced a lot of Titans of the Thrash Metal scene. Of the “Big Four” (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax), the first two had their careers catch fire there. And if you expanded it to a “Big Six”...

Deep Purple Drops New Album As Ace Frehley Goes Space Truckin’ As Well

By David Rozycki

Aug 11, 2020

Deep Purple have just released their 21st studio album, called Whoosh! at the same time founding KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has released a cover of Purple’s classic “Space Truckin'"

British Lion is: Simon Dawson, Grahame Leslie, Steve Harris, Richard Taylor, and David Hawkins

Steve Harris' British Lion Loudly Roars its Own Identity

By Bob Ruggiero

Jan 20, 2020

For any new (or new-ish) band based in Europe, the first tour of America is something that’s usually looked forward to with equal levels of anticipation and anguish. English hard rockers British Lion will probably experience those feelings, with nearly 20 gigs booked across the United States in January and...

Canadian Metallers Anvil Release Cartoon Lyric Video For New Pro-Marijuana Song

By David Rozycki

Dec 16, 2019

Anvil, the veteran underdog Canadian metal band many people first discovered through the critically acclaimed 2008 documentary about the band, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, have recently uploaded a cartoon lyric video for their new pro-marijuana song, “Nabbed in Nebraska.”

Suzy Gets Revenge and a Music Career With the Help of Some Rock and Roll Friends

By Jesse Sendejas Jr.

Dec 12, 2019

Heavy metal vocalist Suzy released an EP of new songs recently, but it wasn’t so long ago that the Houston singer’s music pursuits seemed hopelessly stalled. She’d started her music career in her 50s, late in life for any musician in any genre, much less a woman trying to make...

Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit performing at The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles on December 3,2019

Hard Rock Recap: Farewells, Fire and Fried Chicken at End of 2019

By Cameron Martinez

Dec 9, 2019

Over the past few weeks, as most of us try to maintain a normal life and schedule around the holidays, a number of history-making concerts have gone down. While some rushed across the United States to witness a band's final performance, others were in a different part of the world...

The Last in Line: Phil Soussan, Vinny Appice, Vivian Campbell, and Andrew Freeman.

Vivian Campbell's Last in Line Mixes Dio Legacy and New Tunes

By Bob Ruggiero

Oct 14, 2019

Ronnie James Dio played with a lot of different bands and musicians throughout his career. Arguably the owner of heavy metal’s finest voice, he’s graced albums by Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own long-running band Dio. For many fans, his pinnacle was the 1983-85 run of those first three...

"Aces High," in case you couldn't guess.

Iron Maiden Proves Its "Legacy" Is Secure With An Outstanding Show At The Woodlands

By Pete Vonder Haar

Sep 23, 2019

Iron Maiden September 22, 2019 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Our arenas are littered with aging bands creaking through "farewell" tours before decades of excess force their hands, and then there's Iron Maiden. The laws of nature state that we must inevitably grow old, slowing down as we do so. It...

Run away, kiddies, from the playground "Drive-Thru Metal" mayhem of the Mighty Mac Sabbath! Members Slayer MacCheeze, Ronald Osbourne, the Catburgler, and Grimalice.

Mac Sabbath's Fast Food Philosophy

By Bob Ruggiero

Jul 30, 2019

This is Texas, where we take our beef seriously. After all, we are residents of the state where Oprah Winfrey was sued by an Amarillo cattleman for disparaging the food on her talk show. Remember, this actually went to trial in 1998. Winfrey and her guest were ultimately found not...

Oceans of Slumber, L–R: Dobber Beverly, Semir Ozerkan, Alexander Lucian, Cammie Gilbert, Jessie Santos, Mat V. Aleman

New-look Oceans of Slumber Headlines White Oak Music Hall on Saturday

By Nathan Smith

Jul 18, 2019

When local metal heroes Oceans of Slumber hit the stage at White Oak Music Hall this Saturday, catch them while you can. In less than a month, they’ll be back on a plane over the Atlantic. The band will embark on its second European tour this year—a string of headline...

Static-X, as they head out for their 2019 tribute to Wisconsin Death Trip.

Revisiting Static X's Masterful "Evil Disco" Debut Album

By Cory Garcia

Jun 21, 2019

I did not grow up in the most musically progressive town. Victoria, Texas is big enough to have multiple radio stations, but in the late ‘90s, it wasn’t big enough to have any stations that played any sort of hard rock that could be considered modern. No, if you wanted...

Black Sabbath and Van Halen both have album covers featuring angels smoking cigarettes

Checking Out the Parallels Between Black Sabbath And Van Halen

By David Rozycki

Jun 11, 2019

Black Sabbath and Van Halen share a lot of common characteristics and parallels.

The crowd was feeling it at Revention Music Center, and so was James LaBrie.

Dream Theater Bring Scenes From a Memory Back to Life in Houston

By Cory Garcia

May 1, 2019

Dream Theater Revention Music Center April 30, 2K19 A few days ago, while prepping for this concert, my roommate turns to me and asks, “What kind of fanbase does Dream Theater have?” There were a few different ways I could have answered this, but what I finally landed on was...

Bruce Corbitt sings with Warbeast at Warehouse Live in 2013

Houston Headbangers Hold Benefit for Family of Late Texas Metal Icon Bruce Corbitt

By Nathan Smith

Mar 28, 2019

Six of Houston's best heavy metal acts will pay tribute Saturday to the legacy of Texas underground metal legend Bruce Corbitt, who died of cancer earlier this year.

Deafheaven and Baroness Rattle White Oak Music Hall

By Nathan Smith

Mar 9, 2019

Two of heavy music's most dynamic outliers tag-teamed a crowd of excited nerds on Friday.

Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann is triumphant with his "Headbanger's Symphony" at Wacken Open Air.

Heavy Metal Heroes Accept Get "Classy"

By Bob Ruggiero

Feb 19, 2019

While he thinks the word “crazy” might be stretching it a bit, guitarist Wolf Hoffman does understand that what he did at Germany’s 2017 Wacken Open Air Festival (the world’s largest annual gathering of heavy metal fans) might have some questioning his sanity. That’s where his band Accept staged an...

Turns Out Disturbed are Pretty Good Arena Rockers After All

By Cory Garcia

Jan 29, 2019

Disturbed, Three Days Grace Toyota Center January 28, 2K19 David Draiman speaks with conviction. I can’t say that I always agree with what he has to say, but the way he says it makes me want to. He’s the type of guy that could easily be a life coach if...

Images of darkness, dread, and death always suffice as metal album art.

Metal Around the World. Travel Abroad and Turn it Up to These Seven Metal Bands from Across the Globe.

By Lisa Strain

Jan 29, 2019

The roots of heavy metal were established in the ‘60s and '70s mainly by British bands Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The metal genre has gone on to include many sub-genres such as glam, speed, doom, progressive, death, black, stoner, even Christian. Characterized by a generally masculine sound,...

Dobber Beverly, Christian Larson, and Matt V. Aleman of Necrofier.

New Houston Metal Supergroup Necrofier Descends to Eradicate the False

By Nathan Smith

Jan 24, 2019

A chilly new year is upon Houston, and a chilling new band rises to greet it. Necrofier, an old-school black metal outfit comprising some of the local scene’s leading hell raisers, appeared out of nothingness just in time for the solstice, battle-ready and prepared to rip faces off heads. Just...

Metalocalypse

The Metal God Confesses Everything. And He Means Everything

Night Cobra Strikes Fast with In Praise of the Shadow

I support

Keep the Houston Press Free.