Hell's Heroes VII caters to entire metal community, shows festival organizers how it's done

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Hell's Heroes VII caters to entire metal community, shows festival organizers how it's done

HOUSTON — When it comes to the quaint gathering known as the metal festival, Hell’s Heroes doesn’t have the notoriety of Rocklahoma. It may not have the pomp of Louder Than Life or the circumstance of Aftershock.

What it does have is so much more meaningful: resonance with those who matter the most.

The artists and the fans.

Hell’s Heroes VII concluded another stellar year Saturday, March 22, at White Oak Music Hall, culminating the four-day, two-stage affair with a lot of something for everyone (see 185-photo gallery).

Enjoy your metal with a side of Satan? Goatwhore was happy to oblige spotlighting its 2000 debut album The Eclipse of Ages Into Black.

Fan of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal? Saxon headlined the finale with a special “The Eagle Has Landed” set 24 hours after playing Wheels of Steel in its entirety at the Tobin Center (coverage here).

Want to be a part of history? S.A. Slayer reunited for its first performance in 40 years (coverage here).

How about possibly reliving your high school years with a trip down Memory Lane from a guy who shouldn’t even be alive? That would be original Danzig guitarist John Christ highlighting that band’s first two game changing albums from 1988 & 1990 despite the fact he was nearly killed in an auto wreck in 2004.

Then there was Celtic folk / black metal band Primordial from Ireland, whose vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga performs with a noose around his neck.

And that was just scratching the fretboard.

The architect of Christian Larson, Hell’s Heroes VII may not be on the same platform as the bigger-name fests or performed on a cruise ship. Nevertheless, a big phat set of horns needs to be raised to Larson and his cohorts because it was a raging success with those who witnessed it no matter from where they came, independent of whether they were there one day, all four or somewhere in between.

Larson is the vocalist of heavy shredders Night Cobra, which kicked off Saturday’s festivities at 12:30 p.m. How many festival founders would put their band on first when the least amount of fans would be in attendance?

But Larson did just that, demonstrating he’s not interested in any sort of ego interfering with how his festival would be run.

And what a run it was.

Though Alamo True Metal was there only for the final day due to paying the bills and covering the aforementioned Saxon, Riot V, Lizzy Borden gig the night before in the Alamo City, the fest made quite an impression in many ways.

Despite the fact it was an 80-degree day in March as opposed to a brutal 100-degree muggy affair in July, both photo pits were stocked with cases of bottled water that security offered up for free to the hardcore fans that spent hours by the barrier.

There were no fights or visible signs of trouble. Instead, there were hours of safe metal mayhem accompanied by food trucks, and vendors selling everything from T-shirts and beanies with your favorite band’s logos to dog and cat jean jackets (somebody say MUTT-allica?).

Larson undoubtedly also put his band on first so he could spend the remainder of the fest overseeing the goings-on while admiring the fruits of his and the White Oak staff’s labor.

Larson, who also sings and plays guitar in black-metal outfit Necrofier, which headlined Hi-Tones in San Antonio on Jan. 26 (coverage here), fronted a slew of songs from Night Cobra’s 2020 debut EP In Praise of the Shadow and 2022 lone full-length Dawn of the Serpent.

Bass player Trevi Biles, meanwhile, offers up a different type of double duty. According to Encyclopaedia Metallum, he teaches high school students Precalculus and Algebra II Accelerated.

Speaking of double duty . . . drummer Dave McClain, who’s also in Sacred Reich and known for his time in Machine Head, went from S.A. Slayer’s reunion to providing the backstop for Danzig guitarist Christ less than 90 minutes later.

A stagehand resembling Glenn Danzig, complete with the sideburns, introduced the band simply by bellowing, “Do you wanna cross that line,” to which the crowd erupted, “ ‘Cause it’s a Long Way Back From Hell!”

That would be just one of the eight Danzig songs Christ, McClain and Co. would perform as part of a 45-minute set.

Each minute Christ lives, let alone plays guitar, is a victory in and of itself. While driving a truck in 2004, a tire blew out. Christ’s vehicle rolled, ejecting him into oncoming traffic and leading to years of physical and mental therapy.

Prior to launching into “Snakes of Christ,” (ATM footage below), Christ used a sense of humor to regale the audience about his frightening experience.

“I wanted to go for a helicopter ride, right? The only way I found out (how) to do it was to get thrown out of a truck on the freeway and get run over by traffic going the other way,” Christ said. “But I got my helicopter ride. I shut down the freeway in both directions in L.A., and I almost kicked the bucket. Broke half my body, and it took five years to be able to play guitar again. I had to learn how to talk everything and walk. Some people say I still can’t talk or walk at the same time. But anyway, and now it’s 20 years later. I’m back. I missed you guys.”

Christ, who stamped Danzig’s sound on the first four albums after a stint with Glenn Danzig in Samhain, was playing his first gig in Houston since 1995. The crowd ate it up on classic riff-laden opener “Twist of Cain,” “She Rides,” “Am I Demon” and of course, the hit that broke Danzig’s MTV bank: “Mother.”

“MTV hated us until ‘Beavis & Butt-head’ loved us in ‘93,” Christ said.

There was also Swiss trio Coroner, still being spearheaded by singer/bassist Ron Royce. It was a little surreal standing in line with them at one of the food trucks immediately after their set, but that’s the intimacy you get at Hell’s Heroes that doesn’t happen at all festivals.

There was Scotland’s Hellripper, packing them in during the hottest part of the afternoon while marking their first trip to America.

There was San Antonio’s own Las Cruces, which learned only about a week before that they’d be replacing the absent Blood Ceremony. Vocalist Jason Kane was a headbanging and singing machine, while guitarist Mando Serna, bassist Jimmy Bell and band leader George Trevino made the Alamo City proud throughout the set, a taste of which can be seen below on ATM’s footage of “Ringmaster” and “Cocaine Wizard Woman.”

Lest anyone call it a night early, they would have missed Saxon putting a metallic bow on another year of Hell’s Heroes.

At one point, vocalist Biff Byford lamented the discrepancy in Saxon’s appearances at festivals overseas compared to the dearth of American ones, saying, “We should play more festivals in America. We don’t get asked to play festivals here. It’s a bloody shame, really.”

But all it took was the performance of a few tracks Saxon didn’t perform at the Tobin Center such as “This Town Rocks” plus “And the Bands Played On” to make things right again immediately after thundering through “1066” and “The Eagle Has Landed” (ATM footage of both below).

Following the latter, Byford told the crowd Saxon would play “a few extra songs.” He gave the people the choice of hearing the two aforementioned ones along with their cover of San Antonio native Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind” before yielding, “Maybe we’ll do two of them. Or all three.”

After ending the trifecta with the remake, Byford instructed of Houston: “Don’t tell San Antonio we played that one.”

The generosity, however, came at a small price. As Saxon began to exceed the 11 p.m. curfew, the venue pulled the plug after the first verse of finale “Princess of the Night.”

It was the only blemish on the evening, if you could even call it that.

Barely a breath after the final note, Hell’s Heroes was already reaching out to fans asking for which bands they want to have at next year’s fest. A good start would be the groups that couldn’t make it due to visa or travel issues such as the aforementioned Blood Ceremony and Onslaught.

But again, Hell’s Heroes has something for everyone. Whatever the choices, they’re bound to be worth the time and price of admission you’re willing to invest in it in 2026.

Next time, you might want to bring your pet. Just don’t forget to raise those horns, and paws, high to the sky.

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40-Year Reunion of S.A. Slayer hits home at Hell's Heroes

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40-Year Reunion of S.A. Slayer hits home at Hell's Heroes

HOUSTON — When the five men in black hit the main stage outside last Saturday at White Oak Music Hall, it may have appeared as an ordinary metal concert.

It may have looked as if yet another festival band was playing the fourth and final day of Hell’s Heroes VII. But upon closer look, even with the recognizable star power coming into focus at that moment with each individual’s credentials morphing into the formation of a modern-day supergroup, the significance of the show about to unfold was not lost upon the masses.

Because there on stage, for the first time in four decades, was one of the pioneers of early San Antonio heavy metal. With four-fifths original or nearly original members fronted by the only vocalist appropriate to carry on the legacy of — not replace — the band’s late voice, S.A. Slayer had risen from the ashes.

Guitarist Bob Catlin, bassist Don Van Stavern and drummer Dave McClain — all there during the group’s formation in 1982 — were joined by 1983 guitarist Ron Jarzombek and South Texas Music Walk of Fame and Texas Music Hall of Fame vocalist Jason McMaster for a 45-minute concert 40 years in the making.

After opening with the title track to 1983 EP Prepare to Die, the band didn’t need a 40-year absence to be reminded of the perils of technical difficulties when Catlin’s guitar amps didn’t cooperate during second song “To Ride the Demon Out.”

McMaster utilized the time to tell the audience that initial talks of S.A. Slayer’s reunion involved the other members asking, “What’s Jason doing? Give Jason a call” when searching for the ideal complement to vocalist Steve Cooper, who died in 2006.

Cooper, who had replaced original vocalist Chris Cronk in 1982, also made his mark on S.A. Slayer’s lone full-length album Go For the Throat, which was recorded in 1984 but not released until four years later, well after the group had disbanded.

But of course, along the way came the famous Slayer vs. Slayer show on Nov. 30, 1984, at The Villa Fontana in San Antonio.

Touring in support of their Haunting the Chapel EP from 1983, the eventual Big 4 of thrash Slayer came to the Alamo City to play a gig with the Slayer that was only well-known to San Antonio locals and that, eventually, added S.A. to its name to avoid confusion among the two bands. That Villa Fontana show included the likes of Syrus and Militia, and those on hand to witness the Hell’s Heroes reunion included vocalist Mike Soliz of the latter.

And for those wondering how and why a band with S.A. in its name has thus far failed to announce a San Antonio date for its reunion ahead of Houston and next month’s scheduled gig at the Keep It True festival in Germany, take solace: conversations were spearheaded backstage by Helstar vocalist James Rivera, tossing around with various band members the idea of a Texas and European swing that would involve Helstar, S.A. Slayer and Militia.

Stay tuned.

In the meantime, the long-awaited return delivered the goods with a 10-song set (see setlist in 63-photo gallery). Watch ATM’s footage of four of those tunes below.

Jarzombek and McMaster have been leading the reunion charge as of late, having resurrected their progressive metal trio Watchtower in September 2023 (ATM coverage here).

Not to be outdone was McClain, the Sacred Reich drummer known for his tenure in Machine Head, who would pull double duty by taking the inside stage 90 minutes after S.A. Slayer’s performance to drum for original Danzig guitarist John Christ’s solo set (coverage forthcoming).

But nobody may have worked harder during the past week than Van Stavern. The Riot bassist kicked off Hell’s Heroes with his main band during Wednesday’s pre-party, headlined with Riot during its 50th anniversary celebration Thursday at Come And Take It Live in Austin, supported Saxon at the Tobin Center for his hometown show Friday (coverage here), then made the 3-hour drive back to Houston for Hells’ finale.

Time will tell whether the aforementioned trio of South Texas stalwarts will bring it in sports-huddle style and collectively take to the road in the Alamo City and beyond. One thing’s for certain: they can’t afford to wait another 40 years to make it happen.

So if you weren’t at Hell’s Heroes to enjoy and witness history, can’t afford to make it to Germany and won’t stomach the patience to wait for a local return, have no fear. Alamo True Metal just brought it to you here.

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Hell, Riot & Shock awe sold-out Tobin Center

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Hell, Riot & Shock awe sold-out Tobin Center

If the proverbial three certainties in life always include death and taxes, then the kicker — at least as far as San Antonio metal is concerned — is Saxon will always draw a sold-out devoted following whenever it comes to town.

In a town that knows how to rock, the latest example came last Friday night on Saxon’s second visit ever to the downtown Tobin Center, once again drawing approximately 1,800 fans filling all levels of the cozy and acoustically impeccable theater for the performing arts.

As in May 2024, Saxon shared tracks from latest album Hell, Fire & Damnation (coverage here). Unlike that show, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal stalwarts went eight songs deep before unleashing 1980 classic Wheels of Steel in its entirety — a treat on this “Hell, Fire & Steel” tour Saxon was not going to unveil the following night in Houston at the Hell’s Heroes VIII festival that it headlined (coverage forthcoming).

Original vocalist Biff Byford and Austin resident and (practically original) drummer Nigel Glockler were once again backed by longtime guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Tim “Nibbs” Carter and Diamond Head mainstay Brian Tatler on guitar.

Mixing songs from all eras (see setlist in 54-photo gallery), Saxon and the 74-year-old Byford (yes, you read that correctly) continue to defy age and logic in the city that gave the band its first taste of American radio airplay back in 1979-80. Watch them in action at the bottom via ATM’s footage of “Heavy Metal Thunder” and the band’s 1980 account of the John F. Kennedy assassination, “Dallas 1 p.m.”

Amazingly, the direct support act has been around a little longer than Saxon.

Riot V and hometown bassist Don Van Stavern are touring as part of their 50th anniversary in support of latest album Mean Streets.

Although no original members remain in the group, Van Stavern has been more than a huge contributor to Riot’s legacy beginning with the classic 1988 Thundersteel lineup, with guitarist Mike Flyntz following only five years later.

Backed by drummer Frank Gilchriest and new guitarist Jonathan Reinheimer, the group was injected with a new bolt of energy when vocalist Todd Michael Hall — then of Jack Starr’s Burning Starr and Reverence — was hired by Van Stavern in late 2013 and officially announced as the fifth singer in the band’s storied history in January 2014. Mean Streets marks the third Riot V album with Hall on vocals, a record that sees Van Stavern having written tracks in the vein of each of the band’s eras.

Hall, meanwhile, recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of his scintillating performance on “The Voice” of Foreigner’s “Jukebox Hero” (watch here) and released his latest classic-rock solo album of originals Off the Rails this past October.

Although it was a thankless task narrowing 50 years of music into nine or 10 “support act” songs, Riot pulled it off masterfully with tracks from various albums and nearly every era, highlighted by 1988 opener “Thundersteel,” the mandatory 1981 sing-along “Swords and Tequila” and 1979 dynamo “Road Racin.’ “

Riot added Thundersteel classic “Johnny’s Back” to the printed setlist and inserted it prior to finale “Warrior.” You can watch the group in action at the bottom via ATM’s footage of new-album single “Feel the Fire,” 1982 title track “Restless Breed” and Thundersteel MTV hit “Bloodstreets.”

Kicking off the night was the unpredictable shock-rocker Lizzy Borden, who came out in a three-headed monster contraption while singing the title track to his latest album, 2018’s My Midnight Things.

Longtime drummer Joey Scott provided the beats on classics such as “Notorious,” “Eyes of a Stranger” and “Me Against the World.”

ATM footage below of “Master of Disguise” and the crowd-pleasing “American Metal” captured Lizzy Borden’s uplifting performance in what was a rare San Antonio visit, buoyed by guitarist AC Alexander, who’s a luxury realtor in California known as Alexander Ciullo when he’s not playing, well, American metal.

From the shores of England, to the streets of New York and the glitz of Los Angeles, the trio of acts at the Tobin on this night provided a get-together that San Antonio could be proud of. The debate as to whether the Alamo City remains the “Heavy Metal capital” in 2025 will carry on. But there’s no denying there aren’t many cities in the U.S. that have welcomed, and flown the flag for, Saxon, Riot, Lizzy Borden and many others like them for as long as it has.

For that, San Antonio undoubtedly remains second to none — and the reason these bands will continue to return as long as they’re around to do so.

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Myles Kennedy and friends let go into a rockin' world of discovery and tales galore

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Myles Kennedy and friends let go into a rockin' world of discovery and tales galore


Many of the few hundred venturing to the Rock Box last Friday night likely came for the sheer enjoyment of witnessing one of rock and metal’s renowned and multi-talented front men put on an entertaining performance with his solo band.

While that certainly happened, they also ended up stepping into a world of discovery when it came to not only the Alter Bridge vocalist/guitarist but also his support acts Tim Montana and openers Sons Of Silver.

Kennedy, who of course is the voice behind Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, is touring in support of third solo effort The Art of Letting Go. He unleashed a few of those tunes, including opening with the title track before segueing into arguably the album’s most rocking song “Nothing More to Gain.”

Unlike when he’s fronting the band highlighted by the Guns N’ Roses guitarist strictly as a vocalist, Kennedy plays guitar throughout his solo shows — one of the many topics we discussed back in 2017 (listen here). His eponymous band includes bassist Tim Tournier and drummer Zia Uddin, the latter a friend of Kennedy’s for 40-plus years as kids growing up in Spokane, Washington, who also served as his backstop in The Mayfield Four.

Uddin performed songs from all three of Kennedy’s solo albums, including 2021’s The Ides of March and 2018’s Year of the Tiger, behind a unique plexiglass setup, which transformed into a humorous explanation by Kennedy during new track “In Stride” (ATM Facebook Live footage here).

If anyone came expecting Kennedy to bust out an Alter Bridge classic or a Slash tune, they would’ve left disappointed. Fact is, Kennedy has more than enough capable material to carry him through a gig via his three solo records, and he even left yours truly wondering why he hadn’t performed new-album single “Say What You Will” . . . until the trio re-emerged for its lone encore (footage in above link. No professional video of Kennedy’s set was permitted).

Burly singer/guitarist Tim Montana provided direct support . . . and brought with him a crew laced with a multitude of interesting and impressive credentials who knew how to more than dabble in fun while rocking — and rapping — the house.

So proud of his home state that he incorporated it into his stage name, Montana and his band unveiled a slew of tunes from 2024 effort Savage such as “Devil You Know,” “Get You Some” and the title tracks. Montana introed “Die Today” by recounting a hero who had saved lives by taking out a hotel terrorist, although the track should’ve been called “I Forgot to Die Today.”

Backed by bassist Jackson Moody, guitarist Tom Samulak and drummer Kyle Law, the band’s namesake has had quite an upbringing when it comes to his career.

He’s played on “The Late Show With David Letterman” and not only collaborated with Kid Rock and ZZ Top legend Billy Gibbons, he and the 75-year-old Texan have teamed up to produce several flavors of Whisker Bomb hot sauce.

Sure, rockers and metallers nowadays venture into side businesses such as hot sauce and beer. But how many of those who are more well-known than Montana actually scored a business venture with a guy like Gibbons?

Upon one of his first meetings with the ZZ Top mainstay, Montana regaled a tale of how Gibbons wanted him to “do that hip-hop shit,” so Montana busted out Tupac Shakur’s “California Love” in front of Slash. Montana spotted Slash mouthing, “What the fuck” while smiling — so of course, Montana had to do it at the Rock Box, which you can view below via ATM’s footage.

Montana also relayed a story about how he once played before one of his heroes, Alice In Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell (who will be at the Aztec Theatre next week; tickets here). Montana said Cantrell watched his performance stoically with his arms folded the entire time, and when Montana nervously asked his idol what he thought, Cantrell stated: “I think you guys are some bad motherfuckers.”

Montana, whose video for “Mostly Stoned” was directed by Charlie Sheen, even turned the oft-mundane act of a band plugging its merch into a time when you wouldn’t have wanted to miss it while utilizing the restroom:

“Buy a shirt, and that will get us 50 miles down the road if you like us. And if you don’t like us, buy two ‘cause that will get us 100 miles further away from you.”

Before the humor and storytelling unfolded, there was Sons Of Silver. The quintet from Los Angeles released their debut full-length album Runaway Emotions on Jan. 10 following a pair of EPs.

Highlighted by opening track “Tell Me This,” which the band played third on this night, the album is a terrific mix of up tempo hard rock with dashes of metal and steady musicianship that leaves you wanting to hear much more than the 25-minute set the Los Angeles outfit was relegated to.

Still, vocalist/guitarist Pete Argyropoulos (aka PeteRG), guitarist Kevin Haaland, bassist Adam Kury, keyboardist Brina Kabler and drummer Marc Slutsky delivered the goods on their first San Antonio visit as a band. As expected with a less than 30-minute set, there wasn’t much time for introductions or storytelling, so Sons Of Silver stuck to what they do best on the record. They brought that out at the Rock Box, including “Who’s Gonna Stop Us” and “Hold Tight,” both of which can be viewed below.

Haaland spent a few years playing guitar in Skillet, while Kury has had his stamp on San Antonio performances in recent years. He’s the bassist in Candlebox and longtime Alamo City favorites Legs Diamond, the latter having played twice here since 2022.

Kennedy’s solo band, along with Tim Montana and Sons Of Silver, may not have resonated strongly preshow on many radars locally. But for those who checked out all three artists and relished the chance to perhaps discover some new musical acts to add to their collections, who knows? Maybe one day down the road, you’ll be able to tell those acts you were there from their early days — if not from the very beginning.

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Shrills of hell: Black-metal purveyors send highest of tones to depths of underground fans' souls

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Shrills of hell: Black-metal purveyors send highest of tones to depths of underground fans' souls

The questions surrounding the specifics of heaven and hell, let alone whether either exists in the first place, will always be a mystery to those who remain alive on earth. For many, the closest they may get to the latter will be listening to songs and viewing shows with a hellacious theme.

Sunday night at Hi-Tones may have provided as close to a heavy metal hell soundtrack — and preview to what might take place in the afterlife “down there” — in as eerily intimate a setting as one might ever find.

A trio of bands headlined by Houston natives Necrofier, direct support from novice Austin project Varenth and opening with local quartet Fluxus Mortis unveiled an evening of black metal artistry not often seen or heard in the Alamo City, never mind on the St. Mary’s Strip.

But the candlelit bar was the place to be for roughly 30 diehard metal fans, friends, significant others and family members of the bands who showed up just a few hours before school and work beckoned the following morning.

Necrofier was wrapping up its fourth Texas show in as many nights after playing Austin, Dallas and hometown of Houston touring in support of its second full-length album, 2023’s Burning Shadows in the Southern Night.

Fronted by singer/rhythm guitarist Christian Larson, the tone was set as the band hit the Hi-Tones floor and stage as a figure draped in black lit candles off to the side while the P.A. played brooding new-album intro “The Fall From Heaven.” From there, Necrofier blasted into “Darker Than the Night” from 2021’s Prophecies of Eternal Darkness.

The surprisingly short headlining set of 43 minutes picked up even more chilling black-metal steam via latest-album tracks “To the Wolves,” “On the Wings of Death We Burn the Sky” and “Destroying Angels,” each of which can be viewed below.

Larson, who is also in Night Cobra as well as the founder of the annual Hell’s Heroes festival, which will take place for the seventh time March 19-22 at White Oak Music Hall in Houston, kept the Hi-Tones patrons engaged by periodically informing them of the frightening tunes to come, such as ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “The Black Flame Burns” and “Forbidden Light of the Black Moon.”

The pounding drums of Dobber Beverly meshed with lead guitarist Semir Ozerkan, both of whom help comprise Houston’s female-fronted metalcore unit Oceans Of Slumber. Ozerkan also played bass in a pair of San Antonio groups: Aeternal Requiem and Nahaya, the latter having won the Texas State championship in the 2019 Wacken Metal Battle, advancing to the national final in Los Angeles before falling short of playing Germany’s renowned multi-day festival.

Necrofier bassist Mat Aleman also has a preceding part of his resume, having played in War Master.

Varenth out of Austin was marking one year of its formation at Sunday’s show. The trio released full-length Under Reign of Hellfire in September, and you can watch a trifecta of those tracks via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Beneath A Morning Star,” “Sulfuric Winds” and “Depths of Eternity.”

Fluxus Mortis kicked off the evening having the honor of being the lone local band on the bill. Its five-song EP When Pleasure Becomes Torture dropped last month, and they offered up a taste here. They’ll be offering up even more Saturday, April 26, at Vibes Event Center when they share the Chaos & Carnage stages with Dying Fetus, Cradle Of Filth, Fleshgod Apocalypse and more (tickets here).

Various subgenres of metal have made their stamp in the Alamo City over the years, ranging from ‘80s bands to the 2000s to death-metal angst. Black metal shows, however, have been few and far between. As with most things in life, some entities usually start out small before they can expand.

If Necrofier, Varenth and Fluxus Mortis have their way and are any indication, word deserves to get out in San Antonio of the black-metal movement. Because it’s only a fact of life that, no matter what our final destination may ultimately be, we all go through our own personal hell from time to time.

Why not have piercing vocals, shrilling lead guitars, bombastic drums and pure darkness come along for the ride?

NECROFIER setlist: The Fall From Heaven; Darker Than the Night; To the Wolves; On Wings of Death We Burn the Sky; Destroying Angels; The Black Flame Burns; Forbidden Light of the Black Moon; Blood Is Thicker Than Water; Total Southern Darkness

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Death metal community bids farewell to Bonds Rock Bar in demonic fashion

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Death metal community bids farewell to Bonds Rock Bar in demonic fashion

No matter a band’s look, no matter its hometown, no matter its gimmick, most metal artists will tell you the same thing: it’s all about the music.

That has always held true for 25 years at 450 Soledad St., the two-storied home of Bonds Rock Bar (formerly known as Bonds 007 Rock Bar) in downtown San Antonio. And for the past 16 years, Bonds has been owned by the married tag team of Dirce and John Eguia.

The Eguias will never say it publicly or privately. But last weekend’s double dose of concert finales proved to be the exception to the bar’s purpose because the back-to-back musical extravaganza wasn’t about the music this time.

Yes, there were bands that provided both evenings’ soundtrack. A seven-artist death-metal program last Friday night that marked the bar’s final gig of all-original music before last Saturday’s sold-out tribute-band show.

Click on the group’s name to get a taste of their performances via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of Sledgehammer Guillotine’s “Buried Alive,” Lacination’s “Undying” and “Excruciating Ejaculation,” Laredo headliners Antisma on “Eyes of Damnation” and “Obscured Afterlife,” Chaotic End, Vvormking, Corpse Hole’s “World Rotted Black” and “Bone Cave of the Cannibal King,” and openers Nauseum.

Rather, the final weekend of 2024 was about paying respect, thank yous and giving a proper farewell to the bar and its owners and staff who have given so much of themselves to the metal community.

The Eguias have always given Alamo City metalheads, and those who just wanted to come in to take a load off regardless of their musical tastes, age, religion or creed a sanctuary to chill, play pool, listen to the jukebox downstairs, check out a live gig upstairs or simply share a few laughs and memories. Their bar has been the only one in San Antonio that has been metal inclusive — no rap or country music. Nothing but tossing your horns in the air.

However, Bonds has been forced to close its doors thanks to the fact a developer bought their property — and that of the bar formerly known as The Korova next door — to make way for another downtown hotel.

The downstairs portion will remain open until construction begins, but the Eguias must be given a 90-day notice before that happens.

Last weekend marked the final days of the upstairs portion that hosted live shows. As Dirce Eguia told Alamo True Metal, she and her husband did not want to book bands in advance of the closure, only to have to run the risk of canceling them after commitments were made.

“I feel like I’m letting a lot of bands down,” Dirce said. “There are plenty of venues in San Antonio, but not medium-sized venues that let local and regional bands play. A lot of bands played their first show at Bonds because we gave them all a chance. A lot of bands called Bonds their home.”

The fact the Eguias have been made to give up their home away from home on the city of San Antonio’s terms instead of their own may be the toughest part of it all.

“I’ve been crying. I’ve been crying. Yes I have,” John Eguia reflected somberly as Friday’s show wound down. “Last weekend, I was on stage with tribute bands. And they called us out. The third band called us out. The fifth band called us out.” Asked if that’s when it hit him, John said, “Oh, fuck yeah.”

“It’s been 25 years of Bonds, 16 years of John and Dirce,” he continued. “Everybody that was here tonight, downstairs, I met y’all. We became friends here. It’s like that guy that nobody hung out with, or this guy that nobody liked. I went up and I talked to them, and I met them. (People from) Germany, just people that I’ve met over the years. Ireland. So many memories.”

Although Bonds was the king of tribute-band venues, it hosted more than its fair share of national acts. Everything from annual visits by Houston legends D.R.I. to earlier this year, the all-female rock band Plush which opened for The Warning in 2023 at the Aztec Theatre.

Friday night’s gig was filled with swirling pits, good times and controlled chaos. Even though Bonds was about to close its doors, there were fans in attendance who had never frequented the bar but came on this occasion through word of mouth of the impending closure. They wanted to be able to say they had set foot at least once inside the heavy metal capital’s hallowed hall of sorts.

There were some big names that came through as well over the years. Lamb of God bassist John Campbell stopped by to play some pool, while Scorpions (ex-Motorhead and ex-King Diamond) drummer Mikkey Dee provided his John Hancock among the bar’s logo-filled countertops.

“Meeting people from the band Foreigner, Lamb Of God, Alice Cooper, Scorpions,” John Eguia said. “I was just hanging out with (them). It was just so casual. Nobody even knew, nobody even suspected. These guys are here.

“But what’s funny about that is some of these people, I ran into them. Like Foreigner in Vegas. They ran into me, and they’re like, ‘Hey, John!’ And I’m like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ It’s like, ‘You’re coming to our show.’ I didn’t want to say, ‘I’m going to Scorpions.’ And they turned me on to tickets. It was so badass.”

One of John Eguia’s biggest memories, however, came from an unlikely source due to its unlikeliest of back stories.

“One of our biggest names in this bar was (black metal band) Mayhem from Norway,” he said. “They played here. They play for 50,000 people, and they played here for fuckin’ 300 people. I’m gonna guess (it was in) 2015.

“Their tour bus pulled up — I’ll never forget. Dirce was like, freaked out, when I told her, ‘This band, one of the dudes fuckin’ killed the other motherfucker and ate his flesh. And then he was arrested. He’s locked up. And I told Dirce, ‘You wanna get in the bus?’ “

Although that calamity among the band took place a couple decades earlier and thus, needless to say, the individuals involved were no longer in Mayhem, any hesitation on the Eguias’ part would have been certainly understandable.

Then again, this is heavy metal. A community that bonds (pun intended) together.

“They asked for a bottle of Jack Daniels,” John said, “and I said, ‘Let’s take it.’ And Dirce went in with me, and I said, ‘Alright. Watch out. We’re OK. The bus is in front of Bonds. And we’re gonna drink Jack Daniels with the band.’ It was funny.”

Bonds may be in the midst of being booted unceremoniously by its hometown. But its hometown can’t stop the Eguias from searching elsewhere to begin a new era.

But of course, that’s not going to happen overnight. John, however, remains optimistic.

“Our plans are, we’re going to find a place, somewhere,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen, my thought is, I want an acre lot. We’re going to build it. Four walls. I told Dirce … we’re going to put up four walls. And we’re going to put up a trough with cold beer and a boombox. And we’re going to start it. We’re going to hang out. And then we’re going to build it. My thought is, I don’t give a shit. If we can’t find nothing, we’re going to build something from nothing. And then we’re going to grow. We’re going to make it happen. Bonds will revive somewhere else. It’s going to happen.”

Added Dirce: “Overall, it’s very sad because we feel there will never be another Bonds. Even if we find a place, nothing can come close to what we have now.”

Bonds as we know it wasn’t just a place to listen to metal. It was a sanctuary to gather, make friends and memories, treat friends and even strangers to drinks, and share an undying love for the music.

It was a bar where you could bring your non-metalhead mother and she could feel comfortable tossing up her horns in front of a mural paying tribute to the late “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. I did. And she did.

Bonds was an avenue where moms and dads could bring their kids to check out death metal (see 52-photo gallery). Where promoters of rock and metal bands could come out and support their death-metal counterparts behind the scenes.

Where a guy who used to work behind the bar could enjoy a full-circle moment and be the bassist for the final all-original band (Sledgehammer Guillotine) to play within these doors.

Where patrons could hold private parties. Where the Eguias could spend three months each year decorating upstairs for Halloween or hold a pre-Fiesta walk to NIOSA in April for its closest friends to party before the party.

It was simply — home.

Similar moments may be gone for now. But they’re likely to be reborn before it’s all said and done.

Because if there’s one message to the people in the position of power in San Antonio, it’s this:

You cannot kill the family. Especially not the Bonds Rock Bar family.

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King Crimson legends rock BEAT of their past with two of a perfect pair

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King Crimson legends rock BEAT of their past with two of a perfect pair

Around the time many at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday night had been born, a rock group incorporating elements of several other genres was given birth in London and called itself King Crimson. Its style fit into the progressive metal side of things, but the public barely knew that term existed in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, let alone what it was.

Especially in America.

So, while four other guys from London were inventing heavy metal and, a few years later, four makeup-clad figures were taking the States by storm wearing larger-than-life costumes and blowing up stages while rock and rolling all nite and partying every day, King Crimson was proving to be ahead of its time.

Perhaps too far for its own good.

But the true test of a band is its longevity and timeliness of its music.

Fast forward four-plus decades to this past weekend. Two musicians who possess side credentials that alone should warrant each of them induction into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame celebrated their ‘80s stint in King Crimson. They were backed by a pair of modern musical stalwarts and together, call themselves Beat.

Led by singer/guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist/synthesizer player Tony Levin — each of whom made three King Crimson albums in the early ‘80s — Beat ventured to the historic downtown San Antonio venue for a 2-hour, 26-minute, no-opening-act-necessary performance (with a 20-minute intermission) that was as mesmerizing as it was scintillating.

The other half on stage came courtesy of renowned guitar wizard Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey — both chosen by Belew and said to have been approved by original King Crimson guitar mastermind Robert Fripp.

The quartet honored those ‘80s contributions — 1981 album Discipline, 1982’s Beat and 1984’s Three of a Perfect Pair, with the Majestic visit in front of 1,400 fans marking the 61st of a grueling 65-show trek.

Belew, who will turn 75 this Monday, took to the stage first at 7:30 p.m., sharp, wearing a white suitcoat with matching pants and shoes, green V-neck and black top hat. Simply smiling at the audience without saying a word, he was joined one at a time by Levin, Vai and Carey, each of whom did the same.

As the foursome dispersed to their stations, a woman inexplicably bellowed, “Play all the right notes!” Perhaps she was influenced by a quote Levin had given to the San Antonio Current in which he stated his bass work on John Lennon’s Double Fantasy had begun upon their initial meeting with the late Beatles legend telling him, “Don’t play too many notes.”

Ah, those side credentials.

Yes, Levin played on the final album recorded by Lennon prior to his death.

But wait, there’s more.

Levin, 78, has worked with Peter Gabriel since 1977. Other credits include Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Sarah McLachlan and Liquid Tension Experiment.

Belew is right there with him. After having been discovered in 1970 by Frank Zappa while playing in a cover band in Nashville, Tennessee, called Sweetheart, Belew became a touring member of Talking Heads, Bowie and Nine Inch Nails to go along with his 30 years of fronting, co-writing and playing guitar in King Crimson.

As musicians who’ve mastered various styles of music, Belew and Levin might take pleasure in knowing that among the 1,400 on hand were S.A. Slayer guitar greats Bob Catlin, Ron Jarzombek and Art Villareal — who were making their own history in 1984 when Three of a Perfect Pair dropped, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the famed Slayer vs. Slayer show on Nov. 30 at The Villa Fontana.

They witnessed an exhibition that amazed both levels of the Majestic on various fronts, some of which can be seen via ATM’s balcony-view Facebook Live footage of Carey’s and Belew’s extended mini-bongo intro to “Waiting Man” segueing into instrumental “The Sheltering Sky” here plus “Frame by Frame” here.

But of course, ATM has to present multiple vantage points of coverage in honor of a band that exemplifies multiple styles. That can be seen below via the in-your-face-from-the-back-of-the-Majestic-balcony trifecta of the quirky “Elephant Talk,” Belew taking a hand drill to his guitar on “Three of a Perfect Pair” and Carey’s drum solo introing the even quirkier “Indiscipline.”

After that triple treat resulted in a standing ovation, the band returned for a pair of encores. At the Majestic, that could only mean one thing: fans that had been sitting throughout the performance bum rushing the stage, which can be seen via ATM’s Facebook Live footage from the front of the stage of finale “Thela Hun Ginjeet.”

Beat’s performance also unveiled an instrument that even those who’ve attended hundreds of concerts may never have seen live. The Chapman Stick is Levin’s unique 12-string (six guitar / six bass) neck-only finger-tapping tool of choice, and it can be seen via the 34-photo gallery and footage below, and heard on his solo album that dropped in September: Bringing it Down to the Bass.

To say King Crimson, er, Beat, offered up one of the year’s most memorable gigs wouldn’t be a bunch of gibberish. Heck, it wouldn’t even be elephant talk. It would simply be the truth. If you missed it, give yourself an elephant-sized kick in the pants.

BEAT setlist: (1st set) Neurotica, Neal and Jack and Me, Heartbeat, Sartori in Tangier, Model Man, Industry, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III). (2nd set) Waiting Man, The Sheltering Sky, Sleepless, Frame by Frame, Matte Kudasai, Elephant Talk, Three of a Perfect Pair, Indiscipline. ENCORES: Red, Thela Hun Ginjeet

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Bands, burgers, booze bring out brotherhood of local metal kingdom

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Bands, burgers, booze bring out brotherhood of local metal kingdom

The present of San Antonio-area heavy metal, the future and a blast from its past who’s focusing on the here and now congregated last Saturday night at Sam’s Burger Joint Music Hall, bringing out a who’s-who of San Antonio rock personalities whose presence impressed the national pair that co-hosted the ride with flair.

Kingdom Collapse, Livin’ Dark Daze, Waves In April and Sanity’s Last Breath took over Sam’s for an evening of various styles of rock and metal accompanied by a silent auction of framed photos and memorabilia benefitting the San Antonio Food Bank. As if the musical options and the giant burgers of Sam’s celebrating its 25th year as a venue weren’t enough, the event was emceed by Disturbed bassist John Moyer and veteran San Antonio/Austin disc jockey L.A. Lloyd.

Having made their mark all over Sirius XM Octane radio plus national festivals such as Welcome To Rockville and twice at Blue Ridge Rock Fest, the Kingdom Collapse quartet of vocalist Jonathan Norris, guitarist David Work, bassist Aaron Smith and drummer Gaston Flores had Sam’s pumping throughout its 45-minute headlining set.

Opening with “Payback” and “Save Me from Myself” (ATM Facebook Live footage of both here), friends, family members of the band, restaurant goers and general rock fans enjoying a Saturday night downtown took in the group’s energetic performance.

Those on hand included Nothing More guitarist Mark Vollelunga, Even In Death vocalist Sean Nations, Work’s and Norris’ former bandmates in The Taking — Alan Lozano and Daniel Ross Lozano — and KABB-Fox 29 sportscaster and resident metalhead Chuck Miketinac.

Not bad considering another local band that has put its mark on the map, Upon A Burning Body, was headlining Vibes Event Center.

The throng at Sam’s was treated to a passionate night of Rock N’ Roll, with Norris pouring his heart out in revealing how heavy music and fronting a band has helped him find his way after, “I saw my dad die in front of me at 8 years old.”

Norris also emphasized that Kingdom Collapse is “a 100 percent unsigned, independent band.”

They got no argument from Lloyd, the Program Director of KLBJ-FM in Austin and former longtime DJ here at 99.5 KISS-FM who’s celebrating his own 25th year of the nationally syndicated “Rock 30” artist co-hosted countdown show. Lloyd recalled how he had first come in contact with the group and now views Kingdom Collapse as “the biggest do-it-yourself band I have ever seen in my life.”

Added Austin native Moyer: “I just can’t get over what a scene San Antonio has. You guys are amazing. This would never happen in Austin. I swear to God. This is the fuckin’ home of metal.” Watch Moyer’s and Lloyd’s spiel to the crowd, plus Kingdom Collapse’s “Suffer” and “Break Free” via ATM footage below and see the setlist in 47-photo gallery. Octane hit “Unbreakable” ended the night, and Kingdom Collapse also unveiled new tune “Last One Standing to rousing approval.

Providing direct support was Livin’ Dark Daze. The six-piece band was founded in 2017 by vocalist Buster Grant, who helped put the South Texas (Austin/San Antonio) ‘80s metal scene in the history books when he fronted Wyzard in 1982, joining the likes of S.A. Slayer, Watchtower, Juggernaut, Militia, Syrus and others.

Accompanied by triple axe attackers Saul De Leon, Albert Arguelles and Justin Ervine — the latter a member of Lokey and Korn tribute Freaks On A Leash — Grant and Co. were preceded by Moyer revealing Disturbed’s plans for their 25th anniversary tour, including an April 25 stop at the Frost Bank Center (tickets here), before busting out with “Relentless” and “Love Falls” (ATM Facebook Live footage here).

The band’s best track, “Before We Believe,” proved to be the seventh of eight songs played before “Torn” rounded out the set. The former song dropped in March but was actually written 15 years ago by drummer David McGilvrey, and you can watch both tunes below.

The most intriguing band of the evening consists of members who are barely old enough to drive and would likely roll their eyes at the thought of partying like it’s 1999.

Waves In April, a diverse female-fronted metalcore unit out of New Braunfels, made an impression in more ways than one. Led by guitarist/vocalist Dierks Canada and drummer Willy Canada, their parents own the School of Rock in New Braunfels, which helped the band cut its teeth as performance-enhanced musicians.

No, we’re not talking about the stuff baseball players take.

Thanks to Shannon and Cody Canada’s foray into the School of Rock, Dierks and Willy learned about stage presence and crafting songs before they were even teenagers, along with honing their instrumental skills.

Together with new vocalist Elle Gorman and bassist Lukas, Waves In April had its own throng of likeminded high school classmates and friends make the drive from New Braunfels, turning Sam’s into their personal mosh pit.

Dierks took it one step further on finale “Uzumaki,” calling for the Wall of Death and telling the crowd, “Don’t fuck it up” (ATM footage below). Seriously: how many bands have even attempted one of those at Sam’s? Should be the name of a new 26th-year burger.

Limited to 30 minutes, Waves In April showcased its versatility not only with Dierks’ growling vocals and Gorman’s clean style (accompanied by bodysurfing doll; ATM Facebook Live footage here), but also the group’s instrumentation. Following the opening song, the left-handed Gorman strapped on Lukas’ bass and played it upside down. Lukas in turn switched from bass to Dierks’ guitar, and Dierks took hold of Gorman’s mic.

For those catching the group live for the first time who live in S.A. and haven’t seen Waves In April play in New Braunfels on a regular basis, it would’ve been nice if the band had introduced some of the song titles. Not only for the audience to gain familiarity but to look up the tunes on streaming platforms — especially when the aforementioned new song drops in a couple of weeks — and get to know them better musically. But again, folks. This group is not even in its 20s individually. As word spreads of its talent, those things will take care of themselves on stage.

Perhaps even more impressive is the fact band members have taken their turns as teachers at the School of Rock. Said Moyer, who has his own school in Austin: “You know if they’re teaching, they know what they’re talking about.”

Waves In April will showcase its acoustic side this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Northern Lattes Coffee Shop in Marion.

Last but not least (or actually first) was Sanity’s Last Breath, a local band that was a very last-minute replacement for The Reckless Degenerates.

Prior to the days leading up to the show, Sanity’s Last Breath had not even posted anything on its Facebook page since 2019. But their passion and dedication to their music and giving their best on stage shone through and helped make the turnout for local metal second to none.

Quarter-century anniversaries were on the docket at Sam’s, but of course, time will tell if one or more of these bands will reach that milestone someday. They have plenty of time to get there and enjoy the journey.

Did someone mention 25th anniversaries? This year has marked the same for Alamo True Metal (and its prior monikers) of bringing you complete metal coverage and interviews of your favorite artists.

So whadda say, Kingdom Collapse, Livin’ Dark Daze, Waves In April and Sanity’s Last Breath? Do you have another 25 in ya?

Alamo True Metal does. For the bands. And for the fans.

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W.A.S.P., Armored Saint ensure nostalgia & rock never stop

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W.A.S.P., Armored Saint ensure nostalgia & rock never stop

Many metalheads, particularly those in their 40s and 50s, would likely reference the ‘80s era, specifically that which emanated from the Sunset Strip, as their favorite brand of music’s golden period. The slew of bands, over-the-top fashions, excess of after-show debauchery and hundreds of memorable songs stamped their place in the lives of countless aficionados.

Naturally, some of the bands from that scene and time made it bigger than others. Some barely lasted one album. All played a part in a culture of music that’s second to none.

W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint fall somewhere in the middle of that ledger, though — especially in the former’s case — much closer to the top when it comes to popularity and an imprint that still resonates today. Both undeniably passed the criteria that matters most: creating music and specific songs that have stood the test of time four decades later.

Anyone requiring more convincing needed to look no further than Saturday night at the Aztec Theatre as W.A.S.P. brought its Album One Alive tour with veteran stalwarts Armored Saint in a double dosage of Los Angeles-area metal gone modern.

W.A.S.P. eccentric frontman Blackie Lawless went more than a decade without performing in the Alamo City until Nov. 4, 2022, when — guess who? — Armored Saint (along with Michael Schenker) each celebrated their longevity at the Boeing Center at Tech Port. That performance, from a W.A.S.P. fan’s standpoint, not only lacked the overdue punch many were expecting from the rare visit, but it also featured Lawless shockingly changing lyrics to one of his songs to a PG version and barely found him addressing his audience (coverage here).

Two years and 26 days later at the Aztec may as well have been another lifetime. This show was a hundred times better and more “back to the beginning” than 2022.

Saturday night brought forth a longer (88 minutes approximately) and clearer (in sound and lighting) performance exclusive to songs from the first four albums covering 1984-89 even after W.A.S.P. had played the debut record in its entirety. It also featured Lawless sharing various anecdotes and stories with the crowd that never seemed long-winded. Judging by various fans approaching Alamo True Metal during the night with comments about Lawless’ pre-show meet-and-greet being “next level,” “unrushed” and “worth it,” it was as if Lawless’ banter with both levels of the Aztec was an extension of the M&G.

One of those spoken moments featured Lawless stating how he had called “half a dozen promoters that I know around the country” to ask them for their thoughts on his idea of bringing the Album One Alive tour to life. He stated that each of them was all for it but that the final one asked if he would perform the album in sequential order, only for Lawless to tell him, “No.” When that promoter referenced a mythical Led Zeppelin reunion playing their fourth album all the way through and asked Lawless if they would start with “Stairway to Heaven,” the singer relented, “OK, you got me by the ying yang there.”

Lawless then admitted that initial rehearsals with his band — 18-year tenured guitarist Doug Blair, 26-year bassist Mike Duda and drummer Aquiles Priester — “weren’t going very smoothly” because some of the songs hadn’t been played in 40 years.

Not only were they played at the Aztec. They served to put to rest any public doubt that Lawless isn’t singing. Take it from one who spent the first three songs in the photo pit and actually heard Lawless and Blair’s vocals flowing from their vocal cords and not just the microphones (watch ATM Facebook Live footage of “B.A.D.,” “School Daze” and “Hellion”). Even 40 years later, it’s not hard to get fired up upon hearing “a fire bell is ringing hell” and “at the altar of Rock N’ Roll you kneel.”

Lawless also shared that until this tour, he had never opened a show with “I Wanna Be Somebody.” While gazing at the MTV video for that tune (and subsequently several others) on the big screen, it brought back the memory of a 1987 syndicated radio interview Lawless did with Z-Rock in which he said the inspiration for that song came after he heard the line uttered on an episode of “Barney Miller” (Google it, kiddos) and that it “put a hook in me.”

W.A.S.P. had spent the majority of its tours opening with another first-album track, “On Your Knees,” one of many from back in the day that sparked Tipper Gore’s Parental Music Resource Center (PMRC) shenanigans and efforts to bring down metal because she viewed W.A.S.P. as “We Are Sexual Perverts.” Forty years later, the acronym may be as obvious, or mysterious, to some as it once was. Regardless, you can watch ATM footage below of “On Your Knees,” “Tormentor” and “The Torture Never Stops” as W.A.S.P. ended the first album in style adorned by a blood-red stage emblazoned with chains and skulls (again, more back to the beginning than its previous visit).

And unlike 2022, Lawless expanded the post-album one portion of the show. After a 5-minute break, the quartet tore into medleys from 1986’s Inside the Electric Circus and personal favorite The Headless Children from 1989.

A 35-year celebration of the latter would’ve been incredible to experience. But at least we heard sizable portions of “The Real Me,” MTV ballad “Forever Free” and the tyrant-inspired title track, which was non-existent at Tech Port.

Fellow Los Angeles natives Armored Saint are always heavy, dependable and energetic, and that didn’t change from the 2022 show.

Opening with an absolute ripping tune from 2020 and latest album Punching the Sky in “End of the Attention Span,” vocalist John Bush and company took aim at today’s perils of gotta-know-everything-now social media with a song they could easily open every gig with from now on.

Following that blazing track, it was nothing but classics beginning with the 1987 title track to Raising Fear. Bush introed 1984 title track March of the Saint by saying the band first played it in San Antonio during a three-night stint at the Cameo Theatre with Metallica — a group the vocalist could’ve joined back in the day but turned down, something he discussed with ATM in a turn-back-the-clock interview here.

Guitarists Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan, bassist Joey Vera and drummer Gonzo Sandoval round out the quintet that still has 80 percent original members, and they teamed up to play 2000 track “The Pillar,” a deep cut they didn’t perform when they headlined Come And Take It Live in mid-May in Austin with Dangerous Toys (ATM coverage here. Ironically, Dangerous Toys was also headlining its own show this night at Deco Ballroom). The well-oiled machine was in fine form all night, as demonstrated by ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Left Hook From Right Field” and “Aftermath.”

Bush, who also referenced playing “the Majestic around the corner with Saxon back in the day,” took to the balcony during “Can U Deliver,” (ATM footage below) before the Saints capped it off with “Reign of Fire” (also below).

Unbeknownst to the crowd, it was reported by the band yesterday that Vera had surgery on his left eye in Fort Worth two days after the gig for Posterior Vitreous Detachment. In a prime example of “the show must go on,” Vera — who of course also has been in Fates Warning for many years with San Antonio natives Ray Alder and Bobby Jarzombek — showed no ill effects and continued to rock and perform like the trooper he’s always been on stage. Alamo True Metal wishes him well.

But you can’t end an evening with W.A.S.P. in San Antonio without performing “Blind in Texas” (ATM Facebook Live footage here), and Lawless gave the fans what they wanted. He prefaced it by telling them they had witnessed history in seeing the first album played live all the way.

There was no blood or raw meat. No pyro. No political flags. Just a kick-ass performance from beginning to end by one of metal’s important, influential, favorite and fun frontmen and artists.

Stay healthy and hungry, boys. And buckle up, metal brethren. Forty years of The Last Command is just around the corner.

W.A.S.P. setlist: I Wanna Be Somebody, L.O.V.E. Machine, The Flame, B.A.D., School Daze, Hellion, Sleeping (In the Fire), On Your Knees, Tormentor, The Torture Never Stops.

Medley 1 (The Big Welcome/Inside the Electric Circus, I Don’t Need No Doctor, Scream Until You Like It).

Medley 2 (The Real Me, Forever Free, The Headless Children), Wild Child, Blind in Texas

ARMORED SAINT setlist: End of the Attention Span, Raising Fear, The Pillar, March of the Saint, Left Hook From Right Field, Aftermath, Win Hands Down, Can U Deliver, Reign of Fire

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Maidens of Swiss metal Militia sizzle in live San Antonio debut

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Maidens of Swiss metal Militia sizzle in live San Antonio debut

A check of nearby flagpoles last Friday night appeared to portend another evening of serene inactivity outside.

Inside Fitzgerald’s, however, was a different story.

A gale force of power blew in from as far as Switzerland, courtesy of five maidens of metal known as Burning Witches, and as near as Austin and locally thanks to a grouping of bands that helped form the backbone of the South Texas Legion scene in the mid-’80s.

Featured attraction Burning Witches made their live San Antonio debut one to remember with a powerful 14-song, 75-minute set in the quaint “party hearty at McCarty” bar with San Antonio stalwarts Byfist, Austin veterans Militia and a rare appearance by local trio Grind.

And because it was their debut in the Alamo City, the Swiss witches were basically touring in support of, at least in North America, their entire five-album catalog and not just 2023 effort The Dark Tower.

Dutch vocalist Laura Guldemond, Swiss natives Romana Kalkuhl (founding member & guitarist), bassist Jeanine (Jay) Grob and drummer Lala Frischknecht and newest guitarist and lone American Courtney Cox — formerly of The Iron Maidens and Femme Fatale — came out flying on new opening track “Unleash the Beast” and 2020’s “Wings of Steel.”

No ballads and no fillers comprised the highly energetic performance (see all setlists in 55-photo gallery), and it continued on “Necronomicon” and ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Lucid Nightmare” and “Evil Witch,” which were just samples of Cox’s scintillating shredding capabilities and featured Guldemond leaving the stage to join the audience on the former track.

Burning Witches is already working on its 2025 album, which included the release of new single “The Spell of the Skull” just three days prior to the concert. It marks the first song the band has worked on with Cox on guitar, although Burning Witches did not play it live or even mention it.

By the way: sign me up for a Cox-vs.-Nita Strauss guitar battle any day of the week.

Although Burning Witches has covered Savatage’s “Hall of the Mountain King,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Shot in the Dark” and W.A.S.P.’s “I Wanna Be Somebody” on their two latest albums — and Dio’s “Holy Diver” going further back — none of those were offered up at Fitzgerald’s. That decision was very respectable given the whole inaugural San Antonio concert thingy and fans wanting to hear more of their own music. However, Frischknecht and Cox’s predecessor, Larissa Ernst, spoke about the Savatage cover and more exclusively with ATM in 2021 upon the release of The Witch of the North, which you can watch here.

Guldemond was also a terror — in a good, evil, demonic way — on one of Burning Witches’ heaviest tunes: the 2018 title track to Hexenhammer which was followed by new song “World on Fire,” both of which can be viewed below.

Guldemond, Grob and Kalhuhl in particular made themselves readily available to meet fans throughout the performances of the trio of Texas artists, and Guldemond’s personal website goes a step further. The singer offers to lend her vocal talents to other artists with the following message: “Yes, I also would love to help you out with vocals for your project. Just send me a message with a demo and lyrics and a plan if you have them at ‘contact.’ “

Go ahead. ATM will make it easier for you here.

The only downside of the group’s performance came via something not within its control.

An unfortunate occurrence at many Fitzgerald’s gigs is artists telling their fans they can barely see them, only hear them. (Grind said so as well in the middle of ATM’s Facebook Live clip of that band below).

Burning Witches’ performance may have been one of the first in which that scenario unfolded at the end of the set when the band simply requested to take a photo with the crowd. Guldemond asked twice to have the lights shined upon the patrons, but each inquiry was to no avail. As a result, no keepsake was taken for the group’s initial foray into the Alamo City, and it never should have come to that. But once again, ATM obliged regarding the ladies’ final bow in the photo gallery.

Byfist provided direct support with the usual hard-hitting crew of power vocalist Raul Garcia, lead guitarist Manny Santos, rhythm guitarist Nacho Vara, bassist Stony Grantham and drummer Scott Palmer.

Byfist has basically been playing the same set since 2020’s release of In the End, but it’s an entertaining show each time. Their 1989 EP Adrenaline was produced by the late Metal Church vocalist “Reverend” David Wayne, whose band Reverend included Vara until Wayne passed in 2005. Watch ATM’s Facebook Live footage of opening tracks “Left to Die” and “Universal Metal” and below on “Guaranteed Death” and “Mary Celeste.”

Why yes, that is an ATM photo under the “Born of Shredders” section of the band’s site.

Militia, on the other hand, doesn’t come around to San Antonio that often despite hailing from the nearby live music capital. Vocalist Mike Soliz, guitarist Tony Smith, band founder and bassist Robert Willingham and drummer Chip Alexander formed the impetus of the hard-hitting group in the mid-’80s, which recently added guitarist Phillip Patterson.

Although they were inactive for many years, Soliz made an appearance in 2018 at Fitzgerald’s when the South Texas Legion brotherhood of metal that included mainstays such as Jason McMaster, James Rivera, Bobby and Ron Jarzombek, Art Villareal, Pete Perez and others united on the same stage for a memorable evening of Q&A, storytelling and rocking everyone’s hearts out. (ATM coverage here).

On this night, Militia delivered the goods on seven tracks including ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Search for Steel” and “And the Gods Made War” plus below on “The Judas Dream” and “Salem Square.”

Soliz at one point apologized to the crowd for his voice being hoarse. But, seriously, the man’s pipes were in incredible form, and this opinion wasn’t the only one who felt that way as fans assured him they couldn’t even tell. That was further evidenced by the fact he screamed more than the other three vocalists on the bill combined — and nailed it every time.

However, the guitars were super loud, often drowning out Soliz’s chops unless you were at the barrier — but thankfully not resulting in anything near the Perry Farrell/Dave Navarro episode that occurred recently at a Jane’s Addiction concert over a similar situation.

Militia will shortly be marking a momentous occasion in the group’s history, as Nov. 30 marks the 40th anniversary of the famous “Slayer vs. Slayer” show at The Villa Fontana that included Militia as a support act for the Los Angeles Big 4 outfit and S.A. Slayer in 1984.

The trio of Grind began the Fitztivities (as the bar likes to often say) at 8 p.m. with a 30-minute set that delighted and made one wonder why the band doesn’t perform here more often. Guitarist Bob Perez may hold the key to that, as he spends the bulk of his musical time with Vara in Seance, while bassist Rudy Munoz may just need some nudging from his circle of friends to convince him there’s perhaps more of a demand to hear the band live than the band itself may think.

Judge for yourself below on “Who Do You Think You Are” and via ATM’s footage of “Pain” and “Surreal.”

Hopefully this initial viewing of Burning Witches in South Texas will serve as a warmup act. By the time the next album arrives, it wouldn’t be a stretch to have them perform with the likes of an Armored Saint, or even on Helloween’s 2026 North American 40th anniversary tour at a place such as Boeing Center at Tech Port or the Aztec Theatre.

So, local promoters, get on it. Let the witches set our world on fire once again. And give them a proper Kodak moment to remember.

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Titanic klash of thrash turns Aztec Theatre into hell on earth

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Titanic klash of thrash turns Aztec Theatre into hell on earth

Fans entering the Aztec Theatre on Saturday night may have expected a heavy metal concert. What they got was so much more: a conglomeration of historical celebration, hell unfolding into not one but two walls of death, and one of the genre’s most inspiring examples of living life to the fullest all wrapped up in a clash for the ages.

The Klash of the Titans tour featuring Testament, Kreator and Possessed delivered on more fronts than simply reinvigorating memories of the 1990-91 Clash of the Titans trek that tore through North America behind Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth and a then-novice Alice In Chains.

Testament’s 1-hour, 7-minute closing co-headlining set brought its first two albums, 1987’s The Legacy and 1988’s The New Order, back to life — something the Bay Area thrashers originally did during the inaugural 70000 Tons of Metal cruise in 2011, which Alamo True Metal also witnessed up close.

This time, Testament may have become the first band in history to tour in support of the remastering of classic albums. And this time, the mainstays of those two records in vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson chose not to play them in sequence or in entirety but to mix the best songs from each into a melting pot of mosh pit inducing fury.

Along with bassist Steve DiGiorgio, who began the set with a five-string instrument and ended it with a unique three-string version and new drummer Chris Dovas, Testament allowed itself to recreate deep cuts such as “A Day of Reckoning” and “Do or Die” and mix them with all-time favorites “Over the Wall,” “The New Order” and “Trial By Fire.”

Much like the cancer-surviving Billy dedicated “Do or Die,” the first song he ever worked on upon joining the group as it was transitioning between calling itself Legacy and Testament, to a friend of his restricken with a disease, ATM would like to produce this article especially for those in and around the author’s former stomping grounds of St. Petersburg, Florida, and all along the Florida Gulf Coast still persevering through the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. That includes personal friends unable to watch this tour three days before the San Antonio stop at Jannus Landing in St. Pete due to that visit’s cancellation. Hopefully through this piece of work and its art, they will feel as if they were at the Aztec as well, and they can get a taste of Testament’s set through ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “The Preacher” and “The Haunting” (no professional video was allowed).

Testament ended its performance eight minutes earlier than the venue’s official set times, which would’ve been ample time to include the first album’s “Curse of the Legions of Death” and second album’s Aerosmith cover “Nobody’s Fault.”

Nevertheless, watching the Aztec’s patrons overcome a dearth of available room to mosh their hearts out thanks to the venue’s multi-layered levels of general admission space in close proximity to one another by body surfing on “A Day of Reckoning” and letting it all hang out on closer “Into the Pit” was a sight to behold.

And here’s something to put the albums’ longevity into perspective for ya: The Legacy and The New Order are 11 and 12 years older, respectively, than the drummer who performed them on this night.

The confined space, however, did nothing to stop Kreator frontman Mille Petrozza from performing with the same intensity as if he was in front of 80,000 maniacs at his home nation’s annual Wacken Open Air festival.

Making their second appearance at the Aztec in 17 months after supporting Death Angel here May 23, 2023, Kreator made it clear that hell was about to morph into the laps of those who dared to allow the band to take them on the journey.

Six stage-prop corpses hung from the rafters while three inflatable demons towered over Petrozza, guitarist Sami Yli-Sirnio, former Dragonforce bassist Frederic Leclercq and drummer Jurgen Reil. Petrozza bellowed all of his lyrics with bombastic fury as Kreator (and Testament and Possessed, for that matter) played roughly 80 percent of their respective sets in a flurry of bright blood red lighting.

Petrozza demanded two walls of death (see 65-photo gallery), but even more menacing and horns-inducing was his desire to know “Is there something following you” during the riff mastery of “Phobia.”

The hellacious tone continued throughout the co-headlining performances of “666,” “Phantom Antichrist” and “Enemy of God.” Watch ATM Facebook Live footage of “Hail to the Hordes,” 1989 classic “Betrayer” and “Satan is Real” and view the setlist in the photo gallery, as Kreator was arguably one of the clearest-sounding bands in Aztec history. Everything about the band’s set was crisp, hard-hitting and memorable.

Petrozza and Possessed vocalist Jeff Becerra first met when the Berlin Wall in the former’s country still existed. Now in 2024, they’re touring together, and the latter has served simultaneously as arguably one of the founding fathers of death metal while exhibiting his own brand of perseverance through personal tragedy.

As most vocalists tend to do in concert, Becerra asked the Aztec’s visitors who was seeing his band live for the first time. While many raised their horns and voices in approval — with many of them likely not familiar with Becerra’s story — the singer carried on musically as can be viewed via ATM’s footage of “The Exorcist” and “Demon.”

But to say he’s carried on in life would be the ultimate understatement.

Becerra was shot during a 1989 robbery while buying cigarettes and is paralyzed from the chest down. For 3 1/2 years, he was on a waiting list just to try out a pair of robotic legs before finally receiving the chance three decades later to walk for the first time in 2019.

Chew on that for a few minutes.

That year, Possessed released its third and most recent album Revelations of Oblivion, the follow-up to 1985’s Seven Churches and 1986’s Beyond the Gates. Becerra continues to make music, sing for the masses, headbang and will likely forever be known as the one who invented death metal.

Oh, by the way, Becerra also has had nine eye surgeries for cataracts.

Saturday night wasn’t simply a klash of the titans. It was an occasion to unleash pent-up emotions in remembrance of someone those in attendance may have lost recently. It served as a reminder those on stage have had their lives disrupted in horrible ways too but have worked immensely hard every day to come out on top and continue to do what they were put on this earth to do. And it was simply another chance to enjoy classic thrash and death metal at its finest.

Whatever your reason for attending, there’s no denying that Testament, Kreator and Possessed could not have provided a more ideal soundtrack and antidote to each and every fan’s own personal hell.

May the metal titans continue to heal us all as only they know how.

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Udo's 'nightmare' of albums a dilemma fans have come to Accept

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Udo's 'nightmare' of albums a dilemma fans have come to Accept

When a stocky diminutive German with an unmistakably raspy metallic voice debuted in 1979, he likely couldn’t have imagined having 27 studio albums under his belt by the time 2024 rolled around.

Most vocalists would see that as a blessing. And, in reality, Udo Dirkschneider most likely does. But when it comes to selecting songs to play live these days, the original voice of Accept views it as something else.

“There’s too many albums,” the 72-year-old Dirkschneider told his fans last Saturday night at Fitzgerald’s. “It’s a nightmare, really.”

Udo’s dilemma is his followers’ gain. Especially on this night.

That’s because eight years after declaring he would no longer perform tracks from his Accept days, the original voice of that seminal band mixed in a trio of those classics as part of a 90-minute, 16-song set touring in support of 2023 album Touchdown.

And this latest visit, supported by New Jersey thrashers Midnite Hellion, Christian outfit KillDevil Theory from El Paso and local veterans S.A. Territories, came with a bonus: original Accept bassist Peter Baltes left his longtime band to reunite with Dirkschneider’s solo group, which includes the singer’s son Sven Dirkschneider on drums with Andrey Smirnov and Fabian Dee Dammers handling dual guitar duties.

Patrons at Fitzgerald’s could also feel fortunate to witness Udo and company on a couple of other levels: a) this visit was originally scheduled for last November at Rolling Oaks Mall’s Events Center, only to have visa and travel issues disrupt those plans. b) shortly after Saturday’s gig, the bands had to cancel the El Paso stop in KillDevil Theory’s hometown due to a promoter snafu, according to Dirkschneider’s social media pages.

So a sizable audience at Fitzgerald’s took in Dirkschneider taking the stage to new track “Isolation Man” followed by 1989 tune “Break the Rules” (ATM Facebook Live footage of both here). Udo would go on to play Accept track “Midnight Mover” and four Touchdown tunes in all before ending the night with a pair of 1987 classics from personal favorite Animal House — which Dirkschneider told Alamo True Metal in 2015 was supposed to be the next Accept studio album that turned into his first solo record after his departure — and putting the cherry on top with a pair of his best-known Accept offerings (ATM footage of all four songs below; setlist in 46-photo gallery).

On paper, having a thrash trio and a Christian band provide direct support wouldn’t appear to be a good fit on a Dirkschneider-led bill. But who doesn't appreciate an eclectic show?

Midnite Hellion’s second album Kingdom Immortal dropped two years ago, but the group was finally able to bring the tunes to the Alamo City, and it didn’t disappoint.

Founded by drummer Drew Rizzo and fronted by singer/bassist Rich Kubik (who sports a resemblance to Corey Taylor and the late Grim Reaper vocalist Steve Grimmett), Midnite Hellion brought the heaviness to the Fitz. The eight-song album was recorded in a six-day span, a tempo representative of the group’s hard-hitting sound, with producer Alex Perialas, who has worked with Overkill, Testament and Joe Bonamassa among others. Perialas is also known for having recorded S.O.D.’s Speak English Or Die in two days and mixing it on the third day while Anthrax was recording Spreading the Disease.

Check out ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “Phantomland” and “Cross the Line.” The former was inspired by Tom Petty’s “Refugee” and “thematically inspired by the original Nosferatu,” according to a press release.

KillDevil Theory didn’t hit the Fitzgerald’s audience over the head with Christian messages. In fact, the C word wasn’t mentioned at all. But the band, fronted by singer/keyboardist Deanna Crane with her husband Curtis Crane on guitar, her brother-in-law Phil Evans on bass and the intense Johnny Torres on drums did deliver some uplifting Rock N’ Roll that was both melodic and heavy. That was most exemplified on “As I Kneel,” which was highlighted by Curtis Crane’s guitar solo (watch here).

KillDevil Theory has three albums under its wings, with the latest being 2021’s Second Coming, highlighted by “Die Another Day.”

The Cranes’ formation of the band, and its sparking of Christian overtones, came about as a result of their daughter being born prematurely which resulted in the couple living with her in the hospital for her first nine months. They discovered Christ in the process, and the band is happy to report that their daughter is now doing well at age 15.

Not to be outdone was longtime local favorites S.A. Territories. Led as always by guitarist / vocalist Orrie V., the quartet took the stage at an early 7:15 p.m. (heck, Udo rocked from 10-11:30 p.m., one of the rare times a Saturday night gig at Fitzgerald’s didn’t end the following morning) and delighted the locals with a slew of tracks including “Promises”, “The Conquerors” and “Eternity,” the latter able to be seen here).

Orrie and his crew are true metal representatives of the San Antonio scene, and one of the things that makes them a joy to watch is that their style, while still being heavy at heart, can fit on virtually any bill supporting any type of national artist.

When Orrie isn’t on stage with his main act, he’s also singing nowadays in Iron Maiden tribute Seventh Son and has an ode to Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush as well.

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Lamb Of God, Mastodon celebrate 20 years of breakthrough albums

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Lamb Of God, Mastodon celebrate 20 years of breakthrough albums

AUSTIN — In 2004, a pair of metal bands — one hailing from Richmond, Va., and the other from Atlanta — weren’t too far into their careers. The former released an album called Ashes of the Wake while the latter dropped its second record called Leviathan on the same day: Aug. 31.

Little did Lamb Of God and Mastodon know that 20 years later, they’d still be around, let alone on tour together playing those efforts in their entirety.

But that’s what happened Saturday at Germania Insurance Amphitheater to approximately 7,000 fans as both bands played the second gig of their co-headlining “Ashes of Leviathan” tour after kicking off the night before in Grand Prairie just outside of Dallas. Kerry King’s solo band (coverage here) and United Kingdom metalcore band Malevolence opened the show.

How special was this occasion? Mr. T and “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair issued congratulatory videos via social media to Lamb Of God on the 20-year anniversary of their groundbreaking album.

Ashes of the Wake songs usually make up a decent-sized chunk of Lamb Of God’s sets on a normal tour, but this trek marks the first time they’ve played the album all the way through. And that meant kicking off with live staple “Laid to Rest,” which in turn meant there wasn’t a much better way to jump start a band’s set than to have thousands screaming out “See who gives a fuck!” during the midway point.

It also signified that “Hourglass,” “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For,” “The Faded Line” and “Omerta” would ensure that the intensity of a long, muggy mid-90s day-turned-into-evening would not lose any steam if vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell and drummer Art Cruz had anything to say about it.

Blythe even called out for a Flair-like “Wooooo” as the lead-up to “One Gun” and “Break You” (ATM Facebook Live footage here).

Bursts of pyro accentuated the flaming temperatures and performance for both Lamb Of God and Mastodon, with the latter adding a different type of flair to its act.

Mastodon utilized breathtaking oceanic special effects on the backdrop to Brann Dailor’s drum kit in playing its concept album Leviathan to Herman Melville’s 1851 book “Moby-Dick.” They also brought out Cysquatch, an imposing one-eyed creature that resembles “The Simpsons” Treehouse of Horror characters Kane & Kodos, during the second of three encores following the album’s completion: “Circle of Cysquatch.”

Bassist Troy Sanders, guitarist Brent Hinds and Dailor took their turns at lead vocals while guitarist Bill Kelliher played plenty of unassuming riffs accompanied by fireworks being released behind the keyboardist. Watch them in action via ATM Facebook Live footage of “Megalodon” and “Naked Burn” here.

Malevolence brought its brand of English metalcore after taking the stage at 5:55 p.m., all culminating in Lamb Of God’s two-tune encore of “Memento Mori” and “Redneck.”

The only other thing that can be said after all of that molten metal? Pity the fool who misses this tour.

LAMB OF GOD SETLIST: Laid to Rest, Hourglass, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For, The Faded Line, Omerta, Blood of the Scribe, One Gun, Break You, What I’ve Become, Ashes of the Wake, Remorse is for the Dead. ENCORES: Memento Mori, Redneck

MASTODON SETLIST: Blood and Thunder, I Am Ahab, Seabeast, Island, Iron Tusk, Megalodon, Naked Burn, Aqua Dementia, Hearts Alive, Joseph Merrick. ENCORES: More Than I Could Chew, Circle of Cysquatch, Steambreather

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Kerry King's all-star band rises from hell to scorch Austin with fresh thrash

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Kerry King's all-star band rises from hell to scorch Austin with fresh thrash

AUSTIN — When the co-founding guitarist of one of thrash metal’s Big 4 walked off stage toward the end of 2019 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, fans had no way of knowing if it was going to be the final time they would see Kerry King shred.

The riveting riff master of Slayer since 1983’s Show No Mercy debut, King eventually made no bones about the fact he still had plenty of music left to get off his chest and onto his Flying V, and that Slayer’s premature retirement was not his call.

Roughly 4 1/2 years and a bunch of well-kept secrets from within later, King hasn’t just re-emerged with a solo band in supergroup form.

He’s risen from hell.

Having unleashed From Hell I Rise on May 17, King brought his new-look musical outfit to the Germania Insurance Amphitheater on Saturday night as a support act for the co-headlining Lamb Of God / Mastodon trek known as the Ashes of Leviathan tour. And though he was relegated to a 40-minute set in the death of Texas’ muggy mid-’90s temperatures, Kerry King the band pulverized the amphitheater the only way its namesake and his cohorts know how.

Basically sworn to secrecy for several months, King’s bandmates came to fruition in the form of Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, ex-Machine Head and Violence guitarist Phil Demmel, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders and one-fourth of Slayer in drummer Paul Bostaph.

King’s solo album could very well have served as a new Slayer record. For many fans, that would’ve been just fine. For others, perhaps they’d want something a little different.

But thrash, anti-religion and to-hell-with-political liars lyrics reside like residue in King’s blood, and From Hell I Rise — a strong candidate for metal album of the year — sports many tunes that get heads banging and pits swirling.

King’s band played seven of those tracks, opening with the album’s intro “Diablo” on the P.A. before taking the stage at 6:50 p.m. to “Where I Reign.”

Other album highlights included second tune “Trophies of the Tyrant” and initial single “Idle Hands,” with Osegueda commanding the crowd’s attention and energy as if his life depended on it.

And if for some reason you were in the merch line or, worse yet, the venue’s facilities during King’s set, you should be kicking yourself for missing the intensity of “Toxic.” With the Death Angel frontman spewing out: “Too many people, spend too much time, forcing their opinions on other people’s lives. Toxic rhetoric. Toxic government. Toxic politics. TOXIC. HYPOCRITES,” you may as well have been clinically dead if you couldn’t get fired up after that one.

Not exactly to be confused with the Britney Spears hit.

But of course, it wouldn’t have been a crowning performance without a taste of Slayer, and King obliged with the mandatory “Raining Blood” segueing into “Black Magic.” Watch ATM’s Facebook Live footage of those along with new track “Shrapnel” here.

The danger with supergroups is getting each member’s schedule from his main band to mesh if the new unit has a desire to take its act on the road for longer, non-supporting periods of time. Although Slayer is set to put an end to its time off with a couple of festival gigs that are said to be more reacquaintances than anything permanent, you can bet Slayer fans — and true metalheads in general — would be even happier to see Kerry King on stage more often, bringing the best that 40 years of material plus From Hell I Rise have to offer.

So while King may have been happy to unveil his new gathering as part of a Lamb Of God / Mastodon package, a major jaunt of his own would be just what the metal gods need to order.

Sign us up, San Antonio promoters. It can’t come fast enough.

SETLIST: Diablo (intro), Where I Reign, Trophies of the Tyrant, Residue, Toxic, Idle Hands, Shrapnel, Raining Blood, Black Magic, From Hell I Rise

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Heavy funkateer Jason Kane throws down for hometown with all that live album Jive

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Heavy funkateer Jason Kane throws down for hometown with all that live album Jive

The scheduled band at Jandro’s Garden Patio took to the stage Friday night on the St. Mary’s Strip and had a very simple message for its audience:

“We’re Jason Kane & The Jive — and you’re being recorded.”

For the next hour and 10 minutes, a flurry of heavy funkateer fury blitzed Jandro’s (pronounced HAHN-dro’s) with one rockin’ tune after another. No further spoken words. No song-title introductions. Just in-your-face Rock N’ Roll from one of the Alamo City’s veteran musical acts.

It’s only fitting Jason Kane & The Jive is a trio because if good things come in threes, well, 2024 continues to be a banner year for the group and its namesake.

First, The Jive toured Spain in February and March, a huge deal that should’ve gained more recognition around these parts given that it’s not every day a local band undertakes a significant jaunt overseas. The trek encompassed 18 shows in 20 days covering 19 cities. Three of them sold out.

“It was fucking great, man. It was one of the best experiences,” Kane told Alamo True Metal moments before hitting the stage Friday. “They fucking still love Rock N’ Roll over there. Had us playing on the radio. It was just us. We had no other band we were touring with, and the word was really spreading really fast.”

Second came the gathering at Jandro’s, with Friday marking the second of back-to-back nights in which the band was recording Jason Kane & The Jive: Live at Jandro’s. The album is expected to feature eight tracks covering not only the group’s three full-length records (2017’s self-titled debut, 2018’s Hellacious Boogie and 2020’s Soggy Noggin) but also a pair from its forthcoming studio CD (see 30-photo gallery for the expected track listing).

The third is that upcoming album, with Kane revealing it will be called Find Out For Yourself.

“There’s eight songs on it, and man, we’ve been working on it for like two years now,” Kane said. “Just dying to get it out, but I’m trying to have it follow up the correct tour. So next year, we’ll be touring the fourth (studio album) and this (live) album for Portugal, Spain, France, and then hopefully do a whole U.S. tour when we come back, and go back out there and kind of bookend the year with Europe. I’m shooting for a November/December (release).”

Kane, 28, is a native of Berwyn, Illinois, who moved to San Antonio in 2005. His blend of blues, funk and loud Zeppelin-ish pure Rock N’ Roll harkens back to the era of bellbottoms that makes one wonder if he was born in the wrong era. Kane has been tearing up the local scene for nearly a decade, long before his songs were officially released in album form while also frequently returning to Chicago, even staging a live residency in the Windy City.

“When I did the residency at Reggie’s, one of the opening bands, I was a big fan of his band The Last Vegas,” Kane said of guitarist Adam Arling spearheading The Jive’s trek overseas. “We hit it off, and I was just fan girlin’ over my buddy Adam. And he was like, “You guys ever think about going to Europe?” And I was like, ‘No.’ It wasn’t even in my mind yet or like a thought. And he was like, ‘I wanna connect you with my people out there, and then I’ll let you take it from there.’ He came through.

“The weirder thing is that when we got there, our driver, he used to drive my dad’s band Master,” Kane said. “Chicago death metal was still full circle in Spain, and I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ “

The Arling-Kane connection was not the first time The Last Vegas had a tie-in with a San Antonio act. In 2008, The Heroine made it to the finals of Guitar Center’s contest to see who would open for Motley Crue on the inaugural Cruefest, beating out thousands of entrants and receiving the chance to impress Motley Crue members at The Whisky A Go-Go, only to fall short to the contest’s winner: The Last Vegas.

Kane has had a revolving door on bass and drums the past few years. The latest incarnation of The Jive features two more new players.

James Powell, who goes by J Pow Pow, not only unveiled a bass with different colored strings, but an infectious sense of humor when describing to ATM how he joined the band, resulting in this exchange:

POWELL: “Did you just call me by my legal name? What the hell is going on right here? I’ve gotta get away from this guy!”

ATM: “That means I know you without knowing you.”

POWELL: “Hey, I don’t want you knowing me without knowing me! I had that happen one time. But I like you a little bit.”

Then Powell got serious. Sort of.

“So I saw him on the side of the road one time,” Powell said of meeting Kane. “Naw, for real! He was begging for change with a guitar. And I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’

“But actually, when I first moved to Texas, Jandro’s was having Thursday open jams. And I would come, and I would play, and a couple people was like, ‘Have you met Jason Kane?’ Like, they was really talking about him. I was like, ‘No. I have not. I just moved here.’ And then one Thursday, we ended up jamming together, and we just kind of stayed in contact over the years. I followed his band, he would follow my band, showing a lot of love. We played a gig together, but he doesn’t remember that. Just being friends over the years. And then last year, he hit me up. He was like, ‘Hey man, I need a very sexy, beautiful, dark-skinned, chocolate bass player.’ And I was like, ‘I think I can fit that bill.’ So Jandro’s has really been a connection place for me, because this is where I met him.”

Tommy Bryant, aka Tommy Paycheck, rounds out the trio on drums out of Austin.

“His drummer at the time wasn’t able to go,” Bryant said of his involvement with The Jive. “We had a mutual friend, and (Jason) was like, ‘Do you know anybody who can play these songs and leave next month to go to Spain?’ And then he sent him my contact. I went and watched them play and thought it was incredible. I worked for myself and was able to carve away some time. Did some rehearsals with them, played some shows, and then we went over there, and the rest is history. They’ve been my brothers ever since. We made it through Spain together.”

All of which led to Friday. Taking the stage at 11:22 p.m., the all-white leather jacket and pants clad Kane, shirtless J Pow Pow and small-kit bangin’ Tommy Paycheck kicked things off with 2018 tune “Gypsy Kiss,” jump starting an 18-song performance plus bass jam and drum solo that ended at 12:32 a.m.

Tossing in a cover of UFO’s “Doctor Doctor,” The Jive had Jandro’s jammin’ all night. Watch them in action below on ATM footage of “Chica Boom” and “Titty Boi Rabbit,” the latter a funkabilly tune that, as J Pow Pow demonstrates, makes you want to run in place while slappin’ da bass.

“Last night was like tweaking and kind of feeling out the waters,” Kane said of Thursday’s first night of live-album recording at Jandro’s. “And tonight, we’re doing the full Spain set. Non-stop, just gonna keep going as soon as we start. Yesterday, I tried to chop it up and do all this shit, and I fucked it up.”

Making the live recording come alive was Studio E and owner Brant Sankey.

“I love working with Brant,” Kane said. “His approach to recording is not like most people’s. He just captures what the band sounds like instead of trying to change them, you know, and get all processed. He captures the raw live sound. We’re a dirty live band.”

Fans will be able to judge for themselves in the coming weeks when the live album drops on vinyl and all major streaming platforms before Find Out For Yourself sees the light of day. The two releases will give local metalheads and rockers more opportunities to support one of their own in greater numbers than in years past.

After all, San Antonio — you wouldn’t want Spain to outdraw you for one of your own musical artists, would you?

“I think it’s just the States in general,” Kane said of the difficulty of San Antonio bands breaking through in their own city. “Right now, with the live shows, in Europe, they’re still crazy about it. But I still consider Texas my home. I’ve been here longer even though I still say I’m from Chicago. But I’m more Texan now. Texas gave us the start. It’s definitely different, man. I’ve noticed here in San Antonio, they want a lot of cover bands. Which is no offense against covering musicians. It’s hard. But for original Rock N’ Roll, it’s harder.”

Now that The Jive has even more countries on its radar for the remainder of this year, it’s all about giving the general public more material to get their boogie on.

“I feel like this album is going to capture what everything pre-recorded should sound like and how it should be done, you know, with attitude,” Kane said. “With these guys playing — J Pow on bass and Tommy on drums — it’s going to bring a new life.”

Powell had a premonition on that too: “I thought I was playing triangle tonight.”

“No,” Kane said. “That was yesterday.”

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Saxon treat 'favorites' to hell, fire, heep & heavy metal thunder

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Saxon treat 'favorites' to hell, fire, heep & heavy metal thunder

When a band storied enough to be part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement has played in a city for nearly 45 years, the venues tend to come and go. But the heavy metal thunder remains. In Saxon’s case, that thunderous music just keeps getting better.

On a co-headlining North American trek with fellow NWOBHM friends Uriah Heep, Saxon added another Alamo City concert residence to its San Antonio history by performing at the Tobin Center for the first time this past Thursday night. The “Hell, Fire & Chaos” tour celebrated Saxon’s latest album Hell, Fire & Damnation in conjunction with Uriah Heep’s 25th and newest studio effort Chaos & Colour.

A sold-out four-story crowd of approximately 1,800 relished a Saxon performance that lasted from 9:40-11:12 p.m. following Uriah Heep’s rockin’ set that went from 7:49-9:14 p.m.

After opening with the obligatory title track to Saxon’s new album, vocalist Biff Byford had the fans eating out of his spread-out hands when he quipped, “You know you’re our favorites, right?” The standard company line of many a vocalist playing any city isn’t a load of bullocks as far as Byford is concerned.

Saxon received its first taste of American radio airplay in 1979-80 here thanks to the late legendary disc jockey Joe Anthony. “The Godfather” is the reason Byford, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and several others mention Anthony by name every time their band plays San Antonio. On this night, Byford dedicated the classic title track to 1980’s Wheels of Steel to Anthony.

“We’ve been playing San Antonio since 1980,” Byford acknowledged to thunderous applause. “We’ve played the (HemisFair) Arena. We’ve played Sunken Gardens. We’ve played everywhere! We even played in a sandwich bar,” he recalled, referencing Saxon’s impromptu gig at Sam’s Burger Joint Music Hall on Sept. 2, 2015, when they were supposed to support Motorhead at the Aztec Theatre, only for that show to be called off due to Lemmy Kilmister’s illness — something Byford discussed exclusively with yours truly in 2017 (watch here).

Saxon and Uriah Heep helped the Tobin Center mark its 10th year, which is also how long ago Byford’s prog metal masterpiece as part of The Scintilla Project, entitled The Hybrid, was released, which Byford also discussed in the aforementioned interview link.

This particular night also made Saxon history in another way. It was the first San Antonio gig as a member of the band for lead and rhythm guitarist Brian Tatler, who was brought in after last year’s surprising departure of original guitarist Paul Quinn.

Tatler, of course, is known for his current stature in Diamond Head — the group made even more popular thanks to Metallica’s covers of their tracks “Am I Evil” and “It’s Electric” — which comes full circle given that Metallica’s second concert was opening for Saxon. Byford also flew from Helsinki, Finland, to San Francisco to perform “Motorcycle Man” at Metallica’s 30th anniversary bash in 2011 (yes, that too was discussed in the interview above).

Tatler had little trouble integrating with Byford, fellow guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Tim “Nibbs” Carter and the “Bucc-ee’s Tour” T-shirt wearing and Austin resident drummer Nigel Glockler as evidenced below on Alamo True Metal’s footage of seven Saxon tracks including new tunes “There’s Something In Roswell” and “Madame Guillotine” plus oldies “Heavy Metal Thunder,” “Dallas 1 p.m.,” “Crusader” and “747 (Strangers in the Night).”

With so many classics from which to choose while touring in support of a new album, that means Saxon felt the need to omit a couple of its more recent bangers such as the title track to 2013’s Sacrifice and “Age of Steam” from 2022’s Carpe Diem.

But when it comes to the Alamo City in particular, all of that goes by the wayside as it pertains to arguably metal’s most recognizable anthem that does not mention “rock” or “metal” in the title: “Denim and Leather, brought us all together,” which you can also watch below.

Not to be outdone was Uriah Heep, which, unlike Saxon, doesn’t exactly come around to San Antonio every other year.

The group’s lone remaining original member, guitarist Mick Box, is joined these days by vocalist Bernie Shaw, who’s been fronting the group since 1986 — in other words, almost an original himself.

And while Uriah Heep’s debut album came out a year before yours truly was born, they, like Saxon, aren’t hanging their hats on the past. Uriah Heep’s 2023 effort Chaos & Colour spawned three new tracks at the Tobin that are worth checking out — two of them can be seen below in “Hurricane” and “Hail the Sunrise,” which flanked ‘70’s era’s “Sweet Lorraine” and “Free ‘n’ Easy.”

Shaw demonstrated he’s the ideal complement to Box’s playing in both vocal skills and sound as well as stage presence and commanding the Tobin audience. Along with bassist Dave Rimmer, drummer Russell Gilbrook and new touring keyboardist Adam Wakeman — the son of legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman and who also played keys on Ozzy Osbourne’s 2008 Black Rain tour — Box and Shaw also shone on “Gypsy,” and “Stealin’.” The latter was once covered by local rock and blues guitar/vocal thoroughbred Jason Kane of Jason Kane & The Jive.

Uriah Heep’s performance may have been a tad too long for some given rumblings that could be heard by these ears around the Tobin from fans eager to see Saxon. But that sentiment evaporated when UH prepared to unveil its final encore with Shaw declaring, “We didn’t come all this way not to play ‘Easy Livin’!” Similar to the Metallica/Diamond Head relationship with “Am I Evil,” the 1972 Heep hit gained more notoriety to a new generation when W.A.S.P. covered it on its 1986 release Inside the Electric Circus.

But once again, it was Saxon’s hand-in-hand relationship with San Antonio that was the story. Saxon eclipsed the scheduled 11 p.m. end time by 12 minutes, treating the Tobin to a trio of encores.

Byford gave the crowd a chance to show applause for possible extras Saxon would play, warning the Tobin that the eventual first encore, “The Eagle Has Landed,” is a seven-minute song as if to say the show might run long or that playing that song would negate the possibility of hearing other expected ones.

But of course, all rules are tossed out when Saxon invades San Antonio. It doesn’t matter if it’s at a burger joint or on the night of tornadic conditions during a show with Armored Saint at the Vibes Event Center.

So Saxon found room for two more, performing its cover of San Antonio native Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind” before ending with “Princess of the Night.” The latter was once a funny topic of discussion on an episode of “That Metal Show” when host Eddie Trunk poked fun at Lady Gaga claiming she was a Saxon fan, only to have Byford chime in with, “Well, she knows the words to ‘Princess of the Night.’ “

Whether Lady Gaga is a “Northern Lady” or not, she still might have a long way to go, however, before matching the Alamo City’s dedication to Saxon. After all, the heavy metal capital will always take pride in being home to heavy metal thunder.

SAXON SETLIST: The Prophecy/Hell, Fire & Damnation; Motorcycle Man; This Town Rocks; Power & The Glory; There’s Something In Roswell; Heavy Metal Thunder; Madame Guillotine; Dallas 1 p.m.; Strong Arm of the Law; 1066; Crusader; 747 (Strangers in the Night); Denim & Leather; Wheels of Steel (dedicated to Joe Anthony). ENCORES: The Eagle Has Landed; Ride Like the Wind (Christopher Cross cover); Princess of the Night

URIAH HEEP SETLIST: Save Me Tonight; Grazed By Heaven; Rainbow Demon; Stealin’; Hurricane; Sweet Lorraine; Hail the Sunrise; Free ‘n’ Easy; Gypsy; Look At Yourself; July Morning; Sunrise. ENCORE: Easy Livin’

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Salvation turned up to 10 as Armored Saint conquers Austin with Dangerous Toys

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Salvation turned up to 10 as Armored Saint conquers Austin with Dangerous Toys

Writers have their blocks. Baseball players call it the yips.

Those moments when the part of your craft you’ve been doing routinely for years — putting thoughts to paper or computer or throwing a baseball — suddenly gives way to something unexplainable that causes you to tighten up and either forget how to do it or do it horribly wrong.

Singers can take it further. Not that they forget how to sing. But when their voice lets them down in the middle of a tour, and there’s a show to play that night, all hell can break loose. Do you postpone or cancel the concert? Can you find a replacement, and even if you do, will fans accept it or demand a refund if the singer they came to hear can’t perform?

Thousands of vocalists have endured this nightmare at one point or another — especially if they’ve been in a band since 1982 and singing for much longer.

On Thursday night, Armored Saint vocalist John Bush not only showed the packed house at Come And Take It Live in Austin he was back and in rare form. He also got to thank, jam, and even cry with his temporary replacement at three gigs earlier this month that followed two postponements.

Playing in Austin on their “Saints Will Conquer” tour for the first time since 2001, Bush and Armored Saint headlined the Riverside Drive venue fresh off a tour supporting Queensryche. Supporting Armored Saint on this night were Austin natives Dangerous Toys and Snake Skin Prison.

Dangerous Toys frontman Jason McMaster, a member of the South Texas Music Walk of Fame among other illustrious honors, filled in for Bush to help save Armored Saint’s tour, much like McMaster had done last year for Accept vocalist Mark Tornillo.

This time, McMaster’s band was supporting Bush’s, and the significance of the moment overcame the latter when his good friend was in the front row watching Armored Saint’s set following his own performance.

After Armored Saint played 1985 deep cut “Aftermath,” the beginning of which Bush sang from the middle of the crowd, the veteran vocalist went over to McMaster, shared an embrace and came up teary-eyed. Not even a knucklehead from the back of the venue who didn’t realize what was happening, or simply didn’t care before shouting, “Why’s it so quiet? Play some fuckin’ music! Goddamn” could ruin the moment.

Bush called himself a “pussy” for crying, then shared with the audience his gratitude for McMaster and the emotion he felt while believing his prior vocal issues had let down fans and his bandmates, saying in part, “Only singers know, when you lose it, it’s utter misery,” before Armored Saint dedicated the title track to 2015’s Win Hands Down to McMaster (see ATM footage of it all below and 65-photo gallery).

But that wasn’t all of the feelgood story.

Bush referred to McMaster as “a diehard fucking fan” and thanked him for coming out “on a day’s notice” during the fill-in shows before giving him the ultimate compliment, calling him “an extra member of Armored Saint at this point.” So of course, the only way to punctuate the moment was to have McMaster come up and sing “Can U Deliver” with Bush and the band (ATM footage below).

If Bush hadn’t said anything about it, or you hadn’t kept up with the band’s recent happenings, you wouldn’t have had much indication that the singer was coming off a troubling couple of weeks because Armored Saint, as usual, was firing on all cylinders from the get-go.

Appropriately, the group hit the stage running by opening with the best song off 2020 and latest album Punching the Sky, the in-your-face “End of the Attention Span.” Founding brothers Phil Sandoval on guitar and Gonzo Sandoval on drums, along with veteran mainstay bassist Joey Vera and guitarist Jeff Duncan jammed as if their lives depended on it right into the title track to 1987 classic album Raising Fear, ensuring the headbanging was not about to stop anytime soon.

Considering they only played 13 tracks as the headliner in an approximate 75-minute set, the presence of multiple deep cuts such as “Head On” from 2010’s La Raza and “Tribal Dance” off 1991’s Symbol of Salvation had to please the biggest of Armored Saint diehards. The downside was the absence of personal 1987 favorite “Chemical Euphoria,” but the group nevertheless was absolutely killer on everything else including “Symbol of Salvation,” “March of the Saint,” and closers “Reign of Fire” and “Mad House” (ATM footage of both below).

Bush’s passionate style is something he spoke about exclusively with ATM during the Win Hands Down tour (watch here). One of the reasons McMaster was more than a suitable fill-in is because the Dangerous Toys frontman exhibits similar qualities.

Even though DT hasn’t released new music since 1995, you don’t have to ask McMaster and Co. twice to play a hometown show. And although they’re used to headlining their backyard, McMaster shared it was a no-brainer to support Armored Saint when that band came a-callin’.

Emphasizing tracks from their smash self-titled 1989 debut album, McMaster and original mates Scott Dalhover (lead guitar), bassist Mike Watson and drummer Mark Geary, along with rhythm guitarist Paul Lidel (McMaster’s onetime mate in Broken Teeth) rocked the house on “Outlaw,” “Take Me Drunk” and “Queen of the Nile” to help get things warmed up.

With Broken Teeth guitarist David Beeson among the crowd up front, Dangerous Toys kept the hits coming on the title track to Pissed plus cock-pleasing “Sport’n A Woody” (ATM footage of both below). The band ended the 12-song performance with obligatory closers and two biggest MTV hits: “Teas’n Pleas’n,” and “Scared,” the latter originally dedicated to Alice Cooper with McMaster telling the crowd that the king of fright “probably used the album as a coaster” (see setlist below).

If you missed DT in action on this night, don’t fret. They’ll headline Deco Ballroom in San Antonio on June 21 with Hollywood Guns N’ Monsters and Even In Death (tickets here).

Another Austin band, Snake Skin Prison, opened the night in a unique way that wasn’t necessarily by choice. But it benefitted the fans in an unusual way.

With space for three bands’ drum sets at a premium inside Come And Take It Live, Snake Skin Prison had their drummer not only set up in the center of the stage but pressed to the barrier as they rocked out five tracks including “The Great Texas Death Ride,” “Come and Take It,” and new tune “The End of the World.”

But the story on this night was Bush’s return to the stage. Yet Armored Saint is no longer his only obligation.

Bush recently became part of supergroup Category 7, which will release its debut self-titled album July 26 on Metal Blade Records (see a complete list of “New Releases” here; best viewed on a computer). Bush’s mates in that band are ex-Machine Head and current Kerry King band guitarist Phil Demmel, Adrenaline Mob guitarist and main songwriter Mike Orlando, Exodus bassist Jack Gibson and Shadows Fall/Overkill drummer Jason Bittner.

ARMORED SAINT SETLIST: End of the Attention Span, Raising Fear, Tribal Dance, Symbol of Salvation, March of the Saint, Head On, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, Over the Edge, Aftermath, Win Hands Down, Can U Deliver (w/Jason McMaster), Reign of Fire, Mad House

DANGEROUS TOYS SETLIST: Outlaw; Take Me Drunk; Sugar, Leather & The Nail; Gimme No Lip; Bones in the Gutter; Ten Boots (Stompin’); Queen of the Nile; Pissed; Sport’n A Woody; Line ‘Em Up; Teas’n Pleas’n; Scared

SNAKE SKIN PRISON SETLIST: The Great Texas Death Ride, Come And Take It, The End of the World, Bury Me in the Mountain, Smokin’ Whiskey

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'80s bands turn back the clock & rock the halls

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'80s bands turn back the clock & rock the halls

The holidays got off to an earlier than normal loud and fun start Friday, Dec. 15, when four of the ‘80s’ mainstay artists rocked the pavilion of The Espee downtown to show their fans they’ve still got it.

Warrant, Winger, Lita Ford and Steelheart teamed to take part in the inaugural 106.7-FM The Eagle’s Rock the Halls before an estimated crowd of 500 enthusiastic fans of what, for many, is the best era of hard rock and heavy metal music to have partaken in.

But before things could get rockin’, they got a bit rocky. Doors were supposed to open at 5:30, but Steelheart was doing a lengthy soundcheck that resulted in the band starting promptly at the scheduled 6:30 while many patrons were still in line outside the entrance. Sound issues continued to plague theirs and Ford’s sets until eventually, the rock, and the celebrating, went on without further annoyances.

Ford played the exact same seven songs, in order, that she performed Sept. 24, 2022, at the Boeing Center at Tech Port when she was part of the several support acts opening for Legs Diamond. That show actually saw Ford play eight tunes, with “Back to the Cave” drawing the short end this time.

Warrant was making its first appearance in San Antonio since a 2017 showing at the Tobin Center. Winger and Steelheart, meanwhile, hadn’t been in S.A. in seemingly forever. And Winger stole the show.

Believed to be the only rock band out there still going strong with all original members, singer/bassist Kip Winger and crew were proud of that distinction in marking 35 years as a band and its smash self-titled debut album. But Winger, guitarists Reb Beach and John Roth, guitarist/keyboardist Paul Taylor and drummer Rod Morgenstein also dropped Seven in May and showed they’re not resting on their laurels by opening with new tune “Stick the Knife in and Twist” and unveiling the album’s first single “Proud Desperado” (ATM footage below).

To be technical, Winger took their member milestone a bit further in 1992 when Roth was initially added to the original quartet. And they demonstrated in 2023 that their musicianship is as tight as ever. Watch them further in action via Facebook Live footage as they ended their set with first two album hits “Easy Come Easy Go,” “Madalaine” and even a brief instrumental jam of “You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner” here.

With so many hits to play in a 50-minute stanza coupled with the fact they weren’t headlining, Winger cut out second verses of several tunes, including its biggest smash “Seventeen,” which was quickly inserted as the set’s second track.

Morgenstein was having a blast throughout the show, Winger sang and talked through his patented drive-thru styled mic, and Beach and Roth were steady as usual (see setlist in 72-photo gallery). Taylor received a bit of the spotlight as Winger introduced him on “Miles Away” while explaining Taylor wrote the song by himself after the two had initially come together in Alice Cooper’s band (watch below). For those remembering Taylor as he appeared in the group’s hit videos with curly long hair and a beard, you wouldn’t have recognized him on this night if he was standing next to you as he sported a baseball hat and clean shaven cut.

And for those who only know Winger songs from the first two or three albums, do yourself a favor and check out 2009’s Karma, which is right up there with the first two records if not better. It would’ve been great to hear “Stone Cold Killer,” “Supernova” or arguably their heaviest tune recorded in “Pull Me Under,” so hopefully Winger will return in headlining mode and play a few of those songs.

The Eagle’s “Crash,” Joe Calguero and Joe Rock told the crowd that “Rock the Halls” will become an annual event. But before that can happen, the inaugural one had to commence and end, and Steelheart etched its name into "Rock the Halls” trivia lore by becoming the first band to perform.

Vocalist and band founder Miljenko Matijevic, backed by guitarist Joe Pessia, bassist James Ward and drummer Mike Humbert, spotlighted his 2001 “Rock Star” movie contributions with second song “Livin’ the Life” — a track that also opens Jeff Scott Soto’s 2021 album The Duets Collection: Vol. 1. Matijevic, who lent his voice to Mark Wahlberg’s character Chris Cole and the fictional band Steel Dragon, will always be known for his incredible high-pitched range on smash ballad “I’ll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes).”

Stunningly, however, the band was unable to play it when Matijevic was informed by Calguero that their 30-minute set only had time for one more tune. The unhappy vocalist had the crooning hit and one more track planned but was suddenly forced to only choose one. He began to give the option to the fans before declaring he would go back to “Rock Star” and closed with “We All Die Young.” Watch ATM’s Facebook Live footage of it here as Matijevic inserted himself into the middle of the crowd for part of the song.

The fact that the Croatian native, who moved to America when he was 6, and Steelheart were even able to play the Alamo City was a victory of major proportions. Matijevic was severely injured during a gig in 1992 when he climbed a lighting truss that wasn’t completely secure and suffered a twisted spine and broken nose, cheekbone and jaw.

So now that Steelheart, like Winger, has a solid reason to return to the Alamo City . . .

Calguero tried to lighten the programming blunder by telling the crowd, “Maybe we’ll sing ‘I’ll Never Let You Go’ “ as he began to introduce Ford’s band. In case you were wondering: no, that didn’t happen.

The 65-year-old Ford, accompanied as usual by San Antonio native Patrick Kennison on guitar, drummer Bobby Rock and bassist Marten Andersson, was solid again and engaging with the audience. She told a sentimental story about how her B.C. Rich guitar was made out of a tree trunk she found with her father on a fishing trip in 1980 prior to performing her hit with The Runaways, “Cherry Bomb,” and “Close My Eyes Forever” (ATM footage of both below). Watch the group in further action on the song Ford and the late Lemmy Kilmister co-wrote, “Can’t Catch Me.”

Warrant’s headlining set, naturally, was filled with hits from the first three albums: Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, Cherry Pie and “Machine Gun” from 1992’s vastly underrated Dog Eat Dog (watch here and see setlist in photo gallery).

Although accomplished vocalist Robert Mason has been in the group for 15 years following the departure, return, and eventual death of brilliant songwriter and vocalist Jani Lane, he has the difficult task of knowing the band is always going to have to fill its shows with Lane’s songs no matter how much new music the group chooses to make in the future with his voice. Still, Mason always puts his balls into his performances whether the songs are originally his or not, and he’s a big reason Warrant is always worth the price of admission.

On this night, original guitarist Joey Allen and drummer Steven Sweet did their thing as usual, but original guitarist Erik Turner and bassist Jerry Dixon, while still members, were nowhere to be found. A date with paying the bills necessitated an early departure halfway through the group’s set, so if an explanation of their absence was given, it wasn’t heard by these ears. But a familiar face filled in on bass in the form of Robbie Crane of Ratt, Lynch Mob and now Black Star Riders fame. Watch the group in further action below on “32 Pennies” and the ballad “Blind Faith.”

So there was no snow, and there were intermittent moments of audio and technical difficulties. But the first “Rock the Halls” had a slew of memorable hits from the past, plenty of energy and was a rockin’ good time. The way it was intended to be. And it gave future installments something to live up to.

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Bodysurfers go loko and take the bullet in name of metal dedication

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Bodysurfers go loko and take the bullet in name of metal dedication

Given that his band from Wales hadn’t performed in the Alamo City in five years, one could understand Bullet For My Valentine vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matt Tuck for thanking the nearly sold-out crowd of just under 3,000 fans on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Boeing Center at Tech Port for not forgetting about them.

Not to worry, Mr. Tuck. There was no chance of that happening. And even if there was a remote one, support acts Of Mice & Men and Vended weren’t about to let that occur.

The dedicated faithful expressed their love for all three acts in true metal fashion, riding a wave of bodysurfers and not one but two mosh pits almost from the opening note of the evening.

Touring in support of their latest and self-titled album, Bullet For My Valentine also marked 20 years as a band by tilting its 15-song setlist heavily toward first two albums The Poison from 2005 and 2008 masterpiece Scream Aim Fire.

Make that a 16-song setlist (more on that soon).

Referring to the Boeing Center as “an incredible venue,” Tuck joined lead guitarist Michael Paget, bassist and scream vocalist Jamie Mathias and drummer Jason Bowld in shredding the audience into two pits with one heavy track after another. Watch them in action via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “4 Words (To Choke Upon)” and “The Last Fight” here and view the printed setlist in 40-photo gallery (no professional video was allowed).

After “The Last Fight,” Tuck had another label for the venue’s patrons: “Fuckin’ hell, you guys are psychos,” he said. “We love it!”

Bullet’s five-year visits to San Antonio date back to the inaugural River City Rockfest in 2013 before the previous stop in 2018 at the Aztec Theatre. This time, Tuck told the crowd that the band would spend next year “writing the best album” and “the earliest we’ll see you again is 2025.”

But it’ll be tough to top the Scream Aim Fire record. B4MV could’ve performed that album in its entirety and would’ve received no bothersome feedback from this writer. Alas, they spread the set among several records, as evidenced by final two songs “Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow” and “Waking the Demon.” But the crowd didn’t exactly want to stop moshing and rocking, so a funny thing happened after the band had waved goodbye and walked off. Chants of “one more song” echoed throughout the Boeing, and the Welsh boys happily obliged, adding unplanned (at least from the printed setlist) “Hearts Burst Into Fire” (watch all three songs here).

Despite being the Jan Brady of the three-pronged dose of metal, Of Mice & Men was not to be outdone when it came to eliciting its own crazies in the crowd.

Just call ‘em lokos.

Highlighted by the first song on second album The Flood from 2011 in “O.G. Loko” and new track “Into the Sun” (watch both here), vocalist Aaron Pauley and his mates had also previously performed in S.A. at the Aztec Theatre, though their show came in March 2019 opening for hometown heroes Nothing More (coverage here).

On this night, the band had the bass pumped in to accompany Pauley’s vocals, lead guitarist Phil Manansala, rhythm guitarist Alan Ashby and drummer David Valentino Arteaga.

Pauley showcased his range of stage presence throughout the group’s set that also included “Castaway,” “Obsolete,” and “Warpaint.” He encouraged the audience to give security a hand for the job it was doing handling the influx of bodysurfers and dedicated “Bloom” to those who’ve lost a loved one by stating, “If you’re walking around with the crushing weight of grief. . . . “

Pauley also expressed his gratitude with, “We’re not rock stars. We’re just people like you who love music, and the only reason we get to do this is because of people like you.”

Then there was Vended. Or, rather, Vended was first. But definitely not least.

Having opened for Punjabi metallers Bloodywood on May 15 at Vibes Event Center (coverage here), the boys from Des Moines were even more ferocious this time around.

A buzzcut Griffin Taylor shed his curly locks from the prior visit and moreso demonstrated that the apple doesn’t fall far from the studio, rehearsal space or stage. Hell, Taylor even says “Good. Fucking. Night!” identically to his famous father who fronts Slipknot and Stone Sour.

Watch Taylor and guitarists Cole Espeland, Connor Grodzicki, bass player Jeremiah Pugh and another Slipknot offspring — drummer Simon Crahan — in action via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of “The Far Side” just prior to the band ending with “Asylum.”

On this night, the inmates definitely ran it. Not casually, and not just for one band.

The bands killed it, and San Antonio repped it — demonstrating that the heavy metal capital is going to do just fine with the current, and perhaps future, generations of metal concertgoers.

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Skillet epitomizes true live performance on Rock Resurrection tour

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Skillet epitomizes true live performance on Rock Resurrection tour

When those in the professional wrestling or weightlifting industries speak of athletes who are the strongest pound for pound, it means they can lift more than those with more menacing muscle girth. In other words, those who should be able to lift more than them but can’t.

That’s Skillet on stage.

A band that personifies what a live rock show should be by erupting with energy and fury every time it steps in front of the curtain and never lets up despite not receiving the same type of notoriety as a Metallica or an Iron Maiden.

Skillet’s latest display in the Alamo City came Sunday night as co-headliners with Theory Of A Deadman, plus openers Saint Asonia, on the Rock Resurrection Tour at the Boeing Center at Tech Port (see 80-photo gallery).

Touring in support of February’s release of Dominion, Skillet’s quartet of vocalist/bassist John Cooper, his wife, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Korey Cooper, lead guitarist Seth Morrison and uber-talented British drummer/vocalist Jen Ledger rocked everyone’s socks off in an energetic, smoky and inspiring 70-minute set. And let’s not forget cellist Tate Olsen, who’s been rocking with Skillet for roughly 15 years.

On this night, Skillet was the middle band on the bill as Theory Of A Deadman closed out the night with its own 70-minute set. But Skillet’s undeniable and invincible energy was not even close to being matched.

Theory Of A Deadman and Skillet partnered with Plus 1 to ensure $1 from each ticket would go toward the Alzheimer’s Association, yet that’s where the similarities between the two performances ended.

Skillet stormed to the stage with “Feel Invincible” off 2017’s Unleashed. The band kept the intensity up on “Rise” and former World Wrestling Entertainment “Monday Night Raw” theme song “Legendary.”

Watch them in action via ATM’s Facebook Live footage of 2009 tracks “Awake and Alive” and “Hero,” which bookended John Cooper’s version of a State of the Union address. Not only are Ledger’s vocals on display during these tracks, but you’ve gotta give props to the band for allowing Olsen to not only play his cello in front of the stage, but to run across the podium mid-song and hop on board one of the two risers that Korey Cooper and Morrison were utilizing as well.

Skillet was especially cooking (sorry, couldn’t resist) on all cylinders during “Whispers in the Dark” and new tune “Psycho In My Head.” They also gave fans a treat by having Saint Asonia’s Adam Gontier join them on “Finish Line” as he does on the latest album. The rest of Gontier’s band was in the back of the GA section looking on while chatting with Kingdom Collapse vocalist Jonathan Norris.

Casual Skillet fans — or at least the many who raised their hand when John Cooper asked how many were watching them live for the first time — might have difficulty distinguishing songs when an artist has tunes called “Rise” and “Rise Up” plus “Invincible” and “Feel Invincible.”

But there was no double-take necessary when Skillet pulled out the menacing podium that possessed glaring eyes and blew smoke for another 2009 hit: “Monster.” Skillet ended its powerful set with “The Resistance” before quickly paving way for Theory Of A Deadman.

TOAD definitely had a tough act to follow, and many artists would’ve been hard pressed to match Skillet’s energy and intensity. Just so happened that TOAD was the final band to perform on this night, and in comparison, yes, they unfortunately fell flat overall.

TOAD’s music is always entertaining to listen to and rock out to, particularly the tracks that deal with the perils of relationships. Vocalist/guitarist Tyler Connolly has a talent for weaving his anti-relationship lyrics into ways that can make listeners simultaneously relate to, laugh along with and throw one’s horns up at while enjoying those songs.

With Skillet having just upped the ante during its 70-minute showing, TOAD could’ve only approached the same type of performance if it had come out blazing with the heaviest song in its arsenal and smashed its guitars on stage. Alas, that didn’t happen, and it shouldn’t have either given that such an act is not in the band’s character.

However, TOAD compounded the difficulty of keeping the crowd’s attention and enthusiasm throughout its own 1 hour, 10-minute stanza by playing long parts of, or the entirety of, a slew of cover songs. And they came after nearly each one of their own tunes.

For example, after opening with the title track to latest album Dinosaur and one of Connolly’s fun masterpieces in “Bitch Came Back,” the frontman told the crowd that he and his mates wanted to play another song from the new album — only to have it be their cover of “Two of Us (Stuck)” by Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers.

Normally at this point you’d say the hits kept comin’. In TOAD’s case, you’d have to say the covers kept comin’ in the form of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” a sing-along to “Friends In Low Places” and a brief “Paradise City” jam.

The only cover that mattered was an instrumental version of Alice In Chains’ “Nutshell” inserted between “Lowlife” and “Santa Monica” (ATM Facebook Live footage of all three here). The band performed an acoustic version of the 1993 Jar of Flies EP hit during the 2013 Fiesta Oyster Bake, an occasion during which Connolly sat down with yours truly for a preshow interview (watch here).

Connolly, guitarist Dave Brenner, bassist Dean Back and drummer Joey Dandeneau finally turned it up a notch during seventh song and new track “Ambulance”. But the bevy of covers and non-TOAD moments was a bit too much and unexpected on the wrong side of the ledger.

Connolly catered to the fans by tossing out four T-shirts and a koozie before the group played two of its mainstays to end the show: “Hate My Life” and the song that arguably helps fans identify with this band: “Bad Girlfriend.” Surprisingly and disappointingly, they left off one of their first smash hits in “So Happy,” and when you consider the number of covers played, omitting that tune was definitely a no-no.

The show kicked off with Saint Asonia, and first things first: referring to this band as a supergroup would be a misnomer.

Saint Asonia is a kickass rock band through and through. It has gone through a few lineup changes since debuting in San Antonio in 2015 at the Aztec Theater, a gig in which vocalist Adam Gontier and then-rhythm guitarist Corey Lowery sat down with ATM for a fun chat (watch here).

These days, Gontier has enlisted 75 percent of Art Of Dying to round out the band — including his cousin. Cale Gontier plays bass, Tavis Stanley handles lead guitar, and Cody Watkins takes care of the skins. Adam Gontier has taken on guitar duties as well with Lowery having moved on to Seether and Mike Mushok returning to the road with Staind, and the result Sunday night was a rockin’ start to the evening. Click here to watch ATM’s interview with Cale Gontier and Stanley from 2016, along with Art Of Dying vocalist Jonny Hetherington.

After opening with “Better Place” and following with “Above It All” and forthcoming single “Wolf,” it was nice to see Adam Gontier embrace, rather than shy away from, his Three Days Grace past. He performed “Never Too Late” by himself on guitar, then the rest of the guys joined in on “I Hate Everything About You.” Watch the group via ATM Facebook Live footage of the track Gontier did originally with Apocalyptica: “I Don’t Care.”

Saint Asonia also played “Devastate” before ending the set with the best song from its self-titled debut album, “Let Me Live My Life.” As exhibited in the aforementioned interview clip, even eight years later, Gontier’s bellowing of “I can go get my knife, or I can pull out the one that you stuck in my back” still resonates.

Afterwards, Saint Asonia spent the rest of the evening in the balcony watching Theory Of A Deadman’s set — mostly undisturbed. That is, until the show concluded, and the guys graciously turned it into a small meet-and-greet with those upstairs who had left them alone, at least until the final note had sounded.

But this particular evening was mostly about Skillet.

Whether they’ve played the inaugural River City Rockfest in 2013, the Fiesta Oyster Bake in 2017, opened for Alter Bridge in 2019 or this show, Skillet continuously sets the bar high for many artists by putting the studio version of its songs on steroids with props, risers, icy smoke blowing out from John Cooper’s arms, and bringing their songs to life energetically — some of which feature Cooper and Ledger trading their contrasting voices symmetrically.

If only the Boeing Center allowed pyro. Because that was about the only thing missing from a mostly riveting night of rock. Resurrection style.

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