Live music review: inaugural Mayhem Fest at new Crow Bar ended on blistering note
Austin heavy music stronghold Crow Bar hosted Raven Mayhem Fest 2026 on Saturday, July 25, with a lineup featuring bands from all across the Austin heavy spectrum and beyond. For the inaugural three-day long extreme metal music festival at the newly reopened Crow Bar in far East Austin off Highway 183 at 523 Thompson Lane, the booked talent brought the thunder to the newly reopened space. Since reopening for SXSW 2025, co-owner Aryn Jonathan Black and booker Jay McDowell have been curating some of the heaviest-hitting bills in the Austin area. After the first Crow Bar location was lost to arson, owners Black and Steve Gee are back with a vengeance, and there’s been hell to pay since getting the underground-leaning establishment back up and running.
Black commented to the Chronicle: “We were never a music venue, but now we are,” Black says. “We dealt with struggles at the bar, trying to find a space in the last two years, being outed by millionaire developers. We persevered and pretty much stopped at nothing to make it happen.”
Let’s talk about this place first. It’s off the beaten path, not likely to be touched by millionaire developers for a long time. You have to know to look for it off 183 and that’s proven to be a great thing. There are artifacts from horror movies, lived-in dive bar vibes, and the feeling of being part of something special, one that channels a similar but different corner of the scene than the heavy metal vibes of Lost Well on Airport Boulevard. There’s more to it than metal; noise rock bands, performance art, retro film showings, you name it comes through the room. On top of a spooky cocktail menu, the bar also serves pizza and sandwiches to keep fans going through longer performances. The place is also bigger than a lot of Austin’s smaller venues, featuring a good-sized performance room and a big lounging area in the back, connected by a patio. You feel like you’re in a different part of the Austin music universe here, far away from the impossible parking of Dirty 6th and Red River. It’s the kind of spot that keeps Austin weird (if that is still a thing).
The weekend mayhem fest featured three days of programming with stacked bills throughout. When we arrived at the venue, we were greeted by San Antonio’s Cheese Grater Masturbation. The Cosmic Clash rarely touches the brutal death metal underground, but with Texas Death Metal acts being an undeniable force and names like Frozen Soul and Tribal Gaze common in modern extreme metal discourse, we may need to grease the wheels a little more. CGM put on a 30-minute heater filled with blast beats, detuned riffage, and low-as-hell growls. Austin’s Mortar Siege followed in chaotic fashion, blending crust punk with hints of classic death metal.
Aryn Black (Scorpion Child) and Jay McDowell’s (Screamin’ J) noise outfit Tortures served as the packed night’s most distinct spectacle, a rapidly rising local sensation that’s been gracing stages all over town with their own brand of punishing audio. Vocalist Black opens each set behind a protest-themed podium stamped with a satirical “Department of Homeland Security” decal, working a synth table built into the podium for a honed-in burst of unbridled experimentalism before collapsing into a tornado of supercharged noise-punk in the vein of Atlanta’s Whores and New York legends Swans.
Local sludge and doom metal alchemists Throat Piss took the semi-headlining spot, a scene favorite that’s built a following of their own with performances across the Austin heavy music sector. The quartet hosts an annual mini-fest dubbed “Piss Prom,” furthering their mark on a scene known for bands that cultivate devoted followings, the kind of fans who wear their favorite band’s caustic identity like a badge of honor. With nicknames like Piss Boy, Swamp Wench, and Sax Man, how could you not buy in?
Houston death metal trailblazers Stabbing took the headlining reins with a special performance from the Century Media Records signees. Vocalist Bridget Lynch’s growls dig even deeper than Chris Barnes of prime-era artists Cannibal Corpse, and vocals delivered with an effortlessness that’s easy to feel from the crowd.
Their recent LP Eon of Obscenity continues the upward trajectory of fury. The band has earned slots on multiple multi-national tours, including supporting Louisiana legends Acid Bath this past spring. If that kind of acknowledgment isn’t a huge accolade, we don’t know what is.
Raven Room Mayhem Fest will return in 2027. Keep an eye on Crow Bar’s socials for updates.
All photos by Justin Clark
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