Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

Author: Case Cockrell

Khemmis 3 Ripplefest Six Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Ripplefest Six Goes Doom for a Weekend at Far Out Lounge

Case Cockrell 184 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Ripplefest returned to South Austin’s Far Out Lounge September 17 through 20 for its sixth year of doom metal excess. The crowd came ready for all the sludgey riffs they could handle. Founded by Ryan Garney of Lick of My Spoon Productions, the festival has built a name as a family reunion for the stoner doom metal scene, pulling bands in from across the globe. The Cosmic Clash team was on the ground for all the Ripplefest action. Here’s what stuck with us.

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Squid Pisser 3 Lost Well Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Squid Pisser hosted packed metal lineup at Lost Well

Case Cockrell 274 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Los Angeles hardcore supergroup Squid Pisser hosted a packed lineup at Austin metal stronghold The Lost Well on Thursday, August 27, bringing their horror-infused attack to town. The masked outfit shares members with GWAR, Cancer Christ, Duck Duck Goose, and more. The Lost Well’s Airport Boulevard location is thoroughly broken in now, the bookings keep stacking up, and the underground metal scene keeps flourishing under the ownership of longtime Austin venue operators Marcello and Tasha Murphy.

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live Music Review: Pond Brings the Fuzz to Mohawk, Then Kevin Parker Crashes the Encore

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There’s something in the water in Perth, Australia, maybe the whole country. Psychedelia runs deep down under, and a wave

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Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live Music Review: Reverb Appreciators Survived the Heat at Levitation 2026

Case Cockrell 559 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Levitation Festival returned to Austin this past weekend (September 10-13), bringing a stacked international lineup back to a multi-venue format for its 2026 edition, with showcases scattered across the city. The bill pulled in longtime regulars, first-time festivalgoers, and a handful of acts making their first Central Texas appearance since they formed. Oppressive heat ran through all four days as the festival’s defining backdrop, but it didn’t stop Levitation from delivering for its loyal reverb appreciators once more, extending a run that’s outlasted a wave of beloved festivals in an increasingly unstable independent music scene. The Cosmic Clash team was on the ground for all four days. Here’s part one of what stuck with us.

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live Music Preview: South Austin Braces for Ripplefest Texas 2026

Case Cockrell 748 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Ripplefest is back. The doom and stoner metal gathering returns to The Far Out Lounge & Stage and Sagebrush September

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ReviewTroy Gonzales

Single review: Wild Heaven’s “One To Go” Is a Slow Burn With Teeth

Case Cockrell 617 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Who said lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place? We have once again been given the privilege of previewing

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Levitation 2023 Daniel Cavazos
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven more bands to see at Levitation 2026

Case Cockrell 663 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Levitation 2026 is coming up fast, and with programming scattered across Austin, a tight plan is a necessity if you want to catch everything worth catching. The festival will take place over a four day stretch on September 10 – 13, bringing a wide variety of bands to build a packed fest experience. The festival traces back to The Black Angels and founder Rob Fitzpatrick, who’s kept the lineups deep and eclectic year after year. Here’s another round of seven bands curated by The Cosmic Clash team worth building your schedule around. Set times and tickets are on the Levitation website.

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to see as Levitation returns to multi-venue format

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Levitation returns to Austin September 10-13. Founded by members of The Black Angels and rooted in the city’s psych scene, the fest outgrew that single genre label a long time ago, with lineups running doom metal, darkwave, punk, and electronic acts alongside the psychedelic elements. After centering 2025 at Palmer Event Center, it’s back to the multi-venue format that’s anchored the fest since 2018. The Far Out Lounge & Stage on South Congress carries 2026’s main programming, with showcases scattered across downtown filling out the rest. Here’s who’s worth building your schedule around curated by The Cosmic Clash team. 

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FOV 2 2026 King Gizz Jupiter
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: King Gizzard’s Field of Vision nights two and three with no song repeats

Case Cockrell 648 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard don’t rest. The Melbourne sextet closed out the second Field of Vision Festival with two more three-hour sets on August 15 and 16, pushing deeper into the Meadow Creek grounds in Buena Vista, Colorado they’d already claimed as their own. They’d fired the first shot on day one: a surprise drop of their 28th LP, Alien Metal, with zero warning. Then came the dare. “No song repeats,” the band promised Friday night, and fans spent the rest of the weekend hunting for new-album cuts and deep tracks to see if that promise would hold. Field of Vision was three of only seven U.S. tour dates. There was no room to coast.

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Stabbing Raven Mayhem Fest Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: inaugural Mayhem Fest at new Crow Bar ended on blistering note

Case Cockrell 1178 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Austin metal venue, The Crow Bar hosted Raven Mayhem Fest 2026 ended on a blistering note on Saturday, July 25 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. 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.

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