Friday, March 6, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

Robert Dean

Mark Lanegan via ML
OpinionRobert Deansongwriter

Opinion: Mark Lanegan should be in same conversation as our greatest songwriters

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I get that Jeff Buckley is beloved. I know people with tattoos of his lyrics. Listening to it, I was taken to a place of feeling like, it was too dated for me, that I felt like people loved this record for its mythology of Buckley dying young and tragically more than the actual musical weight of the record, that his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” made him so deep. It got me thinking about hype, legacy, and ultimately, Mark Lanegan.

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The Lost Well reopening cropped 1
Music NewsRobert Dean

Music News: The Mighty Lost Well Returns from the Dead

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After a tumultuous few months, the cavern in our hearts is about to close: The Lost Well is finally ready to (re)open. After some nefarious Austin money shit went down, the famed heavy metal haven for weirdos and castaways was forced to close, leaving many in the city feeling like a friend had died. Yet, the mighty Lost Well returns from the dead. 

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Tear Dungeon 17 Radio East Justin Clark
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Tear Dungeon tour kick off at Radio East with stage dives

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I’ve seen a lot of things in my years of going to rock and roll shows. I have experienced a man in a rubber sex mask spit fake blood into a child’s face. Whenever Tear Dungeon plays, there is always a chance of something insane happening. Between roof climbs, the highest stage dives, a garage being ripped down to the studs (see: their show at the now-defunct Ghost Cat Lounge) the band has established a culture of chaos at their shows, that if you’re here, being an absolute psycho is A-OK. The band’s show at Radio East on Saturday, August, 9 was no exception

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Coalesce promo photo
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Coalesce Invented Your Favorite Band and You’ve Probably Never Heard of Them

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One of the joys of the chaotic internet is that legendary bands never truly die—they just slumber beneath the surface, waiting to drag themselves from the muck like Godzilla and roar back into the stratosphere. Coalesce, the Kansas City hardcore pioneers who helped birth metalcore in the ’90s, has been one of those beasts. During my annual hometown pilgrimage to Chicago this July, I discovered Coalesce was playing with local post-metal heavies Pelican at the gorgeous Thalia Hall in Pilsen. Having not seen them since probably 2000 or 2001, I had to witness whether middle age had dulled their legendary violence.

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Ozzy Osbourne
Music NewsRobert Dean

Music news: celebrating Ozzy Osbourne in death is saying goodbye to an old friend

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Music is like an emotional sledgehammer to our lives; it’s the soundtrack to moments, to milestones. Everyone has those songs that, upon hearing them, transport them back in time. Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” is that time machine for many, a raucous small rip of mind fuck that fuels speeding cars, hot sex, or wild montages of cocaine and whiskey medicine. It’s a few moments of perfection, which the band never intended to be anything but album filler. That’s the majesty of the band – they created a genre: Heavy Metal. And the four lads from Birmingham experienced their fruits in real-time. Yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne, the King of Metal, passed on

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Black Sabbath Back to the Beginning poster
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath – The Tired King of Metal Gets His Final Bow

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Someone online said something profound about Ozzy’s final performance with Black Sabbath at Villa Park in their hometown of Birmingham, England on July 5: they called him a tired king. And as that tired king looked out over his court, with the whole world watching, he gave one last welcome to those still loyal to his heavy metal kingdom.

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New music
AlbumReviewRobert Dean

New music: Teddy Long, Dim Light and Hugo Monster albums are fresh finds

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I wanted to give you a few new things to listen to if you’re in the market for new ear candy. When the world is a constant depression machine, the power of music is unmatched, a salve that can make us feel human again when there’s just too much punishment on our hearts and souls and by the grace of god, some caveman, somewhere, figured out that if you beat a few rocks together with sticks over a cowhide, the beautiful noise happened.

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Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Not So Fun WKND with Trapped Under Ice, God’s Hate and more at Far Out Lounge

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I bitch about Austin a lot—parking, traffic, rent prices. But every once in a while, the city gets it right. Not So Fun WKND at The Far Out Lounge March 8 was one of those moments. The all-day fest with Trapped Under Ice, Parade of Flesh, God’s Hate and many others took place at the popular South Austin venue.  An opening party was held Friday, March 7 at Sagebrush with Suburban Scum, Dmize, Creeping Death and more. Hardcore bands from across the country descended on Austin, turning the weekend into a cathartic release of bad vibes and raw energy.

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Luke Trimmer
PreviewRobert Dean

Fundraiser: White Horse employee Luke Trimmer needs our help, benefit concert this Sunday

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One of Austin’s best and brightest this past week, Luke Trimmer from White Horse, was hit by someone who had too many sodas and turned a wrong turn – down I-35. And now Luke is in a bad way. Just a guy like many of us, after a long shift on his feet, looking forward to a plate of tacos and the warmth of his bed. That’s pretty much everyone reading this; every time we get ready to head home after a late night, no one expects to be pulled from the twisted metal of a car wreck.

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Roi Hernaandez cover photo
Live MusicPreviewRobert Dean

Fashion Feature: Roi Hernandez of Elysium has vision for large sized men’s styles with House of 1912

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Because art moves with the flow of the thoughts of outsiders looking inward, it’s no surprise that Austin-based designer Roi Hernandez’s House of 1912 is getting acclaim around Texas fashion circles. It will also not be a shocker when he gets his due credit in bigger fashion circles. Roi doesn’t come from a fashion background; he came from the music industry. Hernandez is key leadership staff at Red River club, Elysium. He decided to make clothes for more prominent men because he wanted to see them dressed better than boxy nightmares with Hawaiian print or corny t-shirts splashed with faded X-Men comic book covers or a Mountain Dew logo. Instead, he’s reclaiming what goth is, which is something that’s not whatever Hot Topic is peddling – a reflection that even though clothing may be considered “goth,” everything doesn’t have to always be black and spooky.

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