doom metal – The Cosmic Clash

Blackwater Holylight Radio East Troy Gonzales

Live music review: Blackwater Holylight drew diehards in droves to Radio East Tuesday

February 20, 2026 Case Cockrell 486 Views Austin Psych Fest, black metal, Blackwater Holylight, doom metal, Far Out Lounge, Glassing, Levitation, live music, psych-rock, Radio East, Review, rock n roll, shoegaze, Suicide Squeeze, The Well

The industrial area of southeast Austin carries a unique vibe. With no gentrification within yelling distance (or amplified music distance) in our case, there’s not much worry about noise complaints and the fuzz coming with the decibel reader to dock the venue for “Rock and roll mischief.” For Los Angeles-based via Portland shoegaze outfit Blackwater Holylight, an early-week bill on Tuesday evening at Radio East drew Austin diehards in droves to experience the Austin Psych Fest alums alongside local favorites, Glassing and The Well. With new LP Not Here Not Gone showcasing their multi-layered brand of luscious psych-infused soundscapes, the Blackwater quintet accounts for all the sounds that make up their dreamy biome.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Weedeater played Austin metal stronghold The Lost Well

December 24, 2025 Case Cockrell 1222 Views concert, Dave Dixie Collins, doom metal, heavy metal, live music, Review, rock n roll, stoner metal, The Lost Well, Weedeater

If you haven’t taken a trip to the new location for Austin’s legendary metal stronghold, The Lost Well, put a pilgrimage to the East Austin music venue high on your to-do list. The Lost Well returned in August this year with a vengeance, and the gig calendar has been stacking back up to a blistering, business-as-usual. According to owner Marcello Murphy, Tuesday night (December 16) for Wilmington, North Carolina doom metal act, Weedeater was the new Austin space’s biggest ticketed show yet.

Primative Man Empire Control Room Justin Clark

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Primitive Man played Empire in Austin for rare late-year gig

December 15, 2025 Case Cockrell 942 Views ambient R&B, Buffalo Nichols, concert, Deathdoom, doom metal, Empire Control Room, God is War, grindcore, hard rock, live music, noise rock, Primative Man, Review, Today is the Day

It can be hard to gauge what attendance at late-year gigs in Austin will be like. There are tons of shows, festivals, and other events going on in town 365 days a year. People’s wallets can run dry around the holidays, and people are spending less discretionary income. For Denver deathdoom outfit Primitive Man’s December appearance at Empire Control Room in the Red River Cultural District on December 9, a thin, but dedicated gauntlet of fans showed up to experience the slow and low, deafening spectacle of the Colorado extreme metal band. Bringing a bill that proved eclectic and all over the place sonically, the evening on Red River didn’t disappoint for performances filled with harsh experimentation and maximum cranium-shaking riffs from the headlining event.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Seven must see bands at Levitation Festival 2025

September 17, 2025 Case Cockrell 3466 Views Blood Incantation, Boy Harsher, Castle Rat, DAIISTAR, death metal, doom metal, festival, garage punk, Hooveriii, Levitation, live music, Martin Rev, must see bands, preview, prog metal, psych-rock, punk rock, Suicide, The Black Angels, The Ravonettes, The Velvet Underground, Upchuck

Levitation Festival 2025 kicks off next week (September 25-28), with a new and improved location in tow and an array of artists to make this year’s installment one of the best yet. Festival organizers The Black Angels and famed booker and promoter Rob Fitzpatrick have chosen none other than Palmer Event Center to showcase the main festival programming, complete with two stages for the weekend of all-star cast performances. The festival will also feature late-night shows throughout the Austin area, including all the Red River Cultural District venues that have been part of the festival since transitioning to a multivenue format in 2018. The Cosmic Clash will be attending for the long weekend and has curated a list of must-sees for the weekend’s multi-genre music happenings. Night shows are sold separately, so move fast to avoid getting shut out of the post-Palmer programming. Set times can be found via the Levitation website. Hit the link at the top of the story to grab tickets. VIP passes are sold-out. There are still some GA tickets available.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs delivered bone crushing riffs

August 28, 2025 Case Cockrell 3531 Views 29th Street Ballroom, alternative metal, doom metal, heavy metal, live music, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Pigs x7, psych-rock, Review, rock n roll, sludge metal, Waxed

Newcastle’s Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (or Pigs x7 to make things easier) has been on a steady barrage of bone-crushing riffs, a consistent stream of records, and travels throughout the world to deliver their flammable methodology of sludge metal to the masses. Fresh off the release of their 2025 full-length Death Hilarious, the Pigs quintet covers all their bases with down-tuned guitar strikes and relentless, raw vocal aggression. With Nashville alternative metal act Waxed in tow on this run of shows, the double bill wrapped their tour in Austin at the under-new-management 29th St. Ballroom, sending things off with a deafening display of power on Wednesday, August 27.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Photos

Live music photos: Third annual Big Dumb Fest by Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol at Mohawk

June 23, 2025 Greg Ackerman 3512 Views Bat Lips, doom metal, garage rock, Glime, Gran Moreno, Gus Baldwin, hard rock, heavy metal, live music, mohawk, photos, psych-rock, punk rock, Rickshaw Billie's, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, stoner rock, Subpar Snatch, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

Austin hard rock band, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol hosted their third annual Big Dumb Fest June 14 at legendary Red River Cultural District venue, Mohawk. The self-styled Doom Wop band curates the lineup themselves, hand-picking each local act invited. This year’s roster included Bat Lips, Gus Baldwin and the Sketch, Glime, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Subpar Snatch and Gran Moreno for an all night affair. BDF included food pop-ups from Bad Larry’s Burgers, Grandpa’s Glizzy’s and Sucio Boy Burgers to feed the hungry hard rock fans attending.

Case Cockrell Interviews Live Music

Interview: Austin stoner metal act The Sword talk return, Austin scene, weed, to play Levitation this weekend

October 30, 2024 Case Cockrell 4184 Views Bryan Ritchie, doom metal, hard rock, Interview, Jimmy Vela, John. D. Cronise, Kyle Shutt, Levitation, stoner metal, The Sword

Revered Austin metal act The Sword is back and locked in for a performance on Sunday at Levitation Festival in Austin, Texas. The doom act announced their breakup in 2022 after 19 years as a band and fans have been feigning for a reunion ever since. The local heavy act will close out the Black Angels-produced festival with a headlining set at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre in the Red River Cultural District in the downtown area and will be joined by local acts Gran Moreno, The Well, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, and also famed proto metal act, Pentagram. Frontman/guitarist John D. Cronise, bassist Bryan Richie, drummer Jimmy Vela, and lead guitarist Kyle Shutt all showed up to deliver their insight on why it made sense to come back. To get a feel on how the band returned and what the quartet has been up to in the interim, we sat down with them after their rehearsal and discussed what the reunion means and how it all came together.

Case Cockrell Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Seven more bands to see at Levitation 2024

October 28, 2024 Case Cockrell 2472 Views doom metal, Grocery Bag, hard rock, Illuminati Hotties, indie pop, indie rock, Levitation, live music, music festival, preview, psych-rock, Queen Serene, rock n roll, shoegaze, Slowdive, stoner rock, The Dare, The Sword, Wine Lips

The 2024 edition of Levitation is coming up fast this Halloween weekend. Each year, Austin’s The Black Angels and trusted booking powerhouse and Festival Director Rob Fitzpatrick continue to deliver star-studded lineups and cutting edge acts that never disappoint local and out-of-town music fans traveling to Austin for the annual multi-venue programming. The Cosmic Clash team is here to provide another list of bands you need to see over the four-day festival takeover at venues all over the Austin area. Fans have the option of purchasing access to the entire lineup or purchase individual shows. Set times and tickets can be found on the Levitation website for fans to plan their daily excursions to see all the music they can throughout the weekend.

Case Cockrell Review

Live music review: Drone Metal legends Earth performed quadraphonic show at Oblivion Access Fest

June 21, 2023 Case Cockrell 2919 Views Central Presbyterian Church, doom metal, Earth, live music, Oblivion Access Fest, Review, stoner metal

Have you ever seen a show in a church? What about a show in a church equipped with a psychedelic light display while a classic drone metal band plays their classic album in its entirety? For Seattle’s Earth, the drone legends did just that, which included a performance of their classic 1993 debut album, Earth 2, in its full glory for the record’s 30th anniversary at Central Presbyterian Church.