doom metal – The Cosmic Clash

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

August 2, 2026 Case Cockrell 164 Views Acid Bath, Cheese Grater Masturbation, concert, crust punk, death grind, death metal, doom metal, extreme metal, hardcore, Imminent End, live music, Mayhem Fest, metal music, Mortar Siege, music festival, noise rock, Review, sludge metal, Stabbing, Swans, Throat Piss, Tortures, Whores

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.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live Music Review: Conan Bulldozes Far Out Lounge, Texas Heat Be Damned

July 29, 2026 Case Cockrell 288 Views Conan, concert, doom metal, Far Out Lounge, heavy metal, Jon Davis, live music, Liverpool, Review, rock n roll, stoner metal

Liverpool’s musical legacy usually starts and stops at four guys with mop-tops and a red-brick basement studio. Doom metal trio

Premiere Song Troy Gonzales

Song Premiere: Austin heavy psych duo Floating Cube introduces single Canyon

July 17, 2026 Troy Gonzales 436 Views 13th Floor, album release, Billie Buck, Canyon, Corme, doom metal, Floating Cube, hard rock, Hot Summer Nights, Hotel Vegas, jazz, psych-rock, Queen Serene, Sailor Poon, single release, song premiere, stoner rock, surf rock

One of Austin‘s hottest new bands, heavy psych duo, Floating Cube, is set to release their debut self titled EP on July 25 and has asked The Cosmic Clash to preview the first single, “Canyon” ahead of the song’s official release on July 18 at their upcoming show at The 13th Floor during the annual Hot Summer Nights which offers free cover at multiple Red River venues all weekend.

Greg Ackerman Live Music Preview

Live music preview: Stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Aces High Saloon Wednesday

June 29, 2026 Greg Ackerman 916 Views Ace's High Saloon, Bong Wizard, doom metal, GRGL, hard rock, live music, new music, preview, Simian, stoner metal, stoner rock, Transylvanian Munchies

This Wednesday, July 1, Houston stoner metal act Bong Wizard comes to Salt Lake City metal haven Ace’s High Saloon. The power trio will bring new music from their latest, Transylvanian Munchies which was just released four days ago. The group is essentially a parody band, taking black metal classics and making them their own with sludgy, doom metal treatments to the songs. The thing is, despite Bong Wizard’s irreverence, their music is perfect for fans of crushing, downtrend riffs. Tickets for their show with Simian and GRGL are available directly from Ace’s website.

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: Philly Sludge legends Baroness stopped at Radio East on Friday

April 8, 2026 Case Cockrell 1122 Views Baroness, concert, doom metal, God Shell, hard rock, live music, metal, Mugger, punk rock, Radio East, Resound Presents, Review, sludge

The band, Baroness came into Texas on the circumstances of opening for Louisiana sludge legends Acid Bath in Dallas, but the great folks at Resound Presents couldn’t let them leave Texas without an Austin appearance. With longtime drummer Sebastian Thomson having to opt out days before travel, the band had to find a fill-in drummer to stand in for the run. Despite this, the veteran Georgia born, Philly-based quartet arrived at Southeast Austin’s Radio East and delivered a jam-packed show.

Blackwater Holylight Radio East Troy Gonzales

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

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

February 20, 2026 Case Cockrell 1378 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 1943 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 1640 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 3982 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 3805 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 3915 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.

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