hard rock

King Gizzard at Germania
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: King Gizzard played marathon three hour set at Germania Amphitheater

Case Cockrell 635 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The trek out to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas racetrack where Germania Amphitheater is located is a daunting one. From taking in an hour of traffic, ludicrous drink prices, and baffling ticket expenditures, the Formula 1 Racing spot has most Austin music fans disinterested in driving out to the sticks to experience its monstrosity. (17 miles outside of the downtown area to be exact.) In last Friday night’s case, fans of a certain Australian band made an exception.

Read More
The Black Angels Levitation 2024
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Day one and two of Levitation brought world’s best independent acts to Austin

Case Cockrell 552 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The first two days of Levitation Festival 2024 featured multiple stacked bills for a plethora of packed venues in the downtown Austin area and beyond. The Cosmic Clash team was in attendance to capture the action and highlighted some of our favorite acts that made their way to Austin for the action-packed Halloween weekend. From the Red River Cultural District to South Austin, the carefully curated talent brought their best for the masses that flock to the local music joints to watch the coveted Black Angels produced weekend with some of the independent music world’s best acts.

Read More
Case CockrellInterviewsLive Music

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

Case Cockrell 1076 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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.

Read More
Fuzz - Pooneh Ghana
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

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

Case Cockrell 517 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

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. 

Read More
High On Fire at Mohawk
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: High On Fire sold-out Mohawk with Weedeater and Burnt Skull

Case Cockrell 459 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

When it’s October in Austin, Texas and it’s still 95 degrees outside, outdoor sold-out shows can feel like the Summer season never changed. With Austin Italian cuisine staple Marinara Miracles slinging their signature dishes and Lone Star Beers overflowing the venue trash cans, fans in attendance at Mohawk on October 5 were indulged and ready to see a modern heavy metal favorite deliver a gig doing what they do best. For Oakland’s High on Fire’s second Austin appearance in just under a year on Saturday night, stoner metal fans came in full force to experience another helping of crushing riffs, bombastic drum beats, and relentless stampedes of bass that have become their trademark since being assembled in 1998. 

Read More
Buzz Electro PR photo
AlbumReviewRobert Dean

Album review: Spare Parts by Austin act Buzz Electro features loud guitars and nasty riffs

Robert Dean 1025 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Guitars should be loud, and riffs should be nasty. The drums should sound like they hold the keys to the entryway to hell. Luckily, Buzz Electro got the memo. On their newest record, “Spare Parts,” the band gives it their all as one of the acts in Austin doing their best to be the loudest, horns up, drinks spilled version of rock and roll out there.

Read More
Tied Up band Ausitn
ReviewRobert DeanSong

Song Review – Anyway You Like: Tied Up is one of Austin’s Newest to Check Out

Robert Dean 759 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Taking the hip-hop approach by dropping singles one at a time, Tied Up recently gave us their newest, “Anyway You Like,” on the heels of their prior single, “Gun.” Both are wicked glimpses into what the band will give us moving forward, which says a metric fuck ton, considering they only have two tracks out for public consumption. And those two tracks do not play. This is the rock and roll you want;

Read More
AlbumBrian HillsmanReview

Album review: Swallow the Rat sophomore effort South Locust positions band well for SXSW 2024

Brian Hillsman 1317 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

New Zealand hard rock trio, Swallow the Rat, released their latest LP, South Locust, on September 1, 2023, and are set to perform at this year’s SXSW music festival as part of the Aotearoa contingent. The band has a number of performances slated for the festival including an unofficial event, Webberville Block Party presented by The Cosmic Clash and Play to the Plants at The Lost Well, Cavalier and Fading Yellow House on Saturday, March 16.

Read More
Sunn O)))
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Drone metal band Sunn O))) blew the doors off Paramount Theater last week

Case Cockrell 2124 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

When Seattle’s Sunn O))) (Pronounced Sun) takes the reins of any stage, a cloud of fog appears, and the Drone Metal collective is off to the races in a slow and steady spectacle. The Washington State joint is a complex performance oddity. Equipped with a dozen or so amplifiers stacked to the level of ancient monuments, the sonic abilities of the Pacific Northwest group know no end. On Wednesday night at Paramount Theater in Austin, Sunn summoned a mystical performance that showcased their unending ability to create glacial soundscapes that made the audience’s jaws drop to the floor with their slow-burning modus operandi. 

Read More
Exotic Frutica
Case CockrellPremiere

Video Premiere: Exotic Fruitica continues release cycle with new track Cowboy

Case Cockrell 1300 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Austin noisemakers Exotic Fruitica are ramping up their upcoming EP release with a new track and video that pushes the band’s noisy antics to 11. For the Austin act, they’ve been releasing one song after another that always go the deafening distance. Choosing sun-baked hooks and fuzzy guitars to sculpt their catchy yet chaotic approach, the Austin noise act has been making a mission statement to rattle listeners into blown-out exhaustion. To celebrate the release of “Cowboy,” They have also dropped a video that embodies the same chaos that the music evokes. Directed by Cameron Kisel, Exotic Fruitica is quickly catching fire as one of Austin’s most exciting bands.

Read More