Sunday, August 2, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

hardcore

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 96 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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By Frank Schwichtenberg - Own work  This file was uploaded with Commonist., CC BY-SA 4.0,
OpinionRobert Dean

Thank you Lou Koller and Sick of It All

Robert Dean 651 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Unfortunately, that September, it was back. He kept going anyway, through what would have been the band’s 40th year together, the band he’d started with his brother in Queens back in 1986. He died on July 24, 2026, at 59, the disease finally outrunning him after two years of him refusing to let it define the band or the music. His bandmates put it simply: his fight was over, and he could finally rest.

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Hatebreed 1 The Rumble 2026 Brian Martinez
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Hardcore music festival The Rumble featured Hatebreed, Turmoil and more

Robert Dean 513 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

On Friday, July 17 as part of the annual festival The Rumble, Turmoil made their way back to Chicago for a triumphant return, playing songs from The Process Of and giving it everything they had in the process. I felt like a kid again, bobbing to the riffs of “Let It Die” while screaming along to the opening salvo of the hardest intro of all time, yelling “what the fuck?” alongside frontman John Gula.

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annabellecharilegs4 APF 2026 Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music preview: Hot Summer Nights promises Austin music discovery this weekend

Case Cockrell 668 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The annual Hot Summer Nights in the Red River Cultural District of Austin is a RRCD-sponsored event that features hundreds

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Greg AckermanLive MusicReview

Live music review: Day one at Kilby Block Party 2026 featured Turnstile with up and coming acts

Greg Ackerman 1318 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

It was a picture perfect day in Salt Lake City at the Utah State Fairplex on Friday as Kilby Block Party geared up for its seventh edition of the mid-tier sized music festival with a lineup heavy on up and coming acts. Ireland’s Newdad, Austin’s Die Spitz and L.A. via Boise artist, Gelli Haha all turned in impressive performances as the schedule moved towards red-hot, melodic hardcore rock band Turnstile’s incredible main stage set to close night one of KBP.  Fans enjoyed a silent disco featuring local DJs, art installations and came dressed for fun.

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Crowd shot KBP 2024
Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Six bands to see at Kilby Block Party 2026

Greg Ackerman 2461 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Utah’s most exciting music festival, Kilby Block Party is entering its seventh year in 2026 with its most ambitious lineup to date. The fest runs May 15-17 at Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City.  It feels like this unassuming fest which began on a closed-off road behind Kilby Court, the beloved DIY venue it’s named for has become something else entirely with a lineup featuring a pop star (Lorde), a rocker turned pop star (Hayley Williams) and a melodic hardcore act (Turnstile) which shows just how far this independent music fest has come in a relatively short time. Rather than focus on the obvious headlining sets to profile, we’ve selected seven bands to see at KBP 2026. Before we dive in, fans should know some ticket options are already sold-out or nearing sold-out. If you’re considering attending, grab tickets here.

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Eyehategod Little Darlin Justin Clark
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Eyehategod at Little Darlin 10th Anniversary

Robert Dean 1307 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Thanks to the power of social media, bands like Crowbar and Eyehategod are drawing bigger crowds than they have in years—and honestly, good for them. Get that bag, dudes. You earned it. Somehow, the algorithm has decided the ultra-heavy hardcore riffs of the two New Orleans kingpins are worth worshiping, and the clips are endless; people talking about how chaotic EHG is and how gnarly Crowbar riffs are. And it’s not just old head nostalgia. The kids are showing up. And they’re selling venues out. The two bands went out on the road together, and if the show Sunday, April 26 at The Little Darlin’ is any indication, those rooms are filling up fast. Radio-friendly Metallica these bands are not.

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Author & Punisher 2 Far Out Lounge Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Author & Punisher delivered relentless spectacle to Far Out Lounge crowd

Case Cockrell 1273 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The industrial hardcore underground thundered into Austin on Sunday March 8, bringing a stacked bill to South Austin’s The Far Out Lounge and Stage showcasing some of the genre’s heaviest and strangest acts. Author & Punisher, the project of San Diego’s Tristan Shone, employs custom “drone” and “dub” machines. Formerly a solo act, Shone now collaborates with guitarist Doug Sabolick (A Life Once Lost, Ecstatic Vision). With a table of unique contraptions, Author & Punisher delivered a relentless spectacle to a Sunday night crowd.

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Mugger 2 mini fest Empire Garage Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Electronic duo Sextile returned to Austin with stacked local bill

Case Cockrell 1657 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

Los Angeles by way of Brooklyn electronic duo Sextile returned to Austin for a third time in 2025 to end the year with a loaded bill on Saturday night at Empire Control Room and Garage. The stacked lineup included Nashville egg punk extraordinaries Snooper along with local band appearances from Gus Baldwin & The Sketch, Alma Muneca, Mugger, and The Opera who are Cosmic Clash SXSW Webberville Block Party vets.

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Big Bill BBB 8 6 Radio East Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Big Bill Ball 8 at Radio East offered accurate snapshot of Austin music scene

Case Cockrell 1732 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

The eighth annual Big Bill Ball at Radio East in the Southeast part of town, marked another celebration of the Austin scene, offering a snapshot of local music in 2025 with a six-band bill featuring some of the best active acts in the Austindie sphere. For this year’s installment, the philosophical art punk mainstays celebrated the release of their new studio LP, Sick Myth. Continuing the Big Bill way of inclusive activism through comedic lyrical punchlines and a variety of punk rock angles, the one-day event gave attendees one of the most coveted evenings of live music in 2025 during Saturday night’s (November 22) gig at the southeast Austin backyard venue. The mini-fest was co-sponsored by famed photographer and show promoter, Pooneh Ghana for the annual showcase.

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Murder City Devils 4 Mohawk Troy Gonzales
Live MusicReviewRobert Dean

Live music review: Murder City Devils brought rock and roll fury to Mohawk

Robert Dean 1970 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

I love a show where the band is not there to fuck around. No small talk, no rare material, no rambling monologues about the world. Just pure rock and roll fury. At the Mohawk on Sunday, November 23, The Murder City Devils crashed into Planet Austin and left no survivors. The band barely tours anymore—just fly-in one-offs where they show up, sell the same three merch designs they’ve had for twenty years, and play the hits.

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