Friday, March 6, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

noise rock

Primative Man Empire Control Room Justin Clark
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

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

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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.

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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

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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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Porcelain 3 Halloween Freakend Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Levitation Halloween Freakend day two got weird

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The second day of Levitation’s Halloween Freakend at the Far Out Lounge & Stage showcased the more experimental side of the current indie music landscape, marking the third installment of Austin festival programming in 2025. With the Rob Fitzpatrick and The Black Angels-run music celebration entering its second decade, the Halloween two-day mini fest served as an optimal finale to a year of buzzing amps, underground artists, and legacy acts. Following a long-awaited headlining performance from Swedish dance punk stars Viagra Boys on Halloween night, the second day tapped into something a little different for the music fans who scour the internet for the weird and nothing but. 

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Boris Mohawk Drew Doggett
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Boris brought metal shapeshifting to Mohawk

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Heavy metal in 2025 is in a healthy, hell-charged state. Bands are experimenting with the genre like Deafheaven, Full of Hell, Sunn O))), and even Austin acts like Portrayal of Guilt. For Tokyo, Japan’s Boris, a wave of extreme metal shapeshifting has paved the way for an everlasting gauntlet that’s redefining heavy music for 2025. With releases that dabble in drone metal, doom metal, and noise/experimental rock, Boris arrived for a Tuesday night gig in downtown Austin that came as a stop on their US tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark tenth studio album Pink. For their third local appearance in two years, the Japanese berserkers stormed the stage at Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District yet again to astronomical results. 

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Tropical Fuck Storm 29th Street Ballroom Troy Gonzales
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Aussies Tropical Fuck Storm sold-out 29th Street Ballroom

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Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm soared into Austin for a sold-out gig at the under-new-management 29th St. Ballroom in the University of Texas Campus area on a week ago Sunday night, a fitting conclusion to an action-packed concert weekend in the live music capital. The release of their latest LP, Fairyland Codex, has garnered an extensive array of praise from critics, some calling it their best to date, and has spawned a planned worldwide tour for the Aussies to promote yet another entry in the ever-growing discography

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Frankie and the Witch Fingers mosh
Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: seven buzz bands to see at SXSW 2025

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The 2025 edition of South By Southwest is fast approaching, and the list of acts making their way to Austin for the six-day music festival spans multiple genres and geographic origins. With this in mind, the Cosmic Clash team has curated a group of seven buzz bands we think you should put on your list for the long week of around-the-clock music. All acts are Sx official artists. All set times, along with venues, can be found on the SXSW website and SXSW GO cell application. 

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Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Seven bands to see at Hot Summer Nights July 18-20

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Hot Summer Nights in the Red River Cultural District in Austin, is yet another RRCD-sponsored event that features countless local artists performing across the downtown area. Each showcase will not charge a cover at the door, meaning dozens of free showcases akin to the annual Free Week, which takes place the first week of each January. Hot Summer Nights will take place July 18 – July 20 and will feature over 140 acts from all over Austin and surrounding areas.

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exotic fruitica
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

SXSW live review: Music festival wrapped up with seven great acts

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Austin’s South by Southwest finished things up with countless showcases that made the last two days of the music festival a pick-and-choose affair that didn’t let up until the crack of 2 a.m. on Saturday night. For most festival goers, energy can run slim on these last two days, and seeing what you can before the festival’s end is essential to closing the book on yet another March festival edition. Here’s seven great acts we closed out our SXSW with on the final two days of our festival experience. 

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Swans Paramount
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Swans evades fire code shutdown at Paramount, delivers two hour onslaught

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Michael Gira’s multi-genre outfit Swans showed an Austin crowd that age is just a number on Sunday night at the historic Paramount Theatre down the street from the Capitol. For those unfamiliar, Swans is a New York band that has gone through various phases, line-ups, genres, and forms through the leadership of multi-instrumentalist, Gira since 1982.

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Greg AckermanInterviews

Interview: Alex Edkins of Metz talks pandemic, Austin scene

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Last month we reviewed Toronto noise-rockers, Metz’ fantastic new album, Atlas Vending. Today we’re sharing an in-depth interview with band leader, Alex Edkins. We discussed the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on touring musicians, the new album and how the Toronto scene compares to Austin’s.

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