sludge metal – The Cosmic Clash

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

August 2, 2026 Case Cockrell 157 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: Tomahawk and Melvins descended on a sold-out Emo’s

July 21, 2026 Case Cockrell 651 Views alt metal, Buzz Osborne, concert, Emos, hard rock, live music, Melvins, Mike Patton, Review, rock n roll, sludge metal, Tomahawk

Mike Patton has spent three decades collecting bands like other people collect vinyl, and every one of them draws the same crowd, showing up less for the setlist than for whatever version of Patton decides to appear. This time it was Nashville’s Tomahawk, and the Monday, July 20 stop at Emo’s Austin sold out fast. After a canceled Sick New World Festival in 2025 for the band’s 25th anniversary, Tomahawk’s reunion after 12 years off took a backseat until now.

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.

Tear Dungeon 2 HV SXSW 2025 Troy Gonzales

Case Cockrell Live Music Review

Live music review: SXSW 2025 finished with Space Agency Booking, Webberville Block Party

March 24, 2025 Case Cockrell 4476 Views electronic musc, experimental rock, Gus Baldwin, hard rock, High On Fire, La Sécurité, live music, Matador Sphere, Play to the Plants, psych-rock, Review, Riverboat Gamblers, sludge metal, South by Southwest, Space Agency Booking, SXSW, SXSW 2025, Tear Dungeon, The Opera, The Thing, Webberville Block Party, YHWH Nailgun

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 who we closed out our SXSW with on the final two days of our festival experience at Hotel Vegas for Space Agency Booking’s annual showcase along with a closing festival celebration at the Webberville Block Party followed by a return to Hotel Vegas to close out SXSW 2025.