stoner metal

Case CockrellInterviewsLive Music

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

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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.

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High On Fire at Mohawk
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

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

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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. 

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Earth at oblivion access fest
Case CockrellReview

Live music review: Drone Metal legends Earth performed quadraphonic show at Oblivion Access Fest

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Have you ever seen a show in a church? What about a show in a church equipped with a psychedelic light display while a classic drone metal band plays their classic album in its entirety? For Seattle’s Earth, the drone legends did just that, which included a performance of their classic 1993 debut album, Earth 2, in its full glory for the record’s 30th anniversary at Central Presbyterian Church.

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