Swans – The Cosmic Clash

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

August 2, 2026 Case Cockrell 132 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.

Live Music Review Troy Gonzales

Live music review: Swans played final big sound performance at Mohawk

September 24, 2025 Troy Gonzales 3403 Views concert, experimental rock, jazz, Little Annie and Paul Wallfisch, live music, Michael Gira, mohawk, post rock, Review, Swans

Legendary experimental rock band Swans returned to Austin on September 10 to play Mohawk for what is being touted as the group’s final full band tour. in support of Birthing, their 17th studio album. Bandleader, Michael Gira has stated that the record would be the last “big sound” Swans album, with future releases from the band being “significantly pared down” and that it would mark his last album as the main producer of Swans. For music fans who made it to Mohawk earlier this month, it was a bittersweet moment from artists who have deeply influenced various experimental music genres since their inception in 1981.

Case Cockrell Review

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

September 8, 2023 Case Cockrell 4346 Views experimental, live music, Michael Gira, noise rock, Paramount Theater, Paramount Theatre, progressive rock, Review, Swans

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.