Milwaukee is once again overrun by metal heads for Milwaukee Metal Fest! Taking over one of the best venues to bring three stages of non-stop music over three days. There were so many new bands to discover and so many amazing down to earth people to meet. Join us as we explore our experience with this truly, one of a kind, Heavy Metal festival. We …

We have never been the biggest Judas Priest fans. There's a few songs we definitely know and like. They're just one of the bands we never got super deep into. However, we do appreciate them and all they have done for Metal music. After all they are one of the founding fathers of this music we love so much. So when the opportunity to see them came a…

There were a number of shows we could have seen on 4/20, we chose to experience some Vibez with Godsmack. Well, they were the first to announce so that's mainly why we chose this show. Even still, this show was presented as a unique and intimate experience and we went in expecting an acoustic set. While it was not completely an acoustic set, it was…

Slipknot, without question, is one of our favorite bands. They were Brian’s first GA show in Ames and one of his best memories/live concerts. So in 2021 when Slipknot announced they were bringing Knotfest back to the heart of Iowa, of course we had to go. The lineup was insane. The venue, Indianola Balloon Grounds, was just outside of Des Moines. I…

Our friends Thrash of the Titans put on another amazing show in eastern Iowa. Of course we had to come back to see them play Otis’ Tailgators in Cedar Rapids with Dark Agenda and KnuckleHead opening. However, not long after making plans to head west a few lesser known bands announced a tour too; Breaking Benjamin, Daughtry, and Catch Your Breath. W…

Ahoy, matey! The drunken pirates return. This time, well for the same reason as last time, to drink and P.A.R.T.Y! Alestorm, with the help of a not so little ducky, stopped in Milwaukee for this jolly good time. Along for the voyage we had Elvenking and Glyph.Av MetalVice

On April 20, 2024 there were at least four shows in the Chicagoland area. Unfortunately we can only go to one. How do we pick? In this encore we talk about how we pick shows to go to and the ticket buying process for us. The process that is definitely designed around creating as much FOMO as possible. We also look at the four shows on 4/20 and wond…

Music is an international language. We all know that. We have all heard that. While we have talked with and met amazing people from all over the world at shows in the past, we ourselves have never experienced a show outside the US. That is until our very first trip to Europe when we went to Ireland. Join us as we look back at these overseas shows a…

This episode is all about ‘68. The band, not the year. The first time we saw ‘68 was as the first opener for Avatar’s first world tour. They blew us away then with their sound and performance. This has since been a band we wanted to see again. For this second time, it was as a headliner. We were so excited to see and hear them live again. As an ope…

Between the Buried and Me set off on the road to bring audiences The Colors Experience. A two night opportunity for fans to hear both Colors I (night 1) and Colors II (night 2) played live in their entirety. The Acacia Strain joined BTBAM, and followed the theme of the tour, by playing Step Into The Light (night 1) and Failure Will Follow (night 2)…

In part two of our record collection we get to the Slipknot section. Not only do we look at and talk about our Slipknot records, we also look at the small collection of records the members of Slipknot have put out that we own. Starting with Stone Sour and then moving on to Corey Taylor’s solo albums.…

If live music is the best way to consume music, what’s the second best? Well, for us, it's vinyl. Now sure, there are people who say vinyl has the best sound. They even have science to back it up. While they might be right, it’s the experience that we love. The experience of going out to a shop and digging through all the albums until we find the o…

What’s the difference between a cover band and a tribute band? Is one better than the other? Or is it music and who cares? Music is awesome however we get it, right? In this episode we look at both tribute and cover bands. We talk about some of our favorite cover songs, albums, and artists we view as cover artists (even though they have their own o…

Late in 2023 we got the pleasure to see Bullet For My Valentine for the very first time. A band that has been around for quite some time, yet somehow we have not had an opportunity to see them. Their first opener Vended, a rather young group, we saw four times prior to this. All in 2023. Then, somewhere in the middle, we got Of Mice & Men. The show…

We can all agree that top lists suck, right? Yes our year end shows are just top lists for different categories. Everyone also has their own hierarchy of bands or songs. Any outlet that publishes articles has had, or will have, a top X list at some point. When we look at these lists we can't help but have some, or several, issues with the order. We…

The music we mostly gravitate towards is metal. Bands are, mostly, composed of the same elements; a vocalist, guitar, drums, and hopefully a bass. Though, from time to time we get something else, something unique, something “non-traditional”. Like a Hurdy-gurdy or a Morin Khuur. It's one of our favorite things hearing and seeing these instruments u…

Lighting is one of the most common effects that’s used in a live show. Everything from the amount, to color, and positions can drastically improve or hurt a performance. How about a show lit only by candles? That's exactly what Candlelight Concerts offers, a show only with light by candles. Or fake candles, for obvious fire reasons. Shows can range…

Machine Head, or Machine Fu¢kn’ Head (depending on your pronunciation), returns to Chicago! Unlike the last time we saw them, back in 2022, this was not one of their 3 hour tours. Instead, they followed a more traditional tour format where they dragged a few friends of theirs along for the ride. For this installment we were graced with killer perfo…

When two titans of Metal go on the road as co-headliners, you're in for a hell of a show. That's just what we got in the summer of 2023 with Kreator and Sepultura. Death Angel and Spirtworld joined the titans for this tour. While this was our first time seeing all of these bands, we definitely hope it will not be our last. But for Sepultura it just…

Early in 2023 we went to see Static-X when they came to Chicago for their Rise Of The Machine tour. This was our last rescheduled show from 2020. Unfortunately, due to Brian’s old a$$ limp dick of a foot, we did not stay for Static-X. Then, as luck would have it, Static-X announced another tour, the Killer Machine tour, with a stop in south Chicago…

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album ‘You Come Before You’, Poison The Well took to the road. While we were not familiar with Poison The Well, they were announced as one of the bands for the second Headbangers Boat, so we know they have to be good, and luckily a few of the stops were in Chicago. Unfortunately, both were sold out. But on…

The odds of seeing another Black Sabbath show are near zero, if not already at zero. So what are new or younger fans to do if they want to see the band that started this amazing thing we call Metal music? Well a tribute band of course. That’s just what Zakk Wylde, one of the greatest guitarists of all time is doing with his band, Zakk Sabbath. For …

Co-headlining shows seemed more common in 2023, at least for us. The Psycho Thunder tour was just another one of these shows. The Hu and Asking Alexandria set off at the end of summer in 2023 with support from Bad Wolves (unfortunately they were unable to make this show) and Zero 9:36. While we have seen all of these bands in the past, we left this…

And there we have it, 2023 is over. This was by far our biggest year, in terms of the number of shows we have ever seen, over 52. Join us as we take a look back and go over our concert setlist playlist (linked below) and 13 other categories where we rank our top six items in each. Some of our categories include our top new bands, songs, concerts. W…

It’s the holiday season. The days are shorter and the nights are colder. Live music seems like a good solution right? How about some swing music? Everyone will be dancing and enjoying the music and each other. Well that was our thought when we went to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as part of their Swinin’ Holiday Party tour. It wasn’t quite what we expe…

How do you make a metal festival even better? You add on a beer festival of course! That's exactly what Decibel Magazine has been doing for a few years now. With shows coast to coast, LA to Philly, and everywhere in between. This time, the fest stopped in Denver for the second year. Decibel continues to highlight the outstanding sounds of Black Met…

Metallica is Brian’s favorite band without question and they can do no wrong in his eyes. Well, mostly no wrong. So when Metallica announced a tour the first thing to do was check what the Chicago dates were. Unfortunately, in 2023, Chicago did not make the cut, but Detroit did. A quick drive down, to a new city, to see five amazing bands with two …

Time for part 2 of our conversation of our time on the inaugural Headbanger Boat. In this episode we cover the final 2 days of the cruise. The last few days were packed with excitement and amazing sets, including Lamb of God playing Ashes of the Wake in its entirety. It was also during this part of our trip we experienced the metal community coming…

It’s like a music festival on water, but oh so much better. For a few years now we have wanted to do a music cruise. When Lamb of God announced their very own cruise we knew we had to do whatever we could to get on that ship. With such an amazing lineup it was undoubtedly going to be one of the best shows/festivals we have ever been to. Join us for…

We return to the Aragon ballroom for another show. This time for Motionless In White. Joining them we had Knocked Loose, After the Burial, and Alpha Wolf. But that's not all! Motionless In White had a little on stage help from the Cherry Bombs. With such an amazing lineup it was sure to be a killer evening.…

The heaviest, most brutal, band to ever walk the face of this earth has returned! That's right, Dethklok hit the road again. We just had to make our way to Wisconsin to see the emotional homecoming of Pickles (the drummer) at the Rave in Milwaukee. Babymetal and Jason Richardson joined Dethklok on their barbarically, brutal, bloody journey.…

We return to one of our favorite venues in one of our favorite cities for the start of a weekend full of live music. This time, though, it's our first time at the stage in the Rave’s basement. Or is the ground floor? Wherever it was in the Rave, we have now seen a show at every stage, at least every stage we know of. This was also our first time se…

There’s a new venue in Chicago. Well newish, and it's the Salt Shed. While there have been many shows at the Salt Shed already, the Bad Omens show definitely caught our attention. Joining them we had ERRA and I See Stars. This show was hit and miss in many areas, but one major hit, without question, was the venue itself. After just one show, the Sa…

It was 35 years ago that Danzig I was released. In celebration of this milestone anniversary, Danzig hit the road for a handful of shows. Luckelly, Chicago was one of the stops. Joining the festivities was Behemoth, Twin Temple, and Midnight. The only downside, this show was on the last day of Riot Fest. Oh well, we still got to see an amazing show…

It's another co-headlining show. This time by Chevelle and Three Days Grace. Joining them at the Aragon Ballroom we have Loathe. This, unlike some other co-headlining shows, was a propper co-headlining show. It was only after the show did we learn that the top of the bill would flipp from night to night between Chevelle and Three Days Grace. Of cou…

We head to Iowa to see one hell of a freaky parade. It's been roughly 14 years since we have seen a show at the Iowa Event Center, but Rob Zombie got us to return. Alice Cooper, Ministry, and Filter were the other freaks joining Rob Zombie. For us this was not only a special show because we returned to one of our first live venues, but also because…

He’s back! Corey Taylor has a new album, and that means a new tour too. This time around the tour came to Chicago. We returned to the Riviera Theatre after four years to see not only Corey but Wargasm and Oxymorrons (two r’s). While we have seen Corey several times before with his lesser known projects, this was our first time seeing his solo set. …

It's time again to go out to one of those sh!ty amphitheaters to see another show. This time though, we are in the pit for the first time. Will that make a difference in our overall thoughts and disdain for these outdoor amphitheaters? Maybe. Or, maybe it's the fact we are seeing Disturbed. As openers we also got Breaking Benjamin and Jinjer. In an…

Monsters? Sure why not. Mega-Monsters!? Hellz yea! Join us as we look back at the Mega-Monsters tour with co-headliners Gojira and Mastodon. Joining these two epic monsters of bands we got to see Lorna Shore for the first time.Av MetalVice

We head to the north side of Chicago to beautiful Wrigley Field. On the hottest day of the year (117 degrees), we saw Guns N’ Roses with their opener The Pretenders. Our seats were in the very last row of the stadium but still not a bad view. The heat sucked, the spiders sucked, and at times the audio sucked. But the tickets were only $25 to see on…

Ghost returns! This time for the Re-Imperatour with special guest Amon Amarth. With there being only two bands, and with the Pre-Imperatour being a co-headlining tour, we assumed this would too. But maybe not. With this show, it was also our first time seeing Ghost in Chicago proper at Northerly Island. Was this show vastly different from the other…

Loudwire published an article recently, 10 Ways Not To Be An A-Hole At Concerts. We found this very interesting because since the return of live music post COVID things just fill a little different. So we decided to look over this list and see if we agree and add our personal point of view to each of the ten points. Make sure to check out their art…

In this episode we head to our first summer show at the Radius. This time around to see Clutch, with Dinosaur Jr. and Red Fang. It was an interesting show for many reasons. Join us as we look back at.Av MetalVice

Yet again we make are way back north to the amazing venue of The Rave, in Milwaukee. This time though, it's our first time seeing a show there in the summer heat. A small intimate affair with Volbeat and Bad Wolves. The heat was insane, but then again, so were the sets from these two bands. Join us as we look back at this great late July show.…

We head back to Tinley Park for another show at Soundgrowler Brewing. This time to help celebrate their 6th anniversary. To celebrate, as any metal brewery would do, they put on a metal show. And what a show it was. Taking to the stage we have; Bongzilla, Wraith, Cokegoat, Chokesetter, and These Beasts. A beautiful summer night with the most approp…

This year for our summer festival we head north, to Rock Fest in Cadott Wisconsin. With this being the first camping festival we attended we made the unwise decision to stay in a hotel 30 minutes away. This definitely had a small impact on our experience and left us with a desire to camp at a festival in the future. But the music would definitely m…

We attempted to cover this topic as a MetalVice in 6:66 but, well, we failed. There was just too much we wanted to talk about. As the title states, this bonus episode is about our first hand impression of the Falling In Reverse ‘drama’ at Rock Fest 2023.Av MetalVice

Do you want to see a metal show? How about a pirate metal show? Ok, well what if an apocalyptic magical medieval unicorn loving band opens? And before them you get this kick ass band from Canada? Well that’s exactly what we got when we saw Alestorm with Gloryhammer and Lutharo. This show did not change or lives on a deep philosophical level. Though…

One thing about live music that you don't think of often is getting to travel. Not every tour will stop in your city or town. Sometimes you have to travel to see one of your favorite artists. If you're lucky it will be close. Other times you won't be so lucky and will have to travel further. This aspect of seeing a live show is one of our biggest l…

Two Icons - One Night. The name of the tour says it all. Stevie Nicks joins Mr. Piano Man, Billy Joel, for an incredible show. While their music is, mostly, not new to us, it was our first time seeing both of these legends live. It was also our first time in the amazing city of Nashville. In the end this was a fantastic show, in a wonderful city, w…