Author: Josh

I'm a screenwriter, journalist, independent filmmaker and photographer when time permits. I cut my teeth in Journalism with Klusterfuct Magazine, Fringe Magazine and finally Your Music Magazine interview bands such as Rob Zombie, Korn, Unearth, Shadows Fall, Rise Against, All That Remains and many more. Fed up with the politics involved in working for someone else I ventured out on my own journey and started creating short films in hopes to one day create feature films, but alas I missed writing about bands that mean so much to me, so here I am...fighting the good fight, fighting the metal fight!

Nathaniel Rateliff – And It’s Still Alright

I would love to sit down over a cocktail and talk music, but more importantly talk life with Nathaniel Rateliff, his music never ceases to amaze me. Musically there’s nothing too special most of the time, but his voice matched with his lyrics make you “feel” and want to groove with him. If you’re looking […]

FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS – ACE OF SPADES – 10/25/19

Frank Turner holds a special, weird, unusual place in my heart because when I discovered him it was a time in my life where I needed to hear a like minded voice, so I usually like to make every effort to see him when he comes to play live.  I was leaving for the show […]

AT THE GATES – HOLY DIVER, SACRAMENTO, CA – 10/24/19

If you were to tell me that At The Gates were going to play a venue that only holds around 200 people in Sacramento on a Thursday night I would tell you you’re bat shit crazy. But, this was the case. And what a night it was to be had for everyone. In an absolutely […]

The Struts @ Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA – 7/5/19

    As I sit and watch the magnificent line of Struts fans slowly make their way inside, I’m reminded why I always show up about 30min after the doors open-because there is absolutely no need to wait in those lines in mid size venues, and I’m also pretty blown away by the incredible mix […]

AFTERSHOCK 2019 LINEUP ANNOUNCED!

After welcoming a sold-out crowd of 60,000 peoplein 2018, Aftershock returns even bigger this year, expanding to three full days of performances from some of the most popular music acts, including a mix of chart-topping headliners and up-and-coming buzzworthy bands across the rock spectrum. The eighth annual edition of California’s biggest rock festival takes place Friday, October 11, Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13 at Discovery Park near […]

MUSE – Sacramento – Golden1 Center – 3/7/19

Out of my comfort zone i went for a show that every person I know has told me they put on an absolutely monstress performance. I was not disappointed. On album, the band can sometimes seem to be a bit slow and unfortunately makes them slightly boring. This is not the case with their live […]

In Flames – I, The Mask

If there’s a moment in time that I could freeze and think back to with a much larger magnifying glass, it would be one of the most influential concerts I’ve ever been to. Sometime in the early 2000’s In Flames headlined a tour with Soilwork, Chimaira and Unearth and solidified In Flames as my favorite metal band of […]

Aftershock Festival Upgrades to 3 days and tickets are on sale!

AFTERSHOCK JUST GOT BIGGER! Aftershock will return to Discovery Park in Sacramento, California and we’ve extended the show to THREE DAYS: Friday – Sunday, October 11th – 13th, 2019 You know what that means – more time to ROCK! More good news: Pre-sale tickets are available NOW! Click below for a first shot at getting your tickets to California’s […]

The Bash Music and Beer Festival w/Rancid, Pennywise, Suicidal Tendencies and more….

With Rancid, Pennywise, Suicidal Tendencies & L7, Plus & More On Select Dates With Tastings From A Selection Of Over 100 Different Craft Beers Including The Debut Of Rancid & Ska Brewing’s Brewstomper Golden Ale   Touring Festival Launches May 11 In Phoenix, AZ With Stops In Tucson, AZ; Englishtown, NJ; Boise, ID; Tacoma, WA; […]

Hatebreed returns with absolutely bonkers headlining tour package across the U.S.!

HATEBREED ANNOUNCE SECOND LEG OF 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR FEATURING OBITUARY, MADBALL, AGNOSTIC FRONT, PRONG, & SKELETAL REMAINS NEW DATES SLATED TO HIT THE MIDWEST + WEST COAST IN MAY  FIRST LEG TO KICK OFF IN APRIL 2019 & FEATURES OBITUARY, CRO-MAGS, TERROR, & FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY Hatebreed remain one of the most relevant and impactful acts in the hard rock and […]

Don’t Miss Danko Jones on tour in Sacramento!

They’re coming and they’re bringing their very unique brand of hard rock from Sweden to Harlow’s in Sacramento this weekend 2/17 Sacramento!! Below is the press release on their most current record: New DANKO JONES Album ‘A Rock Supreme’ Due April 26; ‘Dance Dance Dance’ Single Out Now Acclaimed hard rockers’ U.S. tour with Nashville […]

Newcomers iDKHOW rock Sacramento!

Article and Photo Credits: Jess Vincent As the room goes black, a tall dark character comes out on stage holding his bass guitar at the ready. His face decorated with glittery black dots on his cheeks. As he reaches the mic center stage, he begins to pluck out a empathy song for the opening bands. […]

Rocklahoma 2019 Announced with Ozzy, Disturbed, and More!

Rocklahoma is set to take place on Friday, May 24, Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26, 2019 at “Catch The Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. Now in its 13th year, America’s Biggest Memorial Day Weekend Party will feature performances from some of today’s top rock artists, including: Ozzy Osbourne, Disturbed, […]

Ozzy Healthy & Ready To Kill at Ozzfest!

With what appears to be one hell of a lineup for a shortened day of Ozzfest, they did a nice job with the announcement a few weeks ago and I for one am heavily looking forward to what will be my 16th Ozzfest! Unfortunately for those outside of California this may be a tough one […]

GHOST Leaves Sacramento Screaming for More

GHOST – 11/13/18 – SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY THEATRE Photo Credit: http://www.joshpiersonphotography.com I’ll be the first to tell you that I have no idea how or why Ghost has gotten as popular as they are, and in fact when they announced this tour and the incredibly large venues they’re playing I actually asked my friend “do you […]

Slash w/Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators with Classless Act

SLASH w/Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Hollywood Palladium – 10/16/18 When a person such as me spends time in LA, pretty much any amount of time in LA, I start to feel at home every single time. It’s amazing that after years of traveling back and forth from Sacramento to LA that I haven’t […]

Slash w/Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Living The Dream

“Living The Dream” is a special record that has all the layers of Myles Kennedy’s beautiful voice and the screaming melodies of Slash along with The Conspirators to keep your love for traditional rip-roaring Rock ’N Roll alive! If you tell me you like rock ’n roll but don’t like what Slash and Myles Kennedy […]

High On Fire – Electric Messiah

There’s not much that I can say that can quite prepare you for the attack that High On Fire puts out on ‘Electric Messiah.” From top to bottom this album moves so quickly and so precisely that it’s amazing to get through. It’s everything you expect from High On Fire, but seems to be much […]

As I Lay Dying Plans To Tour the Earth This Year

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few weeks, I’m sure you’ve noticed that As I Lay Dying is planning a new album release as well as a new tour to go along with it. And oddly enough I think they’ve underestimated the amount of people that still support them even after frontman […]

Paradise Lost Announce Fall US 30th Anniversary Tour

Paradise Lost have announced a US tour. The first since 2012, and surprisingly their 30th anniversary tour, here’s the excerpt from the band: JUST ANNOUNCED: 30th Anniversary North American Tour with special guests SÓLSTAFIR and The Atlas Moth! “The last time we toured in the USA, was in 2012 on the ‘The Epic Kings and […]

Black Fast – Spectre of Ruin

What can I say that hasn’t already been said over the last few weeks about this album? I’ll give it a try. Black Fast has continuously impressed album after album, but this album has something else. An undeniable brutally fast black thrash attack that incinerates your ears track after track. Live, Black Fast absolutely shreds […]

My Night Out With Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul

(Photo: ©Annamaria DiSanto\/WireImage) Last night I came out of a movie premiere for some of our film scene folks here in Sacramento to the news of the passing of Vinnie Paul, brother to Dimebag Darrell, and famed drummer of the great Pantera and rockers Hell Yeah. But I feel the need to share this story […]

Styx With Tesla Sacramento 060218

As I wandered into a semi busy amphitheater that sits about an hour north of Sacramento it was very apparent how many people were here for the opener – Tesla. And why not? They are after all hometown heroes to some degree, and definitely for an older audience that was more about the 80’s hair […]

SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX, BEHEMOTH AND TESTAMENT – SACRAMENTO, CA – 5/13/18

My entire concert life has been riddled with Slayer, for good or bad, on and off days, they’ve just always been there lurking in the background as a band that I never went out of my way to see because they were always there, with the exception of one time at The Warfield in San […]

Nine Inch Nails wants you to interact with actual humans on 2018 tour!

In an interesting attempt to make other human beings interact with other human beings, NIN has made it virtually impossible to buy tickets for their latest tour anywhere other than in person on the day they go on sale. While one could assume this is a feable attempt to appeal to the hipsters who will […]

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself May be the best all around album I’ve heard in quite some time. Talk about a follow-up from “At War With Reality”! From start to finish this album is an all-out assault on your ears. Bruising guitar riffs and drums that remind you that Swedish […]

Frank Turner – Be More Kind

Where do I start on this one? I’ll start by saying that I’ve been a big Frank Turner fan since his first album dropped and it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen and was almost bordering on the side of indie rock, he still had enough of that 70’s rock edge to make it appealing to […]

Black Fast premiere new video/track “Cloak of Lies”

Black Fast never disappoints, and I mean never. This new track Cloak of Lies is absolutely scorching! While I have to say from a video production standpoint I don’t feel like it really embodies the bands live performance at all, which is also scorching. So I always feel that if you’re going to make a […]

Light This City // Terminal Bloom

Light This City – Terminal Bloom Light This City have returned with an absolute punch to the gut. One of the most underrated Bay area thrash bands of the last decade and a half have again released an album that is brutally bludgeoning from start to finish. It would do me no good to go […]

Power Trip to release unreleased material album.

To kick off their celebration of ten years as a band, Dark Operative is proud to present POWER TRIP’s Opening Fire: 2008-2014, a complete collection of the band’s earliest non-LP output. Opening Fire: 2008-2014 documents POWER TRIP’s self-titled 7”, “This World” (from The Extermination Vol: II LP compilation on Flatspot Records), “Hammer of Doubt” (2010 […]

CRISIX // AGAINST THE ODDS

CRISIX – AGAINST THE ODDS By: Josh Pierson Today I received a seriously interesting album to review from this Barcelona born thrash band CRISIX, who I must admittedly say I’ve never heard before, which is odd considering I am a thrash guy, and the thrash guy at Loud & Heavy. That said, I was a […]

BREAKING BENJAMIN // EMBER

BREAKING BENJAMIN – EMBER By: Josh Pierson While I must first admit that I am not and have never been a Breaking Benjamin fan mostly because of my ties in with the metal scene, but also because of what I look for in my music, and I am actually all over the board with my […]

Steel Panther // Ace of Spades // Sacramento, CA // 4/13/18

STEEL PANTHER – ACE OF SPADES – SACRAMENTO, CA – 4/13/18 I don’t know that I can say anything that hasn’t already been said about Steel Panther, so I’ll just say what my experience has been like over the years and how it pertains to this particular show. Several years ago I was brought to […]

Allegaeon – Proponent For Sentience

  Allegaeon’s Proponent for Sentience is nothing short of absolutely crushing and certainly keeping form with their own unique brand of “Science-Core,” utilizing the now popular math metal style and molding it with the undervalued black/melodic-death/thrash style that is making bands such as Allegaeon, Skeletonwitch, Black Fast and others so entertaining to listen to as […]

Hatebreed – Ace of Spades 05/20/2016

  Band: Hatebreed Location: Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA Date: 05/20/2016 Photos By: Josh Pierson Review By: Mark Keane It’s been awhile since the almighty Hatebreed have made a stop here in Sacramento, I want to say their 10 Years of Perseverance tour back in 2012 was the last time. Riding the wave of their […]

Back To Top