Heavy Metal Musicians Pay Tribute to Michael Jackson This Halloween

Things are really hit-or-miss when it comes to heavy metal covers of pop songs. There’s been some great ones (Exodus’ “Low Rider,” Marilyn Manson’s “Tainted Love”), and some not-so-great ones (Children of Bodom’s “Oops I Did It Again,” Evile’s “Born This Way”), to be sure. But when you get some…

Guys: Predatory Dance Floor Boners Are Not OK

Gentleman, this is a public service announcement. We know that things can get hot and sweaty on the dance floor. The atmosphere is festive, the music is peaking, and the ladies are looking good. You see one you like, and you want to dance with her. Totally cool. Men and…

Vintage Phoenix Memory: Dance Hall Days

It was 1981. We were young, and there was nothing better to do. And so my girl friends and I — a bony chick we called Uncle who rarely spoke and her best friend, Laytchie McJeep, a corpulent girl who never stopped talking — got dressed up in funny clothes…

Spiders Down Yonder @ Mind’s Eye Studio

The enigmatic local EDM combo Spiders Down Yonder are as dark as they are mysterious. The duo — who are known simply as “!” and “?” — often adorn themselves with bandannas, lampshades, or other face coverings that obscure their identity, whether its on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/spidersdownyonder) or during…

FIDLAR: “We Just Wanted To Play Loud”

To musical purists, Los Angeles’ FIDLAR isn’t all that complicated. To the Urban Outfitters, vinyl-collecting teen set, FIDLAR could be seen as intimidating. To the dirty, denim-clad, skateboarding, chainsmoking neo-angst kids, FIDLAR is a voice. Acronymic for Fuck It Dog, Life’s A Risk, the band, in all aspects of their…

Zedd @ Madison Event Center

Anton Zaslavski isn’t what you’d call an ordinary DJ. Far from it. Yes, the Russian-German beatsmith is a gifted producer and maestro of the mixers who has rocked unforgettable sets inside numerous nightclubs and at many of the world’s top festivals (including Ultra, Nocturnal, and Electric Zoo). But during his…

Tech N9ne: “The Beats Tell Me What To Do”

Kansas City’s Aaron Dontez Yates has dipped his hands into both the worlds of hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll, sold more than one million albums, founded a record label, and been featured in a ton of video games and films–including the upcoming sequel to the huge underground cult hit Devil’s…

Six Hollywood Stars Who Are Undercover Metal Heads

When it comes to Hollywood, metalheads are usually portrayed in a… not so flattering light. We’re the drunks and stoners, braindead from too much head-banging, clad in grimy vintage band t-shirts and greasy hair. Well, that may be so. But who is Hollywood to judge? I’d take our stereotype over…

Announcing Indie Band Oregon Trail, The Hardest Videogame Ever

MECC’s elementary school computer lab classic The Oregon Trail probably taught its users relatively little about American History. The lasting impression the game did leave was the idea that choices have consequences and that, sometimes, bad things just happen, regardless of how well you plan for them. When you lost…

DJ AL 3 at Thursday Ladies Night @ Bar Smith

Albert Lineses III has the sort of career that most club DJs would envy. As his alter ego AL3, the renowned selector not only was a huge player in the Latin dance scene for more than a decade but also spun sounds on some of the bigger radio stations in…

How Heavy Metal Was Framed By Disney’s Tween Stars

The VMA’s, Miley Cyrus, “twerking,” foam finger-humping–I’ll be so happy when all the bullshit about this Disney star turned disgusting excuse for a pop culture icon is over. Usually it’s supposed to be hard to look away from an emotional trainwreck, but Miley Cyrus’s dead eyes and awkward tongue-wagging was…

World Music Night @ The Vig

So how was your summer vacation, yo? Don’t feel too bad if it amounted to hiding out in the air-conditioned comfort for three months instead of jetting away to some far-away foreign destination. Given the painfully high prices for airfare these days, it’s downright difficult to satisfy the itch to…

The 25 Best Phoenix Club Candids Photos of August 2013

August is a paradox. It’s peak pool party weather, inasmuch as it’s too hot out to do much else, but it’s also the socially accepted time to begin wrapping up the pool party season, wearing white, pretending it’s summer instead of pretending it’s fall, etc. It’s a transition month for…