If GG Allin knew his cuddly mug would one day wind up on a bumper sticker, he might've killed himself sooner. Thanks to the Hot Topic–ification of America, every threatening and nonthreatening genre of rock & roll has been turned into pop culture memorabilia, licensed or unlicensed. In Red Zone, however, punk, metal and all their sub-families — from the popular and the anarchic to the Satanic — seem to live and breathe here. (If you need help breathing, they sell gas masks.) And the fact that two of three stores are located in shopping malls (the Burbank shop is surrounded by three AMC theaters, while the Panorama City one is next door to a Wal-Mart) isn't what's surprising, but that they have everything on everything, namely the wall-to-wall T-shirts. No less than 15 of the Misfits; an entire wall dedicated to psychobilly; and way, way too many death and black-metal bands, including the usual suspects, like Deicide, Bathory, Lamb of God and the wonderful smell of Napalm Death. There are also bumper stickers, patches, shoes, more clothing, flyers for local punk shows and at least five kinds of pomade; a greaser's pompadour won't hold up on its own. Brothers Paul and Mike Haddad opened the first Red Zone in 1992 — only four years after Hot Topic popped up in 1988 — and judging by the guitars signed by the Misfits' Glenn Danzing and Doyle, Social Distortion's Mike Ness and all members of the original Guns n' Roses that hang on the Panorama City store's wall, they live what they sell. 201 E. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. (818) 842-1150. Also at 8401 Van Nuys Blvd., Panorama City. (818) 891-1446. And at 620 S. Broadway, dwntwn. (213) 622-8649, redzoneweb.com.

—Siran Babayan

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.