Jason Roche

When guitarist Tosin Abasi first burst onto the metal scene in 2009 with the self-titled debut from his group Animals as Leaders, he was the primary creative force behind the instrumental project. While he had outside assistance from Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor on drum programming and production, the record turned......

As I take refuge from the hot August sun and enter Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, heavy metal guitarist Marty Friedman is taking a break from recording his new solo record. Friedman is conversing with a fellow band member and analyzing playback of tracks recorded that day. The conversation......

When you are deep inside the heavy metal bubble, you can sometimes forget how some of the more extreme imagery, lyrical content and even band names sound to those on the outside. Casually dropping in conversation that you are going to the Eyehategod show or that you just picked up......

Four decades’ worth of heavy metal fandom will converge upon the San Manuel Amphitheater this weekend for Ozzfest Meets Knotfest. Two well-established heavy metal festival brands are merging together for the largest American heavy metal event of 2016, with Saturday’s Ozzfest lineup headlined by one of Black Sabbath’s final performances,......

When Brujeria’s debut album Matando Güeros was released in 1993, the discordant genre of death metal was engaged in a game of “Can you top this?” with their notoriously gory album covers, searching for imagery that was as brutal as the music. The L.A. band one-upped everyone by placing an image......

Last year, we introduced you to Colombian Necktie, a rising name within the Los Angeles underground metal scene. The group’s 2014 release, Twilight Upon Us, was rooted in depressive hardcore, tempered by flourishes of sludgy rock & roll swagger. Today, we premiere the first song released from their newest record,......

Rocky Balboa has been an iconic figure since his humble beginnings in the first Rocky film, released in 1976. Sylvester Stallone’s tale of an underdog prizefighter receiving the opportunity to challenge Apollo Creed for the world heavyweight title, and his efforts to woo the shy Adrian, won the hearts of......

Last year, Spotify named fans of heavy metal the most loyal music fans in the world. While metal fans keep coming back over and over again to their favorite albums, lifetime band allegiances are mostly won in the live arena. In a genre where album sales are rarely enough to......

Babymetal The Wiltern July 15, 2016 It has been three years now since Babymetal started gaining popularity outside of their native Japan. Fronted by a trio of adorable Japanese teenage girls, the group has garnered a devoted fan base worldwide thanks to a blend of frenzied speed-metal and catchy J-pop......

5. Dragged Into Sunlight Saturday, July 16 Complex This U.K. act is one of the more unpleasant-sounding bands in heavy music. Of course, in the world of extreme metal, that’s a good thing. Dragged Into Sunlight cake their sludgy riffs in suffocating layers of caustic grime, most evident on their......