Nicholas Pell

Axl Rose's birthday was yesterday, but one thing has not changed since last year: Chinese Democracy remains the most expensive album ever produced. Fifteen years and $13 million went into making the 14-track album; about a million bucks and a year, for each song. No record has been as anticipated......

In the annals of rock there are many bands that people pretend to like, bands with fandoms consisting entirely of people desperately wanting to appear interesting by proxy. Royal Trux is a good example, as are Ween. Basically any Burzum fan who isn't a corpse paint-wearing, basement-dwelling Nazi from the......

Long Beach-based metal band Hirax has a unique sound, blending the galloping beats of the new wave of British heavy metal with the intensity of thrash. Katon W. De Pena's operatic and aggressive vocals lead the way. Since 1984 De Pena, who is 49, has fronted the legendary thrashers. See......

Municipal Waste and Napalm Death House of Blues Sunset Strip 11-14-2012 Better Than: Hand stitching your denim vest. The funk of sweat and cheap beer hung over the crowd. Patches covered jackets, leaving denim and leather scarcely visible underneath. Last night, Napalm Death and Municipal Waste bridged the heavy metal......

Skeletonwitch and Havok Whisky A Go Go 10-30-2012 Better Than: Drinking alone Top 20 L.A. Metal Albums: The Complete List The Ten Most Unreadable Metal Band Logos At the Whisky A Go Go last night the average patron was barely old enough to be out on a school night, let......

The 20 Worst Hipster Bands Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre Top 20 Sexiest Female Musicians of All Time Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time Top 20 Worst Bands of All Time One common theme recurred again and again about our 20 Worst Hipster Bands list:......

See also: *Genital Portrait Studio: The Five Silliest Burning Man Camp Names *We're All Going to Die: How to Pack For the Most Intense Burning Man Yet It's about that time of the year again, when IT department heads and quality control experts shake off the shackles of their workaday......

See also: Still a Malcontent: A midlife crisis spawns Keith Morris' new band Off! The McDonald Brothers, the driving force behind punk legends Redd Kross, stand well over six feet tall and have awkward gaits. Ahead of their new album -- Researching the Blues, out today -- they're sitting together......

Revisiting LA Music History: Guns N Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction' Studio Pearl Jam Are the Most Boring Band in 20 Years Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time: The Complete List Guns N' Roses' seminal album Appetite For Destruction came out 25 years ago this past Saturday. I was......

See also: Top Five Best Post-Hardcore Records Harley Flanagan, founding bassist of New York hardcore crossover act Cro-Mags, made headlines this weekend. Frustrated with current members, he allegedly knifed two of them, including his replacement. Critics often credit Cro-Mags with kicking off the late-'80s hardcore-metal movement. No one can deny......