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Dr. Strange Records in Alta Loma, Ca has been an unsung mecca of punk rock in the Inland Empire for decades. While in-store performances from bands are not a new thing, at Dr. Strange, they always feel special. You can see it in the amount of work that goes into it. The number of people willing to help to make sure the show was successful is what community and punk rock are about. This week, Matt Freeman’s new band Crimewave 66 played a free matinee show with support from Caleb Henry and Orange Grove Massacre. It was one of the most fun shows I’ve been to all year.

Orange Grove Massacre opened the show. This three-piece punk rock band from the Inland Empire is a regular fixture at Dr. Strange and put on a great set. The band seems to be a family affair with Dave Sr. on guitar and vocals, Dave Jr. on drums, and family friend Silva on bass. Playing mostly short songs, the band plowed through a set with songs ranging from Dave Sr.’s grandpa fighting in WWII (“Nazis No More”) to Dave Jr.’s anger about his mom’s cancer (“Sickness”). Hearing the stories behind some of these songs and Dave Sr.’s honesty with the crowd made us feel welcome. Performing two covers, one of the Circle Jerks’ “Live Fast Die Young” and Sublime’s “Pool Shark,” combined with their originals, shows the heart and fight this band has. If you see them on a bill, give them a chance. Dave Jr. is a beast behind the drums at just thirteen years old. While Dave Sr. hinted this band serves as training wheels while Jr. finds his own way, I hope Orange Grove Massacre will keep going. 

Caleb Henry and the Customs’ set was a much bigger affair. With twice as many members in their band as Orange Grove Massacre, their set could have been seen as the outlier of the show; it was in a way with their keyboardist and fiddle player, but it worked. More of a roadhouse band than a punk rock band, their set was very versatile and they knew how to win over a punk rock crowd. While the band had flairs of honky-tonk and Southern rock, they didn’t hammer these genres into the ground like a lot of these types of bands tend to do, alienating a good portion of the crowd. Caleb Henry won them over with angst and humor in some of the lyrics, but the crowd participation during their cover of the Devil Makes Three’s “Old No. 7”  didn’t hurt either. 

You can always look at a Rancid side project and know you’re going to get quality; Crimewave 66 is no exception. By the time they got on, the store was packed as expected with Matt Freeman of Rancid’s latest project, which includes Grabber’s guitar player Rob Milucky. Milucky played with Freeman in his psychobilly band, the Devil’s Brigade. The band tore through songs from their self-titled EP and a couple more that will be on the full-length later this year. When vocalist Chris Hüber took a break from singing, Matt Freeman threw down a couple of covers: a fantastic rendition of the Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck” and Rancid’s “Tenderloin” made the crowd shout for more. However, they are still such a new band they only have about ten songs.  Crimewave 66 isn’t super fast but is definitely aggressive. Songs about the Arizona desert and old gunslingers fit into a set that sometimes leans into country and rockabilly. 

On top of the bands that played, Dr. Strange let vendors set up in the parking lot to sell crafts, records, and food. You could spend the majority of the day there, and it wouldn’t feel like wasted time. Dr. Strange Records is a punk rock institution that keeps the scene alive in the Inland Empire. They frequently put on free shows along with a big summer bash in May. If they can bring this quality entertainment for free, imagine what they will do with a budget. The crowd, the energy, and the sense of community made seeing one of punk’s enduring bass players in a small venue a core memory for fans young and old. 

The European hardcore punk scene, particularly in Germany, has a long-standing tradition of producing bands that do not

Maiden’s 90s vocalist admits it’s a “real privilege” to be included with artists like Billy Idol, Joy Division and Oasis in this year’s nomination

Poughkeepsie, New York based cyber grindcore formation Genghis Tron have unveiled details and first single in what will be their fourth studio record. Entitled Signal Fire, it will be set free on June 12th via Relapse Records.
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Bird’s The Boy And The Swan is a tender and evocative indie folk gem, driven by heartfelt storytelling and understated beauty. Built around delicate acoustic instrumentation with subtle pop-rock flourishes, the track unfolds with a natural, almost cinematic grace. Bird’s vocals are intimate and expressive, carrying a quiet emotional weight that enhances the song’s universal themes of identity, empathy, and resilience. There’s a timeless quality in both melody and message, allowing it to resonate deeply.

Poignant and beautifully crafted, this is indie folk at its most sincere and affecting.

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Hecate Enthroned have debuted a Jack Maguire-directed music video for “Deathless In The Dryad Glade”, the second single from their forthcoming long player The Corpse Of A Titan, A Lament Long Buried.
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Due to HUGE demand, Bring Me The Horizon have already added another show in Manchester before the first one has even gone on general sale.

The band are taking over Manchester’s B.E.C Arena on both July 10 and now July 11, playing their debut album ‘Count Your Blessings’ in full for the first time ever.

They will be joined on both days by Static Dress, Dying Wish, HERIOT, Rolo Tomassi, Car Underwater and Still In Love.

Anyone who has already signed up for pre-sale will receive a new link for the early access, which will be on sale April 16 at 10am.

Phew. It is all happening.

Earlier this week, the band announced details of a re-recorded version of the album, ‘Count Your Blessings: Repented’, set for release on July 10, with a tracklisting that includes what appears to be a previously unreleased track.

The post Bring Me The Horizon Add Second ‘Count Your Blessings’ Anniversary Show appeared first on Rock Sound.

The most immediately notable aspect of Teen Suicide’s latest offering – ‘Nude Descending A Staircase Headless’ – is that the production value is great. This is worth pointing out as the band initially made a name for themselves as a lo-fi project; ‘NDASH’ is the first time that Teen Suicide have released anything that wasn’t produced in-house. Far from using this as a reason to shed the layers of sonic texture that lend character to lo-fi production, Teen Suicide have taken the opportunity to fill the clean space of professional production with tightly controlled noise. The result is an open sound, sonically and emotionally, which churns with chaos and discord without ever becoming claustrophobic.

Lead single ‘Idiot’ outlines the album’s fundamental spirit. The opening off-mic “You ready?” gives the impression of a spontaneous live recording. Add in the thudding math and post-hardcore riff that dominates the song’s first half, and the dramatic change in dynamics that occurs in the second, and you soon have many of the elements that are found throughout the subsequent record. Sam and Kitty Ray join together on vocal tracks in the song’s quieter moments, to deliver a repeated mantra that summarises the ethos of the record itself: “Even though a part of me has died, I still want to try”.

There is an urgency to many of the key Kitty tracks here – there’s pure rage in songs like ‘Candy / Squeeze’ and ‘Keeping Her Keys’, but also a softer tone in tracks such as ‘Spiders’ and ‘Hypnotic Poison’. The latter is led by an electronic drumbeat and a warm bassline that rises to frantic peaks. But it is best defined by its quieter, intimate moments. The opening guitars on ‘Spiders’ ring with reverb, as do Ray’s vocals, which are floatingly unhurried. When the louder guitars rise up underneath, they build and release tension in equal measure to create a chorus that blends harshness with something far softer.

Textures meet and intertwine throughout ‘NDASH’. ‘Kindnesses’ takes a clean acoustic guitar signal and a distorted flanged signal and allows the contrast between the two – inseparable yet divorced – to underpin a quiet, emotional song with layers reminiscent of The Microphones. Album opener ‘Anhedonia’ whispers wailing feedback loops under its quiet guitars. The noise is screaming, muffled and waiting to be unleashed. When it does, the dynamic rises – not frantic, just larger and all-encompassing – still holding back those wails of feedback until its closing moments when the noise finally overcomes the music.

If the album opens with Teen Suicide flexing their sonic muscles, ‘NDASH’ closes with Sam Ray returning to his roots on ‘Come And  See The Clown’. It’s short – under two minutes – and stripped back, all vocals and acoustic guitar, no embellishments. It’s mournful and hopeful in equal measure, putting Ray in the position of Pagliacci, the sad clown, performing for others while unable to see the funny side. And yet, the album closes on the words “we pray to God he never stops” – Ray is both the performer and audience, finally able to witness himself.

‘Nude Descending A Staircase Headless’ has the energy of a lo-fi album, but it is never pretending to be anything other than what it is: wistful, yearning, emotionally open and filled with lush textural details that never outstay their welcome. As bold as it is to move away from their lo-fi roots, Teen Suicide have shown here that neither their songwriting, nor their spirit, are tied to their production – both are thriving in this new world.

WILL BRIGHT