GWAR founding member Chuck Vargo, known as Sexecutioner, has passed away. Varga was battling cancer; the band set up a blood donation campaign in April and then launched a fundraiser in June to help Varga and his wife Bambi pay for medical bills. His death was announced on Sept. 25 by GWAR bassist Casey Orr aka Beefcake The Mighty. Varga was 68.
The post Chuck Varga, GWAR’s Sexecutioner, Dead At 68 appeared first on Stereogum.
(written by Islander) As you can see, I have the music of only one band for you today, and only one of their songs rather than a complete release. This is because I have to leave my home and the virtual world (two different places, it may surprise you to know) very early today and […]
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Listening to this song, I felt like Moss had somehow accessed my own dark thoughts. As the title suggests, the song is about doom scrolling. Moss sings about how his phone is full of depressing, troubling, and anxiety-inducing content — and the worse it gets, the more he’s drawn to it. That’s exactly the way it is for me and millions of others. We are literally addicted to technology — even when what that technology has to offer is really bad for our mental and physical health. And as Moss points out in this song, this endless doom scrolling makes us tune out many of the things in our lives that are actually really great. We just keep getting sucked deeper and deeper into the vortex of misery.
Ultimately, though, the message of the song ends up being positive. There’s a way out of this: just put the phone down! Perhaps that’s easier said than done given the addictive nature of social media, but it can be done (as Moss sings) if we try. I do see the irony of me talking about the virtues of staying off of smartphones when I do a blog that many of you read and listen to on your smartphones. I often go onto social media to discover new music or find out what some of my favorite bands are up to. But it’s the moderation I struggle with. One minute, I’m just going to check a couple things. The next thing you know, I’m caught up in all the rage bait, blatant misinformation, and toxic discourse and feeling really hopeless about the world. So yeah, I sure do see the value in staying off that phone as much as I can. Thank you, Rob Moss, for the jolt of hope!
While Rob Moss is always going to sound like Rob Moss, “The More I Scroll” does find him offering his own take on a Johnny Cash and The Tennessee Three sound (think boom-chicka-boom drums, a walking bass line, and some country-ish lead guitar). Moss also does his best to emulate The Man In Black’s vocal phrasing without resorting to straight-up imitation. By singing the song mostly in the first person singular and then switching to first person plural at the end, Moss makes the song immensely relatable. His own battle with social media addiction is something most of us know all too well, and his way out of the hole can be ours as well. A lot of what he’s singing about is pretty dark, but it’s all pointing towards the light. And who doesn’t love some punkified Johnny Cash energy? All in all, this is one of Moss’s best songs to date!
On Saturday, September 26, Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja was arrested under the UK Terrorism Act in Liverpool, outside the venue where the Labour Party conference is due to be held with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, after protesting in support of Palestine Action.
The post Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja Arrested Again For Protesting Palestine Action Ban appeared first on Stereogum.
Now canonized in the church of dark, experimental electronica, Saint Vengeur approaches us in a new(ish) form. In this incarnation, the not-so-latent eroticism of their debut, Par Feu et Par Flammes is laid bare,1 and following singles have continued to show titular Saint Herman Pańkow delving into the psychologies of love, hate, and religion and exorcising related emotional demons. Godless Tonight is the next chapter, and its weirdly disturbing art and title that could read as either condemnatory or liberational, only give some clue as to its contents. With poetry delivered through the conceit of a bizarre play, and a fluid, unlabellable mélange of EBM, darksynth, witch house, and many things between, Godless Tonight explores the inherent cruelty and pain yet also the necessity of love.
Just as you would were we discussing extreme metal, don’t dismiss the relativity when I say that Godless Tonight is less weird than Par Feu. This is still the person who wrote what I originally described as “like […] music composed by an alien.” The cold chimes whose tunefulness drains out of them, synths that burble and distort themselves in and out of haunting refrains erratic, fickle tempos, an overwhelming sense of hostility and tension: all are present. Sometimes, the exact same themes even arise (“451,” “HELLSTAR ANDROMEDA”). But the manner in which these are delivered is more tempered by harmoniousness and navigable groove. This works in step with the album’s mode of execution, as characters variously present musings, throw accusations, make confessions, commands, requests, and proclamations amidst the shifting scenes of seductive and sinister synth, which—intentionally or not—feel directed at you, the audience. Thus a part of the proceedings, one’s ear naturally sympathises to even the strangest and ugliest turns and finds more beauty in the greater abundance of mournful refrains.
The chameleonic nature of Godless Tonight is what makes it so potent. Is it abstraction and maximalism coalescing into a mesmerising, even danceable whole (“PRURIENT SOCIETY,” “HELLSTAR ARNDROMEDA,” “THE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD”)? Is it deceptively straightforward, hiding the next sudden turn of madness or cruelty (“451,” “LUST FANTASY PRESAGE,” “POOR HOMME (DISCO)”)? Both, it seems. The album’s greater stylistic breadth across the EBM and EDM spectrum nonetheless hinges on Saint Vengeur’s characteristic burbling sulky arpeggios and dissonant synth chords, into which the melancholic, uptempo themes repeatedly dissolve. The melodies are alluring, the beats catchy, the refrains memorable; but the ugliness is never far away, and so the sense of dread and tension rises. Thus, when tracks like “PRURIENT SOCIETY” and “LUST FANTASY PRESAGE” tread the line with hypnotic witch house, their weirdness reads only as beautiful; and when a shivering refrain chimes in midway through “451,” or starts to dominate “(S)LAUGHTER,” it feels like a blessing. By the time you reach “POOR HOMME (DISCO)” and “THE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD,” you take their irresistible cadence in stride, discomfiting as those voices and keys may be. As Godless Tonight morphs through variously solemn and vicious expressions, the disparity in styles is both more obvious and less troublesome; somehow it all just comes together.
That’s not to say that Saint Vengeur has actually performed a miracle; it’s not all perfect. The tongue-in-cheek self-awareness—the opening speech (“GOOD EVENING”) and playful mockery of our leads that the music is “like a child banging on a xylophone[…]” (“PRURIENT SOCIETY”)—might trigger some soft eye-rolls amongst the less tolerant, and doesn’t itself free Saint Vengeur from the responsibility to deliver compelling music. The oddly broken-up “DEVOURING FEMININE” into “CONFESSION,” somewhat stalls the flow, with the sudden volume of the latter’s sample just a tad jarring. It’s hard to believe, however, that this disturbing interlude is not intended to shake the listener’s complacency. Indeed, with the continual evolutions of the music and shifting dynamics between the speakers (and us), the album—the play ostensibly being performed—feels like a bad trip in a strange club, where you’re dragged into the messiest relationship ever. So while mileage may vary on some of the lyrics and their delivery, Godless Tonight succeeds in its presumed goal of making you squirm.
Godless Tonight, with its addictive rhythms and intricate blending of bizarre and beautiful, is primed to capture even those faintly sympathetic to the weird and electronically expressed. It’s groovy and fun, creepy with a small “c”, and sexy with quite a big “S”. It’s not exactly a palate-cleanser from the heaviness of metal so much as a way to satiate some dark, playful curiosity. I’d take the apple Saint Vengeur offers.
Rating: Very Good
DR: ? | Format Reviewed: stream (of consciousness)
Label: Genom Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026
The post Saint Vengeur – Godless Tonight Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.
Day 1 of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, is now available on demand. The concert was streamed live for free at thenextguitar.com.
The first day of Crossroads 2026 was headlined by the Tedeschi Trucks Band and included several performances from Eric Clapton.
DAY 1 LINEUP
Sonny Landreth with Eric Clapton
Ben Haggard
Nathan East, Noah East, Sonny Emory with Will Johns and Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa with Eric Gales and Marcus King
Daniel Santiago and Pedro Martins
Julian Lage with Trey Anastasio
Nathan East, Noah East, Sonny Emory with John McLaughlin
Dirk Powell and Amelia Powell
Bradley Walker and Brothers of the Heart with Eric Clapton
Joe Bonamassa
Billy Gibbons
Marcus King and Sierra Hull with Drew Smithers
Doyle Bramhall II with Charlie Sexton
Tedeschi Trucks Band with John Mayer, Eric Clapton, and Trey Anastasio
Group Jam
WATCH DAY 1 BELOW
The post Watch Day 1 of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2026 for free appeared first on Blues Rock Review.
ALEX GRYCZANOWSKI | Go Venue Magazine
Modest Mouse took the stage in Nebraska and performed emotionally nostalgic songs like “Float On” and new songs like “Picking Dragons’ Pockets,” shining throughout. The band performed at the Astro on Friday, September 25, 2026, in Omaha.
Modest Mouse is an indie rock band from Washington, but is now based in Portland, Oregon. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy.
Burlington, Vermont, based band Robber Robber opened for the indie rock legends on their “An Eraser and A Maze” tour. The band features vocalist and guitarist Nina Cates, drummer Zack James, guitarist Will Krulak and bassist Carney Hemler.
Robber Robber’s sound was simple, with chord formulas and catchy riffs that brought their post-punk sound to fruition. Their last song of the night was especially impressive, with a double-time drum line that drove the song.
Modest Mouse followed, opening with “Parting of the Sensory,” “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” and “We Are Between.” Throughout the night, each of the band’s songs had keyboard lines that perfectly complemented guitar riffs and breakdowns throughout the evening’s performance, making it beautifully electric.
Brock even switched to a banjo for songs throughout the night that had an easy, travelling upbeat that felt like you were on a road trip. His vocals throughout the evening stood out and packed a punch of emotion behind each word, shown through the intense expressions on his face.
The lighting throughout the evening felt incredibly intentional, matching intensity during choruses with spiralling strobes and saturated colors, and cooling down at slower, emotionally charged moments. With lighting and powerful instrumentation, their performance felt theatrical in a way.
Modest Mouse concluded their performance with a four-song encore of “Dogbed in Heaven / Give it a Skeleton,” “Interstate 8,” Dance Hall” and “Spitting Image.”
Modest Mouse’s setlist
Parting of the Sensory | Picking Dragons’ Pockets | We Are Between | We’re Lucky | Fire It Up | Speak ‘n Spell (Or Not) | Bury Me With It | Breakthrough | Custom Concern | Third Side of the Moon | Satin in a Coffin | Bukowski | Knocked Down by Waves | Trailer Trash | Float On | Life Like Weeds | Absolutely Necessary Never | Dogbed in Heaven / Give it a Skeleton | Interstate 8 | Dance Hall | Spitting Venom
[See image gallery at www.govenuemagazine.com] All images © Alex Gryczanowski
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The post Modest Mouse Stuns Nebraska with Ethereal 21-song Performance at Astro appeared first on Go Venue Magazine.