Jerry Peerson unravel blind devotion and self-destructive longing on Charlatans and Spiderwebs, a gripping indie-rock meditation wrapped in restless melodies and emotional tension. Blending fragile introspection with rough-edged intensity, the track explores the dangerous comfort of false saviors, toxic ideas, and the human tendency to mistake illusion for safety. Jerry Peerson’s songwriting feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, pairing vivid imagery with shifting dynamics that move between vulnerability and cathartic release. Thoughtful, melodic, and quietly haunting, Charlatans and Spiderwebs captures the moment when comforting illusions finally begin to unravel.
I have done nearly 80 interviews for Still in Rock. But only two since 2022. So going back to it meant one thing: the conversation had to be with a band that feels like a legend in the making. Here is Radioactivity.
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BACK STORIES
How did it all start? You have played in so many projects over the years, but Radioactivity feels like the point where everything crystallized into its purest form.
Radioactivity started in 2012 when I returned to Texas after living in Japan for a few years. I had a band in Japan called The Novice that played some of the same songs and Radioactivity took over once I was back in the states. At first I had planned on continuing it as a solo recording project, but after a couple attempts at recording the first album myself, I decided I’d rather get a band together and do it properly. Mark (bass), Daniel (guitar) and Gregory (drums) joined the band and we started recording and touring pretty quickly thereafter.
First things first: I am obsessed with “Erased.” It has that perfect mix of tension and melody that defines Radioactivity for me. Tell me the back story behind this song.
I don’t always have the best memory when it comes to songwriting, but if I remember correctly, Erased was the first song I wrote after we finished recording the Silent Kill LP. I had recently written the song Pretty Girl (the last track on Silent Kill) and at the time I liked the idea of having a simple guitar line repeating throughout the entire song with the chords changing around it (like was common with the Dutch band Ivy Green). Pretty Girl and Erased were both written around a guitar line like that. Lyrically, it was loosely about moving forward after a relationship.
Going further back, The Potential Johns is such a great band (with “Past Due,” so good), yet strangely hard to find today. What’s the story behind the band? How did it start, how did it live, how did it end?
Potential Johns was a band that started in 1995 with a couple of my friends. When it started I split the singing and songwriting duties with my friend Patrick, who was a founding member of the band, Riverboat Gamblers. We lived in a house that had frequent house shows and we basically played there all of the time. We never toured or anything with that original line up. The band kind of fizzled out eventually, but I used the name for a solo recording project I had. I recorded to cassette, mostly just to demo the songs. Some of them were re-recorded and released and many weren’t. The song Past Due was written and recorded years later, but since it was a solo recording, I continued to use the name Potential Johns.
One thing that always strikes me across your projects is the sense of urgency. The rhythms are fast, the lyrics almost feel chased forward, the guitars cut sharply. And beneath that urgency, I hear a recurring theme: the difficulty to exist, to be seen, to make it through an overwhelming world. If my analysis is correct, how do you explain that theme being so present in your songwriting?
I’ve always thought of songwriting as therapeutic. I think it can be a way for me to work out stress or difficult issues I may be dealing with at the time. I think it’s kind of like a journal in that way. Usually after writing and demoing a song, I feel better and get back to life as usual.
EVOLUTION
Your sound is what I would describe as “post-2001.” I know it’s not fashionable or underground to mention The Strokes anymore, but I hear a broader scene that shares this crisp, high-energy guitar sound, including bands like Sheer Mag and others. I know musicians usually resist labels for good reasons, but how do you react to being associated with this kind of lineage?
I think everyone has different points of reference for the sound of bands. I don’t ever mind being associated with other bands. Personally, I think the garage punk of the mid 90s shaped my style and sound more than anything else. Seeing bands like Teengenerate live and playing in the band The Reds helped me find what I was looking to achieve with my music. Energy was always the most important. And for us, loud and crisp guitars helped bring the energy out.
Even within Radioactivity itself, each album feels emotionally and sonically distinct. If you had, in just a couple of words, to explain the main differences between the Radioactivity records, what would they be?
I think the first one is poppy, the dirtiest sounding and most emotional. The second is the punchiest, most rhythm-focused and deals with life after a natural disaster. The third is the most mellow of the three and focuses on time and managing the realities of life.
You have now experienced several completely different eras of independent music. I am super interested in how a band of your caliber experiences changes in the industry. Do you feel better served by today’s ecosystem (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music….) than in the past? Or was everything really better before?
This is hard to answer. Everything has changed, including me. When we started, we booked tours by making phone calls and used an atlas to get from town to town. While that has its charm, I don’t miss the inconvenience of that at all. At the time, we had more free time and thought nothing of it. 7″ records were kind of like business cards. You traded with other bands on tour to broaden your punk network. The whole scene worked together to promote each other and book shows for each other. It was fun and seemed like everything was working perfectly at the time. We didn’t make money, but that wasn’t our goal and everything was cheaper so we did fine. Now, I personally try to stay off of social media for the most part, but there’s no doubt that it is necessary and helps bands get their name out into the world. I may not like the idea of Spotify and Apple Music, but there are people all over the world that would have never had the chance to hear us if these platforms didn’t exist, so I can’t complain at that level. Radioactivity has had the privilege of playing in many countries around the world and I’m sure that wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for these modern tools.
One constant through these transformations has been Dirtnap Records. You have been with the label for a long time now. How does that relationship work for a band like yours? What does a good label actually do for you in 2026?
Dirtnap is perfect for us. I can’t speak about other labels and what other people need from a label, but Dirtnap does everything we currently need. All we have to do is send in the music and Ken from Dirtnap takes care of all the rest. I know a lot of people are doing more things themselves these days through social media, but we still need physical copies of our records and help with promotion and distribution. It’s a no brainer for us because he’s always done great with our bands.
UP NEXT
Looking ahead, what is your creative process today compared to the earlier years. When you start a new record, do you already have a clear emotional destination in mind, or do you only discover what the album is about once it is finished?
I had an idea for the first three records, but whatever is next will be discovered as it’s happening. Originally, I thought we might stop after the three records, but I know now that there is more music we want to make with the band.
Naturally, this leads to the question every listener wants to ask: when can we expect new music from you?
I don’t know when Radioactivity will have a new album, but there is always something in the works. Hopefully it won’t take as long this time.
In the meantime, there is clearly an entire ecosystem of bands orbiting around Radioactivity that deserves more attention. Would you recommend a couple of albums or projects our readers should listen to?
The other band members are in tons of bands. Check out Bad Sports, TV’s Daniel, Memo PST, OD-EX, Mugger, and Initiate.
Is the story of Monolord never-ending? We don’t know. What we do know, though, is that the Swedish stoner and doom band have been creating their own musical path since 2013. The first chapter was an album called “Empress Rising” and there have been four additional longplayers released, with “Neverending” being the title of their… Continue Reading →
ARMORED SAINT will join Metal Church for a North American co-headlining tour this Fall! The Metal Saint Tour 2026 will commence on November 2nd in San Juan Capistrano, California and runs through November 21st in Agoura Hills, California. Additional support will be provided by LiveKill.
Comments ARMORED SAINT vocalist John Bush, “Two classic metal bands from the ‘80s on tour together doing headline sets and both with brand new awesome records out [ARMORED SAINT with Emotion Factory Reset and Metal Church with Dead To Rights]. If you call yourself a metalhead and you don’t come to this show when we roll into your town, you better have a damn good excuse. AS and MC. Let’s do this!”
Comments Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, “It’s incredibly exciting to be getting back on the road with our friends and an honor to be sharing the stage with one of America’s finest metal bands! Definitely a show you won’t want to miss!”
Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 29th at 10:00am local time. VIP upgrades will be available at:
ARMORED SAINT + Metal Church w/ LiveKill: 11/02/2026 Coach House – San Juan Capistrano, CA 11/03/2026 The Glass House – Pomona, CA 11/04/2026 The Nile – Phoenix, AZ 11/06/2026 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM 11/07/2026 Sunshine Studios – Colorado Springs, CO 11/08/2026 The Federal – Denver, CO 11/10/2026 Neurolux – Boise, ID 11/11/2026 The Newberry – Great Falls, MT 11/13/2026 Dantes – Portland, OR 11/14/2026 Redwood Theater – Bremerton, WA 11/15/2026 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC 11/17/2026 Great America Music Hall – San Francisco, CA 11/18/2026 Goldfield Trading Post – Roseville, CA 11/19/2026 The Whisky – Los Angeles, CA 11/20/2026 Observatory North San Diego – San Diego, CA 11/21/2026 Canyon Club – Agoura Hills, CA
Additionally, ARMORED SAINT has performances confirmed throughout the Spring and Summer months both Stateside and abroad, including a special meet-and-greet at Grill ‘Em All in Long Beach, California. Set to take place on May 28th, the event is in celebration of the band’s Emotional Factory Resetfull-length, released last week on Metal Blade Records. The night will feature photo opps, raffles, ARMORED SAINT-inspirited fries, and more!
ARMORED SAINT Live: 5/28/2026 Grill ‘Em All – Long Beach, CA * Meet-and-Greet Event * 6/06/2026 Milwaukee Metalfest @ The Rave/Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI 7/30/2026 Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DK w/ Metal Church 7/31/2026 Skogsrojet Festival – Rejmyre, SE 8/01/2026 Pustervik – Gothenburg, SE w/ Testament, Metal Church 8/02/2026 Mejeriet – Lund, SE * w/ Testament, Metal Church 8/05/2026 Brutal Assault – Jaroměř, CZ 8/07/2026 Alcatraz Festival – Dessel, BE 8/08/2026 Poppodium Boerderij – Zoetermeer, NL *ARMORED SAINT headlining show 8/09/2026 Keep It True Legions – Geiselwind, DE 8/11/2026 Progresja – Warsaw, PL w/ Savatage, Nevermore 8/12/2026 Collosseum – Kosice, SK w/ Vio-Lence 8/13/2026 Klub Studio – Krakow, PL w/ Testament, Metal Church 8/29/2026 Stonedead Festival – Newark, UK
Emotion Factory Reset, ARMORED SAINT’s ninth studio album since 1984’s March Of The Saint, is a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse
musicality and lyrical themes. Produced, as were the previous four albums, by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour), the record finds the quintet challenging themselves. Songs like “Close To The Bone,” “Hit A Moonshot,” and “Every Man-Any Man” have ARMORED SAINT honoring their past as one of the most respected and recognizable bands in heavy music while making forward-thinking music rooted in the present.
Emotion Factory Reset was recorded across several studios including 606 Studios, Secret Hand Studios, Skullseven Studios, Constantine Studios, and Bridge Recording, engineered by Oliver Roman, Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera, and Jason Constantine, and features cover art by DDKing.
The record is available now on CD digipack (w/ 20-page booklet) and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
Amber Marble (US) Orange and Red Marble (US) Citron Smoke (US – Brutal Panda Exclusive) 180g Black (EU) Beige Gray Marbled (EU) Clear Black Gold Smoke (EU – Ltd. 500) Metallic Gold Black Dust (EU – Ltd. 300) Clear Gold Splatter (EU – Ltd. 200)
Additionally, a special European edition of the CD digipak includes the bonus track “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison),” only available digitally until now!
A special European edition of the single gatefold LP comes w/ insert and DL card + 7” vinyl “One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison),” (only available digitally until now!) w/ an etching on the B-side, a poster, and slipmat.
ARMORED SAINT: John Bush – vocals Joey Vera – bass Jeff Duncan – guitars Gonzo Sandoval – drums Phil Sandoval – guitars
While Cradle of Filth is often associated with the grand, sprawling production of larger theaters, seeing them within the relatively intimate, concrete-heavy confines of the Black Cat offered a visceral intensity that suited their current era perfectly.
From the moment the introductory orchestral swells filled the room, the environment shifted from a standard DC club night to something far more ritualistic. When Dani Filth finally emerged, he remained the quintessential master of ceremonies—part Victorian aristocrat, part banshee. Despite decades of touring, his signature piercing shrieks haven't lost their ability to startle, and in a venue this size, they seemed to bounce off the walls with predatory intent.
The setlist offered a calculated balance of the band’s storied past and their recent creative resurgence. The earlier material reminded the crowd of their black metal roots, sounding raw and dangerous in the smaller room. However, it was the more symphonic, mid-tempo moments that truly captivated the audience; the interplay between the venomous rasps and the ethereal live female vocals provided that gothic romanticism that has always separated Cradle from their more utilitarian peers.
Musically, the band was incredibly tight. The twin-guitar assault handled the intricate, high-speed harmonies with clinical precision. In the tight quarters of the Black Cat, you could really feel the percussive weight of the drumming—a relentless, mechanical force that kept the more atmospheric tracks from drifting too far into the ether.
What stood out most, however, was the band's ability to maintain their theatricality without it feeling out of place in a venue like the Black Cat. There were no massive castle backdrops or pyrotechnics here, but through sheer presence, corpse paint, and a bit of well-placed fog, they transformed the stage into something much more expansive.
By the time the encore closed out the night, the sweat-soaked crowd was a testament to the show’s success. Cradle of Filth at the Black Cat proved that they don't need a massive stage to be "large"—they just need a room dark enough to hold the shadows they bring with them.
YUNGBLUD – Arizona Financial Theatre – May 25, 2026
After seeing YUNGBLUD live in Las Vegas last week, celebrated rock and metal radio/podcast/television host Eddie Trunk proclaimed on Facebook ““This could be the guy that brings rock back to where we want it to be. Best hope for that I’ve seen in a long time. Amazing what’s going on here. This is great for rock and its future.”
YUNGBLUD
YUNGBLUD (Dominic/Dom Harrison) played the completely sold-out Arizona Financial Theatre on Monday night as part of his Idols – The World Tour, and it was a show unlike any I’ve seen before. I knew from seeing his performance at Ozzy Osborne’s final show at Back to the Beginning, where he had 45,000 people chanting along to his rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes”, that he was a force to be reckoned with, and I needed to do whatever I could to photograph his show.
Other photographers and media outlets apparently felt the same way. I’m based in Los Angeles, and shows in LA, San Diego, and Las Vegas had maxed out on media early, so in a last-ditch effort, I applied to shoot the YUNGBLUD show in Phoenix. Upon hearing that I’d been approved, the wife and I loaded up the car with photo gear and headed out for an 800-mile round trip with a quick 24-hour turnaround – it would be well worth the effort.
The first thing I noticed when standing in the photo pit with the other photographers, security, and the YUNGBLUD video team, was the demographic of the audience. Most rock shows I’ve been to lean heavily towards men, but this was quite the opposite. Looking out into the vastness of the venue and the 6000 people in attendance, there were a few men sprinkled into the audience, but by and large it was mostly women. In circling back to Eddie Trunk’s comment, this show felt like a shift – in recent years, guitar driven rock music has not been in the forefront of popularity. If you attend a festival like Aftershock or Louder Than Life and see 40,000 people per day going crazy, it’s obvious that rock is still popular and growing – but if you go to a high school party, or a college dorm and sample the music coming from within, by and large it’s music made on computers, with few, if any live instruments. YUNGBLUD may have cracked the code and seems to be single-handedly bringing back interest in guitar-driven rock in a demographic largely apathetic towards it. Proof of his increased popularity can be easily tracked – YUNGBLUD was playing 1000-2000 capacity venues in 2025, and less than a year later, his shows play in venues that house 5000-10,000.
The other thing of note about the audience was they weren’t casual fans. People weren’t there because it was Memorial Day, and there was nothing else to do in Phoenix – they were there because they had to be. The crowd knew all the words to all the songs, and weren’t shy about singing along at full volume – they were hands-down the most enthusiastic audience I’ve ever seen. I’m not suggesting that YUNGBLUD is the next coming of the Beatles, and the teenage madness that swept across America in the mid-60’s with the onslaught of the British invasion, but young and old were unified in celebrating him and needing to be in the room with him.
It’s over simplifying things to say that people's attraction to him and his music is due to his sex-symbol status – yes, he’s attractive, and yes, he’s wearing leather pants and shaking his ass, but there’s substance behind his looks, a message he shares with fans through his lyrics, and a bond he’s built with his growing number of followers. In an interview with Junkee Magazine last year, he said, ““I fucking hate the pedestal. Fuck fandom, let's be mates. That's what Yungblud is about. Friendship. Fuck, I don't call 'em my fans, I call 'em my family because I'm like, we came together under the banner of a mutual idea — that means we're friends. That means we're family..”
On to the show. Photographers initially had to stand to the side of the pit because the show started with confetti canons going off. As confetti rained down on the screaming audience, YUNGBLUD made his appearance by jumping high in the air off the drum riser and heading straight to the lip of the stage. He wasn’t there for long – for the entire duration of the show, he was in constant motion – jumping in the air, throwing mic stands, strutting from side to side, striking poses, making eye contact with individual fans, and singing his ass off.
This show had a little bit of everything – pyro, video screens with feeds from six or seven cameras, violins, and most importantly, the charismatic rock star himself. YUNGBLUD wears his influences on his sleeve – at times he struts like Mick Jagger, he’ll twirl the microphone on its cable through the air reminiscent of Roger Daltrey, and he displays the confident swagger of Freddy Mercury – knowing that he owns the room and that all eyes without fail are on him. His face was expressive and emoting, and he was playful and engaging with the audience.
Two standout moments sum up what the show was really about – the first was during the song “Fleabag”. YUNGBLUD pulled a kid up from the audience to play guitar. As the song kicked in, YUNGBLUD jumped into the crowd with his microphone and made a B-line to the soundboard at the back of the venue, cutting through the middle of the standing room only GA pit. Fans scrambled to get closer, to touch or high-five him, to be in his orbit. He jumped on top of the wall separating the soundboard from the crowd and walked precariously along it until he stopped to sing the rest of the song from high atop a road case for the gear. Fans in the back of the room were suddenly front row, and the place went wild. As the song wound down, he made his way back to the stage – not hurriedly, but taking his time and allowing fans to circle around him, while he shouted out the kid who was wearing his guitar, “Make some fucking noise for Ezra!”.
The second highlight for me was during his cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes”. He dedicated the song to Ozzy, and encouraged fans to “Sing loud enough so he can hear you up there.”, which the audience enthusiastically did. As at the Back to the Beginning show last year, note for note, word for word, the crowd roared back Ozzy’s lyrics at the top of their lungs, and it was incredible to behold kids in the audience singing lyrics that are almost 55 years old. At the merch booth, little pieces of purple paper were given away with wording that encouraged you to hold the paper in front of your cellphone flashlight and create a purple glow during “Changes”. Looking out at the crowd during that emotional song to witness a sea of purple light as thousands of voices carried the enduring words of Ozzy Osborne into the rafters left a lasting impression.
The exhilarating night ended with the song “Zombie”. As I exited the venue and walked to the parking garage across the street, groups of happy and excited fans sang the chorus to “Zombie”, apparently not quite ready to be done with the night and their YUNGBLUD experience.
YUNGBLUD’s touring band is:
YUNGBLUD – Vocals
Adam Warrington – Guitar
Silke Blansjaar – Bass/Guitar
Ben Sharp – Drums
Sam Simmonds – Guitar
Katie Dove-Dixon – Keyboards
Helena Logah – Violin
Nicole Alexandra – Violin
Setlist:
1) Hello Heaven, Hello
2) The Funeral
3) Idols Pt. I
4) Lovesick Lullaby
5) My Only Angel
6) Fleabag
7) Lowlife
8) Changes
9) I Need You (To Make the World Seem Fine)
10) Fire
11) Loner
Encore
12) Ghosts
13) Zombie
The Warning
I’d seen this kick-ass hard rock trio from Monterrey, Mexico two years ago at a music festival, and knew they not only brought great songs, but also an incredible energy and stage presence. The Warning is comprised of three sisters – Daniela on guitar, Paulina on drums, and Alejandra on bass, and they are a force of nature. The band formed in 2013 when they were only kids, and were discovered when their cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” caught the attention of Kirk Hammett, and went viral on YouTube – Alejandra, the youngest sister, was only 9 years old at the time.
Their tight, eight song set was explosive, and they slipped in a new unreleased song “Ritual”, which will be included on their fifth record due out later this year Before playing their last song, Daniela said “We’re grateful to be here on a night that celebrates rock & roll.” – rock & roll was definitely the throughline theme of the night, and The Warning made a huge and lasting impression on the Phoenix audience with their personalized brand of it.
The Warning is:
Daniela Villarreal Vélez – Guitar
Paulina Villarreal Vélez- Drums
Alejandra Villarreal Vélez – Bass
Emily Wolfe
Austin-based singer/songwriter/guitarist Emily Wolfe was celebrating her 7th wedding anniversary on Monday, and used the occasion to perform an incendiary set, kicking off an amazing night of music. Bringing her own unique and timeless approach to rock music, Emily’s guitar-driven set featured powerful vocals and a simple back-to-basics approach as a performer and musician, coupled with an in-your-face delivery. Despite only being a three-piece, the sound coming from the stage was huge and full, and filled the large theater with ease – Emily is a formidable musician, and those skills were masterfully showcased for the Phoenix crowd.
Emily Wolfe's touring band is:
Emily Wolfe – Vocals/Guitar
Adam Jessamine – Bass
Jon Brick – Drums
Brooks RobinsonPhotographer & Writer
Brooks Robinson is an LA-based concert photographer, and 30+ year freelance camera operator for film, television, and music videos. He has photographed some of the largest film/TV projects in history, and hundreds of music videos in MTV's heyday.
