Disfear is a Swedish heavy metal/crust punk supergroup. The band, which has been active off and on since the early ’90s, includes members of At The Gates and Entombed. Their most recent release was the 2008 masterpiece Live the Storm, which was produced and engineered by Converge mastermind Kurt Ballou.

Akani is an international supergroup of sorts. The band’s lineup has, at various times, included members of legendary New York hardcore band Merauder, as well as a plethora of Swedish death metal institutions such as At The Gates, Entombed, and Soilwork.

Their debut full-length album, Through My Darkest Infernal, was released this past Friday, July 15, 2016 and is a blistering slice of metallic hardcore. I strongly recommend checking it out. Here’s a sample to get you started. This is the official video for the track “I Won’t Run.” Enjoy and be sure to pick up a copy of the record if you like what you’re hearing.

On October 24th and 25, 2015, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I made our second annual pilgrimage to Slipknot’s giant, weekend-long heavy metal festival Knotfest. The event once again took place at San Manuel Amphitheater at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. This is a recap of our experiences on Saturday, October 24.

The event actually kicks off on Friday night with a show just for those who are fortunate enough to be holding camping or VIP passes. We were not among those folks, so we missed out on Sepultura, The Faceless, and several others. A bit of a bummer, but nothing compared to the gut-wrenching decisions that we would have to make later in the weekend with so many quality bands performing opposite each other on the side stages (more on that in a few…).

At the conclusion of last year’s edition of Knotfest, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor promised the crowd that the weekend-long metal festival would be returning to San Bernadino, CA again this year. Well, it seems Taylor is a man of his word because it has been announced that the massive and eclectic production will, in fact, once again invade the grounds of the San Manuel Amphitheater and Glen Helen Regional Park October 23rd-25th.

Friday, October 23rd will once again have a small show exclusively for those purchasing 3-day camping passes. The lineup for this night has yet to be announced. However, the Saturday and Sunday lineups have been mostly announced and they do not disappoint! Details here below.

When we left off with the first part of my review of this show day, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I had just finished meeting At The Gates at their in-store appearance at Vacation Vinyl on Sunset Boulevard before their headlining gig at The Wiltern Theater with Converge, Pallbearer, and Vallenfyre.

It was nearly 5:30PM when we left Vacation and Vallenfyre was to go on first at 7:00PM sharp, so we figured we’d grab some grub at the Denny’s next door before heading on in to the venue. After acquiring said sustenance, we walked next door under the marquee of the gorgeous landmark Wiltern Theater, cleared security, and headed inside with 10 minutes to spare before the show began. Just enough time for a stop by the merch booth to check out the wares. I have to say that I was heavily impressed that every t-shirt from all 4 bands was priced at $20, no more, no less. Converge had so many amazing-looking designs that it was hard to pick one! There were of course pricier items like a really cool At The Gates hoodie featuring the artwork from their new album At War With Reality for $40 as well as some cheaper items such as hats and posters.