The Origin and Evolution of Death Metal Death metal began in the mid-'80s with Florida band Death, led by the guitarist/vocalist generally credited as the creator of the genre, Chuck Schuldiner. In its beginning, the style incorporated simple, down-tuned riffing, fast drumming that alternated between the snare and bass drum (known as the “blast beat”) and deep growls about gore and generally violent topics. From its primitive early sound, death metal soon developed into a thriving scene in its home state, with bands such as Morbid Angel and Obituary evolving the primitive topics to lyrics influenced by H.P. Lovecraft and the occult. Lyrics weren’t the only aspect of the genre that matur

A Delicate Balance Though they tour fairly regularly and received positive reviews for their 2008 debut, the five members of Conducting From the Grave know that playing their type of music rarely becomes a lucrative endeavor. To make a living, Abernathy and his bandmates work day jobs and play music at night or take breaks from work to tour. “I’m like the one unlucky guy who doesn’t have a job that lets him go on tour and still have the job when he comes back," said Abernathy. So we toured for, like, six months at the beginning of this year for the album, and I came home and had no job. So I just said, ‘Damn, we’re leaving on tour in a few more months again so I won’t even try to find on

Sacramento has occupied space within the large world of heavy music with just two names: Deftones and Tesla. The former, an alternative rock band with metal influence, was a major player in the same mid/late '90s scene that consisted of Korn, Limp Bizkit and, to a lesser extent, Tool. Tesla is arguably the first mainstream band out of Sacramento to be branded “heavy metal," releasing albums throughout the late '80s and '90s and making a comeback in recent years with a three-album streak in 2007. But what about the bands in Sacramento's underground music scene? The one who ply their trade in the underground -- playing to a devoted local following of kids interested in complex, modern heavy

Employing a style he has dubbed “uninformed logic,” stand-up comedian Bill Burr has spent the better part of two decades refining his sardonic outlook on everyday life. An L.A. resident by way of Massachusetts, Burr lived in New York City for nine years before heading west to further his career in television and film. He is set to record his second one hour stand-up special for Comedy Central at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco on Dec. 17, but will first do a string of performances at The Punchline in Sacramento Dec. 10-13. “I’ve been working on the new material since the night I said goodnight on my last special, which was November of 2007,” said Burr from Los Angeles Internation

One could make the argument that The Clash's "London Calling" is one of the riskiest moves in rock history. After two well-received and straightforward punk albums, the quartet from London threw fans, critics and the entire rock world a curveball in 1979. Spanning at least three genres in 65 minutes, the double LP was not only twice as long as anything the band had recorded prior, but also about the last thing anybody expected from one of the founders of the British punk movement. It could be considered just as risky, then, that a concert promoter would find it feasible to actually put together a bill of bands of equally varying styles to cover the classic album in its entirety. However,

Sorry Anthony, I completely forgot to give you photo credits!

Friday is actually the 20th, so sorry for any confusion on that.

I would have taken more pictures but my camera ran out of batteries as it so often does.

Great photos, quotes and story. Professional as always. Sounds like a cool place and I'm glad they were able to get in a better facility.

Thanks. It's pretty tough to maintain objectivity when reviewing one of my favorite bands. Didn't get many usable pictures since there was a 6'3", mop topped indie kid standing right in front of me.