Danny Ryan
Janky Fresh Friday: New Albums From AFI and Snõõper
Danny Ryan
October 3, 2025
Welcome to Janky Fresh Friday- the busiest day of the week for artists and labels to drop newly released music. Check in every Friday for a fresh squeeze. AFI: Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… (released October 3, 2025): Run For Cover Records AFI has recently been in music news more than they have been in decades. A major aspect of this is frontman Davey Havok drastically changing his physical appearance recently, looking like he’d be more likely to front an indie folk group than a goth or hardcore or alternative band. Are those AFI‘s genres? It’s hard to pin them down to a specific sound, as they are constantly evolving and reinventing themselves throughout their career. related: Cruel World 2024 – A Legacy Forms at The Rose Bowl Today’s release of “Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…” marks the beginning of a new era for them, shifting much more into synthesizer based goth music and darkwave rather than their roots as a rock band. This shouldn’t be a surprise considering Havok’s side-projects Blaqk Audio and Dreamcar were hinting that he’s wanted to head in this direction for a long time. Even AFI’s last couple of albums were heavily incorporating goth and
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Janky Fresh Friday: New Albums From John Maus and PeelingFlesh
Danny Ryan
September 26, 2025
Welcome to Janky Fresh Friday- the busiest day of the week for artists and labels to drop newly released music. Check in every Friday for a fresh squeeze. John Maus: Later Than You Think (released September 26, 2025): Young Records John Maus’ new album Later Than You Think is a huge deal. Like a really huge, massive deal. Personally, his last release in 2011 We Must Become the Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves was a formative album during my high school years and one of my first introductions to goth music or synth pop outside of the mainstream. Almost 15 years later and he’s back with a vengeance; a deeply changed man on a spiritual level, but still bringing the lo-fi dark and gloomy atmosphere to the dancefloor. Don’t miss John Maus live this October: Observatory OC – October 20, 2025 The Belasco – October 22, 2025 The lyrical themes have certainly changed quite a bit from 2011’s “Cop Killer” to today with “I Hate Antichrist” and this tone of religious awakening can be felt throughout his newest release. As early as the second track we get lyrics like “Satan, Satan, Satan lies. Turns everything into fucking spite”. You could
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Slowing The World Down with MJ Lenderman at The Shrine
Danny Ryan
September 26, 2025
MJ Lenderman is one of the most prominent key players in the alternative country movement, and his September 11, 2025 performance at The Shrine Auditorium showed just how big of a name he is amongst younger people and country-folk enthusiasts alike. I don’t believe there’s even a debate on whether country music is currently one of the most dominating cultural forces in America. It goes even beyond the music, with Southern aesthetics like mullets, flannels, showy belt-buckles, and cowboy boots taking over hipster-infested areas like Highland Park and Silverlake. While the love for the genre is actually on its way to becoming more equal between urban and rural America at this point in time, the artists respected between these two demographics could not vary more. While mainstream country artists like Morgan Wallen aren’t really talked about with reverence amongst music fans in LA, there is a new wave of alternative country artists with more emotional and poetic folk influence that are considered superstars amongst aspiring artists looking for a singer-songwriter scene to be part of. featured image: Michelle Evans related: Courtney Barnett at The Roxy – How To Make A Rockstar MJ Lenderman is one of the biggest names of
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Negative Spaces In A Hyper Poppy Atmosphere At The Wiltern
Danny Ryan
May 8, 2025
Poppy is certainly an anomaly in the heavy music world, almost resembling an overall brand or abstract concept more than just a simple musician as she further blurs the line between influencers and artists. While many people are familiar with her through her days of bizarre Youtube videos where she took on the role of a robotic AI humanoid spouting nonsense, she has come a long way from the novelty of being a subject for reaction videos and has really proved herself as a refreshing forward-thinking figure in heavy metal. Fresh off of her newest album “Negative Spaces” and recent collaborations with Knocked Loose and Bad Omens; Poppy brought her blend of bubblegum catchy melodies, glitchy industrial effects, and brutal metalcore breakdowns to The Wiltern for a night of pure chaotic poppy energy. With Los Angeles being the last date of this tour, Poppy went all out in transforming The Wiltern into her own signature bizarre, twisted world that converted any stubborn metalhead in the room to a believer in her vision for the genre’s future. related: Different Shades of Black and Blue – Knocked Loose at 1720 The opening act Chinese American Bear was an interesting choice for the
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Partying Like It’s 2004: IHEARTCOMIX 20th Anniversary
Danny Ryan
October 29, 2024
IHEARTCOMIX have established themselves as one of the most forward-thinking and distinct promoters in recent LA history over the past two decades; dipping their toes into events celebrating nearly every form of art not limited to raves, parties, movie premieres, album release events, and interactive art exhibitions. Celebrating their 20th anniversary, IHEARTCOMIX threw an absolutely wild party with a complete hodgepodge of a lineup; Featuring The Dare, Boys Noize, Fcukers, Nation of Language, Chela, and even Yo Gabba Gabba blessing the night with their presence. Comedy legend Reggie Watts hosted the entire event, completely taking ownership of the evening’s vibes and making sure everybody in attendance had the most memorable night possible. Although the early 00’s where they started may be long over, IHEARTCOMIX went above and beyond in providing a futuristic lineup that still evoked a nostalgic feeling that celebrated their history in the most crafted way possible. As soon as I approached The Bellweather, it was instantly apparent that this was not the average club event with the eccentric and colorful outfits that everybody was decked out in. While it was a more formally dressed crowd, IHEARTCOMIX’s brand is entirely based on being as expressive and colorful as
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3Teeth at The Teragram: Industrial Dystopia
Danny Ryan
February 8, 2024
Love for gothic industrial and nu-metal aesthetics seemed nonexistent for a while, being almost universally seen as cringe and outdated as indie rock and trap music dominated the airwaves in the late 00’s and early 2010’s. With political tensions rising after the 2016 election however, angry and darker music came back in a massive way that can be seen with festivals like Sick New World selling out quickly and the industrial scene feeling as relevant as ever again. 3Teeth is a band that took full advantage of this shift in attitude, bringing the angsty edge of 90’s greats like Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson to a new audience that’s just as wild at live concerts. In celebration of their newest album EndEx, 3Teeth transformed the Teragram Ballroom into a cyberpunk wasteland and hosted a late night of industrial sounds from every era; with ear-piercing distortion, infectiously dancey synthesizer melodies, and leather as far as the eye can see. With Skold, Straight Razor, and 8mm as surprise openers for the evening, there was a treat for all fans of industrial music no matter what their preference may be. Straight Razor’s performance began with an eerie but blissful ambient intro, almost
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Scowl At 1720 Sell Out The Venue But Not Their Souls
Danny Ryan
September 22, 2023
One of the biggest Catch 22’s of being a punk rock fan is wanting the artists you love to succeed and reach a larger audience, while also wanting them to avoid selling out and the inevitable softening of their edge that comes with popularity. While bands that maintain a consistent sound are often doomed to become dull and uninteresting after a couple of releases, there’s always a lingering fear of bringing in new audiences that don’t “get it” when an artist experiments with new aesthetics or explores other genres. Scowl and Militarie Gun have both had some of the most talked about punk releases of the year, and their recent show at 1720 proved that neither artist has sacrificed their unruly hardcore spirits in the evolution of their sounds. While tough-guy hardcore purists may be complaining online about the alternative direction that these artists have been taking, it’s clear that they haven’t witnessed the chaotic party that Scowl creates up close in-person for themselves yet and it’s only a matter of time before everybody starts to embrace the “Psychic Dance Routine”. related: Scowl Interview- Talking Limp Bizkit, Kevin Smith and Hardcore 1720 has established itself as one of the best
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Sound and Fury Fest 2023: The Stage Dive Will Never Die
Danny Ryan
August 30, 2023
Sound and Fury is easily my favorite music festival, and consistently takes the spot as the best weekend of the year for me without fail. Returning again to Exposition Park for the second year in a row, the controversial choice to move the festival outdoors has proven again to succeed as a hardcore experience exclusive to Sound and Fury. The overwhelming heat and dust clouds were absolutely brutal this year compared to 2022, but passionate fans were not going to let anything stop them from hardcore dancing all weekend long. This was also the second year with involvement from art collective and fashion brand Brain Dead, and their influence could be seen everywhere from the stage backdrops to exclusive merch designs. Sound and Fury is absolutely unmatched when it comes to finding the best collaborators and vendors to help with making their vision come alive, something that more music festivals should take note of in the goal of creating an unforgettable experience that everybody in attendance feels a need to come back to. related: Risks Make Better Memories than Nostalgia – Sound and Fury 2022 One of the biggest draws to Sound and Fury’s 2023 lineup for me was the
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LA Still Believes In Anarchy: The Exploited at The Regent
Danny Ryan
July 7, 2023
While many foundational classic punk bands still tour regularly, the reckless soul that the genre is known for can often be missing with how much older the artists have become. Rather than the stagedives, partying, and rowdy moshpits that you’d expect at a punk show, many landmark bands unfortunately feel more like seeing a nostalgic cover band that you’d find at a local bar. While age has affected the energy of many artists, that has only made it more special when you experience the rare event of seeing an early punk band wreak the havoc that they would have in the prime of their career. The Exploited are one of the few examples of a classic punk band that’s able to bring this anarchy to modern audiences, transforming The Regent into the environment of a rowdy 1980’s club with their recent show hosted by Concrete Jungle Entertainment and Nothing Less Booking. With a perfectly crafted lineup of chaos including Conflict, Total Chaos, and Section H8, the spiritual essence of punk rock could have not been more prevalent in the venue that evening. The Exploited proved to us that punk’s not dead, you just have to know where to look for
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A Proven Experiment: Oblivion Access Festival Returns To Austin June 15th-18th
Danny Ryan
June 9, 2023
Oblivion Access Festival will be returning to Austin, Texas in 2023 to host their signature celebration of experimental music and art showcases from all different walks of life, and this is not a year to be slept on. Spanning over multiple genres with darker gothic performances of Drab Majesty and TR/ST, heavier metal grooves of Godflesh and Earth, stagedive-filled hardcore sets from Drain and Drug Church, and even underground hip-hop artists like Clipping and Lil Ugly Mane; Oblivion Access Fest is sure to blow your mind no matter what your brand of the avant-garde and strange falls under. related: Austin Psych Fest 2023 – Authenticity In A Far Out Place Germany’s classic progressive rock band Faust is headlining the festival to celebrate 50 years of their mind-melting psychedelic career. Faust hasn’t graced America in 5 years with their mesmerizing grand performances, and they’re the most authentic way to experience the weirdo avant-garde roots of progressive rock live and in-person nowadays. Experiencing Faust live is a rare opportunity with how sparsely they visit the States, and their performances take you on an introspective adventure that is sure to stick in your mind just as much as an actual psychedelic experience would.
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Candlemass at 1720: The Church of Doom
Danny Ryan
April 20, 2023
While doom metal is a metal subgenre that has come and gone in waves throughout its history, bands that enter the scene develop such a large cult following that there has never been a need for a huge influx of new artists taking on the sound. The 1980’s severely lacked newer doom metal artists with the oversaturation of hair metal and thrash at the time, but Candlemass boldly took the throne as the Kings of Doom for that era when they were needed most and have maintained their legendary status ever since. With heavier psychedelic rock and metal rising in popularity again, Candlemass have once again returned to Los Angeles for the first time in 6 years for a sold out show at 1720 Warehouse to reclaim their spot on that throne. If you’re in any way a fan of the olden days of heavy metal before blast beats and death growls, seeing Candlemass live is one of the most authentic ways to experience these roots of metal music that are rarely seen nowadays. Related: Speedy Speedy Speed Metal – Midnight at Union 1720 Warehouse has quickly grown to become one of Los Angeles’ most iconic venues with the wide
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Beck Acoustic at The Lodge Room- A Storyteller
Danny Ryan
March 28, 2023
Acoustic performances are known for providing a more intimate experience that offers the listener a vulnerable look into an artist’s relationship with their music, often having a lower energy than standard performances due to the quieter nature of the format. While diehard fans of an artist appreciate this personal encounter with their favorite artist, it’s even more impressive when the performance is just as thrilling and exciting as their higher production concerts. Beck is the incredibly rare example of an artist that creates an acoustic experience so unique that the energy is higher than seeing him in a more extravagant setting, completely transforming what these types of sets are typically known for. His two recent sold out 2-hour performances at The Lodge Room in Highland Park were a twice in a lifetime event, feeling as if it was the ideal way to experience Beck in-person. Even if you aren’t a Beck fan or a fan of acoustic sets, this show was easily one of the most memorable concerts that one could experience. This review is about night 1 of 2 performances at one of our favorite venues in Los Angeles. related: A Love Letter to The Lodge Room Highland Park
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