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Feature: NAMM 2024

The first Winter NAMM since 2020 made a full-force grand return, as brands and bands alike gathered in Anaheim, CA in January 2024, for the familiar course of networking, jamming, and musical merriment. Metal Magnitude was there to capture it all, enjoying the full musical atmosphere, but keeping a keen eye out for anything that stood out in the Rock and Metal spaces. Naturally, we were pleased to find plenty.  Before NAMM officially began, the 7th Annual Metal Hall of Fame Gala set the tone for the busy week, celebrating the iconic musicians and members of the music industry who […]

Metal Allegiance at House of Blues Anaheim 2024

January 25th, 2024, Anaheim wrapped up the first day of NAMM festivities with the 10th Anniversary of Metal Allegiance at House of Blues. This was Metal Allegiance’s first gathering at House of Blues Anaheim since 2020, making their return all the more grand alongside the 10th Anniversary celebration. The event was sponsored by Dean Guitars, ddrum and Heavys Headphones, with openers Dieth, Held Hostage and Quor. The Metal Allegiance lineup has reliably consisted of “The Core 4” – Alex Skolnick, David Ellefson, Mark Menghi, and Mike Portnoy – from the start, but as Metal Allegiance is known for their live […]

Concert Review: Burning Witches Livestream

On May 28th, 2021, the Swiss/Dutch Heavy Metal band Burning Witches staged an official album release show for the world via livestream in celebration of their latest record, The Witch of the North, out now on Nuclear Blast. Burning Witches, with their current lineup consisting of Laura Guldemond (Vocals), Romana Kalkuhl (Guitar), Jeanine Grob (Bass), Lala Frischknecht (Drums), and Larissa Ernst (Guitar), showcased live performances of songs off the brand-new The Witch of the North, while also revisiting previous albums, Dance With The Devil (2020), Hexenhammer (2018), and the self-titled 2017 debut, Burning Witches. The eerie yet ancient entrance music […]

Concert Review: Ultimate NAMM Night 2020

Ultimate NAMM Night 2020 at the Hilton Anaheim was a unique experience, and that’s putting it mildly. After all, where else can you see Alice Cooper’s daughter Calico Cooper taking on “Ace of Spades” alongside Carla Harvey (Butcher Babies), with Gary Holt (Slayer) and Ira Black (Dark Sky Choir) on guitar, Chuck Garric (Alice Cooper/Beasto Blanco) on bass, and Art Cruz (Lamb of God) on the drums? Or a thrash-heavy “Black Diamond” Kiss cover by Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Alex Skolnick (Testament), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Jack Gibson (Exodus), Chuck Garric, Calico Cooper and Paulie Z (The Sweet, Ultimate Jam Night)? […]

Concert Review: Ronnie Montrose Remembered 2020

The M3 Live in Anaheim, California set a stage amidst the backdrop of NAMM for the fifth annual celebration of the musical legacy of Ronnie Montrose on January 17th, 2020. This event has been a staple around NAMM time for the last five years, and the tradition continues on with the start of the new decade. Those who came to Ronnie Montrose Remembered expecting to hear classic Montrose tracks like “Rock Candy” and “Bad Motor Scooter” were certainly not disappointed, but what they experienced might have been even more than they bargained for, with an exploration of the many stages […]

Concert Review: Dio Returns at The Paramount

Dio Returns! But not quite in the way you might expect. If you’re in the loop with the metal world, the fact that Ronnie James Dio has been touring in hologram form is probably not news to you. In fact, the projection made its on stage debut at the Wacken Open Air festival in 2016 – but the touring officially took off in Europe in 2018, with 2019 marking the official U.S. debut of Eyellusion’s unique creation. There have been many reactions to the news since it took to the road – some negative, some positive – but no matter […]

Concert Review: Tom Keifer at Tupelo Music Hall

When you hear the band name Cinderella, what comes to mind? Perhaps you’d say the 1986 debut Night Songs, chock-full of hard rock hits and quite a few of their most well-known tracks, or you might reference the blues-tinged sequel Long Cold Winter, and its follow-up Heartbreak Station. If you kept on listing albums, you would’ve hit it eventually, but Still Climbing most likely wasn’t your first choice of an answer. The fact that this album and its title track tends to get a little lost in the shuffle (and I don’t mean the “Bad Attitude Shuffle”) is precisely what […]

Concert Review: Appice at Tupelo Music Hall

Perhaps you’re a fan of Vanilla Fudge, or caught Carmine Appice during his time with Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, or Cactus. Maybe you were in a crowd somewhere along the “Sacred Heart” tour and saw Vinny Appice behind the kit with Ronnie James Dio, and were always a fan of Black Sabbath’s “Dio Years” – or you might be a more recent Kill Devil Hill fan, or possibly have spotted a Last In Line show last year. It could be some, all, or none of the above, but in any case, it’d be pretty difficult to call yourself a Rock […]

Concert Review: Warrant at Tupelo Music Hall (With Red Sky Mary)

“Louder, Harder, Faster!” The chant which united the voices of a packed house with the strong pipes of Robert Mason when Warrant rocked Tupelo Music Hall last weekend. Through a rock and roll call and response of sorts, the audience was thrilled to join in as the Down Boys played their new track on this Northeastern stop along the Louder Harder Faster Tour 2017. September 17th marked the date for Warrant’s second New Hampshire stop of the year, but it wasn’t only new songs that made it onto the setlist that night in Derry – just about all the tracks […]

Concert Review: L.A. Guns at M15

The M15 in Corona, CA set the stage for one of the earliest 2017 stops along the L.A. Guns’ Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns Reloaded Reunion Tour – makes for a mouthful, but the long title is just to clear up which lineup audiences will be getting, considering there have been multiple versions of the band in the past. No longer should any questions remain as to who’s who in L.A. Guns. From stage to studio and everywhere in between, the current lineup of Phil Lewis (vocals), Tracii Guns (guitar), Michael Grant (guitar), Johnny Martin (bass), and Shane Fitzgibbon (drums) […]

Concert Review: Randy Rhoads Remembered

BashFest 2017, a yearly event coinciding with NAMM, a time when the cream of the crop comes to town in terms of musicians and you just never know who you might spot. A short distance away from all the Anaheim NAMM goings-on, Santa Ana’s historic (and maybe a little haunted, depending on who you ask) Yost Theater was the setting for this year’s festivities. Randy Rhoads Remembered was the focus on January 19th, bringing in Hard Rock and Metal musicians from around the country to pay tribute to a legendary guitarist whose music has had a significant impact on so […]

Hall of Heavy Metal History Honors Icons at Inaugural Induction

How often can a fan of Heavy Metal music say they’ve seen their favorite band or artist inducted into a Hall of Fame or receiving some recognition on an awards show? Hardly ever, and perhaps not even at all. Fans and enthusiasts of the genre have noticed it…maybe even a few outside the genre have noticed it. Either way, there truly seems to be a lack of attention and appreciation for Metal and Hard Rock, especially when it comes to music awards ceremonies – but the newly established Hall of Heavy Metal History has set out to change that fact. […]

Concert Review: Enuff Z’Nuff and Tracii Guns at The Backstage Pass

The Backstage Pass is a venue in Ronkonkoma, NY that has been attracting many a classic Hard Rock band lately, to local audiences’ delight. Last week, two such bands made stops along their tours at The Backstage Pass – Enuff Z’Nuff and Tracii Guns. At the very start of the night was The Special Guests, followed by Solace In Ruins who were also among the openers, bringing to the stage a style of Grunge-tinted Heavy Metal, with melodic yet edgy vocals and riffs abound. The band Blue Movie followed soon after, combining a somewhat unusual usage of electronic backing tracks […]

Concert Review: Hair Nation Festival

Rock and Metal fans headed out on a hot day in SoCal for the first-ever SiriusXM Hair Nation Festival on September 17th, 2016. Classic Hard Rock of the 80’s (and early 90’s) was the main focus of this sunny and beautiful day, where the spirit of the Sunset Strip was alive and rockin’ at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, the Festival had a great turnout and made for an exhilarating event of grand proportions with its 22-band lineup. Last year, a show known as “Cathouse Live” took place at the same location, and though this year’s Hair Nation […]