Category: Uncategorized

By Andrew Bansal

While we support and keep track of the older, more popular bands, discovering and unearthing new, hidden talent is our thing. The music listener stuck in decades past would tell you there are no good new bands, but I’m here to tell you otherwise. Here are my picks for the top 20 emerging artists of the year, i.e. bands that released a killer debut album/EP, did their first successful tour, broke through to get noticed after a few years of obscurity, or created an indelible first impression in any other way, shape or form. Continue reading “Best Emerging Bands Of 2016”

By Andrew Bansal

Around this time of the year we celebrate the best albums, shows and new bands of the 12 months gone by, but also equally deserving of the recognition are bands that not only played in front of audiences that were in attendance to see someone else, but ended up superseding the efforts of their respective headliners and stealing the show. I witnessed many such instances in 2016, as the habit of going to shows early enough to catch all bands on the lineup (and never caring or asking for set times) is deeply ingrained in me. Here are the seven best show-stealers of the year, in chronological order. Continue reading “Show-Stealers Of 2016: 7 Support Acts That Outperformed Their Headliners”

By Andrew Bansal

My 2016 was as much about touring the US as it was about anything else, and I ended up spending 170 out of the 366 days of the year on the road with the various bands I worked for. As followers of this site would know, I wrote blogs on most of these tours, but there were certain experiences and stories that I may or may not have talked about. It’s only fitting that one of my year-end lists this year should be based on my life on tour, so here is my recollection of six of the most unusual experiences I had on the road in 2016, in chronological order. Continue reading “Another Year Round the States: 6 Unusual Experiences I Had On Tour in 2016”

The modern-day world of hard rock and heavy metal does not merely limit itself to album sales and concert tickets when it comes to revenue streams, but is also taking merchandising to newer and higher levels every passing day. One aspect that we want to discuss via this article is the advent and increasing abundance of slot machines at various Mr. Green-style casinos all around the world. Continue reading “Rock N’ Roll at the Casino: Band-Licensed Slot Machines at a glance”

By Andrew Bansal

Besides being another year round the sun, 2016 has offered a plethora of great live entertainment for us metalheads, and I’ve attended my fair share of concerts in the Los Angeles area and beyond. Choosing from 250-plus shows to pick the top 20 makes this the hardest list-based article I would write this year, but reflecting back on my master concert list made me realize just how many incredible shows I’ve had the good fortune of witnessing, and more than anything, this is the reason I do what I do. Without further ado, here are my picks for the top 20 shows of the year. Continue reading “Best Shows Of 2016”