Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
I don’t know if it’s because we procrastinate or because we’re simply very thorough, but the editorial team at Spinning Platters has FINALLY settled on our Top 15 albums of 2025. There’s a little something for everyone, including some metal, punk, hardcore, Spanish-language avant-pop, and a whole lot of scorned women on this list, which is my favorite music genre anyways.
Without further ado, here’s the list: Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Top 15 Records of 2025”
If someone had told me in 1995 that Pop-Punk would remain a vital genre of music, continuing to strike a chord with young people 30 years later, I wouldn’t have believed them. But my Thursday Night out at Brick & Mortar Music Hall showed me that the younger generation not only really connects to this genre, but might be doing it far better than Gen X did.
Review and All Photos by: Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro
For decades, Europe has led the way in the heavy metal and loud rock music festival space. Monsters of Rock (the originator, which started in 1980!), Wacken Open Air, Dynamo Open Air, Hellfest, Graspop, Copenhell, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Summer Breeze, Sweden Rock Fest and Download have always dominated the landscape with their amazing lineups year after year.
United States was never close in offering an equivalent heavy metal experience. Sure, there was Ozzfest and Mayhem Festival, but those have been gone since 2017 and 2015 and Americans have always leaned more towards indie rock music festivals like Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonaroo, and Outside Lands anyway.
For the last twelve or so years, Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) has been chipping away at the supremacy of the European heavy metal festivals, with Welcome To Rockville, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple, Inkcarceration, Rock on the Range, Rocklahoma, Carolina Rebellion, and Northern California’s very own Aftershock Festival. With the best lineup it has ever had, West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival definitely lived up to its name in 2024!
Continue reading “Show Review: The. Best. Aftershock. Ever.”
