All posts by Metal Author

25Nov/25

Metal Contraband Tour Dates:

Metal Contraband Tour Dates Updated November 25th, 2025:

Acres W/ Like Moths To Flames US Tour Dates:

10/24 Cincinnati, OH/Bogarts
10/25 Lakewood, OH/The Roxy
10/26 Chicago, IL/The Bottom Lounge
10/28 Milwaukee, WI/The Rave
10/29 Minneapolis, MN/Varsity Theater
10/31 Denver, CO/Gothic Theatre
11/01 Salt Lake City, UT/Urban Lounge
11/03 Seattle, WA/El Corazon
11/04 Portland, OR/Hawthorne Theater
11/06 Roseville, CA/Goldfield Trading Post
11/07 Pomona, CA/Glasshouse
11/09 Tucson, AZ/191 Toole
11/11 San Antonio, TX/The Rock Box
11/12 Dallas, TX/Trees
11/13 Houston, TX/Scout Bar
11/15 Tampa, FL/The Orpheum
11/16 Orlando, FL/Abbey
11/18 Atlanta, GA/The Masquerade (Hell)
11/19 Charlotte, NC/The Underground
11/21 Philadelphia, PA/Brooklyn Bowl
11/22 Baltimore, MD/The Recher
11/23 New York, NY/Gramercy Theatre
11/25 Boston, MA/Paradise Rock Club
11/26 Montreal, QC/Fairmount Theater
11/27 Toronto, ON/Opera House
11/29 Pittsburgh, PA/Preserving Underground
11/30 Detroit, MI/St. Andrews Hall

Agnostic Front US Tour Dates:

10/15 The Oriental Theater/Denver, CO
10/16 Metro Music Hall/Salt Lake City, UT
10/17 The Shredder/Boise, ID
10/18 Hawthorne Theatre/Portland, OR
10/19 El Corazon/Seattle, WA
10/21 The Ritz/San Jose, CA
10/22 Goldfield Trading Post/Sacramento, CA
10/23 Cornerstone Berkeley/Berkeley, CA
10/24 Ventura Music Hall/Ventura, CA
10/25 The Glass House/Pomona, CA
10/26 Swan Dive/Las Vegas, NV
10/28 The Rock/Tucson, AZ
10/29 The Nile Theater/Mesa, AZ
10/30 Transplants Brewery/Palmdale, CA
11/01 House of Blues/San Diego, CA
11/02 Garden Amp/Garden Grove, CA
12/4 Cambridge, MA/The Middle East
12/5 Atlantic City, NJ/Anchor Rock Club
12/6 NYC, NY/Irving Plaza
12/9 Richmond, VA/The Canal Club
12/10 Columbia, SC/New Brookland Tavern
12/11 Atlanta, GA/The Masquerade (Hell)
12/12 Melbourne, FL/Pineapples (Moon Room)
12/13 Miami, FL/Gramps
12/14 Tampa, FL/The Orpheum
12/15 Jacksonville, FL/The Albatross
12/16 Greenville, SC/Radio Room
12/17 Wilmington, NC/Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern
12/18 Raleigh, NC/The Pour House
12/19 Lynchburg, VA/Super Rad Arcade
12/20 Altoona, PA/McGarvey’s Bar & Grill
12/21 Allentown, PA/Archer Music Hall (Arrow)

Avatar W/ Alien Weponary & SpirtWorld 2025 US & European Tour Dates

11/5 Phoenix, AZ/The Van Buren
11/6 San Diego, CA/The Observatory San Diego
11/7 Riverside, CA/Riverside Municipal Auditorium
11/8 Las Vegas, NV/Brooklyn Bowl
11/10 Seattle, WA/Moore Theater
11/11 Portland, OR/Roseland Theatre
11/12 Boise, ID/Revolution
11/14 Salt Lake City, UT/The Union
11/15 Denver, CO/Fillmore
11/17 Minneapolis, MN/Fillmore
11/18 Madison, WI/The Sylvee
11/20 Detroit, MI/The Fillmore Detroit
11/21 Pittsburgh, PA/Stage AE
11/22 Columbus, OH/KEMBA Live!
11/23 Silver Spring, MD/The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/25 Huntington, NY/Paramount
11/26 Boston, MA/House of Blues
11/28 Allentown, PA/Archer Music Hall
11/29 Charlotte, NC/The Fillmore Charlotte
11/30 Louisville, KY/Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
12/2 Chicago, IL/Riviera Theater
12/4 Nashville, TN/Marathon Music Works
12/6 Tulsa, OK/Tulsa Theater
12/7 Dallas, TX/House of Blues

 

Death To All US Tour Dates

11/4 San Diego, CA/The Observatory North Park
11/6 Salt Lake City, UT/Metro Music Hall
11/7 Englewood, CO/Gothic Theatre
11/8 Lawrence, KS/The Granada
11/9 Joliet, IL/The Forge
11/10 Detroit, MI/El Club
11/11 Toronto, ON/Danforth Music Hall
11/12 Montreal, QC/MTELUS
11/13 Worcester, MA/The Palladium
11/14 New York, NY’Irving Plaza
11/15 Reading, PA/Reverb
11/16 Baltimore, MD/Baltimore Soundstage
11/18 Tampa, FL/The Orpheum
11/19 Baton Rouge, LA/Chelsea’s Live
11/20 Houston, TX/White Oak Music Hall
11/21 Dallas, TX/The Echo Lounge & Music Hall
11/22 San Antonio, TX/Vibes Event Center
11/24 Albuquerque, NM/Sister
11/25 Mesa, AZ/The Nile Theater
11/26 Las Vegas, NV/House of Blues
11/28 Los Angeles, CA/The Belasco
11/29 Santa Ana, CA/The Observatory
11/30 San Francisco, CA/The Regency Ballroom

 

Fit For A King W/ Make Them Suffer, Spite, & 156/Silence
* No Make Them Suffer

10/30 Phoenix, AZ/Marquee Theatre
10/31 San Diego, CA/Soma
11/1 Anaheim, CA/House of Blues
11/2 Los Angeles, CA/The Belasco
11/4 Sacramento, CA/Ace of Spades
11/6 Spokane, WA/Knitting Factory
11/7 Boise, ID/Knitting Factory
11/8 Salt Lake City, UT/The Union
11/9 Denver, CO/Fillmore
11/11 Kansas City, MO/Uptown Theater
11/12 St. Louis, MO/The Pageant
11/14 Chicago, IL/Riviera Theatre
11/15 Detroit, MI/Royal Oak Music Theatre
11/16 Cleveland, OH/House of Blues
11/18 Toronto, ON/History
11/19 Montreal, QC/Olympia
11/21 Worcester, MA/The Palladium
11/22 Baltimore, MD/Nevermore Hall
11/23 Cincinnati, OH/Bogart’s
11/25 Philadelphia, PA/The Fillmore
11/26 New York, NY/Palladium Times Square
11/28 Raleigh, NC/The Ritz
11/29 Nashville, TN/Marathon Music Works
11/30 Atlanta, GA/Tabernacle
12/2 St. Petersburg, FL/Jannus Live*
12/3 Orlando, FL/House of Blues*
12/5 Houston, TX/Warehouse*
12/6 San Antonio, TX/Vibes Event Center*
12/7 Dallas, TX/The Bomb Factory 



Ingested & Ov Sulfur Tour Dates

11/06 Fresno, CA/Full Circle Brewing Co.
11/07 Roseville, CA/Goldfield
11/08 Portland, OR/Dante’s
11/09 Seattle, WA/El Corazon
11/11 Vancouver, BC/Rickshaw Theatre
11/13 Calgary, AB/Dickens
11/14 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
11/15 Saskatoon, SK/Black Cat
11/16 Winnipeg, MB/Park Theatre
11/18 Minneapolis, MN/Skyway Theatre (Studio B)
11/19 Cudahy, WI/X-Ray Arcade
11/20 Grand Rapids, MI/The Stache
11/21 Kitchener, ON/The Hub
11/22 Ottawa, ON/27 Club
11/23 Quebec City, QC/La Source de la Martinière
11/25 Columbus, OH/The King of Clubs
11/26 Pittsburgh, PA/Preserving Underground (* No Ov Sulfur)
11/28 Indianapolis, IN/Black Circle
11/29 Nashville, TN/The End
11/30 St. Louis, MO/Red Flag
12/02 Wichita, KS/Wave
12/03 Oklahoma City, OK/Beer City Music Hall
12/04 Albuquerque, NM/Launchpad
12/05 Mesa, AZ/The Rosetta Room
12/06 Pomona, CA/The Glass House

Iron Maiden Run For Your Lives North American Tour Dates:

8/29 Toronto, ON/Scotiabank Arena *
9/03 Montréal, QC/Parc Jean-Drapeau *^
9/05 Harrison, NJ/Sports Illustrated Stadium *^
9/09 Boston, MA/TD Garden *
9/11 Bristow, VA/Jiffy Lube Live *
9/12 Charlotte, NC/PNC Music Pavilion *
9/15 Hershey, PA/Hersheypark Stadium *
9/17 Louisville, KY/Louder Than Life Festival
9/19 Shakopee, MN/Mystic Lake Amphitheater *
9/22 Chicago, IL/Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre *
9/25 Los Angeles, CA/BMO Stadium *^
9/29 San Antonio, TX/Alamodome *^

* With MEGADETH
^ With ANTHRAX

 

Katatonia Europe 2025:  W/ Evergrey & Klogr:

11/10 Turku, FI/Logomo
11/11 Tampere, FI/Tavara-asema
11/12 Helsinki, FI/House of Culture
11/14 Oslo, NO/Rockefeller
11/15 Gothenburg, SE/Pustervik
11/16 Hamburg, DE/Gruenspan
11/18 Warsaw, PL/Progresja
11/19 Berlin, DE/Huxleys
11/20 Leipzig, DE/Täubchenthal
11/21 Prague, CZ/Palac Akropolis
11/22 Vienna, AT/Simm City
11/24 Munich, DE/Backstage Werk
11/25 Stuttgart, DE/LKA Longhorn
11/27 Milan, IT/Alcatraz
11/28 Zurich, CH/Komplex 457
11/29 Lyon, FR/La Rayonne
12/1 Madrid, ES/BUT
12/2 Barcelona, ES/Salamandra
12/3 Toulouse, FR/Le Metronum
12/5 London, UK/Electric Ballroom
12/6 Glasgow, UK/Garage
12/7 Manchester, UK/Academy 2
12/8 Bristol, UK/Electric Bristol (SWX)
12/10 Paris, FR/Le Trabendo
12/11 Luxembourg, LU/Rockhal
12/12 Frankfurt, DE/Batschkapp
12/13 Cologne, DE/Live Music Hall
12/14 Amsterdam, NL/Melkweg Max
12/16 Antwerp, BE/Trix
12/18 Copenhagen, DK/Amager Bio
12/19 Karlstad, SE/Nöjesfabriken
12/20 Stockholm, SE/Fållan

 

Katatonia & Opeth North America 2026:

2/5 Montclair, NJ/The Wellmont Theater
2/6 Boston, MA/Orpheum Theatre
2/7 Philadelphia, PA/The Fillmore Philadelphia
2/9 Pittsburgh, PA/Thunderbird Café & Music Hall – KATATONIA headliner
2/10 Detroit, MI/Masonic Jack White Theatre
2/11 Chicago, IL/Riviera Theatre
2/12 St. Louis, MO/The Pageant
2/14 Dallas, TX/The Bomb Factory
2/15 Houston, TX/Bayou Music Center
2/16 San Antonio, TX/Majestic Theatre
2/18 Colorado Springs, CO/Pikes Peak Center
2/20 Las Vegas, NV/The Pearl
2/21 Riverside, CA/Riverside Municipal Auditorium
2/22 Sacramento, CA/Channel 24
2/24 Seattle, WA/Paramount Theatre
2/25 Vancouver, BC/Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre

 

Katatonia “Waking State of North America 2026” Headline Dates:

2/27 San Francisco, CA/August Hall
2/28 Los Angeles, CA/Regent Theater
3/1 Mesa, AZ/Nile Theater
3/3 Austin, TX/Come and Take It Live
3/5 Atlanta, GA/The Masquerade (Hell)
3/6 Orlando, FL/The Beacham
3/7 Charlotte, NC/The Underground
3/8 Towson, MD/The Recher
3/10 Toronto, ON/Mod Club
3/11 Montreal, QC/Le Studio TD
3/12 Brooklyn, NY/Elsewhere (The Hall)

 

Lamb of God tour dates 2026:
Kublai Khan TX, Fit for an Autopsy and Sanguisugabogg.

3/17 National Harbor, MD/The Theater MGM National Harbor
3/19 Montreal, QC/Bell Centre
3/20 Toronto, ON/GCT Theatre
3/22 Detroit, MI/Fox Theatre
3/24 Minneapolis, MN/Armory
3/25 Chicago, IL/Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
3/27 Denver, CO/Fillmore Auditorium
3/28 Salt Lake City, UT/The Union Event Center
3/30 Portland, OR/Theater of the Clouds
3/31 Seattle, WA/WAMU Theater
4/1 Vancouver, BC/PNE Forum
4/3 San Francisco, CA/The Masonic
4/4 Inglewood, CA/YouTube Theater
4/5 Phoenix, AZ/Arizona Financial Theatre
4/7 Albuquerque, NM/Revel Entertainment Center
4/10 Austin, TX/Moody Amphitheater
4/11 Irving, TX/The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
4/12 Houston, TX/713 Music Hall
4/14 Nashville, TN/War Memorial Auditorium
4/15 Atlanta, GA/Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
4/16 Raleigh, NC/Red Hat Amphitheater
4/18 Reading, PA/Santander Arena
4/19 Virginia Beach, VA/The Dome
4/21 Buffalo, NY/Buffalo RiverWorks
4/23 Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Paramount
4/25 Uncasville, CT/Mohegan Sun Arena
4/26 Boston, MA/MGM Music Hall at Fenway
5/14-17 Columbus, OH/Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival

July 24-27 Plovdiv, BG/Hills of Rock
July 27-31 Râsnov, RO/Rockstadt Extreme Fest

8/1 Wacken, DE/Wacken Open Air
8/5-9 Lisbon, PT/Vagos Open Air
8/6-9 Kortrijk, BE/Alcatraz Open Air
8/7 Walton-on-Trent, UK/Bloodstock Open Air
8/12-16 Dinkelsbühl, DE/Summer Breeze
8/13-15 Sulingen, DE/Reload Festival
8/14-16 Eindhoven, NL/Dynamo Metalfest
10/30-11/3 Headbangers Boat

 

 

Queensryche & Accept US Tour Dates:

11/07 Denver, CO/Summit
11/08 Wichita, KS/TempleLive at Wichita Scottish Rite Center
11/09 Evansville, IN/Victory Theatre
11/11 Peoria, IL @ TempleLive at Peoria Scottish Rite Theater
11/13 Chicago, IL/House of Blues
11/14 Nashville, IN/Brown County Music Center
11/15 Cleveland, OH/TempleLive Cleveland Masonic
11/16 Columbus, OH/TempleLive at the Columbus Athenaeum
11/18 Greensburg, PA/Palace Theater
11/19 Wilkes-Barre, PA/Kirby Center
11/21 Somerville, MA/Somerville Theatre
11/22 Hartford, CT/The Webster
11/23 Huntington, NY/The Paramount
11/25 Sayreville, NJ/Starland Ballroom
11/26 Harrisburg, PA/Capitol City Music Hall
11/28 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL/Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
11/29 Ft. Lauderdale, FL/Culture Room
12/02 Lake Buena Vista, FL/House of Blues
12/03 Tampa, FL/Jannus Live
12/05 Rocky Mount, VA/Harvester Performance Center
12/06 Charles Town, WV/Hollywood Casino
12/09 Fort Smith, AR/Commandry at TempleLive
12/11 Houston, TX/House of Blues
12/14 Dallas, TX/House of Blues
12/16 Phoenix, AZ/The Van Buren
12/18 Anaheim, CA/House of Blues
12/19 San Diego, CA/House of Blues
12/20 Temecula, CA/Pechanga Theater Casino

Sabaton 2026 US Tour Dates:

2/9 Fort Lauderdale, FL/War Memorial Auditorium
2/10 Tampa, FL/Yuengling Center
2/13 Houston, TX/713 Music Hall
2/14 Dallas, TX/South Side Ballroom
2/15 San Antonio, TX/Boeing Center at Tech Port
2/18 Phoenix, AZ/Arizona Financial Theatre
2/20 Los Angeles, CA/The Kia Forum
2/21 Wheatland, CA/Hard Rock Live
2/24 Salt Lake City, UT/The Union Event Center
2/26 Loveland, CO/Blue Arena
2/27 Omaha, NE/Steelhouse Omaha
2/28 St. Louis, MO/The Factory
3/2 Des Moines, IA/Vibrant Music Hall
3/3 Minneapolis, MN/The Armory
3/4 Chicago, IL/The Salt Shed
3/7 Cincinnati, OH/The Andrew J Brady Music Center
3/8 Detroit, MI/The Fillmore Detroit
3/10 Pittsburgh, PA/UPMC Events Center
3/11 Philadelphia, PA/The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
3/12 Boston, MA/MGM Music Hall at Fenway
3/14 Virginia Beach, VA/The Dome^
3/15 Washington, DC/The Theater at MGM National Harbor
3/17 Greensboro, NC/Greensboro Special Events Center
3/18 Atlanta, GA/Coca-Cola Roxy
4/6 Halifax, NS/Scotiabank Centre
4/9 Laval, QC/Place Bell
4/11 Toronto, ON/Great Canadian Toronto
4/14 Winnipeg, MB/Burton Cummings Theatre
4/17 Edmonton, AB/Edmonton Convention Centre
4/18 Calgary, AB/Grey Eagle Event Centre
4/20 Vancouver, BC/PNE Forum

^This U.S. date is not part of the Citi presale.

 

 

 

25Nov/25

Metal Contraband Up-Coming Metal Radio Add Dates:

Upcoming Metal Radio Add Dates For 2025:

Updated Tuesday, November 26th, 2025:

 Please Note the last day of reporting for Metal Contraband Will
be December 2nd, 2025. Year End Charts Will be published On
December 9th, 2025.

 Reporting for 2026 will begin on January 2nd. The first chart 
will be published January 6th, 2026.

Upcoming Metal Radio Add Dates For 2025:
__________________________________________________________________

Adding On December 1st & 2nd:
Ov Sulfur – Don’t Listen Yet  (Century Media Records)
Semper Acerbus – Following Omens  (Eclipse Records)

 

 

24Nov/25

Metal Contraband News

Metal Contraband News For November 25th, 2025:

This week in Metal Contraband:

Another successful Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund event is complete, with Bowl for Ronnie 2025, which took place on November 13th at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, CA. PINZ was packed with celebrity guests from the music and entertainment worlds, all bowling alongside fans with the support of spectators on a rainy night in SoCal.  

As has become the great tradition of a Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund event, a $25,000 check was presented to Dr. Wong for cancer research at UCLA Health.

Eddie Trunk’s Celebrity Team – this year comprised of Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), Brent Woods (Gene Simmons Band, Chevy Metal), Shavarsh “Shavo” Odadjian (System of a Down), Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), and Adam Jones (Tool) – kept up the tradition of auctioning off a spot to raise money for the Fund. A lucky and generous winner by the name of Rick contributed over $8,000 to the cause and secured a spot on the team to participate in the fun. Yächtley Crëw sponsored their own lane to support the cause. 

Metal Contraband’s Chelsea was on the red carpet to cover this special event, and spoke with many of the guests who stopped by, including Wendy Dio herself, Geezer Butler, Jeff Pilson, Doug Aldrich, Michael Sweet, Matt Starr, Simon Wright, Regina Banali, Marc Ferrari, Yächtley Crëw, George Thorogood, Carolina Chase, Bjorn Englen and Rob Math, Ira Black, Sebastian Bach and Suzanne Le Bach, Rita Haney, Riki Rachtman and Taime Downe, and Brian Tichy. Check out the video via the Skateboard Marketing YouTube Channel here:

A sincere thank you to Wendy Dio and the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund Team for another spectacular event honoring the memory and legacy of the iconic Ronnie James Dio. It is always a wonderful time to gather with those who knew and loved him, and hear stories of his positive impact on so many lives. 

To donate to the Dio Cancer Fund, and to find out about future events, please visit: https://diocancerfund.org/donate/. 

 

Chart Editor: Munsey Ricci from Skateboard Marketing Ltd.

Editorial By Chelsea Nelson-Fernandez & Munsey Ricci

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16Nov/25

Metal Q&A:

Metal Contraband’s Chelsea recently spoke with Larissa Vale of Black Satellite about the band’s new release of Aftermath, working with Nita Strauss and singing on stage with Alice Cooper, covering Rammstein in Germany, and more. Check it out below: 

Photo via Black Satellite’s Official YouTube Channel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chelsea here on the phone with Larissa Vale of Black Satellite. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Thanks for having me.

Of course, and congrats on the release of Aftermath. You’ve unleashed an incredible album with lots of powerful tracks. How are you feeling now that it’s out?

I just couldn’t be happier to share it with everyone, all the listeners finally. And, you know, we’re about to embark on tour with Mushroomhead, and we’re gonna be playing a lot of these songs live. I know it’s going to hit so hard and I just can’t wait.

I like that there’s a kind of variety in the sense that they hit hard in different ways, tracks like “Broken” or “Kill For You” have a heavy industrial touch, while other tracks like “Downfall” feel a little bit more straightforward hard rock. So, can you talk about your style, musically, and how you guys first found your sound?

I think it’s a lot of different influences, you know? I mean, there’s a little bit of alternative, industrial-like metal, and I think it’s important, at least when we’re trying to write music, to not box yourself in to a specific genre, and to just write authentically, you know, in how you feel. It’s, at the end of the day, it’s just a form of self-expression, you know?

100%. I want to talk about the music videos, it feels like you guys integrate that very large-scale sound into the videos. Everything’s always so cinematic, and a whole themed aesthetic and everything. So walk us through one of your recent videos and what that process looked like.

So, I have a background in cinematography, so I love to be super hands-on with all the videos, you know, building all the sets by hand and things like that. Specifically, with the last video, “Kill For You,” I like to conquer my fears in music videos, and we’ve done this in the past, with one of our songs, “Endless,” where I bury myself alive, which I actually had to do for the video. But with “Kill For You,” I have a fear of spiders, so I thought, why not put a tarantula on my face? Which is the last thing I would ever want to do, and we put it on my face, and those things move so slow, and I’m like, “Oh my God, can we get this over with?” And it’s just, like, crawling over my mouth, and I could feel its little feet and I’m like, “Oh my God”. But I knew it was gonna look really cool, and I’m really happy with the final result.

That is really intense and definitely unlocks a lot of fears for a lot of people, too. It’s kind of like, we were all hoping it was maybe an AI-generated spider, but no, you put the real thing on there, which is crazy.

Yeah, I know, I wish!

No, but that’s interesting, because you’re kind of pushing your limits in terms of your own personal fears, as well as pushing limits musically by making new songs and new creations and pushing yourself to the next level with each new album.

Right, exactly.

That’s great. So, tell me more about your background in cinematography. Have you also worked with other bands on music videos, or you’ve kept the focus more on your own work?

Yeah, no, I haven’t. So, I went to university for cinematography, but then as soon as I graduated, I just started this band and haven’t looked back, but I’m really happy that I had that experience, because I’m a visual person as well, and it’s also one of my passions, so it really translates into what we’re doing in that way.

Do you go in with a vision and a plan ahead of time? Do you kind of sit there after you’ve written the song and be like, “Okay, what do we want to go and do with this visually?” Or do you already kind of have the visual in mind when you’re writing and recording the song?

No, it’s normally after I think about it, and I’ll listen to the song a million times and just see, you know, what pops up in my head visually. And I’ll start to string little things together, and I’ll speak with my director and figure out, “Okay, well, this is the next crazy idea I want to do, how do we pull that off?” You know, we have another music video where I covered myself in 15 snakes, like, live snakes. It’s just pushing the boundaries. How do we take this another step further every time? And I think at this point, my director really looks forward to those phone calls ’cause he’s like, “All right, Jesus Christ, what craziness are we getting up to this time?” I mean, we’ve even found ourselves in situations where, for the music video for “Void,” we broke into an abandoned insane asylum on Long Island, you know, and the cops had to kick us out. Like, just craziness. 

Your director’s like, “What new creature are you going to bring in to the set this time?” 

Yeah, exactly. 

That’s funny, when you say you broke into it, was the storyline of the music video that you broke into it, or you actually did?

No, yeah, we actually did. I mean, it was all boarded up, and, you know, spray paint, and vandalism, and just rubble everywhere, and it was a scary place. It’s not like I wanted to be there any longer anyway, we kind of got what we needed to get, and yeah, security came.

You got a whole video out of it, so that worked out. That’s very cool, and of course you mentioned Long Island, you guys are a New York–based band. Are you based out of NYC or Long Island?

New York City, yeah.

There’s definitely a big, strong rock scene that comes out of New York. It’s maybe not talked about as often, so what do you feel about the rock scene that you guys are living in right now?

It’s really funny because as soon as we started playing live, we just kind of started getting tours, so now all of the local shows that we play in New York are shows on tour. And my band, we live kind of all over the place now, so, my bass player is in Chicago, my drummer’s in Austin, my guitar player does live in Brooklyn, so, you know, these days, it’s not like we’re playing a lot of local shows, and it’s just so interesting how it all unfolded so fast. I mean, as soon as we kind of dipped our toe into the local scene, we just started playing nationally, which is really exciting, too.

Absolutely, you’ve had some very recent, very big tours. You recently opened for Marilyn Manson. You also toured with Cradle of Filth and DevilDriver not that long ago, that’s a great lineup, and of course you mentioned the upcoming tour with Mushroomhead as well. In general, you guys fit well on the lineup with a lot of bands, because you can do the industrial, the nu metal, the radio-friendly hard rock, it seems like you have a good adaptability in playing live.

Yeah, thanks so much. Live shows are really important to us. You know, it’s really important to remember that it’s not just another show for us. For someone in the audience, it could be something they remember for the rest of their lives, so we kind of have a responsibility to play like our life depends on it, and I’m sure people can definitely tell. I mean, we kind of just go balls out, just leave it all on the stage, and it’s just our passion, it’s what we love doing.

Absolutely, and you guys do a great job of it. So, we’ve talked about your music so far, but when it comes to lyrics, do you feel that you guys have any kind of overarching themes or tones or topics that you like to touch on, or is it just kind of whatever comes out, whatever you’re feeling at the time?

So I like to write about a lot of personal experiences. I mean, it’s kind of funny, but when I’m having a bad day is when I kind of tend to gravitate towards writing music. So there’s definitely a lot of those darker themes represented on the songs. And, you know, I don’t like to shy away from it either. I think it’s important to have a place to be vulnerable and authentic, and that’s what makes it so relatable.

It’s like a bad day can make some of the best songs, honestly. It’s good fuel.

Yeah, exactly.

I’ve also seen some photos of you on stage with Nita Strauss, and I know she’s had some different vocalists on the road, so did you tour with her as Black Satellite, or did you also sing on any of her tracks?

No, so yeah, we were Black Satellite opening for Nita Strauss. The week before the tour, she DM’d me on Instagram, and she’s like, “Hey, I’m so excited to have you guys out. Do you wanna do a song with me during my set?” So she had me sing “Feed My Frankenstein”. So I think it was 40-plus shows that we had done together, and I got to do that song with her every night. One of the coolest experiences of that tour, when we played in Phoenix, which is Alice Cooper’s hometown, he actually came out to the show, and I got to sing that song with him on stage, arm in arm, sharing microphone, and it was just such an honor. After I got off stage, he just kind of patted me on the back and he was like, “you did good”, and that was just one of those, like, “wow” moments. That’s really cool to have that memory.

Oh, definitely, that’s incredible, I love that! “Feed My Frankenstein”, that’s perfect, I can really hear your voice fitting that song really well, too, or in any Alice Cooper track, really, so I love that you did that, that’s such a fun story.

Absolutely.

You do have a really powerful voice, and like I was saying about the adaptability on tour, it’s not just the idea of playing live, but it’s your actual voice that really fits a lot of powerful, different kind of styles of rock, so when did you first discover your style and your voice?

You know, it’s just really interesting, I think it’s just a conglomerate of all the things I kind of grew up listening to, and I just wanted to portray the same kind of attitude and aggression, and just, the fearlessness of all of my favorite vocalists, and it’s not even a specific decision, it’s not like you wake up one day, and you’re like, “I’m gonna sing like this”, it just kind of evolved into this thing, and I’m still discovering different things that I can do with my voice. It’s really important as an artist to never stop growing and expanding what you’re capable of.

Absolutely, it seems like you guys definitely are expanding, this is only your second album so far, but you guys have come so far since just starting, like you said, hitting the local scene, then all of a sudden you’re on national tours, you guys are absolutely soaring, and I love that for you because you are genuinely making really cool music.

Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.

Of course, well, thank you guys for doing it. I wanted to ask you, you were saying about doing an Alice Cooper cover, but I saw that you also did a cover a couple years ago of Rammstein’s “Sonne”, which is so killer. It’s just as intense as the original, but you can tell you put your own touch and your own voice on it, literally. So first, do you actually speak any German, or did you learn it just for the song?

You know, it’s interesting, I like to pick covers by choosing something, like, really ballsy, we also did Type O Negative, and it can be very controversial, because they have die-hard fans, and so, the next thing was, “Okay, well, what else am I gonna cover?”, and I picked Rammstein, because, one, I don’t even speak a single word of German. And two, I’m a chick trying to sing a Till Lindemann song, like, are you kidding me? But I just wanted to take the challenge, and I wanted to figure out a cool way to approach it, and I think it was really successful. We play it live, people go nuts, and we even played it live on tour in Germany. We played four shows in Germany, and I remember the first show we played there, I was like, “Oh, no, I can’t believe we’re gonna play this song in Germany”. I was like, “Maybe we should close with a different song”. Everyone’s like, “No, no, no, we’ve got to do it”. I’m like, “Yeah, yeah, we’ve got to do it”. I just get out there, I just do my thing and own it, you know? Then people were coming up to me at the merch booth just speaking German to me, and I’m like, “Oh, my God, I don’t speak German”. They’re like, “Oh, really? Your German was actually pretty good”. I was like, “Are you sure? You promise?” They’re like, “No, it was really good”. And one of the other supporting bands on that tour with us, they’re from Germany, and I asked the singer, “Straight up, can you just tell me if it was okay, my German?” He was like, “As a native German speaker, it’s good”. So that just gave me a lot more confidence for the other shows that we had to do in Germany, and I thought that people would be like, “What the hell is this?”, but they really loved it too, because, like you said, you put a different spin on it, they already heard the original a million times, and now they get to enjoy it again in a different way and hear a different version of it, you know?

Exactly, that’s what covers are all about, you’re never trying to imitate the original, you’re putting your own energy into it, showing how much you love and appreciate the song, and you want people to hear what you do with it, which is really cool.

Totally.

That’s hilarious, though, about actually playing in Germany. I’m sure you were like, “These people are gonna think I’m faking”, or whatever, and then they were all like, “Oh, okay, native German over here. Sounds good”. That’s funny. Now, I also saw that Black Satellite, as a band, you have a lot of endorsements, including Bad Cat Amps, which is a great brand, and 64 Audio, which I’ve heard great things about. So what have been some of your favorite brands to work with, especially as a vocalist, with your sound and your stage experience as something so personal to, literally, your body, it’s your voice?

You know, all the companies we work with have been so great. One of our earliest endorsements, I think it was our first endorsement ever, we didn’t even really release a single, we just kind of threw it up on our website as a little preview, and it was Spectre Basses, and I met them in person at the NAMM Show in California, told them all the things that I want to achieve and do, and about the band and, our record that was coming out at the time, and they were just so down to earth and genuine, and at the end of the day, they like to believe in new artists, new music, and the next generation coming up, and they’ve been so welcoming and just totally hooked us up. And then we’ve just been so privileged to be able to work with a bunch of other companies as well.

That’s really cool, and yeah, NAMM is definitely a great place to make those kinds of connections. I always like to go and visit and cover NAMM from the media side, but you always overhear newer artists and up-and-coming bands making their brand deals and telling their story, and making these connections with these brands, and it is great that there are so many brands out there doing exactly what you just said, willing to support and help give that step up because they can recognize where talent is brewing.

Yeah, exactly.

So tell me about some of your past NAMM experience as well. Do you usually go every year, or was that just kind of a one-time visit?

I used to go, I think I went, like, three back-to-back years, then it was COVID, then started touring extensively, I think the last time I went…well, actually, I got to go this year, because I went in 2020, and then I made the point to go back again this year, and see everyone face-to-face. And they’re like, “hey, I’ve seen what you’ve been doing” and all this, and that’s really amazing, because it’s it’s one thing to say you have a dream, and then it’s another to take the steps to pursue it, and all the hard work that comes along with it, so I’m really grateful to have those connections. 

Very cool. Now, from looking to the past to now looking at the future, I know you mentioned the tour coming up with Mushroomhead, which is super exciting, that’s gonna be a great one and a great fit for sure, but tell us, what else is on the horizon for Black Satellite?

There’s lots of big plans, there’s nothing that I can say right now, but like I said, this has always been my passion and my dream, and I just kind of have one-track tunnel vision when it comes to Black Satellite, and I think that there’s nothing that’s going to stop me or, you know, give this up, so there’s lots to look forward to, especially next year and the coming years.

Well, we definitely are looking forward to hearing plenty more from you coming up, so thank you so much for your time today. It’s been really cool getting to know you better.

Thanks so much for having me!