It's Ohio vs Los Angeles in this week's alternative rock battle! Will you choose the duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, or the quartet of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante? Cast your vote before voting closes to decide the winner! Cast your vote on the contest page, then make your case here — why does your pick take it?

Rex Brown recently looked back at Joe Giron’s photo archive and called him the unofficial fifth member of Pantera. If you’ve seen the shots from A Vulgar Display of Pantera, you know exactly why. The dude was there for everything—from the spandex-clad Texas club days when Dimebag was still going by "Diamond," to the absolute demolition derby of the Reinventing the Steel tour. Phil Anselmo said looking at the early 90s shots just reminds him they were waiting for the camera to click so they could hit "Beer:30." Which era of Pantera do you think looked the most purely unhinged? Are you taking the hungry Cowboys From Hell days, or the peak chaos around Far Beyond Driven?

From his days as an embalmer in Bakersfield to defining a whole new era of heavy music, Jonathan Davis has lived about ten lives. He took all the bullying, his goth/new wave influences, and the literal darkness of working in a coroner's office, and turned it into the blueprint for Korn. Looking at the year-over-year changes, his eras are so distinct. You’ve got the early raw tracksuits and bagpipes, the Untouchables-era refinement, the HR Giger mic stand debut, all the way up to his current sober, elder-statesman-of-metal vibe.

There is something incredibly wholesome about seeing one of metal’s most intense frontmen geeking out in the crowd just like a regular fan. It’s that exact energy we love tracking.

It is time to pick your favorite in this alternative rock matchup between Green Day and System of a Down. Both California bands bring distinct sounds, from late 80s Bay Area punk to 90s Glendale heavy metal. Cast your vote now before voting closes! Cast your vote on the contest page, then make your case here — why does your pick take it?

There is an unmatched, chaotic energy in band photography from the late 70s, right before massive stadium tours smoothed out the rough edges. Looking at AC/DC between 1976 and 1979 is the perfect example—they don’t look like global rock gods yet, just a gang of guys who plugged into a wall and turned it all the way up. We need to get better at archiving this specific era of photography on the wiki. The unpolished, cramped-stage, cigarette-smoke-in-the-lens shots are pure history. The stadium years are documented to death, but the club days are where the actual story is. Who has the best pre-1980 band photos? Drop your favorite unpolished shots of legendary bands before they blew up.

Credit: Rock Feed

For anyone who doesn't know the story: Acid Bath formed in Houma, Louisiana in 1991. They released two albums — "When the Kite String Pops" (1994) and "Paegan Terrorism Tactics" (1996) — that are considered two of the greatest sludge metal albums ever made. Then in 1997, bassist Audie Pitre was killed by a drunk driver, and the band called it quits. For 28 years, fans thought they'd never play again. The reunion was originally supposed to happen at the cancelled SNW 2025. Now it's finally happening. If you've never listened to Acid Bath, go listen to "Scream of the Butterfly" or "Bleed Me an Ocean" right now. You'll understand why people are flying across the country for this one set. Are you as hyped for this reunion as I am? What song do you need to hear live?

Think about the best local band you saw in high school. Did you think they were going to be the next Beatles? Lookout Records founder Larry Livermore did. In 1988, he watched Billie Joe and Mike play to exactly five kids in an off-the-grid cabin in Mendocino County. They were 16. It was their third show ever. Livermore decided right then to make a record with them. He eventually walked away from Lookout because the music business got too corporate—treating artists "like soap powder"—but not before launching the biggest punk band on the planet. Decades later, they looked him in the eye from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stage and thanked him. What’s the smallest crowd you’ve ever seen a massive band play to before they blew up? Let's hear your best "I saw them when" stories.

People are asking the documentary, here the YouTube link

After the 2025 cancellation and the whole $400+ ticket price controversy, Sick New World is back for 2026. System of a Down headlining again (they've headlined every single edition), Korn co-headlining, and a lineup that's arguably the best they've ever put together. Are you buying in? Did you get burned by the 2025 cancellation, and you're sitting this one out? Or is this lineup too stacked to miss? Drop your take below.

Everyone talks about the massive 90s comeback or the Armageddon soundtrack, but early 70s Aerosmith out of Boston was entirely different. They were gritty, unpolished, and arguably the most dangerous rock band in America at the time. Look at any live shot from the 'Toys in the Attic' or 'Rocks' era—it's pure chaos. Are we in agreement that 1975-1976 was their absolute creative peak, or does someone want to make a serious argument for the late 80s 'Pump' era?

We always talk about The Cure like they arrived fully formed as these untouchable goth pioneers, but looking back at their actual early years, it’s a miracle they survived at all. Their first label was a German disco imprint that dropped them because the music was too depressing. Then there’s the time they got kicked off a Generation X tour because Lol Tolhurst stumbled into a backstage bathroom and accidentally peed on Billy Idol. Even when they hit their creative stride recording 'Pornography', they were basically living in a literal mountain of empty lager cans and sleeping on the floor of the record label office. And let's not forget Robert Smith's dad making him go back on tour after he quit during a fistfight with Simon Gallup in Strasbourg. It makes their massive stadium success later on feel even more insane. What’s your favorite unhinged story from a band’s early days? Is there any group that had a messier come-up than early Robert Smith and co?

Special collaborations with Soundgarden Matt Cameron