Before getting hired by Circus magazine, Mark Weiss was just a high school kid stuffing a camera under a baggy sweatshirt and paying the Madison Square Garden door guy three bucks to sneak in. He was literally selling 8x10s out of his locker before landing a gig shooting Van Halen at the Asbury Park Convention Hall on August 11, 1979. He eventually became their go-to guy. By the 1982 Hide Your Sheep tour in Chicago, David Lee Roth was calling Weiss's hotel room to demand he come take photos of him climbing a tree to rescue a stuck kite. It makes you wonder how much incredible, unauthorized rock history is still sitting in some guy's attic because he snuck a camera into a legendary gig. Who are the modern-day rogue photographers doing this right now at your local venues? Drop their names, I want to dig through their archives.

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.

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.

Is it worth going?

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.

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?

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.

19 days out. Let's see how far people are traveling for this. Drop your: *City you're coming from *How many times have you been to SNW (0 = first timer!) *Your #1 must-see act I'll start: Seattle, 0, KORN

There's a lot of footage floating around of Bad Omens playing the Canal Club in Richmond on an early Sumerian tour. It’s wild to watch now. No massive LED walls, no insane production budget—just the band crammed onto a tiny stage, sweating it out in a packed 300-cap room. Obviously, their current arena shows are visually stunning and they've earned every bit of that success. But watching these old club sets makes you realize how much the dynamic shifts when a band blows up. The raw, unpolished intensity of a tiny room and the direct connection with the barricade is impossible to replicate in a 10,000-seat venue. Do you think the massive production of their current era makes up for the loss of that intimate club energy, or is the Canal Club era the definitive live Bad Omens experience? What’s the smallest room you’ve ever seen them in?

There’s a new exhibit in LA right now showing Kevin Cummins' photos of Oasis from 1993. This is right after they signed to Creation Records. Before Definitely Maybe, before the massive stadium fights, and way before the current reunion madness. Looking at these archives, the craziest thing isn't how young they look. It’s that Liam and Noel already carried themselves like they were the biggest band on earth, even when they were just playing tiny clubs in Manchester. The arrogance was there from day one. It makes you wonder about music photography now. We have a million iPhone videos of every indie band's first gig, but do we get iconic, raw documentation like this anymore? Or did the mystery die when everyone got a camera in their pocket? Who do you think is the most photogenic band of the 90s besides Oasis?

Credit: Rock Feed

British rock band Queen faces Los Angeles thrash metal icons Metallica in this week's hard rock head-to-head poll. Will you choose London's 1970 legends or the group formed in 1981? 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?

Credit to: Q with Tom Power