They appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere: an instrumental metal juggernaut that almost instantly started conquering the hearts and minds of the H-town indie scene. The three guys in Rustler have only been Houston-dwellers for a relatively short time, having been washed ashore by the ravages of Katrina, but in that short while they've managed to turn some scenester heads and release an utterly badass EP, Phonetic Whips, which spits out some of the proggiest, nearly jazziest metal you're ever likely to hear... (Rustler plays at Walter's on Washington on Saturday, November 17th, along with Bowel & The Dead See.) [more] || [Jeremy Hart] || [11/17/07]

Leaving a stage littered with faux blood and body parts in his wake, Vincent Furnier, a.k.a. Alice Cooper, brought his classic form of heavy metal shock rock to an overflowing crowd of adoring fans on October 22nd at the Verizon Wireless Theater. It's been over forty years since the black-eyelinered Cooper revamped his mid-sixties psychedelic-based rock act into the standard musical fare of past FM hits that effectively put him of the map, recording-wise, with the much-fanfared release of his Love It To Death album in 1971. Over the years, he and his band have since amassed one of the most enviable chains of recognizable songs in the hard rock market... [more] || [Bill Reed] || [11/09/07]