The Syndicate's 3rd Annual Metal X-Mas Ball – Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Most Precious Blood, Nora, This Day Forward, Underoath

Headbanging is back! No more blanks stares. No more mindless moshing. Backwards hat-wearing frat boys, please keep to your kegs. Spooky kids, stick to your basement wannabe-tombs. Generation Y, go enjoy your extreme games. Its time for the real metal fans to return, as there is real metal to be heard. Don't get the wrong …

TapRoot @ The Bowery Ballroom NY, NY 10-22-02

With the losses of Lynn Strait (Snot) and Dave Williams (Drowning Pool) there remains few frontmen in metal that have what it takes to be great. What they had was personality and passion, and could not only connect with the crowd, but also be part of it. TapRoot's Stephen Richards is one of the (unfortunately) …

Flaw @ Irving Plaza NY, NY 9-23-02

I should know better than to judge things immediately. First time I heard of Flaw, I immediately thought, 'yeah, I bet the only Flaw is that these guys have no talent.' It is a good thing that I've been taught to look a bit deeper, and to take that look despite first impressions. Seeing Flaw …

OURS – Solo Acoustic Performance by Jimmy Gnecco at The Viper Room 9.25.02

Hollywood, Ca — It was mindblowing. Last night, I witnessed something so intimate and so revealing, so absolutely powerful and chilling and ultimately devastating that it is nearly impossible to express the way I am feeling in this afterglow. I've never seen someone open himself up so unabashedly. It was just Jimmy and his guitar. …

Ozzfest 2002, Holmdel, NJ 7-19-02

Two stages + 21 bands over 13 and a half hours + Three different climates = One wet, exhausted UnEarthed.com staff member I love Ozzfest. This year marked the fifth trip I've made to Ozzy's annual festival tour in Holmdel, NJ, and the fifth uniquely good time that I had. One year was special because …