Taipei Houston performs at August Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 16, 2021. Derek Tobias/STAFF. SACRAMENTO — Life comes at you fast if you’re Myles and Layne Ulrich, the up-and-coming alt rock duo better known as Taipei Houston. The brothers with rock and roll in their blood have been…

Metallica performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2022. Metallica’s nonprofit All Within My Hands Foundation’s annual benefit show and auction will move to Los Angeles this year, with a show at L.A.’s Microsoft Theater on Dec. 16. The “Helping Hands Concert & Auction”…

Carlos Santana performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif. on June 21, 2022. Original photo: Derek Tobias/STAFF. I got a call this week to be on dead rock star alert. I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become go-to rock star obituary guy. Actually, I’m pretty sure…

Metallica performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2022. Sean Liming/STAFF. NAPA — Taking an informal poll of the 40,000-some attending the opening day of BottleRock Napa Valley on Friday, it was pretty clear who most were there to see. Heavy metal heroes Metallica…

E-40 performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 26, 2018. Chloe Catajan/STAFF. As you read this, assuming you’re reading this on Saturday, I’m at BottleRock Napa. I know. I keep swearing off festival coverage on account of my increasingly useless corporeal form falling apart…

Cirith Ungol, “Forever Black.” My impulse buy of the week was a 40th anniversary re-release of Metal Blade Records’ first Metal Massacre compilation record, a collection of some of the hottest new metal artists of the year. There’s probably nobody you’ve heard of on the record unless you’re into the Los…

Kirk Hammett, “Portals.” Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett packs plenty of punch into his debut EP, Portals. The four-track record is a nearly 30-minute stylistic journey that spans genres, moods and musicality. Hammett’s first-ever solo effort’s arrival is fairly significant, as Metallica avoided side projects for years. That was partly the reason…

Metallica performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Dec. 17, 2021. Steve Carlson/STAFF. Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation has contributed $600,000 to World Central Kitchen in its effort to assist refugees in Eastern Europe as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The majority of that, $500,000 is…

Editor Daniel J. Willis brings some song ideas to Kyiv Independent defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko, who reported that the Ukrainian military has been jamming Russian radio communications with metal. Illia Ponomarenko, defense reporter with the Kyiv Independent and metalhead, reports that the Ukrainian military has been jamming Russian radio…

Metallica performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Dec. 17, 2021. Steve Carlson/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Metallica sure knows how to throw a birthday party. Tickets to the band’s two 40th anniversary concerts were offered to members of their fan club. At the first of those on Friday…