Talk on the streets is there’s a backlash against the Casualties (appearing on Sunday, July 18, at Invesco Field as part of the Vans Warped Tour) by self-righteous old-schoolers armed with accusations of “sell-out” and, of course, the perennial standby, “poseurs.” Those knee-jerk slanders should be laid to rest, however,…

Guys hate guys. Guys really hate good-lookin’ guys. We don’t want to see some hairsprayed pretty boy batting his eyes and pursing his lips, because we feel threatened. The reason Ron Jeremy has a career is to give us normals hope. Zeke is Ron Jeremy music: thick, manly, hard and…

Tied together by a threatening Lee Van Cleef spaghetti-Western theme, Dead Girls Don’t Cry rides the range from clanging Sabbath metal (“Black Wedding”) to harsh rockabilly (“Shock Star”). Loaded with death-defying two-part harmony, a well-crafted score, insane drum patter and orgasmic guitar licks, the Danes in Nekromantix have grown fiercer…

The HorrorPops may look like the Cramps, but they’re more razor-edged pop than horror. The outfit’s parts fit together like Roger Corman’s Frankenstein — not quite as scary as hoped. The Concrete Blonde head of Souxsie Sioux is stitched onto the torso of Gwen Stefani. Dick Dale’s arms are added,…

Some day, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Nick Cave may stroll into Sun Records and cut an intimate session to be dubbed The Next Million Dollar Quartet. While this dream is implausible, Rev. Neil Down’s incredible barroom testament gives hope to the possibility. When a Wrong Turns Right…

Unlike standard retro-rockers bent on filling clubs with rehashed vintage fashion, the three Followill brothers and one Followill cousin are as real as the shaggy hair on their heads. The Kings of Leon are fluent in several styles of circa-1970 rock. These influences go from their sleeves into the pot,…