Tuesday December 8th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Christian Metal: Impending Doom There’s a new marque of darkness coming out of the amplifiers of Impending Doom. Three guitarists contribute to the density of sound that fills your head like an inky black menace when first you hear this band.This is a band comprised of musicians who manipulate the genre of death metal like a butcher wields his cleaver. The fact that Impending Doom refuse to toe the line with their spiritual convictions in a genre long known for it’s demonic inclinations is paramount to the band’s impending notability…and your impending doom
Oh Sleeper
An empowering call-to-arms descends upon the weak-minded, the undecided, the superficially concerned with the arrival of Son Of The Morning, the new album from OH, SLEEPER. On the followup to their When I Am God debut, these Texan lads obliterate any notions of the "sophomore slump" with an alarming urgency sure to excite anyone with even a cursory interest in bands like Underoath, Slipknot or Dillinger Escape Plan.

Friday December 11th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Metal/Hardcore: WINDS OF PLAGUE return with the much anticipated new full-length release, The Great Stone War. A concept record and their most epic and unrelenting offering to date, this album is going to quickly propel the band to the forefront of the American metal scene. The Great Stone War is the product of a band maturing greatly and coming into their own throughout two years of unrelenting worldwide touring. This new album also marks the recording debut of drummer Art Cruz and keyboardist Kristen Randall adding a whole new layer of dynamics to the band’s already devastating arsenal of metallic fury and angst. The disc was recorded once again with Daniel Castleman (As I Lay Dying, A Love Ends Suicide) and mixed by the legendary Tue Madsen (Himsa, The Haunted). This offering could be best described as the soundtrack to Armageddon with each track becoming extremely epic in scope. WINDS OF PLAGUE encompasses a juxtaposition of Scandinavian black metal, classic American metal and overall brutality, which will have them reign supreme among their peers. Adapted from Myspace

Also on the Red Room Stage :: ACORA :: A TRAGEDY LOST :: WITH THIS OATH :: AT CALVARY and more TBA

Saturday December 12th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Industrial:
Before the majority of industrial acts added guitars and became the heavy metal of the 1990s, Nitzer Ebb produced hard-hitting electronic music with the Teutonic bent and abrasive edge of early industrial music, plus the vocal chanting and beat-heavy flavor of the late-'80s alternative and Balearic dance scene.

Sunday December 13th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Rock:
Saosin started in june of 2003, Have released two eps and a self titled full length and were able to tour around the planet because of the support of their fans. They will release "In Search of Solid Ground" on September 8th, 2009.

Thursday December 17th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Alternative Pop/Emo:
The emo-pop quintet Hawthorne Heights came to life in the summer of 2001. They built their fan base on a solid demo recording and a series of self-booked national tours that saw them sharing the stage with the likes of From Autumn to Ashes and The Descendents. In 2004 they released their powerful full-length debut, "The Silence in Black and White." As the bandmates relentlessly toured behind it, the album became Victory's highest-selling debut, while its lead single, "Ohio Is for Lovers," slowly invaded rock radio, MTV, and teenage hearts across the country. During legal disputes with Victory Records Hawthorne Heights continued touring nationwide and served as headliners on the fall 2006 version of the popular Nintendo Fusion Tour with openers Relient K, The Sleeping, and more. On the road in late 2007, guitarist Casey Calvert died in his sleep. Soldiering on as a quartet, the bandmates resolved their issues with Victory Records and issued a third album, Fragile Future, in August 2008.

Friday December 18th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Rock:
Rooney is a five piece band of Los Angeles natives that formed in late 1999. After self-releasing two 5 song EPs and establishing a loyal following around the L.A. area, the band signed with Geffen Records in 2002. The band recorded their first full-length album with producer Keith Forsey (Billy Idol, Simple Minds) and proceeded to tour relentlessly for the following two years. The first album yielded two successful singles (I’m Shakin’, Blueside) and was followed up with the DVD release “Spit and Sweat.” The sophomore album was released in the summer of 2007 and features the melodic songwriting and dynamic playing and harmonizing the band is known for. The first single (When Did Your Heart Go Missing?) peaked at number eight on the VH1 countdown and spawned a top 10 radio hit all across Europe where three more singles were released. Rooney has recently completed their self produced 3rd album with mixer Dave Trumfino (Wilco, Built to Spill, Grandaddy).

Sunday December 20th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Afton offers artists hope for finding greater satisfaction and fulfillment in their creative work. We provide this through live performance opportunities and online informational resources. In an industry full of people anxious to tell you that you can't, we're lucky to be able to tell you that you can. By providing an opportunity for live shows, Afton offers a primary vehicle for artists to share what they have created. Aditionally, we provide unique strategies for artists and advocate a proactive mindset. We encourage them to determine the purpose of their art, establish their definition of success, and then create the plan that will get them there. This missing framework is the only thing keeping many artists from having the career they want. Afton's events allow an artist's music to come to life. Live performance is where the deepest connection between the fan and artist can take place. Also, at the local level, live shows are the best way to gain new fans. Our shows offer artists hope for growing their following, which is a very common career goal.

Sunday December 27th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Monday December 28th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Alternativ e Pop/Emo: Sprinkling their impassioned brand of alternative rock with touches of screamo, pop-punk, and metal, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was originally born in 2003 in Middleburg, Florida. After writing and rehearsing for 18 months with no real intentions of either performing or recording, the bandmembers were urged by several friends to pursue their music seriously. This encouragement led the guys to book themselves several local shows, much to the quick embracement of their hometown scene. As the buzz grew, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus recorded their first EP and began relentlessly spreading their name around Florida. Despite a rapidly developing fan base, several subsequent label showcases amounted to nothing and various bandmembers either exited or were asked to leave the group. Undeterred, the band's remaining core — vocalist Ronnie Winter and guitarist Duke Kitchens — began to rebuild the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. A few months after the lineup was solidified, the guys began crafting their full-length debut. The resulting "Don't You Fake It" appeared in July 2006, and part of that summer was spent on the Warped Tour; the album was certified gold by the year's end, propelled by the success of the Top 40 single "Face Down."

Thursday December 31st @ Meridian Houston, Texas

"A TEXAS-SIZED NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATION!"
F E A T U R I N G
BOB SCHNEIDER
With Special Guests
STRAIGHTFORK :: DUNE TX

Free dinner Buffet for VIP Ticket holders Balloon drops, champagne, and a whole lot more.

Folk Rock: Bob Schneider is not new to this game. He has built his career as a working class musician and as a result has an institution of faithful followers all across the country with a mega-fan-base epicenter in Austin. There have been highs - the near-breakthrough success of 'Lonelyland,' and the next-big-thing hype that surrounded it. And lows - he was subsequently dropped by two labels. Through it all he sustained and even flourished as an independent artist releasing five albums, hundreds of digital singles, and fronting three bands simultaneously. Yet, Schneider still continues to push himself in a multitude of creative directions. His fans have come to expect the unexpected from Bob Schneider but all of these bands give him free rein to explore the music that he loves – funk, pop, bluegrass, jazz, soul, blues, hip-hop and good old-fashioned bar rock raunchy enough to make you flush, and emotional enough to choke you up...

Monday January 11th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Alternative Metal / Thrash: Between the Buried and Me is a thinking man's hardcore unit hailing from Raleigh, NC. The band began in 2000 after the dissolution of vocalist Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner's previous group, Prayer for Cleansing. Rogers and Waggoner completed their new lineup with the addition of guitarist Nick Fletcher, bassist Jason King (ex-Azazel), and drummer Mark Castillo, formerly of Bury Your Dead. A debut soon appeared, and the band supported its release with an avid tour schedule. Between the Buried and Me signed with Chicago powerhouse Victory in the summer of 2002 and began work on their debut for the label. The Silent Circus appeared in late October of the following year; it showcased a more focused fusion of the group's math rock, heavy metal, and post-hardcore influences. The band paid tribute to many of their influences — from Pantera to Queen to Pink Floyd — on the covers album The Anatomy Of, which surfaced in June 2006. That fall, Victory reissued The Silent Circus with an additional bonus DVD of material. In 2007, they went to the studio with producer Jamie King and recorded Colors, which was described as "new wave polka grunge" by the band. The Great Misdirect, the band's fifth studio album, appeared two years later.

Friday February 19th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

GENRE: DRI are a punk/metal crossover band with our Roots set in Hardcore. Established way back in 1982, they have been together for over 23 years. They are considered to be one of the forefathers of speed metal and thrash punk music.

Tuesday March 16th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Heavy Metal: After the breakup of Floor in 2004, Torche vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks decided to carry on the thundering tradition of his former band, recruiting guitarist Juan Montoya (also formerly of Floor), drummer Rick Smith, and bassist Jonathan Nuñez. This lineup evolved the sonic template Brooks had created with Floor into a lush and more fully realized sound. In 2005, the Miami, FL four-piece released their eponymous debut on "Robotic Empire," introducing the world to a new brand of doom/stoner metal that replaces the bleakness and despair typical of the genre with a more triumphant and anthemic sound: the heavy metal equivalent of Chariots of Fire. Combining de-tuned, droning guitars reminiscent of doom luminaries Earth and Sunn with soaring, harmonic vocals, Torche created a new take on the genre that is best described as "doom pop." After the album's release, the band began extensive cross-country touring, sharing bills with the Sword, Mouth of the Architect, Jesu, Isis, and Mogwai. In March of 2007, Torche released a remastered version of their self-titled album featuring the bonus track "Make Me Alive." In the summer of 2007, Torche released the beautifully packaged EP "In Return on Robotic Empire," featuring a jacket designed by John Baizley of Baroness. Late in 2007, the band announced that they had finished recording their second album, "Meanderthal," which was slated for a spring 2008 release.

Saturday March 20th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Indie / Electro-Pop:
Miike Snow is an indie electro-pop trio comprised of writer/producers Chris Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Andrew Wyatt that debuted in 2009 on the label Downtown Records. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Karlsson and Winnberg are best known as the production duo Bloodshy & Avant. As such they worked with a range of international pop stars during the early 2000s, including Britney Spears, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Ms. Dynamite. Most notably, their production of Spears' 2004 chart-topping smash hit "Toxic" won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2005. Based in New York City, Wyatt is a writer/producer who formerly collaborated in the groups Black Beetle and the A.M. with Joan Wasser and Michael Tighe, respectively. He's also an in-house producer for Downtown Records (Spank Rock, Amanda Blank) and a member of the band Fires of Rome, which made its full-length album debut with You Kingdom You (2009). Founded in 2007, Miike Snow brought the talents of the three together in one group, and the commercial debut single "Animal" was released on Downtown Records in 2009.

Sunday March 28th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Metal:
Combine extreme music with an edgy, biting implacability, complement it with politically motivated lyrics that have a distinct tendency to point the finger at grievances and aren't afraid of exposing abhorrent facts, and you just might get a sense of the pandemonium of sounds on Hordes of Chaos, the latest recording by Germany's cult thrash metal act, Kreator, scheduled for release on Steamhammer/SPV on 19 January 2009 (Germany: 16 January, US: late January). Even in 2009, the band prove themselves to be unusually innovative and a step ahead of the game, always ready to pursue new ideas and treat themselves and their fans to maximum authenticity. Frontman Mille Petrozza, along with drummer Jürgen 'Ventor' Reil, bassist Christian Giesler and guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, recorded ten hard-as-nails tracks in the summer of 2008, songs with a persistent and unmistakable message - Kreator are experts when it comes to pure, unadulterated thrash metal.

Thursday April 8th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Metal: Following their formation in 1993, Hammerfall underwent numerous personnel changes before settling on their current lineup, which includes principal songwriters Joachim Cans (vocals) and Oscar Dronjak (guitars). In Flames skinbeater Jesper Stromblad contributed to their debut, although Patrick Rafling replaced him soon after. Since the release of their debut Glory to the Brave in 1997, Hammerfall have become one of the toasts of the Eurometal scene, residing in Germany's Top 100 for over two months, with Glory dubbed Album of the Year by Rock Hard magazine. The Swedish rockers have also played numerous metal fests, including the Wacken Open Air Festival; they returned in 1999 with the EP I Want Out. Renegade was issued a year later.

Wednesday April 28th @ Meridian Houston, Texas

Heavy Metal / Progressivve Metal: Finnish prog metal quartet Sonata Arctica specializes in a soaring, orchestral variation on European heavy metal, fusing the sweeping, romantic bombast of bands like Europe with the over-the-top instrumental chops of Dream Theater. Born in 1996, the band, which included vocalist Tony Kakko, guitarist Jani Liimatainen, drummer Tommy Portimo, keyboardist Mikko Harkin, and bassist Janne Kivilahti, recorded a handful of demos before releasing their first single, "UnOpened," on Spinefarm Records in July of 1999. Producer Mikko Karmila (Children of Bodom, Stratovarius, Nightwish) recorded and mixed Sonata Arctica's full-length debut, Eliptica, and the album was released in 2000 by Spinefarm and Century Media Records. Following a successful tour with Rhapsody and Stratovarius, the group put out a six-song EP, Successor-MCD, which featured live tracks, a pair of covers, and other previously unreleased material.