Event tickets ($25) are available for purchase via the link below. Museum admission is not included.
BUT $45 will get you admission to a Saturday concert as well as the Museum after 5pm on that same day. That’s 3 hours kickin’ it at our Museum and then an awesome show.
Doors: 7pm
Show: 8pm
Parking: Head’s up! The Cleveland Browns play the same night as the concert. Paid meters and parking lots are available around the museum, you can park in surrounding lots downtown, take public transportation, or reserve your spot in advance by clicking here.
Midnight
The notorious and prolific Cleveland cult, Midnight, have been slaying the metal/punk underground with their own, highly addictive brand of lust, filth, and sleaze dating back to the band’s inception in 2003. Filthy, belligerent and obnoxious, Midnight make music to start fights to. One-man-band, Athenar, has been churning out an ungodly racket, dropping countless demos, splits and EPs, and in 2024 he returns with Midnight’s sixth full-length, Hellish Expectations.
Manimals
Call it monster-metal, call it horror-core….call them MANIMALS. Rampaging across the early ’80’s hardcore and mid-80’s metal scenes, the MANIMALS were one of the very first crossover bands, merging punk and traditional metal, infused with classic horror themes. Notorious for their half-man / half-beast appearance and explosive live shows, they released the legendary BLOOD IS THE HARVEST EP in 1985. In 1988 they disappeared and were not seen again until a triumphant return in 1999 with the critically acclaimed HORRORCORE CD, followed by a series of shows that earned them the Cleveland Free Times “Best Metal Act of 2000” award. Their 30-year career was capped off by a final appearance at the 2012 Wacken Open Air in Germany, however their fans simply refused to let them fade into the ether. 2022 saw the release of a career-spanning anthology titled “STUDIES IN SCARLET 1982-2018” introducing their unique blend of punk/metal to a new generation of fans. As they approach the 40th anniversary of the B.I.T.H. EP, the MANIMALS, led by founder Larry the Wolf, are back for this very special, one-off appearance with MIDNIGHT at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!
Purgatory
From Cleveland, Ohio, and first formed in 1984.
That is the year that Jeff Hatrix (aka Jeffrey Lewis Hetrick, aka Jeffrey Nothing – yes, THAT Jeffrey Nothing – of Mushroomhead) returned to his hometown of Cleveland, after a brief stint as the singer for the Chicago based band White Heat, and NI4NI before that. Reuniting with his former NI4NI bandmate, drummer Ken Easterly, they adopted the name PURGATORY, after filling out the band’s roster with bassist Mark Alexander and guitarist Greg Perry. (Another guitarist, Mike Tucker, was briefly in the band some time in 1984.)
Within a year of their formation, PURGATORY issued a four-song, self-titled EP (streaming) through J.U.F. Records, one that quickly helped them develop a loyal regional following and fan base for its high energy, traditional metal, and shredding thrash ferocity. The quartet quickly followed it with the six-song ‘Purgatory Demo’ that same year (1985), as they worked to galvanize their fans as a go-to support act when upper-tier bands played the northern Ohio region, sharing stages with the likes of Metal Church, Fates Warning, Lizzy Borden, and more.
The hype about PURGATORY was growing to the extent that it soon led to several recording offers, with the band eventually signing with the Medina, Ohio-based Auburn Records. Realizing the advantages of having a two-guitar lineup, they soon brought in a second guitarist Randy Gonce and recorded their début album, ‘Tied To The Trax‘, released in 1986 (European release via Germany’s Steamhammer Records). The album’s dizzying, technical guitars, solid rhythms, and dynamic vocals (ranging from soaring highs to straightforward, aggressive deliveries), were an immediate hit with fans of the band and underground metal in general.
