DARK ANGEL, SACRED REICH, HIRAX, INTERCEPTOR – Reggie’s Rock Club October 3rd 2025
David Halbe
8 min read
As we rode home that night I thought about metal, its recent losses and where it was going. Considering the turnout for the concert and the individuals I met prior to the event, I think we’re in a safe place. Heavy metal isn’t going anywhere.
Recently, I began to hear stories of metal’s demise, and I must admit they are greatly exaggerated. At first, I mistakenly thought it was all about the music, but I was wrong. It’s really about camaraderie. No matter what age, gender or race you are, metal will always have a place for you!
I discovered this firsthand on 10/03/2025 when metal was at the forefront of my endeavors. The plan was simple, check out this record store downtown named Meteor Gem (3082 N ELSTON AVE – CHICAGO, IL) then head over to Reggies Rock Club (2109 SOUTH STATE STREET, CHICAGO, IL) have some lunch and attend Dark Angel, Sacred Reich, Hirax, and Interceptor.
It was the first time The Metal Channel editor, Roger Schultz, and I were utilizing an Uber. We decided for a couple of extra bucks we could have a few drinks and not worry about navigating the city of Chicago or parking. We could leave when we wanted without running the risk of getting popped for a DUI (Driving Under the Influence).
Little did I know what the day would have in store. Meteor Gem turned out to be a thrashers paradise. The owner, Mike, had an awesome selection of Black, Death, Hardcore, Sludge and Doom. If you’re into vinyl this is the place for you! The $5 CD bins had me salivating. I walked out of there with selections by Wormed and Necrophagia that I’d been coveting for a long time.
Since there was time to kill, we decided to check out the neighborhood and discovered we were just a few blocks away from the new location of The Alley (2620 W FLETCHER STREET, CHICAGO, IL)
I personally hadn’t been to The Alley since they moved from their Belmont Street address and I was excited to go. If you’re into goth décor this is the place for you! With massive selections and reasonable prices, it was hard not to walk out of this new location and not be satisfied. I will definitely be going there again and soon.
After we hit The Alley we decided to have a drink. We stumbled upon a place called The Beer Temple (3173 N ELSTON AVE, CHICAGO, IL) and it was inviting as hell. With a ridiculously huge selection of craft beer, walk in bottle shop and Chicago style pizza, it’s hard not to find something you like. The atmosphere was awesome. This is a place I’d definitely like to visit again.
Looking out the window at The Beer Temple I spotted a place I’ve always wanted to visit, Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records (3182 N ELSTON AVE CHICAGO, IL) This store was off the hook! They had a huge selection of horror. The latest movies (Bluray, DVD even VHS). A bunch of vinyl and more true crime and horror novels that you could ever desire. The prices are more than reasonable; I bought a true crime novel about John Wayne Gacy for eight only bucks!
We tried to get the owner, Grant, to sell us his Iron Maiden Trooper bar stool but without success. I’m not giving up that easy Grant, I’ll be back!
The beers and shopping had whetted our appetite so we decided to hit up the original Kuma’s Corner (2900 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL) for a bite. For those of you who haven’t heard of Kuma’s it’s a heavy metal themed restaurant specializing in hamburgers named after metal bands. Roger had the Slayer, and I ate something called the Plague Bringer. A couple of beers and some Judas Priest – ‘Painkillers’ had us feeling alright. It’s hard to believe all of these kick ass places were in walking distance of each other but that was definitely the case.
We killed four hours in what seemed like a couple of minutes. Our waitress, Amy, took our unruliness in stride. Fully fed and happily buzzed, it was time to head over to Reggies.
We’d only been at the venue for a couple of minutes when we ran into Phil Rind of Sacred Reich. Phil gave us the lowdown on the new Sacred Reich album and gave us an update on the current tour.
Phil was walking around outside because he heard the famed punk rock band Fear was playing the Music Joint side of Reggies, and he wanted to pay his respects to their legendary front man Lee Ving.
Aside from providing vocals for Dave Mustaine’s side project MD.45, Ving and Fear were known for their performance in The Decline of Western Civilization film and their infamous appearance on Saturday Night Live. A Halloween show, hosted by horror icon Donald Pleasence (Halloween), back in 1981.
We actually had a beer in the Music Joint and took in a couple of Fear songs. I got a chance to meet Lee Ving, and he told me about meeting famed comedian John Belushi and what it had been like to be a musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
It was an awesome experience, and I was left speechless. A chance encounter had allowed me to see a highly influential punk band in the flesh and to rub shoulders with an undisputed musical legend.
After Fear, we entered the Rock Club side just in time to catch a few songs of the opening band, Interceptor. Interceptor is a blackened speed metal act from South Carolina. This three-piece act had both the look and feel of England’s extreme metal influencers, Venom.
Like a band born out of the ‘80s it was hard not to get caught up in their tasty riffs and lyrical violence. I picked up a copy of their latest effort, Metal Death, and plan on reviewing it for our The Metal Channel website.
Up next was a ‘bucket list’ thrash band I’ve always wanted to catch live named Hirax. Hirax has been around in some form since 1984 and has shared the stage with many of their Los Angeles and ‘Bay Area’ peers including Metallica, Exodus and Slayer. Vocalist Katon W. De Pena is the only original member, and his stage shows are the stuff of legend. Hearing so much about him over the years, I had to experience Hirax for myself.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. From his Wendy O Williams t-shirt to his mentioning of Chicago thrash legends Zoetrope and Znowhite, Katon was everything I expected and more. Supporting their most recent effort, Faster Than Death. Katon’s stage antics were incredible, the whole hanging yourself with a microphone cord was something I hadn’t seen before, but it was massively effective. This guy literally lives and breathes metal.
The Hirax setlist was filled with furious songs, both old and new. It was hard not to hear something you liked. The fact that he took the time to introduce his band to the crowd and invited us all to the merch both for pictures was very classy. Hirax is a group I look forward to experiencing again.
Next up was Sacred Reich and I readily admit I was excited to see the band live again. We’d spent some time during the Hirax show interacting with guitarist Joey Radziwill (It was his 29th birthday) and were excited to hear about his take on the upcoming album and revamped the setlist.
Sacred Reich opened with “The American Way” and then went straight for the jugular. I hadn’t been that close to the stage in years and the mosh pit was slamming. I was proud to see a forty year old band pumping up a crowd with so little effort. If you’ve seen Sacred Reich before you know what to expect and if you haven’t what are you waiting for? Phil’s monologue about Fear was amazing, I searched out the show on YouTube just like he suggested and included it with this article.
The band members brought out a chocolate cake and demanded we all sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Joey. They even gave out cake at the merch booth after their set. Sacred Reich is a class act; I can’t wait to hear the new record. So glad they’re back in the mix!
The final band of the night was Dark Angel. I hadn’t seen the band live since 1989. I saw them play with Death (Leprosy) at the Cubby Bear Lounge (1059 W Addison) in Chicago. Ironically, Roger and I attended that show together. If you wait long enough, life always seems to come full circle.
Dark Angel was better than I expected. Despite only releasing five full length albums throughout their lengthy career, the band offered a lean and mean setlist full of hits. My favorites were: “Time Does Not Heal”, “No One Answers”, “Never to Rise Again” and “Darkness Descends”.
I haven’t heard the new studio album yet, Extinction Level Event, but it has been seemingly panned by credits largely due to the mix. While I plan on reviewing the album for The Metal Channel, I thought the songs “Sea Of Heads” and “Woke Up To Blood” came off great live. It was especially cool how vocalist Ron Reinhart jumped into the mosh pit numerous times while singing.
One a final note, the band’s new guitarist, Laura Christine, did an amazing job. She came off like a mini version of Dimebag Darrell (Pantera – R.I.P) and seemed to fit in well with the band. I just found out recently that she was the wife of famed drummer Gene Hoglan, what a pair!
As we rode home that night I thought about metal, its recent losses and where it was going. Considering the turnout for the concert and the individuals I met prior to the event, I think we’re in a safe place. Heavy metal isn’t going anywhere. In my mind, metal will always be about camaraderie, the sharing of your own personal experiences. The more shows I make, the more tales I have to tell. \m/
INTERCEPTOR is:
- Blake “Bulldözer” Arendell — Vocals, Bass
- Johnny “Reaper” Faiella — Guitars
- Jack “Hammer” Latham — Drums
HIRAX is:
- Katon W. De Pena — Vocals
- Jose Gonzalez — Bass
- Mathew Morales — Drums
- Geremi Perez — Guitars
SACRED REICH is:
- Phil Rind – Vocals, Bass
- Wiley Arnett – Guitars
- Dave McClain – Drums
- Joey Radziwill – Guitars
DARK ANGEL is:
- Eric Meyer – Guitars
- Gene Hoglan – Drums
- Ron Rinehart – Vocals
- Mike Gonzalez – Bass
- Laura Christine – Guitars
