Are you ready to (sort of) rock?

Mac Sabbath

This metal act was formed in Los Angeles in 2014, and they perform covers of Black Sabbath songs, with a twist: All the lyrics are about fast food. Their punny songs include “Frying Man” (based on “Iron Man”) and “Lord of the Swirl” (inspired by “Lord of the World”). The band even dress up like McDonaldland characters: The lead singer dresses as Ronald McDonald while “Grimace” plays lead guitar, with Mayor McCheese on bass and the Hamburglar behind the drum kit.

Shining

This Scandinavian band shoots its videos in some unusual locations. One for a song called “I Won’t Forget” was filmed in one continuous take with live vocals and music on a street corner near their studio in Oslo. That’s nothing in comparison to how they’ve spent the summer of 2015. They played a gig on the top of “Troll’s Tongue,” a terrifying rock outcropping with a 2,300 foot drop located over Ringedalsvatnet Lake in rural Norway. Getting all the way up there typically requires a five-hour hike, but Shining was helicoptered in. Even weirder, 300 people hiked up to watch the performance.

The County Medical Examiners

The three members of this band are all medical professionals who just so happen to love playing heavy metal. One member is over the age of 60 and has the rather un-metal stage name of Guy Radcliffe but he sure can “operate” on his bass guitar. While they’ve recorded four albums to date, one of which is titled Forensic Fugues and Medicolegal Medleys, the County Medical Examiners never perform live. This is mostly because they want to keep their real identities hidden so they don’t get in trouble with hospital administrators or upset their patients. Their last album, 2007’s Odious Operettas, also reportedly came with a unique “scratch and sniff” feature that made it smell just like rotting flesh.