Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #208: Dogrock 8

September 27th, 2025

Maple Grove Tavern, 14832 Pease Road, Maple Heights, OH

Hello, my fellow Rock N’ Roll enthusiast! Welcome back to the Rustbelt Rock Review, your one stop shop for what’s hot on the North coast. This week I had the pleasure of attending Dogrock VIII. What is Dogrock? Well, I’m glad you asked. Dogrock is an ongoing series of fundraising events designed to generate donations for local “No Kill” animal shelters. Organized by Nick Lewis of Galactic Reptile, the event is now in it’s eighth installment. First and foremost, Dogrock in a concert, and that is what I am most concerned with. So here’s how it went down. I arrived shortly after three and made my way around the club, before resettling outside to enjoy the fresh air. In time I was joined by Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor of Roxxxstarradio, and together we scaled the stairs leading up into the club. It was four o’clock when Jay Stone and Nick Lewis climbed up onto the stage to officially kick off the show and introduce the first band. From this point on Jay and The Dook would alternate acting as event MC.

Breaking the seal on the evening was Dogrock veterans: Stone Cold Killers. This is a five man Hard Rock group has appeared at every Dogrock since it’s inception. They are made up of Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums. I found their style to be smooth, low key, barroom Rock. It’s the perfect kind of sound to play background to game of pool and a tall beer. I initially thought they were a four piece, until I noticed their rhythm Guitarist standing off stage in the corner. He wandered around the club, strumming his chords and exploring the space while his band mates kicked out their jams up on stage. They had some stomping Kick Drum and nice lead Guitar work as well. All in all they played five songs, closing out with a track called
“Outlaw.” They finished up and received solid applause from those in attendance.

Second to the stage was Lotus Pedal. This is a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Power Trio, made up of Guitar/Vocal, Bass and Drum/Vocal. They opened up heavy, upbeat and driving. The Vocals were clean and those duties switched between the Guitarist and the Drummer depending on the song. Overall their style was up beat and Rockin’. Their Drummer brought a pounding beat. I was impressed with their Bass Player, both in the skill of his play and with his stage energy. I dug on their song “Steel Toed Butterfly” as it had a vibe that made me want to move. They played a total of seven tracks before calling it quits and receiving strong applause.

Third up was Cleveland’s newest Misfits tribute band: Horror Business. Founded by Nick Lewis of Galactic Reptile this band is exactly what it sounds like. They ran through ten classic Misfits tracks opening with “Hybrid Moments” They then belted out other favorites like “We Are 138,” “Skulls,” and “Astro Zombies” eventually closing out with “Where Eagles Dare.” The crowd was engaged from the get go. Heads banged, horns were thrown up and we had quite a little sing along as they blasted through these beloved anthems. It was great. Being a long time Misfits fan I was thrilled to see Dogrock injected with the majesty of a Classic Misfits set. After the set was over, Nick disappeared. Allegedly in search of a sausage sandwich, he vanished into the bar below. Now that is all well and good; after all, a man’s gotta eat. The problem was that Nick’s other band, Galactic Reptile was next to the stage. To put it simply, the show could not go on, until Nick had his sausage.

In good time Nick did reappear, and after a sizable break, Galactic Reptile took to the stage. For those of you who do not know, Galactic Reptile are the founders of the Dogrock Festival. And much like the Stone Cold Killers, they also hold the distinction of having had played at every Dogrock event to date. They are made of five guys: Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums. They play a style that straddles the line between Metal and Hard Rock, though I do believe they lean more heavily toward the Metal side of things. They opened up with a song called “Pain” and then they were off and rolling. It was all dirty Rock N’ Roll from then on out. Their singer has a voice like a woodchipper. It’s coarse, bringing a hard edge to the sound. I was impressed with their Guitar solo work, even at the earliest parts of the set, and I stayed impressed all the way through to the finish. Nick went wild on stage, Rocking out, dancing and dropping to his knees as he played his Guitar with expert precision. On tracks like “This Life,” “Let’s Be Real” and “Candyland” Galactic Reptile brought fire to the stage. Finally closing out with “M.E.K.” they brought he house down with their hard, fast auditory assault. The crowd cheered and begged for more. Alas there was no room for extra Reptilian Jams. Their time had passed and the show simply had to go on.

Our fifth performer of the night was Broton. Here we encounter another power trio. This one constructed of Guitar/Vocals, Bass/Vocals and Drums/Vocals. This is a band I have heard a lot about, but have never had the chance to check out, until now. Our stage manager Jay Stone described them as being some sort of Stoner, Punk, Metal hybrid. I didn’t exactly know what that meant, but I was excited to find out. They immediately earned their way into my good graces, when they opened with a bitchin’ cover of Black Sabbath’s “Never Say Die.” Their Guitarist handled lead Vocals and he had a rough, gravelly delivery. I was impressed with their Bassman’s six string action and his incomprehensible groove. On “Rolling” they served up some Rock N’ Roll with a wild charge attached to it. The energy was fantastic and the crowd immediately ate it up. They ran through a set that was energizing and hard hitting. They exhibited songs with excellent Bass Lines, crushing chords, and Drums like an avalanche. They laid out ten total tracks each bad ass in their own right, though for me it was all about “Sasquatch.” This song was absolutely dope and I thought it was the highlight of the set. They closed out with a cover of Elvis’ “Hound Dog” and left the crowd howling for more. It had been a great set and the fans applauded vigorously.

Sixth to the stage was Evil Robot. This is a four man band made up of Guitar/Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. This is another band I had never previously seen, yet I have heard a lot about. I was excited to finally hear them, and when I did… WOW! Their style was like some sort of Stoner Metal, but injected with a healthy dose of Nirvana’s “Bleach.” It was raw and undiluted; heavy and unapologetic in it’s presentation. They opened with a bad ass number entitled “The Rift” which was very abrasive while still packing a lot of groove. Their Vocalist’s delivery was clean with a gritty edge. He had a ranting sort of quality to his voice that bordered on spoken word at times. The Drum work was hard as nails and the Guitars were nice and fuzzy. All in all I was loving their sound as they plowed into their set without mercy. The stage presence was solid as they Rocked out. Their Vocalist grabbed my attention, as his performance was intense to say the least. He raged, wild eyed, and oozed the tell tale signs of insanity. The channeling of this madness made for all the more compelling of a set for sure. “Overated” I described as a song that “has a mouthful of teeth and it chews.” “Everything” had very nice Bass work and thunderous Drums. While “Evil Wins” stuck out in my mind as a profoundly nasty offering. They played a total of nine tracks, closing out with their namesake track: “Evil Robot.” The crowd went nuts. Evil Robot was amazing and the fan reaction went accordingly. With screams and applause coming from all sides Evil Robot brought the house down.

Our seventh performers of the night were the Heavy Metal hammer better known as Dark Secret. This is a five man Traditional Heavy Metal band with a Thrashy edge. They are built from five members: Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums. They present a style loaded with high end operatic Vocals, solid riffs and impressive solos. They opened with “Pharma/Lying Eyes” and never looked back. Next they broke into the hard charging “Why am I Here?” followed by “Fury” both of which managed to blow my hair back, so to speak. I noted that the band had great backing Vox coming in from their Bassist, really helping to fill out the sound. On “Patriarch” we got a high energy, galloping cadence. “Dirty War” had great Guitar work which led to a nice melodic breakdown, which led to an up beat finish. “Darkest Tribunal” had another great solo, and it prompted me to write that the “Guitar work has been on point all set.” Finally closing the set they broke out “Paradox” This one showed the band Rocking out hard, as the singer left the stage to stalk the club. They finished strong with big Vocal notes, which drove the crowd wild. Dark Secret had crushed, to be sure, and the fan reaction was proportional lunacy.

Finally closing out my evening Nosewig. This is a three man walking, Rock N’ Roll fiasco built from Guitar/Vocals, Bass/Backing Vocals and Drums. Their music is eclectic and powerful, but a little hard to tack down to a subgenre. Let’s just agree that they Rock and that is all there is to be said about it. Also, their set list is written in some sort of indecipherable hieroglyphics, so I can’t really name their songs. With all that being said, they opened with some Black Sabbath riffs and rolled into their set like a runaway truck. The Vocals were a clean and soulful roaring that swept around the room. They had great energy right from the get go, and the Guitar work was on point. Nosewig packed in a great big Guitar solo right off the bat, and they kept them coming throughout the set. The Bass was monstrous and the Drums pristine, weaving the music together into one fantastic tapestry. As the riffs poured out of the speakers, the frontman dropped to his knees while picking the strings of his ax. They were heavy and gritty, while still remaining smooth with significant groove. Midway through the set we had a debacle with a broken drumstick, which momentarily halted the set, but was quickly resolved. Then it was right back to the Rock N’ Roll as Nosewig continued to blow our minds. Eventually, after beguiling us with songs most Rockin’, they closed out the set. Bringing their instrumental sensation “Deep Fried Walrus” they slammed the door on the set and brought the music to a close. The crowd roared with satisfaction. They screamed and applauded, begging for just a little more of the sweet Nosewig sound. Alas, it was not meant to be.

Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the Rustbelt Rock Review

From there is was all Raffle tickets and doors prizes. Nick Lewis, The Dook, Jay Stone, Rock City Rebel and many others all participated in distributing and dividing up the nights booty. I stuck it out for a while, but in time I decided to take off, rather than hang around to watch the last of the festivities. So I gave The Dook a fist bump and headed for the door. I drove home and was pleased to hit the sack when I did. Just like that another Dogrock was in the books. It was a good one to be sure, and from what I read online a very profitable one as well. According to the last post I saw on the subject, the event raised something like 1,500 dollars for local No Kill Shelters. I have to say that’s pretty cool. On that note, I will bid you a fond farewell. Bang your heads, hoist your horns and always wear your earplugs. Thanks for reading.

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

9/28/2025

Vol. #208: Dogrock VIII

Vol. #207: Beast Killer, The A-10’s & HAMS