MNSTRM Media

https://www.mnstrmmedia.com/september

Ten years later, MNSTRM is still here because the music is still worth documenting.

This anniversary issue is both a celebration of where we’ve been and a snapshot of where we are now. Across 50 pages, we’re looking back at the people who helped build MNSTRM while continuing to do exactly what we started doing in 2016: documenting the artists, shows, records, and moments that make us care about music in the first place. Inside, you’ll find ten years of MNSTRM history alongside new concert photography, reviews, editorials, and coverage of My Chemical Romance, Melanie Martinez, American Football, Brothers Osborne, The Black Keys, Hatebreed, Summer School Tour, Rockstar Energy Open, and more.

There have been hundreds of shows, thousands of photographs, countless late nights, more deadlines than we’d like to remember, and an entire community of contributors who have left their fingerprints on these pages. Some stayed for years. Some were here for a single story. All of them became part of what MNSTRM is.

What started as a small independent music publication in 2016 somehow became an archive of ten years of music, friendships, photo pits, venues, artists, and memories.

We never needed to become the biggest publication in the room. We just wanted to make something we cared about and give people a place to tell stories about the music they cared about, too.

Ten years later, we’re still doing it. Still independent. Still making magazines. Still here.

Ten years. It’s a little surreal to even type that.

In September 2016, this was the cover of our very first issue. We had no idea what MNSTRM would become. We just loved music and wanted to make something.

Somehow, ten years later, we’re still here.

This September, we’re celebrating a decade of MNSTRM with a special 10 Year Anniversary Issue, looking back at where we started and everything that brought us here.

To everyone who has been part of MNSTRM in any way over the last decade, thank you. We genuinely can’t believe we get to say this.

MNSTRM: TEN YEARS. Out this Thursday.

OUT NOW.
The July issue has arrived. Featuring this shot of SUMO CYCO by S Dos Santos Photography, live reviews, and new music coverage. Read it now at mnstrmmedia.com

This month, we’re celebrating the artists who continue to push music forward while honoring the records that shaped it. Inside Issue 68, you’ll find live coverage of Young the Giant’s stop in Charlotte, a look at Mac DeMarco’s sold-out performance in Cleveland, and Courtney Barnett’s unforgettable return to Newport Music Hall. We also revisit Pantera’s The Great Southern Trendkill on its 30th anniversary, explore Acid Bath’s long-awaited return to the stage, and feature reviews, photography, and stories from across the alternative music scene.

As always, MNSTRM is dedicated to documenting the raw energy of live music through independent journalism and photography. Whether you’re discovering a new favorite artist or revisiting a legendary one, this issue captures the moments that make this community worth celebrating.

It’s my birthday month, so we’re doing something fun.
The newest issue of MNSTRM is completely FREE to read.

This issue is a little shorter than our usual releases, but it still includes March album drops you should have on your radar and a few artists we think are seriously worth paying attention to right now.
If you’ve been curious about MNSTRM but haven’t subscribed yet, this is the perfect chance to check it out and see what we’re building.
Read the issue, explore the artists, and if you enjoy it, consider subscribing to support independent music journalism.

📕Cover by .photo
📝Edited by
🔗 Link in bio to read the issue.

There was a time when paying for music wasn’t controversial, it was just how artists survived.

So when Napster happened, the question wasn’t “is this legal?”
It was “do artists still deserve to be paid?”

The January issue revisits Metallica vs. Napster, not as a joke or a villain story, but as a moment we misunderstood and one we’re still living with today.

Is it really a bad thing to expect people to pay for music?
Or did we just get used to not having to?

The full piece is available in the January issue.
Buying the issue or subscribing directly supports independent music journalism that can take the time to ask these questions without turning them into hot takes.

MNSTRM 65 IS HERE!

https://www.mnstrmmedia.com/january

The January issue of MNSTRM captures a moment where live music still feels urgent, physical, and worth paying attention to. Across reviews, essays, and long-form coverage, Issue 65 focuses on artists who show up with intention, whether they’re headlining sold-out rooms, grinding through club tours, or challenging the systems that shape how music survives in 2026.

This issue leans heavily into the live experience. A deep dive into the 20 year old Metallica beef to Cameron Whitcomb’s deeply grounded performance at Newport Music Hall, these pieces center on sincerity over spectacle. Coverage of The Band CAMINO, All Time Low with Mayday Parade, Memphis May Fire, Shakey Graves, In Color, and Night Cap highlights the range of spaces where connection still happens, from packed arenas to rooms that feel one step away from a basement show.

Alongside the live reporting, January includes a reflective album review revisiting Down’s NOLA thirty years later, framing the record not as nostalgia but as a lasting statement of creative independence. The issue is anchored by a long-form editorial examining Metallica vs. Napster, not as a cultural punchline, but as an early warning about ownership, labor, and what artists would eventually lose in the streaming era.

photos from & in Massachusetts by

Full gallery available on our website! 📸