About 10 years ago, Kevin Dunn moved from Reno to Sacramento and felt that the local metal scene was missing something. There were venues. There were bands. There were fans. But it just didn’t feel like a community yet. 

So, he made a Facebook group, Sacra-METAL, that encouraged Sacramento metal and heavy bands to post about upcoming shows, new releases and music videos; anything to show that there was a thriving scene in the region. 

Sacra-METAL has since grown to include a website where people can buy merch, the creation of Sacra-Metal Records in 2021 that has released several splits (short form vinyl releases that feature two bands) and a compilation double album on vinyl called “Sacra-Metal Massacre” in 2025 featuring 21 bands from the area including Dunn’s band Lysol Toast; the album was originally supposed to be a single album but there was more interest than expected.

“And I was like, ‘Man, let’s just put a comp[ilation] together and get everyone on it,’” Dunn said. “I didn’t want to be the guy who called 20 bands and said ‘You’re not good enough.’ It’s art.”

Throughout Sacra-METAL’s growth, Dunn’s mission has remained the same; to bring the camaraderie he experienced in the Reno scene to the bands and venues in Sacramento. Sacra-METAL does this by encouraging everyone from fans to performers and venues to support one another.

“We’re all putting out art. We’re all putting out music. The venues are all supporting us by letting us play there. The fans are supporting us by showing up. Let’s try to get some kind of a community,” Dunn said.

That community-centered mission is what brought producer and mixing engineer Tom Jimenez into the fold. 

Jimenez has been part of the Sacramento metal scene since the 1980s, and now runs Audio Edge Recording after stepping away from music for a few years and then returning in the late 2000s. He says activity in the scene has fluctuated but there has been a noticeable increase in younger people getting involved as both fans and artists over the past few years, often resulting in shows where the audience and performers span several generations of metalheads. Jimenez believes Sacra-METAL is largely responsible for that resurgence. 

“Right now I’m seeing so many bands, and so many younger bands coming up, not just the guys from my generation, but, you know, teenagers playing the same type of music we were playing and enjoying back then,” Jimenez said. 

Jimenez met Dunn through the Facebook group and at local shows. Later, he would start helping Dunn with the logistics for organizing new vinyl releases. He has also produced and engineered several of the songs on the “Sacra-Metal Massacre” release, along with music on previously released splits. 

One of the first Sacra-METAL splits featured Unprovoked — and Blessed Curse — who had never been part of a split or compilation album before meeting Dunn in 2021; Justin Woods, drummer of Unprovoked, compared splits and compilation albums to old-school tape trading culture where people would share their favorite bands with each other on cassettes, often leading to the discovery of new favorites from other cities and states. 

Unprovoked guitarist Kevin Manzanares also credits Dunn with constantly promoting local bands and shows whether or not they are associated with Sacra-METAL, as well as kickstarting live metal performances after the COVID pandemic. 

“We went from playing a lot of shows to nothing real quick,” Manzanares said. “And then Kevin [Dunn] was kind of the first on the list to get stuff together right after COVID when shows started opening up again.”

Sacramento still has room to grow and improve. Both Dunn and Jimenez say local bands could use support from more venues who are willing to give veteran and new bands space to perform. But they are both optimistic about the future of the scene. 

There is clearly demand for the kind of work that Sacra-METAL does. The “Sacra-Metal Massacre” release show at Louie’s Cocktail Lounge in November of 2025 resulted in the sale of around 200 albums in one day. 

The Sacra-METAL model is unique. In order for it to work, Dunn must build local relationships with artists and venues, often trading services: A sound person who believes in the project might donate their time at a release show; artists might offer design services just to be part of the movement; Jimenez might help a band get a song ready for pressing and Dunn will pay it all back back by providing a space to record drums or lending live sound equipment to bands wanting to organize DIY shows. 

Any revenue made through record or merch sales goes into the next release or event. Sacra-METAL is a passion project and captures the collaborative nature of music and art in Sacramento.

“We just trade — barter. It’s what everybody does around here,” Dunn said. “When someone else succeeds, I think we all succeed.”

This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.