KNAC Pure Rock FanPage

19/03/2026

KNAC nights to remember! The Country Club in Reseda was unfknblvbl.

D.R.I/Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Metal Church
MELIAH RAGE
Candlemass
Excel
Dark Angel
Death
Celtic Frost
knac.fm
KNAC.COM

On this date in 1989:

Metal Church and special guests Meliah Rage took the stage at Chuck Landis's Country Club in Reseda, California.

15/03/2026

Iron Maiden kicked off its four-night residency 41 years ago this weekend (concluding on St. Patrick's Day - March 17th) at the Long Beach Arena and it was there that the bulk of the "Live After Death" album (along with a portion of their October 1984 performance at the Hammersmith Oedon in London) was recorded.

What's more, it was those four shows that inspired KNAC (knac.fm) to finally change its format from "Rock N' Rhythm" to "Pure Rock" after the fact that KLOS, or even KMET or both, barely played Maiden's music. And the rest as we all know is "Pure Rock" history!

On This Day in Metal — March 14, 1985 🤘

Iron Maiden made history by kicking off the first of four sold-out nights at Long Beach Arena in California.

No band had ever done it before.

Four nights.
Four sold-out crowds.
One of metal’s most unstoppable runs.

Were you at one of these legendary shows?

16/02/2026

This day marks 31 years since we bid farewell to the radio station that touched upon people's lives, including ours and the local metalheads who were enjoying every minute of "Pure Rock"

When KNAC ended 31 years ago this afternoon at roughly 2:00 in the afternoon after playing Metallica's "Fade to Black" which was followed by the final statement from the General Manager (GM), "KNAC's Pure Rock is now signing off, thanks for your support. You have been the greatest", it was clear that the end had reached the end.

Never again would we hear "Thrasher in the Morning". Craig Williams' "Local Pure Rock Show" was no more. We would never again hear Poundin' Pat host Mandatory Metallica. The days when you could hear a Slayer or Testament song on the radio early in the morning while heading for work or hear a Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden song on the same radio station on a Tuesday afternoon were all gone. Requesting KNAC staples like Queensrÿche's "Queen of the Reich", Judas Priest's "Hell Bent for Leather", W.A.S.P.'s "Wild Child", Megadeth's "In My Darkest Hour", Exodus' "The Toxic Waltz" or Armored Saint's "Reign of Fire" was no longer possible. KNAC was history.

That is, until midnight on Halloween 2025, when the one and only Gonzo Greg unexpectedly but successfully brought KNAC back on the FM dial as knac.fm (in cooperation with KNAC.COM), now broadcasting from the desert border of Southern California stretching straight into Las Vegas. We may never get KNAC back in Los Angeles, but the spirit lives on!

Today is the day: the 31st anniversary of the day that, (after a nine-year run), KNAC signed off with Metallica's "Fade To Black".

Not to mention, even though KNAC now exists only as an internet-only radio station - KNAC.COM, the citizens of L.A., have not had a radio station similar to KNAC that showcases Metal of any kind, from bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Metal Church, Queensrÿche and Testament!

If you can recall what you did, where you were and what your initial reaction was when KNAC finally "faded to black", you are more than welcome to share your comments with us!

08/02/2026

35 years ago on this day, KNAC celebrated the 5th anniversary of the radio station's birth and the lineup included Ozzy Osbourne, L.A. GUNS, Lynch Mob and Alice in Chains. How many of you were there?

ON THIS DAY, February 8th, 1991, ALICE IN CHAINS opened for Lynch Mob, L.A Guns and headliner, Ozzy Osbourne, at the KNAC 5th Anniversary Concert at the Long Beach Arena, California.

Pictured is a show review from the LA Times, which says: "Progressive Seattle metalers Alice In Chains opened up with a snappy set of Soundgarden-ish metal sludge; Los Angeles' Lynch Mob followed with its undistinguished commercial pop-rock."

"When hometown heroes L.A. Guns took the stage, scads of guys
whipped out their lighters, others pumped their fists, and some girls near the stage held up a poster that spelt out an invitation to the singer."

"L.A. Guns has good songs enough to make a short set sound like a greatest hits sort of thing, and the slashing rhythm section made the full-on glam grunge stuff sound just fine."

It's interesting to read an LA Times journalist uses the term "grunge" to describe the c**k rock band LA Guns. In just seven short months from when the article was written, Nirvana released Nevermind and Smells Like Teen Spirit, which forever changed the public perception of rock music, ushering in the alternative rock takeover.

ALICE IN CHAINS setlist:
It Ain't Like That
Real Thing
We Die Young
Bleed the Freak
Put You Down
Man in the Box

06/02/2026

A new Metal Church album is dropping on April 10th. The album is called "Dead to Rights" and yes it will include "F.A.F.O", the single knac.fm has been playing since its release last November.

You can now pre-order the all new studio album from Metal Church "Dead to Rights"! Get the full details and get in on some limited-edition signed bundles at: https://lnk.to/Metal-Church
Kurdt Vanderhoof David Ellefson Brian Allen Ken Mary

02/02/2026

If you have grandchildren, or if you have kids born after KNAC's "fade to black" demise in 1995, just tell them all about knac.fm! 📻 🤘

29/01/2026

Mandatory Metallica is back, and yes Poundin' Pat will be part of it!

SECRET! 🤐ReturnsTODAY just after 3 PM Pacific. is back with ! 🤘 ▶️ https://knac.fm 🎸 ... then, random times throughout the day and night!

09/01/2026

2026 isn't just the 40th anniversary of the birth of KNAC's "Pure Rock" format, it's the 40th anniversary of 86 hard rock and metal albums released in 1986! Of course it doesn't go without saying that at least over half of them got some airplay on KNAC back then and still get played on KNAC.COM/knac.fm to this day.

1986...what a great year for high quality and ! Here's 86 from 1986!

08/01/2026

40 years ago on this day, at 6PM, the expected was unexpected: KNAC bid farewell to "Rock 'N' Rhythm" and introduced the new format of "Pure Rock" by playing AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N' Roll)"!

This format change almost came out of nowhere and it left listeners of "Rock 'N' Rhythm" scratching their heads and wondering "What hell just happened?", thinking maybe it was a mistake, KNAC was hosting some sort of one-off radio show or they just weren't ready for the sound of "Pure Rock" on the radio. Legendarily, the staff of KNAC had intended to keep their plans to change formats as secretive as possible rather than making public announcements or discussing it in the press. This was 1986: the internet didn't exist, you couldn't just hop on a computer and look up news about KNAC.

Over its nine-year run (3324 days, 79,776 hours and 4,786,560 in total), KNAC stood as the first and only radio station in the areas of Los Angeles and Orange County outside of the college radio industry to play all-things hard rock and heavy metal 24/7. This was where you could hear anything as hard and heavy every day - from metal staples like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio, Metallica, Queensrÿche and Metal Church to local favorites Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, Ratt, W.A.S.P., Great White, Armored Saint, Leatherwolf and XYZ to the speedy heavyweights of Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Kreator and Sepultura.

05/01/2026

Another KNAC factoid as we celebrate this week's 40th anniversary.

Have you ever wondered how people knew as early as January 1986 that KNAC had changed its format from "Rock 'N' Rhythm" to "Pure Rock"? Well, it all began as sort of a secret - no public announcements, no press release, just an unexpected turn for the better (or worse, for the "Rock 'N' Rhythm" listeners). Even those who heard the station play AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" were confused and called in to say something to the effect of "What the hell's going on?".

Even if the early listeners weren't initally satisfied with the format change, KNAC made history in becoming the first and only non-college radio station out of L.A. to play all-things hard rock and metal 24-7. And the rest as we know is history! 📻 🤘