LAUREN NAPIER: AIDEN KICKS OFF TOUR AT HELL'S KITCHEN >>>

As my phone rang and a number with a 666 area code popped up, I wasn’t surprised when it turned out to be my conference call with Victory Records’ artist Aiden. A post-hardcore band with strong goth tones â€" vampires, death, and anything slightly macabre are often associated with Aiden in a plethora of ways: lyrics, images, photos, even their fashion choices. Inspired by tragedy, wiL Francis, the band’s front man, vocalizes that he simply hopes to let the kids know that “anybody in the world can play guitar and be in a band.” This message is further driven home when one watches Aiden on stage and realizes that behind the heavy eyeliner and deathly props, the four members of the band are nothing too out of the ordinary.

Aiden is embarking this spring on the “Ticket to Hell Tour” â€" and tonight South Sound fans will get a chance to catch the band at Hell’s Kitchen for only $6.66. Does that send shivers down your spine? It should. Read more in my Rockin’ The Cradle column. â€" Lauren Napier

[Hell’s Kitchen, Aiden with Kane Hodder, Black Houses, Starstruck, Saturday, May 9, 5 p.m., all-ages, $6.66, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003