Best Metal Shows Of 2013

By Andrew Bansal

The year of 2013 is drawing to a close, and it’s that time of the year when I start reflecting on the events that decorated the year that’s about to end. While my countdown of the best 50 albums continues, I decided to delve into the spreadsheet of shows I covered for Metal Assault this year and out of the 183 shows I attended, I’ve come up with this list of 13 best metal shows of the year. Not only the performance of the headline act, but that of the support acts, the crowd turnout and the venue setting have all been taken into consideration. Without further ado, here it is.

hg_whisky copy13. Holy Grail/Legal Tender/Sirion @ Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, 07/26: Pasadena metal warriors Holy Grail ended a North American headline tour with a fantastic performance at the Whisky, showcasing a hefty portion of their latest album ‘Ride The Void’ along with older tunes, and amongst the numerous times they’ve played hometown shows, this was perhaps their best and they were undoubtedly at the top of their game. Aside from the scorching fast tunes, the ballad ‘Rains Of Sorrow’ was a wonderful addition to the set and was excellently performed. Local support acts Legal Tender and Sirion also did their bit in warming up the packed Whisky for Holy Grail, Legal Tender with their brand of straight-up, catchy metal that went down well with Holy Grail fans, and Sirion in with their ever-awesome live show, complete with windmills and keytars, as they brought forth all the good aspects of folk metal. A great night of metal at the Whisky, this was.

DECIDE copy12. Deicide/Broken Hope/Disgorge @ Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, 10/20: From featuring in Metal Assault’s ‘worst performances’ list of 2011 to now earning a place in the ‘best of’ list, Deicide have come a long way and have certainly got their act together in terms of their live performances. This show at the Whisky presented Deicide at their brutal best. The place was oversold and packed with people both on the main floor and in the upstairs balconies, and the sight of mosh pits was truly breathtaking. During Deicide’s set, everyone in this crowd was in death metal heaven while support acts Broken Hope and Disgorge weren’t far behind either and put on impressive sets themselves, Disgorge aptly representing the San Diego deathgrind and Broken Hope bringing 25 years of Chicago extreme metal to the forefront once again with a skull-crushing set. This show was filled to the brim with death metal awesomeness.
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fateswarning_121011. Fates Warning/Artizan @ Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, 12/10: Flag bearers of American prog for the past 30-plus years, Fates Warning took the Whisky stage not so long ago and absolutely blew every attendee’s mind with what could only be best described as prog perfection. Ray Alder delivered one of the finest vocal performances ever witnessed, and his band mates were just as good. This group of well-seasoned genius musicians combined to create a sound so incredible, it turned out to be one of the best sounding shows this prolific venue has seen in its long history. Touring support act Artizan from Florida provided an ideal warm-up with their power metal tunes as well, and all in all it was an amazing night out for everyone who wisely chose to attend.
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exhumed_chain copy 210. Exhumed/Iron Reagan/Witchaven/Madrost/Tormenter @ Chain Reaction, Anaheim, 12/11:  California goregrind stalwarts Exhumed joined forces with Richmond, Virginia’s hardcore/crossover punk outfit Iron Reagan firstly to complete a split album, and then fittingly embarked on a joint North American tour to promote this split release. The tour made a Southern California stop at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, a venue that provided an ideal setting for a show of this kind, as Exhumed and Iron Reagan annihilated this audience with their respective brands of extreme music. Iron Reagan even ended up filming a music video for the song ‘Debt Collector’, and throughout the show, the all-ages crowd’s energy knew no limits. Local openers Witchaven, Madrost and Tormenter each contributed positively to the show in their own individual ways as well, making it a show much more than worth the $15 ticket price.
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megadeth_sctour copy9. Megadeth/Fear Factory/Nonpoint @ Grove, Anaheim, 12/17: During their recent tours, thrash titans Megadeth were being criticized by fans and press for not changing up the set lists enough, and this year they finally heard the outcries as they decided to freshen their live show with top-notch stage production and a much better, more comprehensive set list that represents their celebrated career to a greater extent. With tunes such as ‘Set The World Afire’, ‘Devil’s Island’ and ‘Rattlehead’ in the set, this Anaheim show was a memorable one for Megadeth fans. Performance-wise, Mustaine, Broderick, Ellefson and Drover always have been great on their instruments, but vocally Mustaine has hit new levels of consistency this year, enhancing the Megadeth live experience tenfold, and this particular gig treated attendees with the best incarnation of modern-day Megadeth. Main support act Fear Factory didn’t quite have one of their best nights though, but they had their moments, and so did openers Nonpoint. Overall, this Megaeth show delivered the goods on all fronts.
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clutch2013 copy8. Clutch/The Sword/American Sharks @ House Of Blues Sunset Strip, Hollywood, 11/09: Maryland rockers Clutch released an amazing album in ‘Earth Rocker’ this year, and every show they’ve played since then has been insanely good. Following a tour with Orange Goblin, Lionize and Scorpion Child in the early part of the year, Clutch made their way back across North America for a headline tour this time with The Sword and American Sharks, and playing the entirety of Earth Rocker along with an assortment of older material, they left this crowd completely satisfied and basking in the band’s unique brand of fun-filled rock n’ roll. The Sword weren’t mind-blowing but still played a solid set, and American Sharks brought their high-energy attitude to get things going. There is no such thing as a bad Clutch show, and this gig at the House of Blues was just another glorious vindication of that statement.
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redfang_shrine7. Red Fang/The Shrine/Indian Handcrafts @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana, 12/01: Portland, Oregon-based stoner rock quartet Red Fang have had an undoubtedly stellar year, releasing a killer album called ‘Whales And Leeches’ and subsequently destroying stages across the continent with their riff worship. After a successful Los Angeles appearance at the Troubadour on the first leg of their headline tour, they returned for a North American second leg and this time played at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana with The Shrine and Indian Handcrafts. Altogether, the show did not have even a single dull moment as all three bands put on excellent performances, starting with Canadian two-piece band Indian Handcrafts’ eclectically awesome set, then The Shrine’s fuzzy punk-infused rock n’ roll, and ending with Red Fang’s deliciously heavy stoner rock onslaught. The band is garnering enormous amounts of hype and attention at the moment, and this show proved exactly why.
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slayer copy6. Slayer/Gojira/4Arm @ Palladium, Hollywood 10/28: Having had a tumultuous year with the change in drummer and the passing away of Jeff Hanneman, Slayer had a lot riding on this North American headline tour. They were out to prove their critics wrong and reaffirm the faith in fans, and it all started with two back-to-back shows at the Hollywood Palladium. While night 1 was the more ‘old-school’ set, it was a late addition to the schedule and as a result didn’t get such a great turnout, but night 2 on October 28th was a completely different story as the Palladium was packed to capacity and the set list was a more well-rounded taste of Slayer’s catalog, comprising of material old and new, not short of rarities and special surprises like a cover of Exodus’ ‘Strike Of The Beast’. French extreme metal band Gojira were epic in their own right, and 4Arm were a decent opening act as well. The crowd got their money’s worth, and then some.
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exodus_slims5. Exodus/HellFire @ Slim’s, San Francisco, 12/20: Even though San Francisco Bay Area thrash veterans Exodus have toured around the world in the three decades of their existence thus far, their hometown fans have always boasted that there’s no better Exodus live experience than to see them play a San Francisco show. And upon witnessing this particular show at Slim’s, a comeback gig for Exodus in many ways and sold out in advance, it was clear that the Bay Area folks weren’t lying. Playing a 100-minute long set comprising of tunes from all eras of their career, Exodus proved their worth as one of the most devastating thrash bands going around, treating fans with effortlessly amazing performances by each of the five band members, complete with a guest appearance by former guitarist Rick Hunolt. Such was the supreme quality of the performance that it felt as if the gig was part of a full touring run where the band was used to playing these songs every night. Local opener HellFire pumped up the crowd with some good ol’ heavy metal as well, and overall it was an experience to savor for all attendees.
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deathangel_tour13 copy4. Death Angel/3IOB/Battlecross/Revocation/Diamond Plate @ Constellation Room, Santa Ana, 11/10: In complete contrast to Exodus, fellow San Francisco veteran thrashers Death Angel enjoyed a busy 2013, with the release of yet another consistently amazing album ‘The Dream Calls For Blood’ and bringing their high-octane shows full of boundless energy to stages in North America, starting at Slim’s in their hometown and ending the tour at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana, where they changed up the set list from the rest of the tour and ended up playing an hour and 40 minutes, delighting their cult fan following with deep cuts like ‘Sonic Beatdown’ and a great selection of tunes old and new. In 3 Inches Of Blood, Battlecross, Revocation and Diamond Plate, they presented perhaps the best touring package of the year, and each band brought something different and enjoyable to the show. Death Angel never fail to impress, but even by their own lofty standards, this show was fantastic.

kreator_overkill_warb copy3. Kreator/Overkill/Warbringer @ Grove, Anaheim, 11/15: Teutonic, New Jersey and California thrash were thrown together in the mix on this tour featuring Kreator, Overkill and Warbringer, and when it visited the Grove of Anaheim, every thrash fan in the vicinity turned up and had an absolute blast. Featuring the deadly force of Kreator as a live band along with Overkill led by the best frontman in thrash metal Bobby Blitz, and arguably the finest young thrash band in Warbringer, this show was the perfect definition of the term ‘thrash heaven’ and gave the audience three diverse styles of the sub-genre to absorb in one single evening. A smaller venue would have been a better fit for this lineup as the Grove was clearly a little too big, but it made for a great setting nonetheless and most people walked away with headbanger whiplash, sore throats and smiles on their faces.
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saxon_fozzy copy2. Saxon/Fozzy/Halcyon Way @ House Of Blues Sunset Strip, Hollywood, 10/04: There is no doubt that British heavy metal legends are set to continue on in their career of cult greatness for quite a while yet, as is evident from the extent to which they are still relevant in the metal scene, with the release of a solid new album ‘Sacrifice’ which showcases Saxon at their quintessential best and a North American headline tour that presented the new material as well as some of their most loved classics. The tour made a stop at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, and the old-school metalheads in the Los Angeles area came out in full force to support one of their favorite bands. Saxon are not one to ride on past glory and unlike others from their era, they’re not a nostalgia act. They weren’t just playing those old songs for the sake of doing so, but did it because they were able to do justice to each of them. Biff Byford and his band mates earned a new level of respect and admiration from a usually hard-to-please Los Angeles audience, and delivered one of the finest performances this city has seen in this genre. A truly unforgettable show by Saxon, completely worthy of their legendary status.
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maiden_sb copy1. Iron Maiden/Megadeth/Anthrax/Testament/Sabaton/Overkill/Warbringer @ San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernardino, 09/13: And of course, when it comes to the best shows Metal Assault has covered in the year 2013, nothing surpassed the ‘Battle Of San Bernardino’, headlined by Iron Maiden and featuring an unbelievable support cast of metal giants. With this two-hour show comprising of a great selection of their finest tunes presented in their typical theatrical element, Iron Maiden retained their status as the best live metal band on the planet, and it’s hard to believe but it’s clear that they get better every time they come around to play in these parts. Only Iron Maiden can even dare to attain such unthinkable heights of supremacy, and they truly are the undisputed holders of the heavy metal crown. While the quality and relevance of their recent studio albums is a topic of debate, fans are unanimous in support of Iron Maiden as a live band, and this San Bernardino gig was a shining example of their God-like levels of live musicianship. All support bands played killer sets as well, specially Anthrax who (along with Maiden, obviously) clearly stood out as the best band of the night. This was not only the best show of 2013, but the best metal show Los Angeles has seen in a long, long time. Here’s to more ‘Battles Of San Bernardino’ in the foreseeable future.
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