By Andrew Bansal
After spending the best part of the last 15 months on the road with Ventura CA traditional heavy metal trio Night Demon as their all-in-one road crew (merchandiser, tour manager, lighting operator, on-stage mascot), I began the year of 2016 with a new chapter in a new environment, touring with young yet longstanding Los Angeles thrash tyrants Warbringer and selling merch for them as well as for Los Angeles neo-classical thrash kings Exmortus for two months across the USA. Warbringer and Exmortus embarked on this epic heavy metal journey, sharing stages with Swedish heavy metal warriors Enforcer and Canadian old-school metal perpetrators Cauldron, altogether forming a lineup that had all the makings of the absolute best heavy metal show of 2016, despite it coming through the States at the very beginning of the year. Purely as a fan, I would be in the front row at a Warbringer + Enforcer + Cauldron + Exmortus show, banging my head, raising my fist, singing the words and losing my mind from start to finish, but to get to see four of my favorite bands every night for an extensive run of dates and be a part of the operation is nothing short of surreal, a predicament I never ever imagined even in my wildest dreams. This tour diary comes as heavily delayed and much later than I would have ideally wanted to present it to you lovely readers, for several reasons including the sheer workload of working merch for two successful bands, and the mental and physical turmoil I suffered at the US/Canada border. Regardless, here is Part 1 of ‘Living In A Whirlwind’:
The first show of the tour was on January 5th at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City, but for Warbringer and Exmortus, the tour began on New Years Day, as we set out for the long drive coast to coast. We made it in 50-odd hours, the weather holding up fairly well and gas prices plummeting to as low as $1.49 per gallon in some parts of the country. For starters, aside from the only constant members John Kevill (vocals) and Adam Carroll (guitar), Warbringer has a new lineup for this tour, featuring the return of drummer Carlos Cruz, and comprising Jessie Sanchez (Bonded By Blood, Others, Fear Factory, Holy Grail, etc) on bass. Filling in on second guitar and pulling off double duty is Exmortus frontman Conan. So the Warbringer van is transporting six dudes in total, John, Jessie, Adam, Carlos, the driver Rob, and myself. We are also pulling a trailer which carries merch, gear and backline for both Warbringer and Exmortus, with Enforcer using the backline as well. Enforcer have brought soundman Fred (who played in the band Dismember at one time) with them, and he is doing double duty on the soundboard for Enforcer and Warbringer. Meanwhile, Cauldron are using their own gear and backline for the most part, and their lineup comprises Jason Decay (bass/vocals), Ian Chains (guitar) and Myles Deck (drums), along with Henry handling merch duties. As for Enforcer, their drummer Jonas Wikstrand was unable to secure a work visa, so Chris Steve (Old James, ex-Cauldron, ex-Skull Fist) has joined Olof Wikstrand (guitar/vocals), Joseph Tholl (guitar) and Tobias Lindqvist (bass), with Stephan doing merch for them. The Exmortus van is carrying Conan (guitar/vocals), Mario Moreno (drums), David Rivera (guitar) and Michael Cosio (bass), with Allen Falcon accompanying the band as video blogger. Now that the introductions are done with, I shall refer to these people by their first names from here on, and I know it’s a large touring party, but I hope you can keep track.
As Warbringer set out for the first show on the 5th, our van broke down a few miles down the road, and we had to get a new battery rightaway. Good thing we had allotted extra time for the drive from York PA to New York NY. We reached the Gramercy Theatre in the late afternoon and loaded in swiftly, after which Rob had to circle around for a parking spot. I fail to understand why most New York City venues, specially those located in Manhattan, do not bother to reserve parking spots for band vehicles when it’s such a hassle to find parking in this town. That aside, the show was highly successful for all involved. The merch area was in the basement, so I didn’t get to be in the concert hall myself, but the TV screen by my merch table clearly indicated that the show was packed for all the bands and Warbringer garnered plenty of mosh pit action. I was extremely busy at the merch table throughout the show, and I now knew what I was in for as far as workload on this tour was concerned. After the show I devoured a gyro sandwich from a street food vendor, a sandwich that would trigger a chain reaction of gyro obsession which is still going strong, three weeks into the tour. We were supposed to spend the night at a friend’s place in Brooklyn, but of course, after circling around for 30 minutes we couldn’t find any parking, so we simply decided to drive to the next destination, Trenton NJ.
We reached Trenton at around 2 AM, found a giant open parking spot across the street from the venue, Championship Bar & Grill, and slept in the van with the heat on. At 10 AM there was a knock on the driver’s window, by a girl working at the venue trying to tell us that there’s a whole apartment on the second floor of the building for the band to stay in. Had we known this earlier, we wouldn’t have had to sleep in the van, but no damage done. The apartment above the venue served to be a perfect refuge for us before and after the show. Since I had a severe habit of leaving shampoos behind on my first tour, to the extent that I left shampoos in every part of the country, I stopped carrying my own from the next tour onwards and rely on whatever our hosts have in their bathrooms. I was thoroughly impressed by the massive arsenal of shampoos inside this particular bathroom, and so far they are winning the shampoo battle hands down. The show itself was even better than NYC, and what’s more, my merch table was in the concert hall, so I got to watch Enforcer for the first time ever. Heavy metal perfection. After the show I undertook a mission of finding chicken wings for the band, and stuffed in a two-seater pickup truck with two straight-up New Jersey dudes listening to D12 of all things, I succeeded and returned with some very expensive but bomb wings from a place called Chicken To Go, who apparently hung up on us when we tried to order via phone, but served us when we went there directly.
The next two shows in Clifton Park NY and Hartford CT weren’t nearly as successful in terms of turnout, all four bands still putting forth their best efforts. The only positive aspect of the Hartford show was the availability of a shower inside the venue, the Webster Theater. The staff at Trickshot in Clifton Park were very rude and uncooperative, but the best part of that show was getting to hang in Saratoga Springs with an old friend from the Night Demon travels, Full Metal Racket DJ George DeMers. This guy has always treated me with the best herb, and this time was no different. While doing so, he was telling us the story of the ‘Saratoga Chip’, supposedly the first and original potato chip to be produced in America. Dazed out of my mind, all I could think of was a bag of said potato chip, to the extent that I interrupted his story and said, “Do you have any?” The room burst out in laughter. I slept on in George’s living room on a reclining chair and woke up the morning after with the back of the chair somehow flat on the floor. We bid goodbye to George, and I knew I’d see him soon enough, but didn’t expect it to be as soon as it turned out. More on that in a bit.
The other notable aspect of the Hartford show was both Warbringer and Exmortus getting to stay together in one house after the gig. In comparison to securing a place to stay for to the four dudes that rolled in the Night Demon van including myself, it’s been quite different doing so for 11 dudes instead. Surprisingly enough, the post-show Warbringer+Exmortus rager in Hartford turned out to be the first of many along the journey, and people have been amazingly kind and welcoming to all 11 of us stinky metal dudes. One thing is for sure, whenever and wherever Warbringer and Exmortus stay together, it’s a heavy metal party. Also, the dudes quickly discovered the fact that I talk and scream in my native language in my sleep, a personality trait of mine Night Demon is very familiar with at this point.
In complete contrast to these two shows, the next gig at the world famous Worcester Palladium in Worcester, Massachussetts was incredibly packed, and the response all the bands got from the amazing New England crowd induced goosebumps. This was easily my busiest night at the merch table so far, but strangely enough, also my drunkest, as the Warbringer dudes and local friends took good care of me and kept me hydrated. Local musicians from fast-rising young bands such as Sonic Pulse were in attendance enjoying every bit of what Exmortus, Cauldron, Warbringer and Enforcer had to offer. On a side note, this show also marked Tobias’ first gig after shaving off his mustache, an act that proved to be very trendsetting amongst members of the touring party in the days to come.
After the gig we drove straight to the US/Canada border, to allot ourselves additional time because of expected delays in crossing. As it turned out, we were held for three hours by Canadian immigration, mainly because they were not stoked on me whatsoever. My work visa could not be arranged in time for this run of five Canadian shows and they wouldn’t let me in without it despite the fact that I was an essential part of the traveling crew. Amongst all the non US/Canada passport holders in the touring party, I was the only one denied because I’m Indian. The Canadian immigration’s perception of me as a serious threat to their country was beyond ridiculous. I was not only drilled with stupid questions such as “Do I fear for my safety in India and is that why I don’t live there”, but was also given a one-year exclusion letter and escorted to the other side of the border in a police vehicle, after being searched for “dangerous weapons and sharp objects”. I was detained for another two hours by US immigration, only to be told that I was “all good and not too much trouble”, after which I waited seven hours for a Greyhound bus out of there. Thank you, Canada. I still love you.
I ended up taking a bus back to Saratoga Springs and spent the next four days with George, who was kind enough to not only give me shelter but also let me make noise as a guest DJ at his radio station, and his parting gift to me was, guess what, a bag of Saratoga Chips. On the 14th, I bused it to Rochester NY to rejoin the tour the day after, with the show at Montage Music Hall. Everyone welcomed me back and asked about what I went through. It was great to rejoin, and I was glad the worst was over. Thankfully, Allen handled merch for Warbringer and Exmortus in my absence and they didn’t have to do it themselves. Jessie had followed in Tobias’ footsteps and shaved off his mustache and beard. The gig in Rochester was really great and the turnout was tremendous, aside from the venue misspelling Cauldron as Carbon on their gig poster displayed proudly by the front door. I hadn’t had much sleep and for a few seconds I thought I was hallucinating.
Anthony Potenza, singer/guitarist in Buffalo NY band Armageddon was nice enough to host Warbringer after the Rochester show. From there we moved to Cleveland for a gig at the Agora Ballroom. Based on my previous experience at the same venue with Night Demon, I expected this to be one of the best shows of the tour, and it certainly was. The in-house gyro sandwich was as excellent as the turnout and the response of the ever-amazing Clevelend metal scene which showed up in large numbers to support our tour. Jamie Walters from the band Midnight, to whom I’ve sold Night Demon merch every time I’ve come through town, walked up to me and finally introduced himself this time. It was also great seeing radio legend Bill Peters without whom modern-day Cleveland metal would be nowhere, and getting to catch up with so many of my Cleveland friends made this one of the most enjoyable nights of the tour.
The wheels kept moving with no off days in sight, and driving past countless frozen lakes and rivers as temperatures dropped, next up was the Altar Bar in Pittsburgh PA. Except for the venue’s insistence on counting in and counting out all of our merch and taking a percentage cut of the sales, it was an expectedly positive Pittsburgh experience, although football mania definitely affected the turnout. Why a so-called metalhead would ever choose to sit at home or in a sports bar and watch a game on TV, a game where their favorite team could easily lose, and prefer to do so over attending a guaranteed awesome show with four kickass bands, is beyond me. Cauldron played their best set of the tour thus far, I thought, and for them this show started a sequence of really good performances. Stephen Lauck of Midnight Chaser was in attendance and he was gracious enough to let both Warbringer and Exmortus crash in his house after the gig. John made grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone, and Jessie took upon the challenge of sleeping in a hammock hanging in one of the rooms, with Mario, Michael, John, Carlos and myself sleeping on the floor directly underneath the hammock. A sight to behold.
After Pittsburgh we were back in Ohio, at the Ace Of Cups in Columbus. Another amazing turnout, and probably some of the best mosh pits of the tour during the Warbringer set. Night Demon superfan Steve Yoder was out in full force with his family members and friends, and he let both of our bands stay in his house in middle-of-nowhere farmland in Hilliard, and we went there after some unbeatable pizza by the slice at Mikey’s Late Night Pizza across the street from Ace Of Cups, and free shots poured by the bartender at the venue, simply because of just how successful the night was for them. The after-party in Steve’s garage a.k.a. ‘Satan’s Den’ went on till the early hours of the morning, as he blasted Venomous Maximus’ ‘Firewalker’ on cassette at full volume to piss off his neighbor. If you’ve never been to Ohio, let me tell you this much. If you’re in a metal band or just a metalhead, get ready to squash all your pre-conceived notions of this state, for it boasts of some of the liveliest, most dedicated metal fans and the nicest people on earth, and it’s always a pleasure revisiting Ohio.
The 19th was a day off from the tour but not for us, as a Warbringer/Exmortus show was booked at the Headquarters in Indianapolis IN. Based on the outcome, it was definitely worth the effort. With nowhere to go after the show, the owner of the venue offered to let us stay inside the building itself, and had the heat turned on the whole night. Most of us ended up sleeping on the stage. How rock ‘n roll is that? The morning after, clearing thick layers of snow off of our windshield, we set out to rejoin Enforcer and Cauldron for the next gig at the Token Lounge in the Detroit/Westland area in the state of Michigan. What an awesome show this was, and the Motor City metal community was out here in great numbers. The Fubar in St. Louis MO didn’t quite provide as great of a follow-up the next day, which was a pity because we did a 10-hour overnight drive to get there in time, but that’s the name of the game.
Bada Brew in Chicago/Crest Hill IL lived up to the area’s reputation and gave the bands a show worth remembering for a long time. This was also the first show where Carlos soundchecked with Enforcer. This is because Chris would not be traveling as Enforcer’s drummer for the second Canadian run due to US visa concerns and the risk of not being allowed to re-enter the States for the remainder of the tour. Fred wouldn’t travel to Canada this time either. So, Carlos offered to fill in for Enforcer and they accepted. The most unique aspect of this tour is the amount of teamwork that’s going into it from all bands involved. Aside from sharing backline and crew, Exmortus and Warbringer are sharing a member, and soon, Warbringer and Enforcer would do the same. On stage it’s all about putting on your best show, but in unison as a package and not with a ‘us against them’ mentality. This is what metal needs. In my opinion, there is no room for unfriendly competition, specially among tour mates.
After Chicago was Milwaukee/Cudahy WI, a gig at the Metal Grill. I had a great experience here with Night Demon last year and this one was even better. You know you’re at a successful metal show when a fight between two girls breaks out and knocks over your merch table, and the security proceeds to eject the culprits from the show. Seeing me try to re-organize my merch table in the aftermath, some people bought me shots and my tip jar filled up pretty quickly. This one certainly ranks up along the best shows of the tour, thanks to the unwavering efforts of promoter Randy Kastner and all the folks at the Metal Grill who clearly know how to do this.
The last show that I would do on the tour before flying out to Seattle while the tour would hit Canada for a week, was at Triple Rock in Minneapolis MN and it was an Egyptian nightmare in every sense of the term. Our show was combined with that of death metal band Nile, who headlined over our package. We arrived at the venue to the sight of Nile’s backline occupying the entire stage, forcing our bands to set up and perform on the floor in front of the stage. Yes, on the floor. Besides, there was hardly any room left for me to set up merch, and I sold merch for two bands from a little corner at the end of the room. It was the hardest, most stressful gig I’ve ever done, and the same can be said for the bands, although the Minneapolis crowd made it worth the torture. All four bands naturally made jokes about playing on the floor, Olof expressing how great he felt being ‘up on stage’ and John thanking Nile for letting the bands open for them as well as for their backline. Cauldron, the tallest band in the world, was the only one I could see at all from my vantage point. The venue redeemed itself slightly when I tried their epic vegan burger, and the promoter at the end offered to waive the ‘merch fees’ in exchange for one merch item per band, but there’s no denying that it was a terrible idea to combine a Nile show and an Enforcer/Warbringer show, specially at a venue tha was clearly too small for it. It was ironic and shocking that one of the smallest venues of the tour so far was where the package opened for a bigger band.
In terms of the musical styles, Enforcer, Warbringer, Cauldron and Exmortus are sufficiently different from each other but also have similiarities that link them together. All four present fast-paced thrashy segments as well as guitar harmonies in their music. The best thing about the crowds coming to these shows is, for the most part, people show up early enough to catch all four bands and aren’t there to see just one band in particular. I can’t understand elitism in metal, and this open-mindedness of the average attendee of this tour comes across as very refreshing. All four bands are playing really well-balanced set lists that not only serve as accurate representations of their respective musical repertoires, but also spans the bands’ entire discographies with selections from albums old and new. ‘Turning Of The Gears’ is my probably the most underrated Warbringer song and I’m glad it’s been in the set on this tour. The WB set is absolutely killer on this one, with songs like ‘Black Sun, Black Moon’, ‘Future Ages Gone’, ‘Towers Of The Serpent’, and everyone’s favorite song, ‘Scars Remain’. Exmortus end their set with ‘Metal Is King’, and that moment when Conan belts out the-pitched clean scream for the last chorus, if that doesn’t send chills down your spine and make you raise your fists, nothing will.
Bottom line, people coming to these shows would agree that the strength of this show does not lie in any one of the bands individually, but in the combination of the four bands as a package. Exmortus has been opening these shows (except for Trenton where Cauldron opened), but as far as I know, Cauldron will open on the West Coast run. Warbringer has played last for most of the shows, Enforcer headlining only New York City, Worcester, Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee in the US, and all of the Canada shows. Warbringer and Enforcer get an hour each every night and both get to soundcheck before the show, and the only difference the order makes logistically is that the headliner gets to soundcheck first and picks the merch spot of their liking. Based on what I’ve observed through the tour, it is undeniable that the band playing second to last has a clear advantage, as they get first shot at the crowd, and the band after has to step up their show extra hard to make an impact on an already tired crowd. Exmortus has been setting the bar really high too, and one can’t imagine a better opener for this lineup. Cauldron fit in perfectly between Exmortus and Warbringer/Enforcer and do what they’ve always done best.
In terms of merch, I’ve really enjoyed working for Warbringer and Exmortus and both bands have really attractive designs and artwork. I’ve also been giving out 30 copies of the ‘Full Metal Sampler’ for free as an early bird special every night. This sampler has one track featuring the bands on this tour, as well as some other bands we like from the LA area and beyond. The Warbringer signed drum head has been a popular item as well, and the new Exmortus ‘In Steel We Trust’ shirt that arrived in Chicago has resulted in many a dropped jaw too.
As for the Warbringer van, it’s been smooth sailing, and all my dudes are mellow, laid back and fun. I mostly listen to my own music using earphones, except for when Jessie fires up something from his collection, and we’ve been enjoying some George Carlin stand-up during the drives between shows. We also have a DVD player on board but we’ve used it only sparingly so far. Most of the guys have been battling sickness through the cold weather at one point or another but have done their best to stay in top performance shape night after night. Knock on wood, I’ve stayed out of the sickness zone through it all. I’ve been on really good terms with all members of the other bands too. Stephan and Henry are great merch dudes to work alongside, the Cauldron guys are always cool, and at times apologetic about my Canadian border troubles. Tobias keeps dropping pennies into my tip jar at every opportunity, meanwhile Conan and I exchange flying kisses every time we see each other, and as for Michael, I always tell him that his bass is too loud on stage, to which he says there is no such thing.
As I finish writing this, the tour is in Canada and I’m waiting to rejoin in Seattle. More on my Seattle adventures and stories from the next phase of the tour in Part 2 of ‘Living In A Whirlwind’. Until then, keep following the Metal Assault social networks for daily musings, dorky photos, food porn, cat worship and more.
Shows Played:
1/05/2016 The Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
1/06/2016 Championship Bar and Grill – Trenton, MJ
1/07/2016 Trickshot – Clifton Park, NY
1/08/2016 Webster Theater – Hartford, CT
1/09/2016 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
1/10/2016 FouFounes – Montreal, QC CANADA
1/11/2016 Salle Multi – Quebec City, QC CANADA
1/12/2016 Ritual – Ottawa, ON CANADA
1/13/2016 Hard Luck – Toronto, ON CANADA
1/14/2016 The APK – London, ON CANADA
1/15/2016 Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
1/16/2016 Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
1/17/2016 Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA
1/18/2016 Ace Of Cups – Columbus, OH
1/19/2016 The Headquarters – Indianapolis IN *
1/20/2016 Token Lounge – Westland, MI
1/21/2016 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
1/22/2016 Bada Brew – Crest Hill, IL
1/23/2016 The Metal Grill – Cudahy, WI
1/24/2016 Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN
1/25/2016 Zoo Cabaret – Winnipeg, MB CANADA
1/26/2015 The Exchange – Regina, SK CANADA *
1/27/2016 Nite Owl – Calgary, AB CANADA
1/28/2016 Pawn Shop – Edmonton, AB CANADA
Shows Remaining:
1/30/2016 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC CANADA
1/31/2016 Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
2/01/2016 Hawthorne Theatre –Portland, OR
2/02/2016 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA
2/03/2016 Whiskey a Go Go – West Hollywood, CA
2/04/2016 Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA
2/05/2016 Club Red – Tempe, AZ
2/06/2016 LVCS – Las Vegas, NV
2/08/2016 In the Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
2/09/2016 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO
2/10/2016 Aftershock – Merriam, KS
2/11/2016 Red 7 – Austin , TX
2/12/2016 210 Kapones – San Antonio, TX
2/13/2016 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
2/14/2016 Trees -Dallas, TX
2/15/2016 Siberia – New Orleans, LA
2/16/2016 Orpheum – Tampa, FL
2/17/2016 The Haven – Orlando, FL
2/18/2016 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
2/19/2016 Expo Five – Louisville, KY
2/20/2016 Canal Club – Richmond, VA
2/21/2016 Pour House – Raleigh, NC *
2/22/2016 The Hideaway – Johnson City, TN *
2/23/2016 Murphy’s – Memphis, TN *
2/24/2016 Thunder Alley – Oklahoma City, OK *
2/25/2016 Juggernaut – Gallup, NM *
* = Warbringer & Exmortus only