By Avinash Mittur
Feb. 19th 2012, The Echo, Los Angeles CA: Back home in the San Francisco bay area, small shows by local thrash metal bands were a common occurrence. Every other weekend, my friends and I would be treated to a stacked bill with some of the bay area’s best up and comers, like Hatchet, Fog of War, Invection or Hell-Fire, usually for less than ten dollars. Last Sunday night, I was treated to my first concert in that familiar style since coming to Los Angeles. Needless to say, Vektor, Witchaven and Exmortus gave the Echo a show that rivaled the best the bay has to offer, and one that I won’t soon forget – all for the small price of eight dollars.
Despite a late start to the show and the resulting time constraints, Exmortus managed to pack in 40 minutes of their brand of heavy thrash. Surprisingly enough, many of the riffs had an old school death metal feel. A great deal of the riffs wouldn’t have been out of place on a classic Morbid Angel record, which is something one doesn’t often hear from a thrash band. Even Conan Gonzalez, the band’s vocalist/guitarist, sang in a far more aggressive style than most thrash singers. One could hear the original death/thrash fury of Max Cavalera and Tom Araya’s piercing shrieks from the early Slayer records in Conan’s voice, and he managed to keep up the intensity and ferocity with ease. The entire set was a good time for the audience, but the highlights included Kneel Before the Steel, and War Gods. For the latter song, Conan had the audience divide into four corners and engage in a four sided wall of death. This started the first truly active circle pit of the night, which tended to fluctuate in intensity and size throughout the show. Exmortus successfully set the Echo up for more thrash fun, and left a solid impression on this reviewer.
Setlist:
1. In Hatreds Flame
2. Kneel Before the Steel
3. War Gods
4. Axes of War
5. Destroy
6. Entombed with the Pharaohs
7. Fimbulwinter
8. Triumph by Fire
Witchaven came next, and proved once again why they’re one of the most reliable thrash bands around when it comes to live sets. Their set was mainly made up tracks from their awesome debut album, Terrorstorm, but the band didn’t forget to include two tracks from their latest EP, Sacrificial Burnt Offering. Opening with one of their earliest tracks, Faces of Death, Witchaven wasted no time in summoning a frantic pit and massive crush of fans in the front. The band was in fine form, playing with a reckless abandon befitting their sound. There might not be a track more fitting of Witchaven’s self-proclaimed black-thrash sound than Empty Chasm, which combined riffs from the Darkthrone playbook with thrash drum beats from drummer Lerby Sanchez that would make Tom Hunting proud. Vocalist Henry Montoya’s vocals were the icing on the cake, successfully alternating between a Schmier-like thrash wail and a full on black metal shriek. The audience rightfully went nuts for Witchaven’s signature tune, Black Thrash Assault, but they truly lost it for the band’s showstopper, Unholy Copulation. Witchaven can chalk up another phenomenal set to their already huge list of them, and I can’t wait to see them when they inevitably return.
Setlist:
1. Faces of Death
2. Terrorstorm
3. A.D.D.
4. Black Thrash Assault
5. Skinned Alive
6. Supermax
7. Empty Chasm
8. Unholy Copulation
The final band on this short, yet very killer, bill was Vektor. Having to follow stellar performances from Vektor and Witchaven was a daunting task, but the band was more than up to the challenge. The band’s 2009 debut on Heavy Artillery Records, Black Future, was a masterpiece of progressive thrash, and their recent follow up, Outer Isolation was just as fantastic. My primary concern was whether the band would be able to replicate their intricate and complex performances live. Vektor blew me away however, with a shockingly perfect performance. Drummer Blake Anderson nailed every fill with ease, and handled the endless time changes with grace and fluidity. The band’s guitarists, David DiSanto and Erik Nelson were just as flawless with executing their riffs and solos. Bassist Frank Chin, while not nearly as audible as I would have liked, had his fingers flying across the fretboard for the full hour Vektor played for. Given the exceedingly high instrumental standard the others set for the band, I think it’s safe to assume that Frank matched them with a top-flight bass performance.
The band started their set with three new tracks- which the audience didn’t seem to mind one bit. While these tracks were all expertly performed, the opening number, Cosmic Cortex, left the biggest impression on me. After the opening intro, the band never let up with a nonstop thrash attack reminiscent of Dimension Hatross-era Voivod. Even with the many time changes the track had, Vektor refused to reduce the intensity with a breakdown or a quiet bridge. Progressive thrash metal doesn’t get much better than that. The absolute greatest part of Vektor’s set had to have been their performance of Forests of Legend though. When the band exploded from their cleanly picked intro into a heavy assault, all hell broke loose and the audience gave Vektor a circle pit worthy of the band’s performance. The final guitar solo was something truly beautiful to listen to, and hearing Erik nail it note for note was about as good as it gets.
After Forests of Legend, the band was given a fifteen minute warning. After a quick discussion on what tracks to play, the guys played Destroying the Cosmos and their traditional set-closer, Asteroid. As far as I know (and according to other setlists from this tour), Destroying the Cosmos was not intended to played at all. Despite this, the band performed the song to perfection; even David’s two-hand tapped guitar solo sounded identical to its album counterpart. As the band began to pack up their instruments after Asteroid, the crowd wildly cheered for another song. Despite running two minutes over their allotted time, Vektor convinced the soundman to grant them one more track. As if to simultaneously be smart-alecks and good to their audience, the band decided to play their longest track (clocking in at over thirteen minutes long!), Accelerating Universe. This was an epic end to an epic set, and the band was met with a rapturous applause upon the track’s inevitable end. Despite eventually running nearly twenty minutes over their playing time, Vektor delivered on the hour-long set they promised to play.
Out of a week packed with potentially amazing shows, this one was one of the best. With a bill that made every audience member happy, a price worth only an hour’s wage and performances that outclassed many acts with larger fanbases, this concert was a success on every level.
Rating: 9.5/10
Setlist:
1. Cosmic Cortex
2. Dying World
3. Fast Paced Society
4. Forest of Legend
5. Destroying the Cosmos
6. Asteroid
7. Accelerating Universe
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