By Andrew Bansal
August 8th 2013, Hard Rock Cafe, Hollywood CA: Led by guitarist Benjamin Woods, Heavy Mellow is a Los Angeles-based group that plays hard rock and heavy metal classics on flamenco guitars. Originally the creator of the band Flametal, Woods writes flamenco arrangements for some of the most popular songs of our genre and presents them on stage with the help of fellow flamenco guitarist Luis Villegas. They played two full sets at Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood last night and despite the fact that plenty of other events were going on at the same time, I feel glad and fortunate to have made the right decision in choosing to go see Heavy Mellow. For this gig their percussionist was Mike Bennett, and they had two flamenco dancers to add further color to an already interesting presentation. Amidst all the loudness and brutality of my nightly schedule of hearing live heavy music, this promised to be a refreshing change and I was certainly intrigued by the prospect.
They started at 10 PM with a great rendition of Dio’s ‘Rainbow In The Dark’ and set the mood perfectly for the rest of the evening. This band is not a completely unknown entity by any means, and a lot of people in the LA music circle are familiar with them. But honestly, I had no pre-conceived notion of them and didn’t have the slightest idea about the kind of songs they’ve covered in their past shows. So, this gig was very much a first-hand experience for me. Each of the songs came across as a good fit to the flamenco sound. Ben Woods needs to be commended not only for his stellar flamenco arrangements but also for his nifty selection of tunes.
It was fascinating to note that the way Heavy Mellow played some of the tunes, it was as if those were always meant to be played on flamenco. The early Scorpions song ‘The Sails Of Charon’ is a prime example, Yngwie’s ‘I Am A Viking’ is another, and so is Rainbow’s ‘Gates Of Babylon’. But there were also songs that you wouldn’t normally call ‘musical exhibitions’ when you listen to their original versions. Dokken’s ‘Mr. Scary’, Motley Crue’s ‘Too Young To Fall In Love’ and KISS’ ‘Tears Are Falling’ come under this category. Heavy Mellow gave these particular songs a new life and meaning to such an extent that an attentive listener and viewer could actually discover the musical talent embedded in the songs, often hidden behind the glam quotient the respective bands carry.
The two Iron Maiden covers and the one Megadeth cover stood out as the best of all in terms of performance and impact, and I’d pick the Megadeth cover as my favorite. Even though Ben Woods announced the Yngwie song as ‘one for the guitarists in the audience’, I honestly feel Megadeth’s early albums are a lot more challenging and rewarding to play on guitar in comparison to anything Yngwie has ever done, as was evident from the massive amounts of effort Woods and Villegas had to put into their cover of ‘Holy Wars’. I can only hope for more Megadeth covers the next time I see Heavy Mellow.
In terms of the venue and the crowd, it was definitely a strange setting. There was no general admission standing area and people were seated on dinner tables instead. The crowd was generally rude, loud and talkative, making it hard to even hear the music at times. It was an insult to the talents of the band on stage. Heavy Mellow’s show was amazing despite the distractions, but I felt like they could have definitely used some crowd support and enthusiasm to bounce off of. I can foresee myself enjoying Heavy Mellow a lot more at a venue better suited to them, but nonetheless, this was a delightful night of music that presented heavy metal with a unique twist.
heavymellow.com
facebook.com/pages/Heavy-Mellow/287268187996121
Set 1:
1. Rainbow In The Dark (Dio)
2. The Sails Of Charon (Scorpions)
3. Over The Mountain (Ozzy)
4. Cemetery Gates (Pantera)
5. Spill The Blood (Slayer)
6. Mr. Scary (Dokken)
7. Electric Eye (Judas Priest)
8. Nothing Else Matters (Metallica)
9. Heaven And Hell (Black Sabbath)
Set 2:
10.Aces High (Iron Maiden)
11.I Am A Viking (Yngwie Malmsteen)
12.Too Young To Fall In Love (Motley Crue)
13.Holy Wars (Megadeth)
14.Bark At The Moon (Ozzy)
15.Gates Of Babylon (Rainbow)
Encore:
16.Wasted Years (Iron Maiden)
17.Tears Are Falling (KISS)
18.Rebel Yell (Billy Idol)
19.*Flamenco song*