By Andrew Bansal
September 6th 2013, The Whisky, West Hollywood CA: In recent times, the Whisky has been surprisingly open to hosting all-thrash lineups at their club. Warbringer and Bonded By Blood played headline shows in the months of May and June respectively, with the Warbringer show in particular turning out to be a very enjoyable one for all involved. This time, it was the turn of Denver thrashers Havok, who were coming to the home stretch of their first ever North American headline tour. They headed a show filled to the brim with local openers, seven to be exact. The Los Angeles thrash tribe had turned up in huge numbers to support the show and have a great time. I arrived at the club at 7:30 PM, and unlike most other nights at the Whisky, or any other club for that matter, the place was vibrant and buzzing with excitement even at that early point of the evening. We were all set for a thrash-filled treat and it promised to be a great show.
Unfortunately I missed the first three openers, but the first band I got to see was Arsinal who hit the stage at 8:30. This band from Moreno Valley messaged me on facebook telling me I should get to the venue by 8 o’ clock to catch their set, and I’m glad I did so because they played 30 minutes of good ol’ thrash that managed to impress one and all present inside the venue. The kids in the mosh pit were having a blast, and as the band’s vocalist urged them to chat ‘Arsinal! Arsinal!’, the crowd obliged. To chant for a local opener who they most probably wouldn’t even have heard of or seen before, this sort of thing can happen only at a thrash show. The vocalist had a funny, endearing aura about him and commanded the crowd excellently. For most of the tunes he also donned a guitar to make it a three-pronged guitar attack. As a result, the band’s original tunes were compelling and their set-closing cover of Motörhead’s cover woke up and instilled energy even amongst people sitting and hiding upstairs. Arsinal got a rousing reception at the end of their set and turned out to be the perfect warm-up for the bands to follow.
Next up was a band called Ophiuchus, whom I had actually seen open up the aforementioned Bonded By Blood show at the same venue. The tall lanky dudes in this band had a bit more in their favor in terms of stage presence, and their sound had a Teutonic flavor to it. They certainly brought in a visual aspect to the show with their intriguing logo occupying the stage backdrop and the bassist’s weirdly shaped instrument catching everyone’s attention. The crowd was still recovering from Arsinal’s set but the band did their utmost best to liven them up and sure enough, during the latter part of Ophiuchus’ set there was movement in the pit. Musically they had the thrash elements that pleased this crowd but at the same time they were sufficiently different from every other band on the lineup to stand out and be remembered at least to some extent. They’re definitely a talented group of musicians, albeit with a weird band name.
Two bands into the evening, I started noticing some of the other aspects of this show. The crowd’s enthusiasm knew no bounds as they were singing along even to some of the metal classics being played on the PA during the changeover breaks. For this we can all thank the ‘no ins and outs for people under 21’ policy employed by the Whisky because it kept the under-21 folks inside the venue at all times and made for a fantastic atmosphere. As I glanced towards stage right, there was yet another attraction at this show in the form of Malice McMunn, who’s pretty well-known in Los Angeles as a dancer/performer and for her associations with the metal scene. She was dancing to metal tunes during the breaks, and there was no surprise that she got the crowd excited because that girl sure can dance. Dudes were gleefully slotting dollars in her panties in exchange for a motorboat. But to have a striptease-type dance in all-ages setting was funny in itself and it could happen only at the Whisky-A-Go-Go.
Samarium played next, and as it turned out, they were the most entertaining band of the night. The vocalist had a Chuck Billy-like presence but his mannerisms and personality couldn’t be more opposite to that of the Testament frontman. His banter with the crowd was amusing and the way he introduced and explained the title of every song was indeed excellent. The band had some weird passages in their music and were by no means your standard thrash metal act. At times there was a strong groove metal element, so much so that the vocalist asked the crowd to bounce their hands, hip-hop style. There was some dancing going on as well, obviously led by this vocalist as he swayed away on stage. I can’t speak for others in the crowd, but Samarium’s comedy-infused thrash certainly won me over. Now this is an example of how local bands can succeed in making a name for themselves, with a show that’s truly unique. I mean, where else have you heard lyrics like ‘You and me naked, it’s supposed to be sacred’ embedded within a perfectly fierce thrash song?
Kaustik, the ‘main support act’ of the lineup was next, and unfortunately they were the only bad band of the evening. They absolutely did not fit this otherwise all-thrash bill and their music did nothing even for this easily excitable crowd. Their music was pretty much a slap in the face to all those under-21 people who had to stay inside the venue no matter how much they disliked this band. I felt sorry for all those poor unfortunate lads as they withstood through this drivel. As for me, I saw this band at Mayhem Fest, they didn’t impress me then, and they did nothing for me at this show either. Again, as I keep repeating whenever I give someone a negative review, I have nothing personal against them. I just really didn’t like their set, that’s all.
The turnover between bands was impressively quick and I commend the Whisky staff for that. Local and touring bands can shit-talk the Whisky all they want because their gear is immediately forced outside the load-in door and onto the sidewalk as soon as they are done with their set, but it ensures a quick set change for the next band and reduces the wait time for the paying audience. This show was actually running ahead of schedule, as our headliners hit the stage at 11:20, a full 10 minutes before their set start time. What a contrast to the show I saw at the Vex the previous Sunday!
By the time Havok started, the crowd was visibly tired but the band’s brand of relentless thrash infused a second wind in them and the mosh pits were going at full tilt once again. Unlike most of the local bands who relied on a touch of spice and variety in the music, Havok simply stuck to doing the simple things right and played a ferocious set. This set of theirs could only be described as an unstoppable freight train running over anything and everything in its path and bringing copious amounts of pleasure to the gleeful thrash fans in this crowd. The band has come a long way from the first time I saw them open for Primal Fear at the House of Blues in mid-2010. They were great back then, but they are several times better now, with more material under their belt. The songs from the latest album ‘Unnatural Selection’ sounded fantastic and as good as I expected them to sound, ‘I Am The State’ and ‘Give Me Liberty … Or Give Me Death’ in particular. ‘From The Cradle To The Grave’ off of the Point Of No Return EP was also one of the highlights of the set, along with choice songs from the first two albums Burn and Time Is Up.
Based on this performance, it’s safe to say that Havok have made a successful transition from a strong opener to bigger bands to becoming a worthy touring headling act themselves, and I feel glad and fortunate to have witnessed their journey along this path in recent years.
Set List:
1. Covering Fire
2. Point of No Return
3. Give Me Liberty…or Give Me Death
4. Scumbag in Disguise
5. From the Cradle to the Grave
6. D.O.A.
7. Unnatural Selection
8. Afterburner
9. Time Is Up
10.Fatal Intervention
Overall, this was another fantastic thrash night at the Whisky. Critics often bag on thrash metal for its limited musical scope and repetitiveness, but it’s clear that thrash shows are as enjoyable, if not more enjoyable than any other sub-genre of heavy music and as long as there’s an audience for it, thrash will never die.