By Andrew Bansal
September 17th 2013, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: Since the release of their sixth studio album ‘Our Own Masters’, North Carolina rockers Valient Thorr have been on a headline tour, first with Gypsyhawk and Ramming Speed and then kicking off a second leg with Lord Dying and Ramming Speed earlier this month. Through previous visits as opening act to bands like Motörhead and Mastodon, Valient Thorr has been one of those bands that instantly catches your attention at first sight, and as a result the band has always enjoyed a cult following. These followers, better known as Thorriors, gathered at West Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre to witness a hefty dose of live Valient Thorr, along with some great support acts. The new Valient Thorr album is as good, and arguably better than anything they’ve ever released, and I was most looking forward to hearing some of those tunes in the live setting.
By the time I was done with my pre-show interviews, it was 8:30 PM and local rock act Black Belt Karate were just about starting their set. This is a band I saw at the Satellite around five months ago and was very impressed by their performance then. Last night their overall sound was actually better and they utilized the bigger stage with good energy and presence, but the sparse turnout at the venue certainly hindered their show. Black Belt Karate’s music is all about the rock n’ roll vibe and the back-and-forth of energy between crowd and band, which was lacking in this room during their set. Nonetheless, they did a great job playing tunes off of their debut EP ‘Volume 1’ along with newer material, and although they aren’t strictly ‘metal’ by any means, I’d recommend fans of heavy rock to check them out.
BBKofficial.com
facebook.com/BlackBeltKarate
twitter.com/BBK_official
youtube.com/BBKofficialYT
Up next were Portland, Oregon riffmongers Lord Dying. It’s barely been a month since they visited Los Angeles on their tour with Howl, and this ultra-hard working band is back at it by being part of yet another great touring package. Their gig at the Five Star Bar last month was great, but they bettered that by several notches last night, thanks in part to the better sound quality and stage at the Roxy. It was rifftastic exhibition of stoner doom metal, and to the listener in the audience it felt like a relentless freight train of riffs moving at a rate of knots. Their debut album ‘Summon The Faithless’ came out on Relapse Records earlier this year, and as great as it sounds, it definitely takes on a stronger personality in the live setting. This is a band that seems in no mood to slow down, and I’m sure they’ll be back on another tour sometime soon. Provided they don’t tour so excessively that the crowds get burnt out on them, they’ll win some new fans every time.
lorddying.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/LordDying
twitter.com/LordDying
Ramming Speed from Boston MA, another hard working and actively touring band, was next to take the stage. With a blend of beer-fueled thrash, punk, hardcore, traditional metal and stoner doom, musically this is an incredibly diverse band and it’s no surprise that they do well on all kinds of tours and strike the right chord with audiences wherever and whenever they play shows. For a heavy music fan, it’s nearly impossible to not be able to appreciate what Ramming Speed brings through their music and live performances. Despite consisting of some seriously aggressive elements, the band certainly carries a ‘party rock’ vibe in their live shows. It was surprising to note that even though they’ve been so active, before last night they hadn’t visited LA since headlining the Five Star Bar in December 2011, a show that almost literally nobody attended. This time, Ramming Speed got a much better reception and the majority of this small crowd was enjoying their set. More than anything, I was digging the twin guitar harmonies as it reminded me of some of my favorite bands of the NWOBHM movement. As I looked at the singer and his band mates, I laughed at my self-realization that Ramming Speed looks and sounds like a happier version of Black Breath. This was an amazing set by Ramming Speed. This is a band that will go places and do great things in the years to come, and if you missed them on this tour, make sure to catch their next show.
facebook.com/RammingSpeed
twitter.com/RammingSpeed666
Black Belt Karate, Lord Dying and Ramming Speed had warmed up the audience perfectly and all was in readiness for the mighty Valient Thorr to hit the stage. At 10:50, the band’s enigmatic frontman Valient Himself came out in a blue gown to an epic intro being played on the PA. The Thorriors in the audience immediately lost their collective minds and as soon as Valient took off his gown and the first note of the opening song was hit, these fans went insane with joy that knew no bounds. The band impressed me the past four times I saw them, but they were an opening act in all four of those shows and last night was a completely different experience, with a vibe that was tenfold better. The fans enjoyed seeing Valient Thorr as the headliner, and Valient Himself was certainly appreciating the support from the Thorriors singing along to the lyrics and obediently following all of his instructions.
As always, Valient Himself did his customary move of stepping off the stage, sitting down on the floor and asking the audience to sit down around him while he did a rowing motion. It’s one of the most unique moves in rock n’ roll, and it’s stuff like this which separates Valient Thorr from the plethora of rock acts plying trade in this day and age. I particularly enjoyed the copious amounts of new material they played in this set, with as many as seven songs off of ‘Our Own Masters’ including incredibly catchy tunes like ‘Immaculate Consumption’, ‘Torn Apart’ and ‘Crowdpleaser’. The show wasn’t all about Valient Himself by any means, as guitarists Eidan and Sadat Thorr were great on their instruments and combined well for the harmonies and trade-off solos while Lucian and Nightwolf held down the rhythm section solidly. Overall this was a fantastic show by Valient Thorr, but thanks to the pathetic turnout, it turned out to be the best show nobody saw. But that didn’t deter the band one bit as they gave it their all and were grateful to those who did attend. At the end of the set, Valient invited everyone on stage and the band took a group photo with the fans. A nice touch to end the night.
As I mentioned, the turnout was really bad, and it was rather depressing to see this amazing lineup of touring bands being subjected to play to such a small number of people. As an LA resident, I feel fortunate and grateful every single day of my life to have the chance to witness such great rock and metal events, but at the same time I’m starting to wonder whether anyone in this city truly cares about these bands or are putting on these shows just for the sake of it. The so-called promoters are not doing any actual promoting. I fail to see where and how this show was promoted in local media, and I fail to see any kind of attempt being made to get people to attend. For the sake of these hard working touring bands, I hope things change, and fast.
Related: Valient Thorr interview | Ramming Speed interview | Lord Dying interview
ValientThorr.com
facebook.com/ValientThorr
twitter.com/ValientThorr
Set List:
1. Heatseeker
2. Goveruptcy
3. Immaculate Consumption
4. Master Collider
5. Manipulation
6. Night Terrors
7. Life Hands You Demons
8. Torn Apart
9. Double Crossed
10.No Strings Attached
11.Crowdpleaser
12.Mask Of Sanity
13.One Tuff Customer