By Andrew Bansal
February 24th 2014, Skinny’s Lounge, North Hollywood CA: Keeping up with the tradition it has built up over the past few months, Skinny’s Lounge in North Hollywood hosted yet another edition of ‘Metal Mondays’ last night. Presented by Lara Gladstone, the five-band lineup for this one was headed by Madrost and also included Desecrate, Tormenter, Sinicle and Suicide Jones. As always, promised to treat attendees with a taste of the Los Angeles local metal scene, and with a $5 cover and cheap alcoholic beverages on offer, there was plenty of incentive for the North Hollywood locals and metalheads from elsewhere to spend their Monday evening here.
Doors opened at 8 and the show began at 8:15 with Hollywood-based metal trio Sinicle taking the stage. I had never seen this band or even heard of their music before, and on first impression I found their musicianship to be interesting, as they blended hard rock and metal influences with progressive and technical elements. In addition to playing their respective instruments, all three members contributed vocally with different styles, with the drummer doing quite a fair share of the vocals. But, this being a one-guitar band, guitarist Drew Zaragoza needed to be a lot louder in the mix than he was, as his guitar sound was being drowned out by the rhythm section. With that said, all bands faced this problem throughout the evening, and it must have something to do with the venue’s sound setup. With a stronger guitar sound, Sinicle would have made an even better impression than they did, but regardless, the band showed their musical talent and calibre through this set.
Visit Sinicle on the web:
SinicleBand.com
facebook.com/Sinicle
twitter.com/Sinicle
youtube.com/SinicleBand
instagram.com/SinicleDrew
Next up was rock quartet Suicide Jones, the lightest band of the lineup. To their credit, they drew a decent number of their own people to this show which is always good from the promoter and venue’s point of view, but unfortunately their music didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea, no matter how hard I tried to enjoy it. It was too bland, generic and ‘radio friendly’ for my personal taste, but I have nothing against them or any of their fans, and I’m sure there’s a section of ‘entry-level’ rock fans out there that might like Suicide Jones’ music.
After that, Desecrate provided a complete change in pace and tore up this stage with a face-melting set filled to the brim with high-octane thrash, shred, progressive and power metal played with a great degree of conviction. Besides their musical skills, the four members displayed great stage presence and drew the attention of onlookers in the crowd. Frontman Nick Simile’s guitar was too low in the mix owing to the aforementioned sound setup issue here. And if there’s anything I would change in the music itself, it would be to incorporate more twin guitar harmonies. But aside from that, it was an absolutely scorching performance by Desecrate, and one feels they have the potential to go a long way and break out of the local scene.
Visit Desecrate on the web:
DesecrateMusic.com
facebook.com/DesecrateMusic
twitter.com/DesecrateMusic
youtube.com/DesecrateMusic
It took a while for Madrost‘s set to begin, through no fault of their own, and as a result they played a shortened set which was very noble of them as by doing that they didn’t hinder the next band’s set duration. With their brand of classic, unrelenting, unadulterated thrash delivered with the speed and angst that’s become so typical of frontman Tanner Poppitt and his band mates. Madrost once again did not disappoint and ended up winning over some of the North Hollywood locals who had never seen them before. This was the band’s last gig before going into the studio to record their next album, and it was a short but powerful taste of what’s to come from them in the not-so-distant future.
Visit Madrost on the web:
facebook.com/Madrost
Lastly, Tormenter closed out the night with some solid thrash, and even though the crowd had expectedly thinned out after Madrost’s set, Tormenter powered through and put in their best effort despite being in an unenviable position such as this one. They’re a band that gets better with every show they play, so it’s good to see them being so active in the local gig scene. They played songs mostly from their new EP ‘Phantom Time’ and showcased the musical development they’ve undergone over the years, but ended the set with one of their oldest songs ‘Hammer Head’, to the excitement of some of their longtime fans in the crowd. Another good set by Tormenter, and they’re a band definitely moving onwards and upwards day by day.
Visit Tormenter on the web:
Tormenter.BandCamp.com
facebook.com/TormenterMetal
youtube.com/TormenterTV
Overall, a fun Monday night out at Skinny’s, as always, but it would be even more fun next time if the sound setup is altered to ensure that the guitars coming out of center-stage and stage-right are as loud as they need to be. Turnout-wise, the show did better than I honestly expected, but the trend of people seeing only their friends’ band and leaving the venue continues to bother me, and it’s something that really needs to stop. Nonetheless, an enjoyable metal night for all, and here’s looking forward to the next Metal Monday at Skinny’s.
Visit Lara Gladstone on the web:
facebook.com/LaraGladstone.Presents
twitter.com/LG_Presents
Visit ‘Metal Mondays’ on the web:
facebook.com/MetalMondaysInLA
Visit Skinny’s Lounge on the web:
SkinnysLounge.com
facebook.com/pages/Skinnys-Lounge-in-NOHO/109244342457873