By Andrew Bansal
June 20th 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Los Angeles’ very own ‘goblin metal’ heroes Nekrogoblikon descended upon the Sunset Strip for a headline gig at the Whisky-A-Go-Go last night to present material from their latest EP ‘Power’, an assortment of older songs and a brand new tune or two in front of their hometown fan base which has grown astronomically in the past couple of years, as was evident from the excellent turnout they had for this show. Along with support from fellow Los Angeles band Sirion, Nekrogoblikon promised to treat attendees with an epic evening of unabated nerd metal.
At around 10:15, Sirion, who brought quite a sizable number of their own fans and justifiably earned their billing on this show, took the stage to play a highly enjoyable 30-minute set that had the mosh pits moving at full speed throughout its entirety. This is a band I’ve seen on a regular basis in the past 12 months, because it simply never gets boring watching a band that’s as entertaining live as Sirion certainly are. This was my first time seeing them with their new bassist Mike Cosio, and while one show alone is not sufficient for me to compare him to the old bassist, it’s safe to say that his performance was good and his bass playing was perfectly in keeping with what the music demanded from him. But the most notable difference was that vocalist Biko Wright and guitarist Dan Serper took over the clean vocal duties that the old bassist used to perform, and they both did a fair job at it, specially Biko Wright who has clearly developed that aspect of his musicianship a lot since the first time I saw Sirion a year ago. Their five-song set had a brilliant flow and buildup to it, and got the crowd more and more involved as it went on. It ended with ‘Beyond The Depths’, perhaps the band’s most progressive composition, and left everyone wanting more. I felt they were a little hard done by in terms of the way their sound mix came through on the Whisky’s PA and some instruments weren’t as prominent as they could have been, but other than that, another solid performance from Sirion, and another step in the right direction.
Sirion links:
Sirion.US.com
facebook.com/Sirion
twitter.com/SirionMetal
Sirion.bandcamp.com
Set List:
01. Symmetrical
02. Blackened Skies
03. Earthmind
04. Interstellar
05. Beyond The Depths
Fartbarf is a name I had heard a lot lately, and even though I’d never heard their actual music, the fact that they were on this lineup had me intrigued. But as soon as they stepped onto the stage and started their set of guitar-less, electronic-based music, I rapidly realized that it was totally not my thing, and it took me just one ‘song’ to decide that I’d had enough. It was a real pity because I really dig that name and wish I could say the same about the music, but I honestly can’t. I have nothing against them and they definitely brought their own crowd to the show too, but in this context of a metal show I was not ready to enjoy a band that has no guitars. May be if I’d heard their music by itself at a different time and place I would perceive it differently, but not at this show.
After a long wait time which was further lengthened by my total lack of enjoyment of Fartbarf’s set, Nekrogoblikon appeared just as we approached midnight, and for the next several minutes, all six members goofily stood on the stage texting on their cellphones amongst chants of ‘Fuck these guys’ and ‘Play some shit’. Finally, they began their set proper with ‘No One Survives’, and for the next hour, provided a copious dosage of entertainment to this crowd which in return gave them a fantastic response. Of course, their mascot John Goblikon also joined them on stage, and as soon as he appeared, the heightening of the excitement levels amongst the fans was almost palpable. What a difference a goblin makes! The crowd was loving John Goblikon’s uncontrollable insanity, and while the band went about their task of playing their music, the goblin danced and pranced around all over the stage and at one point jumped into the already crazy mosh pit to stir it further. I saw Nekrogoblikon plenty of times a few years back in their pre-goblin days when their show was all about the music alone, but the great thing is, the goblin allows them to retain the musicianship aspect but adds the extra dimension that takes their show to a whole another level. Towards the end of the set they played a new song (titled ‘Bag’ on the set list) which was very well-received and closed out the evening with ‘Powercore’. I’ve been missing out every time Nekrogoblikon played a headline show in LA and I definitely do not regret attending this one. In comparison to when they started out as a local band, Nekrogolikon’s whole presentation is infinitely more epic, and they’ve made themselves into a band whose live show is impossible to dislike.
Nekrogoblikon links:
facebook.com/Nekrogoblikon
twitter.com/Nekrogoblikon
instagram.com/NekrogoblikonOfficial
Nekrogoblikon.bandcamp.com
Set List:
01. No One Survives
02. In The Hall Of The Goblin King
03. Nothing But Crickets
04. Bells And Whistles
05. Return To The Sky (From Whence You Came)
06. Bears
07. Friends (In Space)
08. Prince Of The Land Of Stench
09. Giraffe
10. Goblins Ahoy!
10. Bag (new song)
11. Powercore
Nekrogoblikon summer North American tour dates:
7/26 – Edmonton, AB @ The Studio Music Foundation
8/05 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
8/06 – New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall
8/09 – Montreal, QC @ Heavy MTL
8/10 – Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
8/11 – Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s
8/13 @ Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
8/14 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
8/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
8/16 – Springfield, VA @ Empire
8/17 – Long Island, NY @ Amityville Music Hall
The Whisky-A-Go-Go links:
WhiskyAGoGo.com
facebook.com/theWhiskyAGoGo
twitter.com/theWhiskyAGoGo
instagram.com/theWhiskyAGoGo