Behold! The Monolith, Fractalline & Others Perform At Loaded Hollywood

By Andrew Bansal

September 3rd 2014, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based Behold! The Monolith have returned in a new incarnation, rejuvenated to resume delivering their goliath-like doom to the masses. They took the stage at Loaded Hollywood last night along with four other local groups including their new vocalist Jordan Nalley’s other band Fractalline, Corona CA’s Vampire Squid who were marking this as an album release show, with The Last Of Lucy and Nihilitus rounding out the lineup. 

The show began early-ish by Hollywood standards at 8 PM, but there was a decent turnout even at that stage of the evening as Nihilitus started proceedings with a solid set of technical extreme metal presented through a twin guitar attack that prevented listeners from feeling the absence of a bassist, vocals that ranged from guttural to high-pitched growls, relentless drumming to dictate the pace and good energy from all four members. The band has served as local opener for Summer Slaughter and shows of that nature, and are a worthwhile listen, particularly in the live setting, for fans of the genre.

Nihilitus links: facebook

Next up were Vampire Squid, launching their new album ‘Nautilus World’ via local independent label Bodhi Sphere Records, run by Jordan Nalley. They put forth a highly entertaining and diverse set with a range of material that comprised elements varying from modern prog (their Fallujah and Intronaut influences well-represented in the music and through their on-stage attire) to grindcore. Their newer tunes exhibited the grind/slam tendencies to a much greater extent and were therefore far more enjoyable, at least from my perspective, and opened up the floor for the odd circle pit or two amongst an audience that had grown in number and approached nearer to the stage during the course of their set. With performances such as this one, Vampire Squid might be onto something noteworthy in the near future.

Vampire Squid links: facebook

Soon after, it was the turn of Hollywood’s very own tech death quartet Fractalline to hit the stage, something they started doing only during the last two months after a 3-year consolidation period wherein they laid low and went through lineup changes. It’s clear from this set that they’ve come back stronger than ever, the older material sounding better than it did before and the new tunes coming across as decidedly more crushing, specially ‘Digital Eden’ which instigated the best mosh pit of the evening. Vocalist Jordan Nalley utilized the Loaded stage a lot more efficiently than most bands do here, perching atop the stage monitors to make himself more visible, and even jumping off the stage to charge at the crowd at one point. Ever since I first saw them in 2011 I’ve felt that their on-stage musicianship is their strongest suite and it’s great to see them back doing what they do best, based on the strength of some excellently written new material, because this town can certainly never have too many good live bands.

Related: In-depth Interview With LA Extreme Metal Band Fractalline

Fractalline links: facebook | twitter | bandcamp

Next came The Last Of Lucy, and Jordan Nalley wasn’t the only one pulling double duty tonight as the vocalist of Nihilitus also fronted The Last Of Lucy. This Huntington Beach-based band’s music clearly possessed an experimental vibe, quiet melodic interludes blended with slow heavy grind. Quite a few people left the room after Fractalline’s set and The Last Of Lucy didn’t have much of a crowd, and while I can’t deny that they’re not the kind of band I could appreciate at first listen, the challenge of attempting to understand their musicianship made it interesting in a certain way, and the general slowness of their set was a more fitting precursor to the final act of the evening than any of the other three bands would have been.

The Last Of Lucy links: facebook

And finally at 11:50, after careful deliberation from the sound guy as he tried his level best to fathom the monstrosity of the sound emanating from guitarist Matt Price’s full-stack Orange amplification and set the lead vocals high enough to not be drowned out by it, Behold! The Monolith took this stage and absolutely obliterated it with a deafening, neck-breaking sonic onslaught of colossal riffs, powerful vocals, heart-pounding bass and crafty drum fills. This was as accurate of a representation of Behold! The Monolith as anyone could ever expect or imagine, and it’s fair to say that the legacy of the late Kevin McDade is well and truly preserved by the efforts of this lineup, the two new members Jordan Nalley and bassist Jason Casanova in particular, as they had an ominous task on their hands. It was a privilege to be a witness to the musical metamorphosis of Nalley, breaking new ground by fronting a tech death and an old-school doom band simultaneously, both with equally positive impact on the audience, and possibly becoming the only vocalist ever to do so. Tunes off of the ‘Defender, Redeemist’ record such as ‘Guardian’s Procession/Halv King’, ‘Redeemist’ and ‘We Are The Worm’ drenched the headbangers with multiple bouts of frenzy. Behold! The Monolith to me has been the kind of band that never does anything wrong, and they’re certainly not about to let that change.

But besides the musicianship that made my brain reach the brink of explosion, I particularly enjoyed the fact that they played at Loaded Hollywood instead of their regular spots, out of their comfort zone and taking upon the challenge of delivering the goods in an environment largely alien to them. Bands often tend to get too comfortable in their own ways and don’t push themselves hard enough, so it’s great to see Behold not falling into that trap. One thing that definitely frustrated and saddened me was the lack of support from their so-called fans in the local circles, as nearly none of the Behold ‘regulars’ were anywhere to be seen at this show. I got a strong feeling that if the show was at the Five Star Bar or Complex on the exact same date, these people would have attended, which suggests that supporting only specific venues/promoters and maintaining hatred and contempt towards Hollywood venues is more important than supporting a band you like.

But these frustrations aside, it was truly an honor to experience this fantastic Behold performance. They’re a band at the peak of their powers as a live act and whenever and wherever they play a show next, attendance is highly recommended.

Related: In Conversation With Behold! The Monolith Vocalist Jordan Nalley

Behold! The Monolith links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram | bandcamp

Loaded Hollywood links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram

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