Review & photo by Andrew Bansal
February 17th 2015, Five Star Bar, Los Angeles CA: Ohio metal/hardcore crossover trio Enabler embarked on a North American co-headline tour with Denver hardcore punk/sludge outfit Call Of The Void in early February 2015, and arrived in downtown Los Angeles for a gig at the aptly chosen Five Star Bar, put together by The Elegy Ensemble, Church Of The 8th Day and Thee Static Age, and also featuring local acts Panties, BruceXCampbell and Aputasos. The turnout was great for a Tuesday night and those in attendance certainly did not regret it as the two touring bands gave them a performance to remember. The hardcore/metal crossover style has existed for at least two decades, has gone through various transitions, and it was up to this new breed of bands to showcase their interpretations of the sub-genre.
Doors opened at 8 and the show promptly began at 8:30 with LA hardcore punk bands Aputasos and BruceXCampbell as they both played short, to-the-point 15-minute sets, BruceXCampbell easily coming across as the more aggressive of the two. But Panties with their ever-entertaining presentation stood out amongst the openers and drew a good response from a sizable but subdued Tuesday evening Five Star Bar crowd.
The show was running smooth on time, and soon enough, Call Of The Void hit the stage to deliver an immensely fierce blend of extreme metal, hardcore, grind and sludge. They belted out some breathlessly fast songs one after the other in the first half of the set, and then settled into delightfully slow and heavy sludge which rendered heads in the crowd to automatically bob along. Heavy is the key word here, as through this set Call Of The Void left no stone unturned in redefining the very meaning and interpretation of the word in terms of musicianship. Theirs was without doubt one of the most punishing performances this stage has ever witnessed, and the onus was on Enabler to attempt to match it.
Enabler came on like a band with a mission and destroyed the stage in their own manner, through a type of musical style that exhibits a wider range of sounds and patterns as compared to that of Call Of The Void, even with two members less. Enabler certainly showed that they not only do metallic hardcore right, but take it to the next level with a degree of intensity and fury second to none. Just like Call Of The Void, their slower, heavier segments stood out as the best ones in the set and induced some serious head-banging in the crowd.
All in all, Enabler and Call Of The Void blew away first-timers in attendance with monstrous bouts of power, and indicated that the metallic hardcore/crossover genre still has plenty to offer.
Check out full video coverage of the show on Arturo Gallegos’ YouTube channel here.
Remaining Tour Dates:
Feb 18: Jerry’s Pizza – Bakersfield, CA
Feb 19: The Blue Lamp – Sacramento, CA
Feb 20: Gilman St – Berkeley, CA
Feb 21: High Water Mark – Portland, OR
Feb 22: 333 – Vancouver, CAN w/ THE DRIP
Feb 23: Highline – Seattle, WA w/ THE DRIP
Feb 24: The Hop – Spokane, WA w/ THE DRIP
Feb 25: Shredder – Boise, ID
Feb 26: TBA – Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 27: Hi Dive – Denver, CO
Feb 28: West Wing – Omaha, NE *
Mar 01: Encounter – Peoria, IL *
Mar 02: Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL *
Mar 03: Champaign, IL – Error Records *
Mar 04: Indianapolis, IN – Indiana Beer City *
Mar 05: Dayton, OH – Blind Bob’s Bar *
Mar 06: Detroit, MI – The Sanctuary *
Mar 07: Pittsburgh, PA – The Mr. Roboto Project *
Mar 08,: Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus *
*=ENABLER only