By Andrew Bansal
July 18th 2015, Five Star Bar, Los Angeles CA: Even amidst glorified fake Satan worship and invisible oranges, extreme metal has shown time and again that it cares for life on earth, specially non-human life. Harassor frontman Pete Majors aptly summed it up on stage last night when he said, “We don’t give a fuck about you. But we love animals.” In a constantly ongoing endeavor to do everything they can to help the cause of animal rescue, Hate War Productions organized a metal night at Five Star Bar in downtown Los Angeles last Saturday July 18, a five-band lineup headlined by Venom tribute act Sons Of Satan, with black metal trio Harassor as main support, and openers Savage Reign, Ancestral Awakening and Obsidian. All proceeds from this 21+, $5 show were to benefit two charitable Southern California dog rescue organizations, Furry Tails Rescue and Orange County Pit Bull Rescue. An eclectic and entertaining evening of heavy music was anticipated, and a large crowd gathered here to support the event.
Worth mentioning is the fact that all five bands that played the show are three-piece groups. Doors opened at 8 and the show was supposed to start at 8:30, but at 8:20, the guitarist of Obsidian rushed to the sound guy and requested him to start the show five minutes early. This was a first at this venue, and showed that these dudes were more than ready to bring it. They had their own lights on stage, and played a set of old-school metal that was as much about the visual aspect as it was about the music itself. The guitarist made the entire room his stage, running amok all over the place, playing solos atop tables and balconies. Their music was solid and their attitude was beyond impressive, and if anything, the order of songs in their set could be changed around because they didn’t end as strongly as they began. They certainly possess a degree of promise and it would be interesting to see how they develop in future. As for this gig, they turned out to be a great opening act.
Next up, Ancestral Awakening took the stage and played a set of doom metal that was neither extraordinarily impressive nor terrible. They were better than the past occasions I’ve seen them perform on, and for the most part, did enough to compel the audience to not step outside the room. They don’t have anything unique about them and for that reason they aren’t outstanding, but unlike the band that immediately followed them, they still made a positive contribution to this event.
And then came the moment I was dreading, the arrival of Savage Reign on stage. I was standing outside before their set and as soon as they began, I asked myself, “Do I dare enter?” I did, in the hope of seeing an improvement from the past bad performances of theirs that I’ve witnessed, but I was largely disappointed. First of all, they can’t seem to decide whether they want to be a four-piece or a three-piece, because it’s different each show they play. This time they were a three-piece, and their music simply isn’t strong enough to be pulled off successfully with a three-piece setup. I have seen them with a second guitarist, and it’s far better, as they do need the harmonies to fill the sonic space that otherwise feels vacant. While guitarist Sal Yanez was the brightest spot of their performance as he did justice to his instrument to a large extent and the drumming was better than it has been in the past, the biggest drawback remains to be the bassist’s vocals, which have not undergone any improvement at all since day one. I have nothing personal against these guys and I give them credit for effort and enthusiasm, but the name Savage Reign has collected too many negative connotations over the past two years of its existence, and perhaps should be erased from this planet. I want these dudes to be in a good band, and I think it’s time for them to get a real singer, change their name and put the Savage Reign phase behind them. This is not an insult towards the bassist. Singing is no joke. As a fellow journalist rightly pointed out, it would be better for them to look back at this time and laugh at themselves, rather than continue in this manner and being laughed at.
In overwhelmingly striking contrast, the ever-immense and intense Harassor hit the stage next and leveled this place with the sonic force of a ten-ton hammer. The sheer bestiality of this black metal/doom/death/hardcore punk trio’s music, specially in a live environment, is simply undeniable, and it’s no surprise to report that they received the highest number of mosh pits at this show. To sound so ear-bleedingly violent without a bassist takes something special, a quality that cannot be described or measured but can only be felt, and Harassor has it in plenty. A Harassor ritual is nothing short of an exorcism, not only for vocalist Pete Majors, guitarist James L. Horus and drummer Sandor GF, but for everyone in the audience as well. This performance was no different, as they dominated the show and rightly got asked to do an encore by the crowd and the sound guy, which they did. Los Angeles should be proud to claim ownership of this longstanding great unique band. Hail Harassor.
Things were running quite smoothly as far as the schedule and changeover was concerned, and a few minutes past midnight, Sons Of Satan began their tribute to Venom. The trio comprises seasoned, experienced and expert musicians Menno Verbaten (Lightning Swords Of Death / Cliff ‘Em All) on bass and vocals, Matt Price (Behold! The Monolith) on guitar and Rhett Thorgrimm Davis (Gravehill) on drums, and unlike most other tribute acts in town, are very selective about their appearances which makes each one that much more of an event. On this occasion, they were supposedly going to play the ‘Black Metal’ album in its entirety. They didn’t do it for ‘several reasons’, and it was actually fitting in a rock ‘n roll manner, given the band, musical style and personalities they were paying tribute to.
They still played half of that album, but the highlight of the set was most definitely the Motörhead-worshipping ‘Witching Hour’ from the 1981 Venom debut LP ‘Welcome To Hell’, with ‘In League With Satan’ from the same album not far behind. The song ‘Black Metal’ itself was a bit of an anti-climax, as it garnered what I would honestly describe as the worst mosh pit I have ever seen. The band sounded excellent and looked the part, even though Matt Price’s Orange amp and cabinet full stack was missing from this gig due to technical issues he was facing with the setup that prevented him from bringing to the show, and he played out of a Marshall half-stack rig instead. The room was packed, the atmosphere simply did not do justice to a set filled with such historic and infuential heavy metal classics. It makes me wonder whether Los Angeles even has any real Venom fans. At the same time it’s good to know that all three of these musicians have other projects to pursue, and that they do not depend on this Venom tribute for their livelihood. With that said, this trinity channels its inner Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon better than anyone possibly could, including the original band itself.
Overall, it was a fascinating night out, for reasons both good and bad. Beyond any doubt, Hate War Productions once again proved themselves as the leaders in animal charity metal event organization. A highly successful event that presented live music of varying styles and quality.
