By Andrew Bansal
July 31st 2015, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Oakland stoner metal trio High On Fire embarked on a North American headline tour with Arkansas doom quartet Pallbearer, German ‘heavy magic rock’ group Lucifer, and Houston heshers Venomous Maximus as support acts, for an undeniably diverse lineup that is certain to attract large audiences wherever it goes, specially with all four bands having new(ish) releases under their belts. The tour began in San Diego on July 30 2015 and the day after, made its way to Los Angeles for a sold-out gig at the Echoplex, presented by Vacation Vinyl and FYF. The lines outside the venue were long and the anticipation among Los Angeles’ stoner/doom/sludge community gathered here was high.
Riding high on their supremely impressive 2015 sophomore full-length Shadow Kingdom Records release ‘Firewalker’, Venomous Maximus began proceedings at 8:30 with a half-hour set that met and exceeded the expectations of even their most die-hard fans in attendance, and attracted first-timers and onlookers closer and closer to the stage as the set progressed from one foot-stomper to another. Enigmatic frontman Gregg Higgins was in his element, and his band mates were right there with him. Higgins’ poetic vocal delivery and guitar harmonies with Christian Larson formed the backbone of their sound, with Bongo on drums and Trevi Biles on bass holding their own. Their set comprised two songs from the 2012 debut LP ‘Beg Upon The Light’, including the now rare gem ‘Give Up The Witch’, while ‘October 14th’, ‘Dark Waves’ and the set-closing ‘Angel Heart’ were chosen to represent the ‘Firewalker’ album. It was a real pity that the set was as short as it was, and stellar tunes like ‘White Rose’ and ‘Through The Black’ from the new record had to be omitted. This performance from Venomous Maximus was far superior and more powerful in comparison to the two previous times I saw them in their home state, and they truly presented the strength of their recorded material with its rendition on stage, showing what they are capable of. They were unjustly low on this bill. At the very least, they should have been higher than the band that played next. Venomous Maximus is worthy of the level of popularity that should see them headlining shows of this size, because musically and performance-wise, they were by far the strongest and grooviest band of this show. Venomous for life.
Related: In Conversation With Venomous Maximus Frontman Gregg Higgins
Next up was a band nearly every ticket holder claimed they were mainly here to see, occult-themed female-fronted rock group Lucifer from Germany. Unfortunately, their name is just about their only positive trait, because they came across as bland, generic and unimpressive. They completely failed to create the vibe they were going for, as even though some of the guitar riffs were above-average, the vocals did not travel far and were nowhere close to powerful enough to hold this room captive. One found it extremely hard to understand all the hype surrounding them. In contrast to Venomous, Lucifer’s 30-minute set could not end soon enough.
Next up, Pallbearer took the stage to bring forth their brand of mystic doom, and with no gimmicks, succeeded in garnering a positive reaction from the audience, even from people who said they did not like the band and were ready to write them off. They played a solid mix of tunes from their two full-length albums, ‘Sorrow And Extinction’ (2012) and ‘Foundations Of Burden’ (2014), and utilized their alloted 40-minute set to the fullest. Pallbearer’s musicianship on and off stage is undoubtedly admirable, and this was an excellent represenation of everything they stand for.
Having said that, I do honestly think their December 2014 show at the Roxy was much more enjoyable, firstly because it was a headline set, and secondly due to the more suitable light show that went with it. As some readers might know, I do lights for bands on tour and locally, and I definitely do not mean to sound like the asshole that thinks he’s better than everybody else, because I’m still learning and I’m not better than everybody else, but my review of this show would be deemed incomplete if I didn’t express my opinion on the lighting. Purely as a reviewer and a member of the audience, I felt the lighting was very much unsuitable and out of sync with the music being played on stage, and this applied to all four bands. Lucifer and Pallbearer are vibe-centric bands, and a better light show could have enhanced the impact of their performances. It was too bright, flashy and strobe-laden. FOr instance, there was too much white and not nearly enough blue or red. Lighting is a very important aspect of live music and adds a whole another dimension. It should be taken seriously and should be handled by a person familiar with the bands or someone who has done his/her research. End rant.
As for High On Fire, I will choose not to write a review of their set because it would be unfair. I have been hugely unimpressed by them since day one, and even after all attempts to appreciate them and seeing them several times on stage, I came to the conclusion that their sloppy-Motörhead-on-crack ethos doesn’t do anything for me. That being said, I have nothing against them personally and I do thank them/their booking agent/management for bringing Pallbearer and Venomous Maximus on tour.
Overall, an excellently attended show where the live music fluctuated wildly between mesmerizing and mediocre.
Remaining Tour Dates:
8/01 — San Francisco CA @ Regency Ballroom
8/03 — Portland OR @ Hawthorne Theater
8/04 — Vancouver BC @ Rickshaw
8/05 — Seattle WA @ Neumos
8/07 — Salt Lake City UT @ The Complex
8/08 — Denver CO @ Gothic
8/10 — Minneapolis MN @ Mill City Nights
8/11 — Chicago IL @ Thalia Hall
8/12 — Ferndale MI @ Loving Touch
8/13 — Toronto ON @ Opera House
8/14 — Syracuse NY @ Lost Horizon
8/15 — New York NY @ Irving Plaza
8/17 — Boston MA @ Royale
8/18 — Brooklyn NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
8/19 — Philadelphia PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
8/20 — Baltimore MD @ Sound Stage
8/21 — Winston-Salem NC @ Ziggy’s
8/22 — Atlanta GA @ Masquerade
8/23 — New Orleans LA @ One Eyed Jack’s