By Andrew Bansal
September 6th 2015, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: As has become a weekly tradition for Hollywood locals over the past few months, Loaded Bar hosted a matinee rock/metal event last Sunday presented by Metal Sanaz. Regulars at this bar come out on Sundays for drinks at happy hour prices, where you buy any drink and get the second one of the same kind for $1, and deadly hot wings on the cheap. Unless the matinee show is free of a cover charge, most of them don’t bother stepping inside the live music room, but on this occasion there was an extreme metal band that not only lived up to its name by sticking out like a thorn in a diverse lineup of bands but was also singlehandedly worthy of the cover price.
The show began as early as 5 PM, and as the afternoon faded into the evening, Los Angeles-based melodic black metal group Thorns Of Sin took the stage at around 7:50 and put forth a short but strong set overloaded with all things musically extreme. Guitarist/vocalist Sergio Varela launched this as a solo project in 2010 and wrote and recorded all instruments including bass, keyboards and drums, but then recruited a live lineup to be able to play shows. It was clear from this performance that he is the mastermind and lifesblood of Thorns Of Sin, and his musicianship and personality carried the band in terms of sonic strength and visual presence. That said, his band mates came across as solid, seasoned musicians and provided him excellent support. But they would definitely benefit from the addition of a human keyboard player instead of using samples and backing tracks for those parts, as the keyboard layer clearly adds a lot to the band’s sound.
They played a set here that lasted less than 30 minutes and seemed even shorter in effect because it had a smooth flow to it that took the audience swiftly from one tune to the next in no time. The influence of extreme metal legends such as Death and Dark Tranquillity is discernible in Thorns Of Sin’s music. This musical style is presented and executed both in the studio and on stage with much conviction by Thorns Of Sin, and with an increasingly active local concert schedule, they are emerging as undeniably strong representatives of Los Angeles’ answer to Scandinavian extreme metal. Fans of the genre are highly encouraged to give the recently released Thorns Of Sin debut full-length ‘Destroy The Light’ a spin and Los Angeles/Orange County folks should see this band live at Malone’s in Santa Ana on September 19, where they open for Romanian black metal group Negura Bunget and share the stage with a whole lineup of musically suitable bands.
Overall, a typically pleasant early Sunday outing at Loaded Hollywood, and a fruitful one at that, solely for the outstanding quality of Thorns Of Sin.