By Andrew Bansal
September 16th 2015, Mystery Box, Los Angeles CA: Los Angeles stoner/doom veterans Goatsnake embarked on a US West Coast headline tour with Southern Lord Records label mates Black Breath, Battalion Of Saints and Obliterations as support acts, the first show of the run taking place at the Mystery Box in Los Angeles last Wednesday September 16 2015. The city of Los Angeles never ceases to offer new venues, and the Mystery Box, located in the Arts District of downtown LA, happens to be yet another. Besides witnessing the on-stage exploits of these tremendous underground bands, experiencing this venue for the first time was just about as much of a reason to look forward to this show.
With a spacious concert hall holding a maximum of around 350 people, a sizable stage, a lobby used as waiting area in case of large crowds to prevent people from lining up outside and causing trouble with the neighborhood, and an outdoor area for smokers and merch setup, the fully functional warehouse that is the Mystery Box emanates a welcoming vibe to members of the Los Angeles underground music community. It is not a finished product yet by any means, as a brand new sound board was put in place before this show and the lighting rig is minimal at this point, but the entire operation seems to be heading in the right direction, with the right people in charge. Local legends Nekrogoblikon are fully running it by themselves, and just like Brick By Brick in San Diego (owned and operated by Wovenwar/ex-As I Lay Dying members), these guys are proving that metal venues are better run when in the hands of people that are actually a part of the scene. With the House Of Blues disappearing and other small/mid-sized clubs posing their own challenges, the Mystery Box may become the LA music underground’s new recluse.
Talking of the show itself, doors opened at 7:30, and at 8:10, Los Angeles hardcore punk quartet Obliterations began the show with a typically scintillating 30-minute set. They delivered a string of supremely impressive shows as a brand new unsigned act in 2014 and it wasn’t long before they got signed to Southern Lord to release their devastating debut full-length ‘Poison Everything’ in October of that year. Led by the unbridled intensity of vocalist Sam James Velde and instrumentally backed by the strength of three seasoned musicians, Obliterations conquered the stage and gave the crowd much to appreciate, putting forth a powerful exhibition of dynamic hardcore punk. The relentless fury of an Obliterations set invariably compels violent mosh pits, although this crowd was more content watching the band, right until the very last song when one brave soul attempted to start a pit. Obliterations arguably were the best band of this show, and with performances like this, continue to maintain their position as standouts in the world of underground heavy music.
With the tough task of following an Obliterations set at their hands, longstanding San Diego band Battalion Of Saints took the stage next and played a set of straight-up old-school hardcore punk which certainly leans more towards the punk side than hardcore. Battalion Of Saints first formed as far back as 1980, and following their initial breakup in 1985, reformed in 1995 and have been around since then, with vocalist George Anthony the only remaining original member. After years of no new music, they have a self-titled 7-inch coming out on Southern Lord in October with three brand new songs. Their set here was relatively one-dimensional in comparison to that of Obliterations, but it was not short on energy or speed, and was well-received by the crowd, to a large extent.
Seattle crossover/doom/crust perpetrators Black Breath were the main support act in this lineup, and started their set at 10 PM. Their third full-length album ‘Slaves Beyond Death’ is slated for a September 25 release and they presented some tunes off of it to go with the older material from their near decade-long career. Black Breath’s LA area performances have been second to none in the sheer carnage they leave in their wake, and they put on a show that lived up to their reputation, but it was a somewhat different sonic incarnation of the band as this set was decidedly more dominated by the doom elements than anything else. The vocals were inaudible during the first two songs and remained low in the mix throughout the set, which is perhaps what prevented Black Breath from completely stealing the show. But despite the sound issues, they along with Obliterations still ruled the evening.
Finally at around 11, headliners Goatsnake hit the stage to present material from their latest album ‘Black Age Blues’, released earlier this year and their first full-length since 2000, along with an assortment of older tunes. While other bands asked the stage lights to be turned off almost completely to keep on-stage temperatures as low as possible, Goatsnake vocalist Pete Stahl and guitarist Greg Anderson demanded the house lights to be turned on, as they said they could not see anything on stage. Once that was sorted, they went about the job at hand and delivered a straightforward, heavy set of quintessential stoner doom that has garnered them quite a fan-following in the LA underground over the 20 years since their mid-90s inception.
The crowd was in good spirits and the more-than-decent turnout here was treated to four very solid variations of subversive music, in a setting that was certainly appropriate for it. The Southern Lord tour is a must on the calendar for every real deal heavy music lover on the US West Coast.
Remaining Tour Dates:
9/17 Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA
9/19 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA (win FREE tickets)
9/20 Club Red – Mesa, AZ
9/22 Elbo Room – San Francisco, CA
9/23 Boardwalk – Sacramento, CA
9/24 Catalyst Atrium – Santa Cruz, CA
9/26 Highline – Seattle, WA
9/27 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR