By Andrew Bansal
October 22nd 2015, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based Ironaut started out in early 2015 as an instrumental stoner rock trio, featuring the talents of Erik Kluiber (ex Gypsyhawk and White Wizzard) on bass, Patrick McHugh on guitar and Ivan Najor on drums. They made a highly impressive live debut at Loaded in Hollywood in April and played a handful of gigs since, before deciding to add vocals into the mix. Erik Kluiber took it upon himself to explore a facet of his musicianship no one had witnessed before, becoming the lead vocalist of the band. Ironaut made their debut as a power trio with vocals in North Hollywood in late September, and three weeks later, returned to the original scene of the crime at Loaded for a gig last Thursday October 22nd.
With the addition of Kluiber’s vocals, the most noticable change is in the vibe itself, moving from chilled-out PBR-fueled sweet, heavy, riff-worshipping instrumental jams to a relatively in-your-face, aggressive output resulting from the High On Fire type vocals. It is a different flavor of stoner rock and isn’t a finished product but more of a work in progress, but it was well-executed on this Loaded stage and got a good response from the crowd.
The heart of the music still lies in the instrumental layers, and guitarist Patrick McHugh put forth a highly enjoyable performance through an exemplary guitar tone. It was discovered in conversation after the show that he had suffered an injury a few weeks prior and wasn’t quite 100 per cent in his arms even for this gig, which was hard to believe, as his solos were the highlights of the set. That being said, Ivan Najor is certainly the perfect drummer for this band, while Kluiber’s bass playing is as effortlessly incisive as his exploits as a guitarist in bands like Gypsyhawk and White Wizzard. His vocal delivery was commendable, considering that he’d never done anything of this sort on stage in any of his previous bands or in the original incarnation of Ironaut. Besides, his stage banter was humorous and not excessive.
The song ‘Acid Wash’ stood out as the best Ironaut had to offer in this performance. Kluiber mentioned on stage that the band is working on recording an EP with famed producer/engineer Paul Fig. In all honesty, I felt that this band had great potential as an instrumental trio and was hoping they would stay that way, but I can respect them for attempting to expand their scope and explore their own hidden talents by adding vocals to it. Plus, having played only a few instrumental shows, they made the change at the right time and can move forward with the aim of establishing this new incarnation as their long-term identity.
Ironaut, by all means, is a worthwhile newcomer in the Los Angeles music community, and deserves to garner attention and interest from fans of all things heavy.
Set List:
01. Horned Goat
02. Yellow King
03. Acid Wash
04. Atomic Voyage
05. The Dead Look In My Eyes
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