By Andrew Bansal
June 8th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: Following the early 2016 release of their typically devastating seventh full-length studio album and Season Of Mist debut ‘Abuse To Suffer’, Finnish grindcore quartet Rotten Sound embarked on a North American headline tour, revolving around their appearance at the prestigious Maryland Deathfest. Towards the end of the run and on their way into Mexico, Rotten Sound arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday June 8th 2016 for a gig at Complex with support acts Scalafrea, Graf Orlock and Doesn’t Matter, put together as almost always, by Church Of The 8th Day.
At around 9 PM, promoter Daniel Dismal’s own grindcore trio Doesn’t Matter
opened the show. He’s not the kind that shoves his bands into the shows he promotes unless it really fits the lineup, and Doesn’t Matter sure did prove to be a greatly obvious fit as the opening act on this occasion. Perhaps the only band on the planet in which the drummer performs all the lead vocals and the bassist does all the talking between songs, Doesn’t Matter invariably prove their worth as one of the most entertaining jokester extreme metal bands going around in the local LA underground whenever they take the stage, and this was no different, as they put forth a mix of hard-hitting grindcore tunes and equally strong humor based on everyday social and political issues. Complex was steadily filling up during the set, and while some in the crowd already knew what to expect, other didn’t, and eventually warmed up to what Doesn’t Matter had on offer. An ideal start to an evening of extreme music.
Next up, longstanding Los Angeles quartet Graf Orlock took the stage for a relatively much more serious and violent interpretation of grindcore, and urged the crowd to step forward and get involved. Graf Orlock’s set comprised short, destructive outbursts interwoven with spoken word samples, and instigated a mosh pit or two as the audience got more in tune with the theme of the evening’s program. Graf Orlock played some songs off of their third album ‘Crimetraveler’ which was released earlier in 2016 and is their first full-length since ‘Destination Time Today’ (2009). Just like the opener, this band also proved to be an excellent choice for a lineup headlined by Rotten Sound, and one certainly felt that they should have been billed as the main support act, as they would be more appropriate in that slot than the band that actually claimed it.
Denver, Colorado technical death metal trio Scalafrea were on a U.S. West Coast tour of their own, booked around their participation in this year’s Las Vegas Deathfest. Unlike Doesn’t Matter and Graf Orlock, they were far from an ideal fit for this lineup, and while Complex regulars and reviewers on this website alike are always welcoming of diverse lineups, Scalafrea was simply too distant in their musical style from that of the headliner, and while their musicianship undoubtedly came across as respectable and admirable, this wasn’t the right gig for them. Their complex, multi-layered, shred-heavy tunes were misplaced in an evening otherwise themed on short, simple, brutal, to-the-point songs. Nonetheless, for fans of technical extreme metal, neo-classical metal and jazz fusion, Scalafrea is a band worth checking out, and there will definitely be better shows for them in the Los Angeles area in the future.
And finally, it was time for some face-smashing, earth-shattering Finnish grind from Rotten Sound, who took the stage with a sense of purpose. Firstly asking the front lighting on stage to be dimmed and getting their gear in shape, they quickly got accustomed to their surroundings, and played a set so destructively heavy that even if there was an actual earthquake in the area at the same time, no one would have felt it. The band has been in existence since ’93 and it shows in their musicianship as they’ve clearly attained mastery over this genre. Their 2016 Season Of Mist full-length offering ‘Abuse To Suffer’ is a tremendous slab of quintessential grindcore, and their live show amplifies the bestiality of their recordings even further. Led excellently by vocalist Keijo Niinimaa, Rotten Sound unleashed an aural onslaught upon their legion of fans here in the Los Angeles area, who turned up in good numbers to support them and responded well to the performance, warranting the band’s return to these parts. All in all, a grimy evening of grindcore in Glendale.
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