Shred Till You’re Dead: Exmortus Headlines September Edition Of ‘The Black Communion’

By Lisa Burke

exmortus_regent

September 19th 2016, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: Monthly free Monday metal night The Black Communion at The Regent in downtown Los Angeles has continued on with its heavy and thrash filled lineups, of which the latest one on September 19th 2016 featured Exmortus as the headliner with support by Gravehill, Blade Killer, Ironaut and Obsidian. The concept of pulling off a free show where the bands still get paid is not an easy task yet would be the ideal outcome. No matter what the final deal is here in financial regard to the bands, I do know that they come out of the nights happy in most instances due to the solid lineups and the top notch stage and sound quality. For this particular Monday night where the biggest competition was Black Sabbath at the Hollywood Bowl, I must say this thrash or die show received an excellent turnout, all obstacles considered.

As a typical Monday I was scrambling to get all prior commitments in order and arrived just after the first band Obsidian ravished the stage with their brand of thrash metal. The word on the street however says that they were definitely worth checking out, and put on a solid set which in the future I will keep on my radar to witness myself.

Next on the lineup was the most out-of-the-box band on this particular occasion, Ironaut, with their stoner metal. With the modernized world and all its complexities, mixing genres has its benefits when done in a structured and tasteful way. This band excels in this realm and never disappoints, even when minor comical technical difficulties ensue such as a microphone stand that has as much trouble staying upright as a drunk twenty-one year old in a mosh pit. Speaking of drunks in a mosh pit, later in the night, as always, there was that one guy who won the award for most times knocked over into the fetal position to the point where his friends wondered if CPR was necessary, until he jumped up out of nowhere and did it all over again. Back to the metal, Ironaut mixed up their set list a little and with strong hits like ‘Acid Wash’ and ‘Dead Look In My Eyes’ they seemed to appease the crowd of old and new fans. Among the newest of their hits the song ‘My Little Girl’ packs a heavy metal punch and contains more thrash elements than majority of others despite the most deceiving non-metal title. Again, what stands out as unique with these guys is the contradiction of psychedelic guitar riffage sped up to a high speed chase frequency entwined with the deep and heavy vocals, badass creative drumming and brainwashing bass.

Often times as a band that has emerged into existence within the last five years, the singer for whatever reason will forget or neglect to acknowledge the name of the band or songs while playing. I’d like to point out that all the bands this night did announce relentlessly the name and songs when appropriate which is of huge importance especially when you are not Black Sabbath and are playing in front of someone else’s backdrop as is often the case at The Regent. On one hand the crowd should pay attention and most are aware as having seen the bands before, but there is the other side to that where people walk into a show blind and decide they like a band they’ve never seen and call them Blade Killer because that’s the banner behind them even though the next band who is actually using the banner is the real Blade Killer.

On to Blade Killer, this quintet held their own among the thrashers and while not being particularly speed-driven, the quality was high and the bass made for a good thrusting vibe that was enhanced by the gratifying guitar riffage, the powerful vocal range and perfectly timed drumming by Carlos Cruz of Warbringer, filling in on the kit for this gig. They seem to fluctuate between power metal to heavy thrash that varies in speed, and the machine gun bass drum beats came out but were used in appropriate moments which aided to avoid any monotony with this band. There was a cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Desert Plains’, which was unusual and neither here nor there only in terms of vocals because I was otherwise pleasantly impressed with the range and skill until this song which actually drowned out that vibe despite its noble and honest attempt. Overall, this is a band to watch out for and invite to your next thrash party.

Blade Killer
Blade Killer

The draw for me to this show from past experiences and the sheer fact that less is more since I hadn’t seen them play in a while was in fact Gravehill. They are hair whipping, heavy and dark fun with their brand of blackened thrash and doom. They mix in all the right elements together while still keeping that old school ideology behind it that really comes across as classic and brutal fun for everyone. The image they carry is spot on and the finger picking brutality in the bass is a standout feature along with the wonderfully destructive vocals and badass guitar riffs kept in time with the energetic and flawless drumming. This band has fluctuated their members a bit with the sharing of members from Exhumed etcetera, yet no matter what incarnation I witness live they have always brought enough top shelf booze to the party and held true to their roots. These dudes as much as any band on this bill are the past, present, and future of metal rightly and proudly so.

Of all my encounters at The Regent with their staff I have had nothing but a pleasant experience, yet for some unknown reason as I was leaning with my back to the very corner of the not so busy downstairs bar I felt some strange hands from one bartender who was having an extra special night push me away as I was mid conversation with a friend, only intended to shoo me away from his territory like a dirty pigeon. As one who was not in the mood to start drama I simply said under my breath how rude that was while he could have simply tapped my shoulder and asked me to move despite that I was a paying customer and not in anyone’s way. Long story short I happened to have my tab at the bar and I felt the compelling need to call him out on his shortcomings so I simply explained to him that if he wanted tips pushing customers off the bar wasn’t the best way to do that. I in turn got an earful and I ultimately refused service from him and had the other very pleasant bartender at one of the other bars get my card, serve me, and close me out which got everyone the tip they deserved. Moral of the story here is don’t piss me off because I’m a capable adult and I deserve to be treated as such.

Now on to Exmortus who has grown more than any band I’ve ever seen come to fruition. Years ago before they got signed they were blowing minds of anyone in their path with the excellent vocals and super speedy ‘shred till you’re dead’ vibe they carried. If you can imagine your favorite food tasting twice as good, or your favorite blanket feeling twice as comfortable, that is Exmortus today. They still gain new fans and momentum at every show and shred up everything in their path. I spent a few minutes leaning against the wall during their set but had to move away because they were shaking it so hard from the brutal thrash they were dishing out on stage. They are not only great in collaborative terms and stage presence, but each one of these guys seems like they must have started their career when they were still in diapers due to how technically sound they are at a fairly young age. There was a moment when a fan jumped on stage and gave his two cents about the awesomeness that is Exmortus to the audience while the band laughed and remained humble. Their backdrop kicked all other backdrops’ asses of course because they had to have something visually enhancing to compete with on their earlier tour with Amon Amarth who always comes packed to the maximum with epic stage show visuals. Exmortus is a force to be reckoned with and having just finished playing the Ozzfest meets Knotfest kickoff party they will soon embark on a tour with Children Of Bodom and Abbath, so stay tuned as the excitement continues for these master shredders and let us all carry the torch to hold the notion that thrash is not dead and is more real than ever.

Exmortus
Exmortus

Comments

comments