Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Robert DeAnda
December 4th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: For San Francisco based doom metal trio Castle, 2016 has been an extremely busy year, with the release of their fourth full-length album ‘Welcome To The Graveyard’ and non-stop touring across North America and Europe. Their final US tour of the year was a ten-date West Coast run with Mos Generator, which came to an epic conclusion at Complex in Glendale CA last Sunday December 4th, as the two bands rocked the stage for a Church Of The 8th Day event also featuring local openers Ironaut and Others. Strangely enough, the past few Sunday nights have been great outings at this venue, thanks to the likes of Nik Turner’s Hawkwind and SubRosa. This promised to be yet another, with a lineup that looked all-killer, no-filler on paper and made it an eagerly awaited gig for concertgoers in the local underground.
Hollywood rock n’ roll quartet Others began proceedings at 8:40 PM with a high-energy 30-minute set, presenting seven original tunes and an exuberant rendition of Dead Boys’ ‘Sonic Reducer’. Coming off a weekend mini-tour of their own with gigs up north in Auburn and Sacramento, Others started as a band in 2014 and have just completed recording their debut full-length album, soon to be unveiled via Motörhead Music. They’ve been playing these songs live for a while, have reworked and enhanced some of them over time, and have developed into a very watchable live band that pursues unadulterated rock n’ roll. Singer and founder Joe Colover leads the way with a wild stage personality, and is well supported by his three band mates. He utilized all of the stage here but also stepped off it to circle the entire general admission floor in an attempt to engage the audience, which he did. Besides the Dead Boys cover, ‘Devil’s Dance’ and ‘Off The Rails’ were the highlights of the set, and songs like these raise anticipation for the album release. Complex was appreciably packed during their set, and for Others, this rare Glendale adventure was a worthwhile one.
More Others photos:
Others set list:
01. Keep Me On
02. Give Me Meds
03. Get So High, Get So Low
04. Devil’s Dance
05. Distant As Usual
06. Off The Rails
07. Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)
08. Who Is Who
Next up, Los Angeles stoner/sludge band Ironaut took the stage. Normally a power trio, Ironaut played as a four-piece here, owing to frontman Erik Kluiber’s freak hand injury which left him unable to play bass. As the story goes, Ironaut started as an instrumental band in 2015 with Kluiber playing bass, he then became the vocalist/bassist, and here he was attempting his third different role in Ironaut, this time as a mere singer, while Grand Lord High Master guitarist William Von Arx filled in on bass. In all honesty, those that have followed Erik Kluiber’s musical journey over the past decade or less would have never imagined him in this incarnation, but he expressed himself to the fullest, both in the vocal delivery as well as stage banter, as he has certainly created his own humorous style of addressing the audience and introducing the songs. He was fantastic at this show, which may have been partly due to not having to play the bass. Of course, Patrick McHugh’s riffs form the backbone of this band’s music, the solos dominate the instrumental passages in each song, and the rhythm section led by drummer Ivan Najor is top-class. With the help of a fine performance by the fill-in bassist, Ironaut put forth a highly impressive five-song set that fully justified their potential, the song ‘Iron Vessel’ standing out as the most enjoyable of the lot. This band has clearly risen to become the finest sludge metal unit in Los Angeles.
More Ironaut photos:
Ironaut set list:
01. Yellow King
02. Acid Wash
03. Fire Eater
04. Iron Vessel
05. The Dead Look In My Eyes
Longstanding Port Orchard, Washington heavy rock perpetrators Mos Generator were the main support act for this show. They previously performed at Loaded Hollywood when on tour with The Atomic Bitchwax and Against The Grain in 2015, and guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed had a rough night on that occasion as his singing voice was nearly non-existent. It was not only a disappointment, but one got the feeling that this band was well capable of a much better show. Sure enough, it is pleasing to report that this performance of theirs at Complex was a much better and more accurate representation of all that entails Mos Generator, encapsuating their 16-year career of quintessential stoner rock. Having done a four-week Europe tour just before this West Coast run, they were in tour shape and sonically a well-oiled machine. They played tunes off of the 2016 LP ‘Abyssinia’ as well as selections from the ‘Electric Mountain Majesty’ (2014), ‘Nomads’ (2012) and ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ (2007) albums, along with a brand new song called ‘Shadowlands’. Tony Reed was in his element this time, at his best on both guitar and vocals, and his tone was nothing short of exemplary. Sean Booth on bass and Jon Garrett on drums locked in perfectly, and the three were in incredible synchronicity as they combined to deliver quite an awe-inspiring set. Mos Generator are one of the true greats to come from the Pacifc Northwest, and they showed us why.
More Mos Generator photos:
Mos Generator set list:
01. Strangest Times
02. Lonely One Kenobi
03. Shadowlands (new song)
04. On The Eve
05. Electric Mountain Majesty
06. This Is The Gift Of Nature
The changeovers between bands were very quick, the sets by the three opening acts were short, and before we knew it, headliners Castle arrived on the stage. They’ve played this venue more than once in the recent past, but this was the best turnout and crowd response they’ve had here by far, and they in turn reciprocated with their best performance till date. They hit their groove as soon as they played the first note and were in the zone right from the outset. Like any aspect of the rock n’ roll life, non-stop touring has its positives and negatives, but it makes a group of musicians gel together like nothing does, and Castle, who must have played well over 150 shows this year alone, are a classic example of it. This Glendale audience was fortunate to get this chance to see the band towards the very end of their extensive 2016 touring run, because quite the opposite to being burned out, these three were at the individual and collective peak of their powers. An encore was demanded by the crowd, and the band obliged with not one but two extra songs to bring the night to its deserving end. Castle has accomplished so much in their seven years as a band and have obtained such mastery of their craft, their sheer class and expertise gives the impression that they’ve been around for decades. With such prolific studio output and unbeatably comprehensive touring, Castle look poised to march full speed ahead towards absolute greatness, and one thing is for certain, their next appearance at Complex is already anticipated.
It is rare to experience a metal show of such quality from top to bottom across all participating bands, and thanks to Castle, Mos Generator, Ironaut and Others, this one will be etched in the long-term memory.
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More Castle photos:
Castle set list:
01. Descent of Man
02. Down in the Cauldron Bog
03. Black Widow
04. Hammer and the Cross
05. Blacklands
06. Killing Pace
07. Dying Breed
08. Evil Ways
09. Total Betrayal
10. Storm Below the Mountain
11. Flash of the Pentagram
12. Corpse Candles