By Andrew Bansal
December 6th 2016, The Satellite, Los Angeles CA: The Well and Beastmaker, two of the finest young three-piece bands to have surfaced in our world in recent times, embarked on a short US West Coast run to end their year of 2016. Contrary to consensus, not everyone has had a bad 2016, and you only need to ask these two bands, because they’ve both released stellar new albums and conquered more territories than ever before. On a tour which ended on December 12th, The Well and Beastmaker arrived in the Los Angeles area for a gig at the very aptly chosen Satellite on Tuesday December 6th, and even in front of an audience most of whom were probably jaded by this point from witnessing countless concerts this year, they did not disappoint whatsoever.
To start proceedings, All Souls served as the local opening act. Featuring members of such great LA underground bands as Totimoshi and Fatso Jetson, All Souls made a solid first impression when they opened for Mars Red Sky at the Viper Room earlier this year, and played an even better set on this occasion. Formed in December 2015, this a very new band that does not have any releases to its name yet, but their style of guitar-driven heavy rock is easy on the ear, and one can instantly decipher that these musicians come with pedigree and experience. They played to quite a decent turnout here and received warm applause for their efforts. They’ve been mostly laying low, working on new songs and playing the occasional gig, but much can be expected from All Souls through 2017 and beyond.
Soon after, Beastmaker set the scene for their brand of Sabbath-worship, as the stage was engulfed in a thick blanket of fog, and the band placed some of their own lighting equipment to enhance the atmosphere further. For the next 40 minutes, the three members combined to deliver ultra-compelling heavy doom. With them, it is not about reinventing the wheel but rather about the execution of a simple idea, i.e. to be as loud, heavy and cohesive as possible in playing the music they love listening to. There are stoner rock bands, and then there is Beastmaker, magnetic to a degree far greater than most of their peers as well as seniors, specially live. The band released their new album ‘Lusus Naturae’ via Rise Above Records this year, toured across Europe and North America, and with this performance at the Satellite which turned the audience into a congregation of banging heads and raised fists, showed exactly why have risen as one of the worthiest new perpetrators of all things doom. ‘Mask Of Satan’ was the highlight of the set, but there was not a single dull moment whatsoever. For many in attendance, Beastmaker were the ‘headline act’ of the show, even though they were not.
But this already glorious evening was far from over yet, as actual headliners The Well took the stage to put forth a set just as engaging as that of Beastmaker, but far different in style and vibe. Relatively more laid back, psychedelic and melodic with strong male-female vocal harmonies, The Well jammed their hearts out on this stage and did so with effortless ease, completely in their zone from start to finish, and rightly being called back for an encore by the audience, even after the house lights were turned on. This Austin, Texas based power trio released their newest album ‘Pagan Science’ via RidingEasy Records this year and played a good chunk of it in this set. The Well first landed upon Metal Assault’s radar with a splendidly memorable set as part of the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, California in 2014, a performance that stood out in memory even amongst a plethora of bands of all kinds, and more than two years later, The Well lived up to expectations that may have been too high. The land of Austin always produces interesting musical talent, and The Well is undoubtedly one band to have emerged as noteworthy for their expertly crafted and immensely enjoyable tunes.
The local stoner rock fanatic could not have hoped for or expected a better show to bring 2016 nearer to its conclusion, and anyone and everyone in attendance will grab every possible chance to see these bands again in future.
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