By Andrew Bansal
November 12th 2013, The Complex, Glendale CA: Swedish doom/crust band Agrimonia began their three-week ‘Nights Of Rites MMXXIII’ U.S. tour and arrived at the Complex in Glendale to play the first show along with touring support act Take Over And Destroy from Tempe, Arizona, along with local support for this particular show alone coming from Los Angeles-based Ancestors. To be honest I was not familiar with any of these bands, but having witnessed two great shows here at this venue in the recent past, I trusted them and the promoter and was expecting another excellent show in this lovely setting. This time it turned out to be more of a bitter-sweet experience riddled with negatives but still consisting of some positives.
Shows here usually start at 10 PM, so I arrived at the venue at 9 only to find out that some kind of ‘trivia night’ event was ongoing at the time and the venue wasn’t open for this metal show yet. The wait continued on and on for an eternity as the number of people coming for the show started rising slowly, and there was a general vibe of surprise and restlessness amongst the potential attendees of this show. People who would have bought drinks inside were trying to find other places to drink around the venue. The bands waited outside as well, and looked perplexed. Finally the doors opened at 10:45 PM. I’ve never seen doors open for a metal show that late and I have nothing against the trivia night thing they were having, but they should have started that one earlier to keep at least some margin between the two events.
Anyhow, very soon after the doors finally opened, Ancestors began their set at 10:55 and played 45 minutes of what could be described as a melting pot of doom metal, space/psychedelic rock and even elements of progressive metal thrown in the mixer. I’ve seen quite a large number of doom-laden bands this year, but this one certainly stood out because of the high-fret action on the guitar and the excellent use of the keyboard. These two aspects of the band’s musicianship combined with bouts of clean vocals lent a unique melodic expression to their portrayal of doom, and it was a very powerfully melancholic 45-minute period of live music. This band has been around since 2006 but I had no idea they existed, and after seeing this performance I feel like I’ve been missing out. Well, better late than never. I’m glad to say that Ancestors is a Los Angeles-based band, and while a lot of people might not give the city enough credit for its local bands, LA never ceases to amaze me with the sheer musical talent that lies within it.
Visit Ancestors on the web at:
ancestorsmusic.com
facebook.com/ancestorsband
Ancestors ended at 11:40, and it was at this point of the evening when Agrimonia vocalist/keyboardist Christina came up on stage and announced that the band was canceling their appearance at this show because of health issues with one of their members who was being rushed to the hospital. It’s not clear what exactly happened, to which member, and what the status is for the remaining shows on this tour, but more information will be revealed soon enough.
The turnout was already very poor, with only around 20 people showing up for this gig, but after that announcement about half of them decided to leave, which was a real pity because Take Over And Destroy (T.O.A.D.) played an absolutely fierce set that was worthy of a packed venue, not an audience of ten people. They came out all guns blazing with their furious blackened rock n’ roll, starting off with a fast tune and then going into some variations in tempo and musical styles that showcased them as beyond being just a one-trick pony, which can often be the case with bands that call themselves blackened rock n’ roll. This six-piece outfit delivered a highly impressive set, heavily laden with guitar and organ harmonies, powerful vocals and a thunderous rhythm section. I have tremendous admiration for bands that are able to give it their best despite poor turnouts, and T.O.A.D. certainly did that last night.
Visit Take Over And Destroy on the web at:
facebook.com/TakeOverAndDestroy
takeoveranddestroy.bandcamp.com
Although Agrimonia’s cancellation was a huge disappointment for all in attendance, I personally did not regret going to this show because the two support acts made up for Agrimonia’s no-show to a large extent. On paper, this show looked in no way inferior to the previous two metal shows that took place at the Complex, so I was very surprised at this extremely bad turnout, and was wondering where the so-called ‘supporters of the underground’ went missing last night. I definitely hope for these three bands to play in Los Angeles again soon, but all three deserve a much larger audience than what they got last night, and I hope that’s the case next time.
Remaining tour dates:
11/13/2013 Oakland Metro – Oakland, CA w/ Take Over And Destroy, Embers, Augurs
11/14/2013 Alibi – Arcata, CA w/ Take Over And Destroy
11/15/2013 Branx – Portland, OR w/ Take Over And Destroy, Eight Bells, Night Nurse
11/16/2013 Highline – Seattle, WA w/ Tragedy, Take Over And Destroy, Death Raid
11/17/2013 Shredder – Boise, ID w/ Take Over And Destroy, Hatchet, Exmortus
11/18/2013 Bar Deluxe – Salt Lake City, UT w/ SubRosa, Take Over And Destroy
11/19/2013 3 Kings – Denver, CO w/ Take Over And Destroy, Wayfarer, Weaponizer
11/20/2013 Duffy’s – Lincoln, NE w/ Take Over And Destroy, Scaphe, Vickers
11/21/2013 Fubar – St. Louis, MO w/ Take Over And Destroy, Enabler, Black Fast
11/22/2013 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL Take Over And Destroy, Enabler, Moral Void
11/23/2013 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH w/ Take Over And Destroy, Locktender
11/24/2013 Howler’s – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Take Over And Destroy, Wrathcobra, Wrought Iron
11/25/2013 Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY w/ Take Over And Destroy, Sannhet
11/26/2013 Black Cat – Washington DC w/ Take Over And Destroy
11/27/2013 Pinhook – Durham, NC w/ Take Over And Destroy, City of Medicine
11/29/2013 Siberia – New Orleans, LA w/ Take Over And Destroy, Sumerian, DIAB
11/30/2013 Mango’s – Houston, TX w/ Take Over And Destroy
12/01/2013 Red 7 – Austin, TX w/ Take Over And Destroy
12/03/2013 Launch Pad – Albuquerque, NM w/ Take Over And Destroy, Hanta, Laminectomy
12/04/2013 Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ w/ Take Over And Destroy, Cave Dweller