Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

September 13th 2014, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: Brooklyn NY based teenage metal trio Unlocking The Truth have been turning heads and grabbing attention with some high-profile activities in the recent past including an appearance at this year’s Coachella festival, and a gig at the Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles as an opening act to Motörhead in April, which is where many in this town got introduced to their talents, myself included. Malcolm Brickhouse (guitar/vocals), Jarad Dawkins (drums) and Alec Atkins (bass) have played plenty of festivals and support slots since then, but last Saturday night at the Troubadour in West Hollywood they took a significant step in their young yet already prolific career with their first ever headline show. Continue reading “Unlocking The Truth Headlines The Troubadour”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

September 13th 2014, The Queen Mary, Long Beach CA: Once a grand ocean liner and World War II troopship, the retired Queen Mary stands permanently moored in Long Beach, and now this historic landmark not only serves as a luxury hotel but also plays host to a variety of events and festivals. The ‘Rock The Boat’ music festival took place on it yesterday across 3 floors and 13 stages, and Los Angeles-based rock ‘n roll quintet Panic In Eden were amongst a plethora of local and national acts that partook in the festivities, performing at the Degenerate Clothing stage on the middle floor. Continue reading “Panic In Eden Rocks The Queen Mary In Long Beach”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
[Videos by Carsten Steinhausen] 

September 12th 2014, Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills CA: Continuing on with their triumphant resurgence, teutonic metal legends Accept released their 14th studio album ‘Blind Rage’ in August via Nuclear Blast Records, the third since the band’s Mark Tornillo-fronted rebirth in 2010, and a record that has greatly succeeded in further strengthening Accept’s relevance in the modern day metal world, 35 years since their inception, as the 11 tunes on this 60-minute effort portray a creatively potent and sonically fierce Accept. Following a run of European festival appearances, they set out on a special and exclusive four-show US headline run comprising San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York with support acts Metal Church and Raven for an all old-school lineup. Sans Metal Church who had to cancel last minute owing to their singer’s health issues, Accept and Raven played the San Diego show at the Belly-Up Tavern last Thursday and arrived in Beverly Hills last night to bring the metal to the Saban Theatre. Continue reading “Accept Deliver Classic Metal Bliss In Beverly Hills”

Review by Andrew Bansal
[Photos & videos by Matt Nielson]

September 11th 2014, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood CA: With every creative step they’ve taken in the 25 years since their inception, Seattle drone doom masters Earth have garnered respect and admiration from fans and critics alike, furthermore with every studio album and every live performance cycle that accompanied it. Following the mind-bending ‘Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light’ double album releases in 2011 and 2012, they unveiled their eighth studio album ‘Primitive And Deadly’ via Southern Lord Records on September 2nd, and immediately embarked on a month-long US headline tour with fellow Seattle group King Dude as support act. A week into this run, the two bands took the stage at a sold-out Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery last night for what turned out to be a truly memorable event. Continue reading “Earth & King Dude Perform At Hollywood Forever Cemetery”

By Andrew Bansal

September 10th 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: American metal veterans Prong released their ninth studio album ‘Ruining Lives’ via SPV/Steamhammer earlier this year, a very solid effort by all means, and following extensive touring in Europe, the Tommy Victor-led trio began a North American tour (a combination of headline dates and shows supporting Overkill)  with its first show at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood last night. Prong had been playing quite a comprehensive and career retrospective set list on the European run and with a similar set list expected to be continued on this tour, I was anticipating this to be a fruitful first ever Prong live experience from my perspective, while longtime fans were almost certain they were in for a treat. Continue reading “Prong Begins North American Tour At Whisky-A-Go-Go”

By Andrew Bansal
[Photos & video by Matt Nielson] 

September 4th 2014, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: Leading up to the October 28 release of their sophomore full-length album ‘Something Supernatural’ via Wind Up Records, Pennsylvania hard rock quartet Crobot completed an East Coast summer run and are currently on their first ever West Coast headline tour. They performed at the Viper Room in West Hollywood last night, with local support from LA hard rock band Aeges. Continue reading “Crobot & Aeges Perform At Viper Room”