Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

July 24th 2014, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: Australian rockers Wolfmother embarked on a short US West Coast run with support act Electric Citizen and played the first show of this tour at a packed House Of Blues Sunset Strip in West Hollywood last night in front of a large gathering of excited fans. The band’s third LP ‘New Crown’ took a long time coming after the 2009 effort ‘Cosmic Egg’ and was finally released in March this year. Wolfmother are currently out presenting some of this new material live, along with a selection of the best from the first two records. I saw this band open for ‘Slash & friends’ at the Avalon five years back and haven’t had a chance to see them ever since, but last night’s performance of theirs reinstated the strong impression they formed on the audience on that eventful night of November 22 2009. Continue reading “Wolfmother & Electric Citizen Play At House Of Blues Sunset Strip”

By Andrew Bansal

July 23rd 2014, King King, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles hard rock quartet Black Belt Karate recently announced a ‘poker run’ of five shows spread through the LA area across a span of four weeks, and played the first of these shows at King King in Hollywood last Wednesday. They’ve printed custom poker cards to mark the event and are handing out cards at the merch booth at each of these shows, with prizes on offer for the best hand collected through the shows. King King made for good vibes the last time I was here, and it promised to be another fun evening out for locals. Continue reading “Black Belt Karate Begins First Annual ‘Poker Run’ At King King Hollywood”

By Andrew Bansal

July 21st 2014, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles glam metal veterans Motley Crue announced their retirement earlier this year, and embarked on an extensive farewell North American tour with support act Alice Cooper this month. ‘The Final Tour’ arrived in Los Angeles for a gig at a nearly sold-out Hollywood Bowl last night, as 18000 fans awaited the Crue’s final hometown show. ‘All bad things must come to an end’ is the catchphrase being associated with this tour, and ironically enough, the Crue performance we were about to witness would befit the statement to perfection. Continue reading “Mötley Crüe & Alice Cooper Perform At Hollywood Bowl”

Review by Andrew Bansal
[Video by Matt Nielson]

July 20th 2014, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Purveyors of the ambient black metal sound for over a decade, Olympia WA-based Wolves In The Throne Room released their fifth studio album ‘Celestite’, an instrumental, soundscape-oriented and synthesizer-driven adaptation of the previous effort ‘Celestial Lineage’ that takes them into a whole another realm in terms of musical style and scope. But they embarked on a short US West Coast run with support act Nommo Ogo immediately following the album’s release to deliver shows filled with the kind of music their fans have known them for. The final show of the tour was at the Echoplex in Los Angeles last night, and the band was greeted with a very healthy turnout at the venue. Continue reading “Wolves In The Throne Room Headline The Echoplex”

By Andrew Bansal

July 19th 2014, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: The 2014 edition of the annual Summer Slaughter Tour started off in San Francisco on July 17th, and following a visit to the Observatory in Orange County the night after, the caravan arrived in West Hollywood for a gig at the House Of Blues Sunset Strip which was sold out 24 hours in advance. Ironically for us LA folks, it was a cold, cloudy, gloomy and windy day, and was the exact opposite to what’s typically known to us as summer. But indoors, this 10-band package was ready to turn up the heat. Continue reading “Summer Slaughter Tour Brings Extreme Metal Marathon To Los Angeles”

By Andrew Bansal

July 17th 2014, Complex, Glendale CA: Los Angeles’ longstanding extreme metal force Harassor released their new full-length album ‘Into Unknown Depths’ earlier this year, and have been playing gigs to present this new material amidst fans and observers in the local underground scene. They performed at Complex in Glendale last Thursday, with two promising Denver-based bands Wayfarer and Dreadnought, and local support from The Love Below. I was yet to see a bad show at this venue, and this gig put together by Church Of The 8th Day and Thee Static Age certainly wasn’t about to become the first. Continue reading “Harassor, Wayfarer, Dreadnought & The Love Below Play At Complex”