Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

May 15th 2014, City National Grove Of Anaheim, Anaheim CA: In the grand scheme of things, German power metal band Primal Fear have been as active as ever, releasing an impressive studio album called ‘Unbreakable’ in 2012, following it up with an even better effort ‘Delivering The Black’ earlier this year and touring in Europe, South America and Japan consistently over the past few years, but it had been four years since they did a North American tour, and for Primal Fear’s cult fan base in the continent, the wait was finally over as the band set out on a headline tour with local support in each town, making their way to the Grove of Anaheim for their only Southern California appearance on this run. Even with as many as six other concerts going on elsewhere around Los Angeles and Orange County last night, I decided to pick the Primal Fear show, and with fond memories from their 2010 show at the House Of Blues along with the curious anticipation of discovering whether the choice I made would turn out to be wise or regrettable, I entered the venue as soon as doors opened at 6:30 PM. Continue reading “Primal Fear & Ninth Circle Perform At Grove Of Anaheim”

By Andrew Bansal

May 14th 2014, Pantages Theatre, Hollywood CA: Ever since the foundations of the genre were laid in the 50s and 60s, rock has constantly crossed paths with theatre, as artists like Alice Cooper, The Who and Pink Floyd pioneered the art of blending the two world together, and the concept was subsequently embraced in different forms and to varying degrees by several rock groups and musicians over the years. Fast forward to 2009, California punk rock band Green Day decided to collaborate with director Michael Mayer for a theatrical adaptation of their 2004 chart-topping album ‘American Idiot’. The play opened to rave reviews and reactions that year, moved to Broadway soon after, and became an internationally touring act in 2011 and 2012. The touring musical returned to Los Angeles this week for eight back-to-back shows at the Pantages Theatre in the heart of Hollywood, and yours truly was in attendance for show #2 last night to give you a hard rock/heavy metal fan’s perspective of the show. Continue reading “Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ Musical Returns To Los Angeles”

By Jason Williams

May 13th 2014, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: Drinking, dancing, jigs, laughs and loud music. When you think of this, the first thing that probably comes to mind is an Irish bar. However, all that I described commonly takes place at many folk metal shows. Tonight’s folk metal event would be this year’s Paganfest, a US festival we’re lucky to get that usually offers some of the best live folk metal music out there. Finland’s very own Korpiklaani and Turisas were set to co-headline this year, along with Taiwan’s unique blend of metal ChthoniC, Germany’s Varg and from the United States itself, Winterhymn. This evening’s event at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip would be my first time seeing all of these bands, except ChthoniC years ago, and also be my very first attendance for the Paganfest festival, so I was genuinely excited for what would be in store for tonight. Continue reading “Korpiklaani & Turisas Co-Headline Paganfest At House Of Blues”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

May 13th 2014, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Doom overlords Saint Vitus formed in Los Angeles in 1979, and 35 years later, they’re still going strong, very much at the forefront of the sub-culture they themselves gave birth to. To celebrate their 35th anniversary, they embarked on a North American tour with support act Sons Of Huns and are presenting their third album ‘Born Too Late’ in its entirety along with an assortment of a few other items from their revered musical catalog. Starting out in Albuquerque NM last Thursday and trailblazing through shows along the West Coast which included an appearance at the Psycho De Mayo festival in Orange County, Saint Vitus made it to the Echoplex in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, for what promised to be a doomtastic evening. Continue reading “Saint Vitus Brings 35th Anniversary Tour To The Echoplex”

Review, photos & interviews by Andrew Bansal

May 12th 2014, Club Nokia, Los Angeles CA: The tenth anniversary MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert took place in downtown Los Angeles last night, to honor the efforts of Village Studios CEO/owner Jeff Greenberg and a certain Mr. Ozzy Osbourne for their support of the foundation and its cause, and to treat attendees with an eclectic star-studded concert. Held at Club Nokia, which has undoubtedly become the nerve centre of events of this nature in recent years due to its prime location, this edition of MusiCares brought forth a gathering of rock ‘n roll luminaries and turned out to be an intriguing event for all in attendance. Continue reading “Ozzy & Metallica Perform At MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert”

By Darshun

May 11^th, 2014, The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA: Wow, just WOW. Last night was incredible. Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer mainman Maynard James Keenan took over the Greek Theatre to celebrate his 50th birthday. The event, christened ‘Cinquanta’, will be the most memorable 50^th birthday ever. It’s no wonder the tickets went on sale 6 months before the event—to buy stock on the stock market to gain more money to fund these wonderful nights. NOTE: the tickets were expensive and I could only afford the second night of Cinquanta. From what I heard from a good friend that attended the 1^st night, three-fourths of TOOL played one song, which was their first single that will remain a favorite even among mainstream audiences, “Sober”. Continue reading “Maynard James Keenan Celebrates ‘Cinquanta’ At The Greek”