Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal
[Photos by Brad Worsham]

April 14th 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Season 3 of AXS TV’s “World’s Greatest Tribute Bands” series is coming to its home stretch, and last night at the Whisky-A-Go-Go the penultimate episode of the season took place with Los Angeles’ very own AC/DC tribute band Bonfire performing in front of a packed house, broadcast live on AXS TV and hosted as usual by Katie Daryl. Bonfire has been in existence for a whopping 14 years, giving it their all to pay homage to the Bon Scott era of the legendary Australian rock band, but this show was going to be their biggest one yet, and promised to encapsulate all those years of their hard work in a 60-minute performance. Continue reading “AC/DC Tribute Band Bonfire Performs At The Whisky For AXS TV Live Broadcast”

By Andrew Bansal

April 13th 2014, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: Cloaked marauders Ghoul embarked on a short US West Coast run earlier this month titled ‘Weapons Of Mosh Destruction II’ with Richmond, Virginia-based bands Iron Reagan and Occultist, and along with local opener Witchaven, the touring party made a Los Angeles stop to slay the Roxy in West Hollywood last night, for a show curated by Poor Kids Radio and Goldenvoice. Both Ghoul and Iron Reagan are known in the LA metal community as bands that have put on immensely enjoyable live shows in the past, Iron Reagan having done so with greater frequency in recent times, and the people who turned up for this show expected the same level of entertainment from the two bands. Amidst a hilarious backdrop of the Rainbow’s 42nd anniversary party going on in the parking lot behind the venue, a show of a totally different demographic, ticket holders for the Ghoul show lined up outside the Roxy. Doors opened promptly at 7:30 and all was set for proceedings to begin. Continue reading “Ghoul & Iron Reagan Bring ‘Weapons Of Mosh Destruction II’ Tour To The Roxy”

By Andrew Bansal

April 12th 2014, Copley Symphony Hall, San Diego CA: For the past few decades, heavy metal and symphony have crossed each other’s paths as several metal bands and musicians have incorporated symphonic elements in their compositions, some even employing the usage of full orchestras to record and perform live. But the much-anticipated ‘Symphony Interrupted’ event at the Copley Hall in San Diego promised to be unique and first of its kind, with classical music at the forefront and a heavy metal icon attempting to lend his touch to it. Throughout their 30-plus year career, thrash metal stalwarts Megadeth have showcased classical influences in their songwriting mannerisms and structures, and to anyone familiar with frontman Dave Mustaine’s musicianship, it came as no surprise when he expressed interest in performing with a full symphony on a public platform. This desire came to fruition and became a reality as he took the stage in his hometown with the San Diego Symphony last night for a sold-out show. Continue reading “Dave Mustaine Performs With San Diego Symphony”

By Taylor Younani

April 11th 2014, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: While the Roxy Theater in Hollywood has been host to countless metal shows throughout history, never before have they hosted such a splendidly ‘prog’ show. With British tech giants Tesseract headlining in support of their sophomore album Altered State, the marquee atop the Roxy boasted a sold-out sign to let all of Sunset Blvd know that the new wave of progressive metal had arrived in Hollywood that night. Continue reading “Tesseract, Intronaut & Cloudkicker Play Sold-Out Show At The Roxy”

By Andrew Bansal

April 11th 2014, Club Nokia, Los Angeles CA: In terms of releasing new music, rock ‘n roll godfathers Motörhead have always been prolific and consistent, and they managed to keep these traits intact with the release of their 21st studio album ‘Aftershock’ last October. But when it came to playing shows and going on tour, they were forced to cut back massively as a result of frontman Lemmy Kilmister’s deteriorating health. But finally, with Lemmy sufficiently recovered, the band went ahead and booked a handful of shows around their Coachella appearance, starting off with a headline show at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, a venue they’ve frequented in recent years. The common consensus being this could be one of the very last full Motörhead shows in LA, it was sold out as early as 3 PM on the day of, and along with support acts Graveyard and Unlocking The Truth, Motörhead took the stage in front of a packed house. Continue reading “Motörhead, Graveyard & Unlocking The Truth Perform At Club Nokia”

By Andrew Bansal
[Videos by Arturo Gallegos]

April 9th 2014, Five Star Bar, Los Angeles CA: New Jersey black metal band Krieg had to cancel their entire US West Coast tour itinerary on extremely short notice due to multiple complicated circumstances. The announcement came just a day before the LA show of this tour at the Five Star Bar, but despite the absence of the headline act, the rest of the lineup for this show presented by Hate War Productions, consisting of three local extreme metal bands Harassor, Satani Infernalis and Aeternum, decided to go ahead and do the gig anyway, with a reduced ticket price of $5. Doors opened at 8, a fair few turned up, and the show began at 9. Continue reading “Krieg Cancels; Local Bands Salvage Show”