Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal
[Photos by Brad Worsham]

April 3rd 2014, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: Following the much-publicized, overly dramatic and excessively documented split with his original band mates in late 2012, Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate started his own version of the band and recruited a new group of musicians to help him continue presenting himself as the voice of Queensrÿche and bringing the band’s classic material onto the stage. This version comprises Robert Sarzo and Kelly Gray on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass, Randy Gane on keyboards and Simon Wright on drums, with Sass Jordon fulfilling the female vocal duties. Currently on tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ album, Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche took to the stage at the House Of Blues Sunset Strip last night, with John Moyer and Brian Tichy standing in for Rudy Sarzo and Simon Wright respectively. The subject of severe hatred over the past year or so, Tate has been painted as quite the villain by many Queensrÿche fans, and they aren’t ready to give his version of the band the time of day. But, a sizable crowd gathered here for this show and I went in with a strong sense of curiosity in an attempt to discover what the show would be like. Continue reading “Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche Brings 25 Years Of ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ To House Of Blues Sunset Strip”

By Andrew Bansal
[Photos by Brad Worsham]

April 3rd 2014, Hustler Store, West Hollywood CA: To celebrate the release of their new studio album ‘All You Can Eat’, Los Angeles glam/comedy metal band Steel Panther took over the Hustler store in their hometown of West Hollywood for a press conference and acoustic performance. Along with media personnel, the first 100 purchasers of the album from this store were granted access to this intimate event, and as it turned out, in many ways it was even more entertaining than their usual live shows on the Sunset Strip. Continue reading “Steel Panther Holds Press Conference & Plays Acoustic Set At Hustler Hollywood”

By Andrew Bansal

April 2nd 2014, Skinny’s Lounge, North Hollywood CA: As part of their weekly series of ‘Rock-A-Holic-Karaoke’ Wednesday events, Skinny’s Lounge played host to local metal bands Voice Of Dissent and Witchaven last night. Presented by Schecter Guitar Research and Poor Kids Radio, the show also featured its usual live metal karaoke with the house band jamming some of the most popular metal tunes and inviting audience members to participate. Besides, DJ Skum played tunes between sets. This has been an ongoing series for a while now but I hadn’t had a chance to attend any of the previous such events, and finally I was able to venture out to get my first taste of it last night. Continue reading “Voice Of Dissent & Witchaven Play ‘Rock-A-Holic’ Wednesday Show At Skinny’s”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

April 1st 2014, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil have released their seventh studio album ‘Broken Crown Halo’ via Century Media Records, and following a month-long support run with Sick Puppies in February and March, they set out on a headline run of their own to coincide with the release of this new album, with support acts Kyng, Eve To Adam and Nothing More. The Los Angeles show of this tour took place at the Roxy last night on the North American street date of the album. The band left no stone unturned in making this show a full-on celebration of their newest offering, and it turned out to be a special occasion for all fans in attendance. Continue reading “Lacuna Coil Plays Album Release Show At The Roxy”

By Andrew Bansal

March 31st 2014, Skinny’s Lounge, North Hollywood CA: Gearing up for their appearance at the Ragnarokkr Festival in Chicago next weekend and their upcoming two-month European tour, Ventura CA traditional metal trio Night Demon played at Skinny’s Lounge in North Hollywood last night, headlining the March edition of the venue’s monthly Metal Monday series, presented and curated as always by hard-working local promoter Lara Gladstone. Along with Night Demon, it was Cobra Venom, Infinite Death, Brain Dead & Savage Reign completing the lineup for the show, and it promised to be yet another fun night out for LA/NoHo locals. Continue reading “Night Demon Headline Metal Monday At Skinny’s”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

March 30th 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: German thrash veterans Destruction are currently on a North American headline tour, supporting their latest Nuclear Blast release ‘Spiritual Genocide’ and presenting their ever-powerful classic material in front of their devout fans all across the continent. A couple of weeks into the tour, they visited the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood and as expected, brought out a large horde of the LA thrash faithful. Support act for Destruction on this tour comes from Brazilian death metal trio Krisiun, along with Los Angeles’ own Exmortus who joined the trek a few days ago. Even at an early point of the evening, the Sunset Strip was abuzz with thrashers clad in denim and leather, and judging by the length of the queue at 6 PM, I had no doubt that this was going to be another sold-out show. Continue reading “Destruction, Krisiun & Exmortus Obliterate The Whisky”