Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

December 13th 2013, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based rock bands Cinderella Motel and The Vigils have released a split 7-inch record called ‘Bar-Rio Uprising Volume #3’, sponsored by Sino Tequila. To celebrate the release, the two groups played a show together as part of an all-local lineup on a typically busy and noisy Friday night at Hollywood’s Loaded Rock Bar. Plus, with Loaded Bar literally down the street from my apartment and the show having a cover charge of a mere $5, I had almost nothing to lose, and I went in with an adventurous mindset, not knowing what to expect. Continue reading “Cinderella Motel & The Vigils Play Split Record Release Show At Loaded Hollywood”

By Jason Williams

December 12th 2013, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles CA: Formed in 1998, the trio known as High on Fire was brought to life by guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike, who came from the popular underground stoner/doom metal band Sleep. Their doom/Southern rock style with a hint of thrash has garnered them fame within the metal circle. Their 2012 release ‘De Vermis Mysteriis’ attained No. 63 on the The Billboard 200 charts. Touring with Mastodon, Dethklok and even Metallica, they have certainly risen them to become a must-see live act. Last night’s event was held at the El Rey Theater, where I had the honour to see Anathema and Alcest in October. Doom metallers Windhand and Norway’s own rock/metallers Kvelertak were to join this night. I saw High on Fire back at Gigantour 2008 and supporting Opeth about 6 months later. Although I wasn’t attending those concerts for them, I was at least midly interested in their live show. Now more open minded as I’ve grown older, I was looking forward to seeing them on a headlining tour. Continue reading “High on Fire Perform At The El Rey Theatre”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

December 12th 2013, The Whisky, West Hollywood CA: Primarily known in the world of heavy music for his contributions to Ozzy’s ‘Bark At The Moon’ and ‘The Ultimate Sin’ albums and for his band Badlands, guitarist Jake E. Lee was under the radar and away from the scene for two decades, and fans of his work always wondered where he was, what he was up to and whether he’ll ever play music again. After years and years of secrecy and hiding, Jake E. Lee has finally re-emerged in 2013 with a new band called Red Dragon Cartel, and will be releasing the self-titled debut album on January 28th via Frontiers Records. Last night at the Whisky A Go Go was the official launch of the band, with their first ever live performance. Naturally, there was huge hype among fans in anticipation of this event, and expectations were high. Continue reading “Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel Makes Live Debut”

By Andrew Bansal

December 11th 2013, Chain Reaction, Anaheim CA: Carrying on with their relentless touring cycle, Northern California deathgrind masters Exhumed returned to Orange County last night to play at the Chain Reaction, as part of their current run of dates with Iron Reagan as support act. Local support for this particular gig came from Witchaven, Madrost and Tormenter. Both Exhumed and Iron Reagan played in this region recently on their respective tours with Dying Fetus and GWAR, but this being an all-ages show with a largely affordable ticket price of $14 and the Chain Reaction having witnessed some off-the-roof crazy shows in the past, this was an exciting prospect for attendees and the turnout was expected to be excellent.  Continue reading “Exhumed & Iron Reagan Slay Anaheim”

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

December 10th 2013, The Whisky, West Hollywood CA: Progressive metal veterans Fates Warning released their eleventh studio album ‘Darkness In A Different Light’ via InsideOut Music this year, their first since the 2004 effort ‘FWX’ and also the first to feature Bobby Jarzombek’s drumming talents. Besides, the band hadn’t done a full North American headline tour in a long time, so when they embarked upon their current journey last month, fans had a lot to look forward to. The tour finally made its way to West Hollywood and Fates Warning played at the Whisky last night, in front of an eagerly anticipative audience that expected great things from this quintet of incredibly talented musicians. Continue reading “Fates Warning Performs At The Whisky”

By Andrew Bansal

December 7th 2013, The Whisky, West Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based musician Monte Pittman has quite an interesting backstory, which began with him moving to LA from Texas, becoming a guitar teacher and ending up with Madonna as one of his students, which led to him joining her group as a live guitarist. Other than that, he has performed with a variety of different artists but his first venture into the world of heavy metal was his stint with Prong as a touring guitarist and co-songwriter. He started his solo career in 2009 and explored more and more of his heavy metal/hard rock traits as he went along, which has brought him to this point, playing a headline gig at the Whisky where he presented a 45-minute set of solo material, including a couple of unreleased tunes slated to feature on his next studio album. Continue reading “Monte Pittman Headlines The Whisky”