Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

November 20th 2013, Los Angeles CA: For starters, Nekrofilth is a death/thrash/punk crossover group based out of Cleveland, Ohio and features Nunslaughter guitarist Zack Rose as the frontman. Nekrofilth has been around for five years but have achieved a lot more this year alone than during the entirety of their past four, with the release of their debut album ‘Devil’s Breath’ on Hells Headbangers Records, and a West Coast tour to follow. As part of this tour, they played at a secret underground location in downtown Los Angeles last night. The place is virtually non-existent on the map and has no identity, so this is just about as underground as it gets when you talk about live music, and I was massively curious to discover what this show was going to be like. I arrived at this place at around 8 PM, mentally prepared for the adventure that beckoned. Continue reading “Nekrofilth Pillage Downtown Los Angeles”

By Andrew Bansal

November 16th 2013, The Glass House, Pomona CA: Michigan-based extreme metal band The Black Dahlia Murder are currently on a North American headline tour, with support coming from Ohio blackened thrashers Skeletonwitch and San Francisco technical death metal band Fallujah. Baltimore-based death/thrash youngsters Noisem were supposed to be the opening act but unfortunately had to drop out of the tour a couple of days ago after a van accident in South Lake Tahoe. So the lineup was reduced to three bands, but the crowd here at the Glass House was obviously going to consist of a majority of Black Dahlia Murder fans, as was evident from the sold-out status of the venue well in advance of the show. The fans started gathering to form a queue at around 5 PM, and by the time doors opened at 7, this queue was stretching down the entire block. Continue reading “The Black Dahlia Murder, Skeletonwitch & Fallujah Play In Pomona”

By Andrew Bansal

November 15th 2013, City National Grove Of Anaheim, Anaheim CA: In a union of three very distinct styles and attitudes of thrash metal from Germany, New Jersey and California, the ‘Legends Of Thrash’ tour featuring Kreator, Overkill and Warbringer began on the US East Coast in late October, pummeled through Canada and made its way to the Grove of Anaheim last night for its only Southern California appearance. Kreator and Overkill were switching headline slots according to whoever had a stronger fan base the territory they were in, and for this show Kreator was the headline act, as was perhaps appropriate  judging from the pre-show excitement being generally higher for Kreator than for any other band. With that said, the show promised to be the thrash fest of the year, one that everyone in attendance could enjoy from start to finish. Continue reading “‘Legends Of Thrash’ Tour Slays Anaheim”

By Andrew Bansal

November 13th 2013, Almost Holden Collective, Santa Monica CA: Portland, Oregon sludgemongers The Body ended a run of North American dates with a gig at Almost Holden Collective in Santa Monica, a rehearsal space, recording studio and art gallery all combined into one. Put on and promoted by Crash The Clubs and Cvlt Nation, the show also featured Los Angeles-based bands Harassor, White Dove, Doses and Public Confession in a very intriguingly diverse lineup. This was my first ever time seeing a show not only at this venue but in the city of Santa Monica, and except for Harassor I had never seen any of these bands before either, so for the most part, I didn’t quite know what to expect but as I’m always up for an adventure, I decided to check out this show in the hope of discovering some great live bands in a setting that was entirely unfamiliar to me. Continue reading “The Body, Harassor & Others Play In Santa Monica”

Review & videos by Andrew Bansal
[Photos by Brad Worsham]

Put together by Bass Player, the most prestigious bass-specific music magazine in existence today, Bass Player Live is an annual event that took place in New York from 2004 to 2007 and has had a home in Hollywood every year from 2008 onwards. In many ways, it can be described as a mini-NAMM convention, but with bass players only. This year the two-day event was held at Hollywood’s SIR rehearsal studios on the November 9-10 weekend, along with an all-star concert last Saturday night. Besides reviewing concerts and interviewing bands, Metal Assault loves branching out to these kinds of events as well, where the focus more on the technicalities and finer points of the music that we all love. This was Metal Assault’s first time covering Bass Player Live, and judging by the manner in which the entire event occurred, it certainly won’t be the last. Continue reading “Event Report + Photos + Video Recap: Bass Player Live 2013”