Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

November 12th 2013, The Complex, Glendale CA: Swedish doom/crust band Agrimonia began their three-week ‘Nights Of Rites MMXXIII’ U.S. tour and arrived at the Complex in Glendale to play the first show along with touring support act Take Over And Destroy from Tempe, Arizona, along with local support for this particular show alone coming from Los Angeles-based Ancestors. To be honest I was not familiar with any of these bands, but having witnessed two great shows here at this venue in the recent past, I trusted them and the promoter and was expecting another excellent show in this lovely setting. This time it turned out to be more of a bitter-sweet experience riddled with negatives but still consisting of some positives. Continue reading “T.O.A.D. & Ancestors Impress While Agrimonia Cancel”

By Andrew Bansal

November 11th 2013, Yost Theater, Santa Ana CA: Scottish pirate metal band Alestorm embarked upon their first ever voyage as a headline act in North America with the first show at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana last night. On this journey they are bringing along two very fitting support acts in Norwegian folk metal outfit Trollfest and Los Angeles’ very own boogie rock sensation Gypsyhawk. Having seen them in LA two previous times, opening for Eluveitie in 2009 and for Kamelot in 2011, I expected an awesome show from Alestorm this time as well, but with them as the headliner and the prospect of a 90-minute set, the show promised to reach the kind of epic proportions no other Alestorm show in America has done before. Also expected, despite it being a Monday night, was a good turnout. And sure enough, the queue of people forming before the doors opened was long, as they waited to bask in this fun-filled spectacle. Continue reading “Alestorm, Trollfest & Gypsyhawk Begin North American Tour In Orange County”

By Andrew Bansal
[Live photos & video by Carsten Steinhausen] 

November 9th 2013, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: Longstanding Maryland rockers Clutch have had a fantastic year so far, with the release of their tenth studio album ‘Earth Rocker’ which has been hailed as being at par with any and all of their past efforts by fans and critics alike, followed by some killer tours to bring these compelling new tunes on stage. Now they are back on a North American headline run to bring Earth Rocker along with some selected older material to audiences across the continent, along with support acts The Sword and American Sharks, both from Austin, Texas. With all three bands having excellent latest albums under their belts, this promised to be a true rock n’ roll extravaganza for lovers of this style of music, and as expected, the House of Blues was sold out in advance. Continue reading “Clutch Rock Hollywood With ‘Earth Rocker’ & More”

By Andrew Bansal

November 7th 2013, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: On the back of their ninth studio release ‘Savages’ via Nuclear Blast Records, Max Cavalera-led Soulfly embarked upon a North American headline tour with support from Havok and Lody Kong, and brought the tour to a close with the final show at the Viper Room in West Hollywood last night. Savages is a strong album, perhaps more guitar-oriented than most of the previous Soulfly records, and it was going to be interesting to see how these songs fit into the set list in a live setting. But with a venue as small as the Viper Room and a ticket price of a whopping $35, I was a bit skeptical about this show, wondering whether the turnout would be good enough, and whether this venue would handle the craziness that could ensue when bands like Soulfly and Havok take the stage. Continue reading “Soulfly, Havok & Lody Kong Perform At The Viper Room”

By Andrew Bansal

November 2nd 2013, Vacation Vinyl, Los Angeles CA: Narrows and Early Graves began their three-show mini-tour at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco on Friday November 1st, and were scheduled to play at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim last night before closing it out at Casbah in San Diego today. But the Chain Reaction show was canceled on them at extremely short notice, and they decided to do a free in-store gig at Vacation Vinyl in Los Angeles instead. Lies, the opening act that was on the lineup for the Chain Reaction show, was also added onto this in-store last minute. As strange as it sounds, despite Vacation Vinyl hosting several in-stores in the past few years, this was the very first time I was here to actually see a show, and I was as shocked at the realization as everybody I told this to. But better late than never, so I arrived at the store at around 6:30 and waited for the show to begin. Continue reading “Narrows, Early Graves & Lies Play Last-Minute In-Store Gig At Vacation Vinyl”