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Wolvserpent, Murk Rider & Actuary Perform At The Complex

By Andrew Bansal

November 1st 2013, The Complex, Glendale CA: Following a very successful event featuring Windhand, Pendulous and A’rk at the same venue around six weeks ago, local underground promoters EarSplitters returned to the Complex last night for their next show, an intriguing lineup that boasted of Boise, Idaho based atmospheric doom/drone band Wolvserpent, black/stoner metal quartet Murk Rider from San Luis Obispo, and Los Angeles experimental noise duo Actuary. Fellow Los Angeles outfit Ides Of Gemini was originally supposed to be the main support act but they had to cancel last minute due to some health issues with their drummer, so were were left with three bands and the show started an hour later than the scheduled start time of 9:30 PM. Finally at 10:30, all was in readiness for the event to begin. Continue reading “Wolvserpent, Murk Rider & Actuary Perform At The Complex”

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Indian Handcrafts & Dirty Streets Play October Edition Of Scion Rock Show

By Andrew Bansal

October 30th 2013, The Satellite, Los Angeles CA: In what has now become a ritual of sorts on the last Wednesday of every month, the October edition of the Scion Rock Show took place at the Satellite last night and featured the bands Indian Handcrafts from Ontario, Canada and Dirty Streets from Memphis, Tennessee. As always, the show was free with RSVP and open to folks aged 21 and over. This time there wasn’t really a queue of people before the start of the show, and I had a feeling it was going to be a ‘slow night’. Nonetheless, I was personally still excited about seeing two bands I had never seen before but heard a lot about, and I went in at around 9:30 PM. The first thing I did was to grab a couple of pairs of the free Scion socks. I have so many of them that the only socks I wear now are of the Scion brand. And like the last two editions of the Scion Rock Show, the LSDJs played some sweet tunes from 9 to 10 to provide an appropriate background in anticipation of the show’s start. Continue reading “Indian Handcrafts & Dirty Streets Play October Edition Of Scion Rock Show”

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Megadeth Plays Intimate One-Off Los Angeles Show

By Andrew Bansal
[Live photos by Brad Worsham] 

October 29th 2013, Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles CA: Coming off successful tours with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in North and South America respectively, heavy metal titans Megadeth played a one-off event at the Shrine Expo Hall in the University Of Southern California area of Los Angeles last night. Their ‘Super Collider’ North American headline tour doesn’t start for another three weeks, so this was certainly a somewhat of a unique, intimate performance, with absolutely no opening acts. Of late, Megadeth have shared the stage with some huge bands, but it had been a long time since the band’s fans in Los Angeles got to witness a pure, exclusive Megadeth show of this kind. Of course, at the time of buying tickets nobody was aware that there wouldn’t be any opening bands, and come the day of show when the news started to spread amongst ticket buyers, there was a general feeling of pleasant surprise and a heightened degree of anticipation. The doors opened promptly at 7:30 PM, and everyone headed inside in the hope of basking in a special Megadeth night. Continue reading “Megadeth Plays Intimate One-Off Los Angeles Show”

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Slayer & Gojira Deliver Scorching Show At Sold-Out Hollywood Palladium

By Andrew Bansal
[Live photos by Brad Worsham] 

October 28th 2013, The Palladium, Hollywood CA: Heavy metal legends Slayer have embarked upon a North American tour, the first proper headline run of their own in a long, long time. They’ve gone through some trying times of late with the death of guitarist Jeff Hanneman and parting ways with drummer Dave Lombardo, and amidst the divided opinions of the fans, they decided that the best way to silence everybody and restore pride is to do what they’re best at: playing shows. On this tour, they’re taking with them French extreme metal juggernaut Gojira and Australian groove/thrash band 4Arm as support acts, in an attempt to give the fans something memorable. The tour began in Las Vegas and descended to Los Angeles, marking Slayer’s first appearance at the Hollywood Palladium in 25 years with two shows. I managed to attend the second of these shows last night, and while I was cautious about what to expect from a Slayer lineup devoid of Dave Lombardo, I was half-expecting this evening to be a special treat. Continue reading “Slayer & Gojira Deliver Scorching Show At Sold-Out Hollywood Palladium”

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Watain Headlines The Vex

By Christian Redelsperger

October 26th 2013, The Vex, Los Angeles CA: Last Saturday, hundreds of metalheads gathered to see one of Sweden’s greatest black metal bands: the mighty Watain. Hosted at the Vex in LA, the mood was a mix of eagerness and evil. From what I heard of Tribulation, they were nothing short of black metal/rock n roll badassery. In Solitude’s set was pretty average but definitely not up to par with the hype I’ve heard about the band.

Eventually, the Watain stage crew began setting up the drums, backdrop and stage props for the night and needless to say, the stage was vicious. Walls with animal bones and blood adorned both sides of the stage while a mesmerizing altar was placed in the center. After plentiful chanting and applause, the house lights dimmed and the Swedish titans arrived onstage glaring violently at the crowd. Opening with “Night Vision” from the band’s latest release “The Wild Hunt,” concertgoers exploded with violent moshing and aggressive head-banging. Continue reading “Watain Headlines The Vex”

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Paul Gilbert Demonstrates Majik Box Fuzz Universe Pedal At Sam Ash Hollywood

By Andrew Bansal

October 26th 2013, Sam Ash Music Store, West Hollywood CA: Fans of hard rock and heavy metal must be well aware of bands like Mr. Big and Racer X, and these are the bands in which guitarist extraordinaire Paul Gilbert began earning his reputation for his blend of speed and skill on the instrument. Aside from that, he’s had a prolific, successful solo career with the latest album ‘Vibrato’ having been released in 2012, and he’s made guest appearances on numerous projects. Yesterday, on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, he made a visit to the Sam Ash Music Store in West Hollywood to demonstrate the Majik Box Fuzz Universe Pedal and to do a Q&A/signing/meet-n-greet after. The turnout was decent for an event of this kind of a Saturday afternoon, and the fans gathered here were ready to get their faces melted off while learning something new about Paul’s fuzz pedal and his guitar playing in general. Continue reading “Paul Gilbert Demonstrates Majik Box Fuzz Universe Pedal At Sam Ash Hollywood”