Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal
(Photos by Matt Nielson)

February 18th 2017, The Echo, Los Angeles CA: Seattle, Washington is a bottomless reservoir of musical talent, and while Los Angeles gets visited by several Seattle-based touring bands on a regular basis, it is not often that we get two such bands coming through town on tour together. Yesterday, He Whose Ox is Gored and Dust Moth may not have had top billing at The Echo, being slotted as the early show on a Saturday evening, but for LA’s underground music lovers, they were top priority. Bringing their West Coast mini-tour to us, the two bands, along with local opener QunQ, proceeded onto mesmerize the audience in their own distinct ways, and to prove why they cannot be taken for granted, and why each and every LA appearance of theirs is absolutely unmissable. Continue reading “Mesmerizing Matinee: He Whose Ox is Gored, Dust Moth & QunQ perform at The Echo”

By Lisa Burke

February 17th 2017, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: Contrary to popular belief, black metal fans are among the most gentle creatures I’ve ever encountered in and out of the heavy metal scene. The creators and players of the music themselves are usually of the same mindset, however a few tales have been told throughout the history of it all that say otherwise. Some of it is based on fact and some of it is based on hearsay completed by total bullshit. In my personal opinion, the music of black metal itself in all its varieties and genre mixes is so wildly interesting, entertaining, enlightening, and deep rooted that I have yet to see a black metal band performance live that I didn‘t enjoy in one form or another. Continue reading “Blackened Storm: Marduk Headlines The Regent”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Matt Nielson

February 15th 2017, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: Following his appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in 2016, Arthur Brown, the pioneer of all things shock/acid/psychedelic rock, as hard as it may be to believe, has returned to the United States for his first tour in the country in 47 years, thanks to the same folks behind Psycho Entertainment who brought him to Las Vegas last year. Along with Electric Citizen as opening act on all shows and additional support differing by territory, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown started this short 8-show run with the first gig at the Regent in downtown Los Angeles last night. It is safe to say that owing to the 47-year gap, not many in attendance had any frame of reference whatsoever or had experienced Arthur Brown live prior. That said, expectations were sky-high, but no first-timer could have predicted the brilliance of what they would end up witnessing. Continue reading “God Of Hellfire, Master Of Psychedelia: Los Angeles Takes a Trip to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown”

By Rosie Walker

February 12th 2017, The End, Nashville TN: The world was recently rewarded when the legendary Speedealer decided to tour again. Things had been quiet in their camp for a long time and everyone is excited to see them hitting the road once more. Along with space-loving Mothership and speed-driven Against the Grain, these three bands are out there crushing it. Nashville being one of the cities on this eleven-date run makes a lot of sense. Though it is the country music capital of the world, it actually supports all kinds of music, especially rock n’ roll. Nestled in Nashville’s “rock block” there is a dingy dive bar called The End. It’s a place where you will never see a cowboy hat or steel guitar. Told by the stickers on its dirty walls, this venue has catered to the rock n’ roll/punk/hardcore scene for over 30 years. A lot of greats have spilt their sweat on its tiny stage and last Sunday night was no exception. Continue reading “Southern Disruption: Speedealer, Mothership & Against The Grain rock Nashville”

By Lisa Burke

February 11th 2017, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA:  What is better than a dogmatic classic style down n’ dirty live punk rock show? The answer is nothing worthy of discussion at the moment, so let’s dive into my Saturday night spent once again at Loaded Rock Bar in Hollywood in an effort to attend a live show featuring ’70s punk legends The Pagans, with support from The Dirges, Brass Knuckle Voodoo, and the ever popular Turbulent Hearts. Continue reading “Hollywood High: The Pagans Headline Loaded Rock Bar”

By Lisa Burke

February 10th 2017, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Sometimes the more intimate the setting, the more pleasurable the live music experience becomes. Depending on whether you’re in the front row or not in the front row in a stadium concert, a few elements of the experience get lost in translation. Think about how exciting it would be to see Iron Maiden play in your living room, and now you understand my point. On Friday, February 10th 2017 at Loaded in Hollywood, I attended the Mondo Generator headline show with Doors To No Where as main support. Continue reading “Heavy in Hollywood: Mondo Generator & Doors To No Where rock Loaded Bar”