Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

May 5th 2013, Fonda Theatre, Hollywood CA: British post-punk/industrial rock Killing Joke were celebrating their 35th anniversary and the release of the ‘Singles Collection (1979-2012)’ compilation with this short North American tour which came to an end last night at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre, a fitting venue for the occasion in every way possible. I am well aware of the band’s stature and their influence on subsequent generations of heavy music, heard a lot of good things about their live shows but never got a chance to see them until last night. It was going to be intriguing to see how they capture and encapsulate their 15-album career into one night of live music. Continue reading “Killing Joke’s LA Show Celebrates 35 Years Of Influential Rock”

By Andrew Bansal

May 4th 2013, The Airliner, Los Angeles CA: The Bloodletting North America tour began in San Francisco on Friday and made its way to Los Angeles’ Airliner club last night. Headlined by French technical death metal band Gorod, the tour also featured Fallujah, Vale Of Pnath, Inanimate Existence, Kamikabe and The Kennedy Veil, along with local support from Isolation In Infamy and Memory for this show alone. I had never been to this place nor heard of any bands I know of playing there. It promised to be an interesting adventure and it actually was, in the end.

Continue reading “Gorod Performs At The Airliner On First Ever North American Tour”

By Andrew Bansal

May 3rd 2013, The Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA: The last time I saw Philm was at the Roxy on May 29th 2011, and the band made a return to the same venue after almost two years to give me a chance to set that straight. They took part in the Cinco De Mayo weekend kickoff event last night and were the support act for Metalachi. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Philm’s debut full-length record ‘Harmonic’, seen songs off of it played live several times before the May 2012 release of the album, but never got to see the band after that and hadn’t heard any of the newer, unreleased songs yet. I got to the venue well before their 10 o’ clock start. The turnout was really good, packed with plenty of people here for the Cinco De Mayo festivities. Right on schedule, the Roxy curtains were raised and it was Philm time all over again. Continue reading “Philm Returns To The Roxy With Power-Packed Set”

By Andrew Bansal

May 1st 2013, The Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA: As a heavy metal fan and follower you must be already knowing this, but if you don’t, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is back doing metal full-time with his eponymous band Newsted. The debut EP ‘Metal’ came out earlier this year. The four-track release gave us a fair indication of what to expect from the reincarnated Jason Newsted in the years to come. I personally enjoyed the EP a lot and even though it wasn’t perfect by any means, it grew up me rather rapidly as time passed by. I was very much excited to see the band perform these songs on stage, and more than anything I was curious to see what kind of material they would fill a headline set with. They started their North American tour with two shows in their hometown Walnut Creek, and three shows later, they landed at the Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip.  Continue reading “Newsted Brings The Heavy To The Roxy”

By Andrew Bansal

May 1st 2013, The Viper Room, Hollywood CA: Queenrÿche, the Todd La Torre-fronted version, signed a deal with Century Media Records and are all set to release a self-titled album on June 25th. Last night at the Viper Room, they gave us an early chance to listen to the whole album and followed it up with a special live performance at this intimate, invite-only event. I had heard a lot of good things about the rejuvenated Queensrÿche, and having missed out on their tour last year, last night was my first glimpse at how their new material sounds and how they handle playing the classic songs. Continue reading “Queensrÿche Plays Intimate Show At The Viper Room”

By Andrew Bansal

April 30th 2013, The Vex Arts Centre, Los Angeles CA: Hailing from Dallas, Texas, extreme metal band Absu’s return to North American venues for a full tour has been much awaited and anticipated amongst fans of the band. Prior to this, Absu hadn’t done this kind of touring in America since the release of the ‘Abzu’ album, but they certainly promised to make up for the lost time when they announced a few months ago that they’ll be performing two sets on this tour. Local bands Ritual, Highland and Sadism were also part of the lineup for this show put together by Church Of The 8th Day, and having never seen any of these bands live before I was looking forward to see how it all pans out, how my first visit to this Vex place goes, and what kind of turnout the show brings.  Continue reading “Absu’s Connexus Conjuration Tour Visits LA”