Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Avinash Mittur
(photos by Raymond Ahner)

March 28th 2013, Regency Ballroom, San Francisco CA: Every year, the Metal Alliance tour seems to take on a new style of heavy metal to showcase. It began with classic stoner and sludge metal in 2011, then it made a total about-face towards metalcore in 2012, and now the tour is representing old school thrash metal in its third iteration. Last Thursday night, the Metal Alliance tour stopped by the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. With tickets being sold out nearly a week in advance, the bay area was certainly chomping at the bit to see Anthrax, Exodus, Municipal Waste, High on Fire and Holy Grail play high energy sets. Despite a couple of jarring organizational issues, the show was a great deal of fun, and a wonderful night out for over a thousand metalheads from all over the bay area. Continue reading “Metal Alliance Tour Rips Through San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom”

By Avinash Mittur
(photos by April Edwards)

March 26th 2013, The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco CA:  Less than a week ago, I saw Clutch over at the House of Blues in Hollywood. Thanks to some truly wonderful luck, I had the opportunity to see the band headline once again at the Regency Ballroom last Tuesday night in San Francisco. Bay area concert venues are universally fantastic compared to the places found on Sunset Boulevard, so getting to return to the Regency was a welcome treat in and of itself. This show was just as entertaining as the Hollywood date, and yet another check-mark on the list of great Clutch sets.

Continue reading “Clutch Shakes Foundations In San Francisco”

By Avinash Mittur

March 24th 2013, DNA Lounge, San Francisco CA: Some webzines out there love to romanticize the bay area heavy metal scene. It’s not hard to see why they would do so, there are definitely some very amazing bands out here. What these journalists don’t get to see is these bands and musicians in action, both on and off-stage. They don’t see Mike Scalzi riding his bike miles and miles to teach at a community college every day of the week, and they certainly don’t see Ross Sewage trying to repair his Ampeg SVT head for the millionth time. These are working class folks, many of whom bore witness to metal’s grisly annihilation in the mid to late ’90s, who play some genre-bending music basically just for the love of the art. Shows are laidback affairs, with fans and friends often being one and the same to the musicians onstage and cheap beers occupying many a hand. As a twenty year old metalhead who loves these bands and this music to death, I’ve had to look and listen from a distance for the past few years- the vast majority of the live experience is restricted to the realm of the 21+ crowd. I was finally given a small chance to peek into this world though, with Brooklyn, NY’s Mutilation Rites and Richmond, VA’s Inter Arma stopping by San Francisco’s DNA Lounge for an all ages show with local acts Embers and Wild Hunt for support. This was an all around phenomenal show, and reinforced what an amazing place the bay area is for underground heavy metal. Continue reading “Mutilation Rites Gives Feral Show In San Francisco”

By Avinash Mittur
(photos by April Edwards)

March 21st 2013, House of Blues, Hollywood, CA: When you were in school, there was always one kid who was the definition of perfect. They were well-liked, had flawless grades, were involved in every activity under the sun, and somehow seemed to stay on top of everything with barely a sweat broken. At the school of rock, Clutch is that kid. Even if you don’t like them, there’s a level of obligatory respect and admiration that comes just from hearing them do what they do. Every one of their albums carries a unique identity, and yet they each stand tall as mighty slabs of music.  The live shows are legendary, with a random set list making the rounds night after night, and greasy jams worming their way into the songs. A Clutch show isn’t merely any old rock concert, it’s a religious experience. For the past few weeks, Clutch have been preaching the good word to audiences across the United States with fellow stoner rock stalwarts Orange Goblin, Lionize and Scorpion Child in tow. Clutch’s stop at the House of Blues in Hollywood was an all around great night of heavy rock music and of course, contained yet another impeccable show from this great band.

Continue reading “Earth Rocker North American Tour Raises Hell In Hollywood”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

March 10th 2013, Hotel United 21, Thane (Mumbai), India: Having gone through a long drought after the first four editions of India’s original extreme metal festival ‘Domination – The Deathfest’, the news of its return after a gap of 10 years was exciting for fans of the genre not only in and around the city of Mumbai, but to people in a few other parts of the country as well. As for myself, I was already a fan of Witchgoat and having never seen any of the other bands prior to last night, I was waiting for this show as eagerly as anyone. Looking at that lineup, the show promised to deliver the best in extreme metal, and the organizational team pulled out all the stops to achieve their aim. Now, on the morning after the show even as I sit here with a stiff neck, a sore back, an aching body and ringing ears, I’ve mentally recovered sufficiently to recall all the details from last night big and small, and give you this honest, comprehensive review. Continue reading “The Return Of Mumbai’s Original Deathfest: A Relentless Extreme Metal Onslaught”

By Avinash Mittur

February 23rd 2013, Key Club, Hollywood CA: In today’s heavy metal market, many older thrash metal bands are finding a career touring their asses off and have been cranking out some damn fine records. Death Angel, Overkill, Testament and Kreator are just a few acts outside of the Big Four that have managed to thrive despite the crazy state of the music industry these days. Phoenix, AR’s Sacred Reich have proudly kept their recent activity to a minimum however. After reuniting in 2007 for the annual Wacken Open Air festival, the band has stuck to short strings of dates here and there, and have avoided recording any new material. After making a disappointingly brief appearance at the Metal Blade anniversary show last November, Sacred Reich returned for their first headlining show in Los Angeles in sixteen years. The result was a show with very strong support from its opening acts, and a decent set from its headliner. Continue reading “Sacred Reich Headline In Los Angeles After 16 Years”