Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

Review by Lisa Burke, photos by Robert De Anda

February 8th 2017, West Hollywood CA: When a practical stranger shows up in your life out of nowhere and invites you to a very tempting party, where either you’ll have the best time of your life or die trying, do you accept? In the world of uncharted territories in metal bands and live shows, the answer is yes, of course you do. Experiencing newfound life out of your normal boring four cardboard walls that encompass your existence is a healthy adventure, even if you cried before it was over. On Wednesday February 8th, I set out on a usual metal adventure at a West Hollywood venue but with an unusual Finnish metal band Lordi as the headliner. In support were a few other bands plus Tower Guard as the direct support. Continue reading “Monster Metal: Lordi play LA Headline Show on First US Tour in 9 Years”

By Cesar Villatoro

February 7th 2017, The Observatory, Santa Ana CA: This night was guaranteed to be historic and unforgettable before the venue even opened its doors, with the prior expectation that Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem were going to be playing De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas in its entirety, arguably one of the greatest and most influential black metal albums of all time. Every person who loves music—regardless of background, ethnicity, faith, age, scene, etc.— has that band that started it all for them. They made them want to pick up a musical instrument so that they could play along to the songs and eventually compose original material. They served as a gateway band in which they opened their music palettes, exposing them to a much wider variety of music than before. They got them through a traumatic and/or difficult part of their life and without the solace gained from the band’s music, they don’t know if they would have pulled through. Whatever the reason may be, every person has (or at least should have) that band/artist, and Mayhem is one of those bands for many, including myself, and finally getting to see them live after hearing them for the first time ten years ago when I was 14 years old is a goal I can finally say I have accomplished. Continue reading “From the Dark Past: Mayhem Rekindle ‘De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas’ Album in Santa Ana”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Matt Nielson

February 7th 2017, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: In support of their fifth full-length album ‘Kodama’ which was released in 2016, French blackgaze/atmospheric metal band Alcest are currently in the midst of a North American headline tour, with support acts The Body and Creepers. The tour arrived in Los Angeles in front of a packed house at the Roxy last night, February 7th. Alcest have performed in the LA area as headliner as well as opener in the past on various album cycles and even though they presented different set lists each time, the live Alcest experience has invariably been awe-inspiring, and a large crowd of fans gathered here for yet another one. Continue reading “Blackgaze Voyage: Alcest, The Body & Creepers perform at The Roxy”

By Lisa Burke

February 4th 2017, The Airliner, Los Angeles CA: Heavy metal shows come in all shapes, sizes, and genres, yet they usually have one common thread. Blood, sweat, and tears flow behind the scenes of live metal shows and sometimes even on the stage at some of these local LA venues, and on Saturday February 4th, 2017, I ventured out for a rare appearance at The Airliner by Venom tribute band Sons Of Satan. Continue reading “Welcome to Hell: Sons Of Satan pay Righteous Tribute to Venom at The Airliner”

Review by Sebastian Vazquez & Chris McFly, photos by Chris McFly

January 28th 2017, Brick By Brick, San Diego, CA: The highly anticipated CD release of Symbolic’s fifth album was held at San Diego’s metal hub, Brick By Brick, featuring local support acts And Ever and Aghori, and Tijuana, Mexico’s Alchemy. Continue reading “Raising Horns: Symbolic, Alchemy, Aghori & And Ever rock San Diego”

Review by Rosie Walker, photos by Brian Wyner

January 29th 2017, The Warehouse, Clarksville TN: Clarksville, Tennessee is a moderately sized town nestled close to the Western Kentucky border. It is well-known for publishing Tennessee’s oldest newspaper and for the historic Roxy Theatre where Sheryl Crow shot a music video. A lesser known place of interest in Clarksville is The Warehouse, a music venue that loves to host and support the heavy metal scene. The place literally being a big old warehouse really sets the tone for some of the nitty-gritty bands it hosts. The Warehouse was a perfect back drop to the mighty Superjoint, who stole its stage this past Sunday January 29th, as they made a stop here on the first leg of their ‘Caught Up in the Gears’ US tour with support acts Child Bite and Battlecross. Continue reading “Gears of Mosh: Superjoint, Battlecross & Child Bite bring US Tour to Clarksville, Tennessee”