Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

December 15th 2016, The Mayan, Los Angeles CA: In support of their fourth full-length studio album ‘The Madness Of Many’ which was released earlier this year, modern prog masters Animals As Leaders embarked on a six-week North American tour in November, headlining an all-instrumental lineup with support acts Intervals and Plini. Ever since they first broke out of obscurity in 2010, Animals As Leaders have enjoyed unwavering admiration from their Los Angeles fan-base, and towards the very end of ‘The Madness Of Many’ tour, they arrived here to perform in front of a packed house at the Mayan in downtown LA on a rainy Thursday night, making a return to the same stage they performed on with Devin Townsend almost exactly two years ago. The steady rain certainly did not deter any of this crowd from attending, almost everyone having made their ticket purchases well in advance, and with the kind of musicianship eventually exhibited on this stage, no one regretted braving the weather for this show. Continue reading “Instru-mental: Animals As Leaders, Intervals, Plini Bring The Madness to Los Angeles”

By Jason Williams

December 14th 2016, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hollywood CA: For over 35 years and counting, there hasn’t really been a band that can say for itself being as loved and hated immensely by its own audience, be recognized globally throughout all facets of mainstream attention, and still be wonderfully revered by every rock and metal radio station around your speakers. That band, likes and prefers to be called Metallica. Millions of albums sold, decades of touring and quality music, at least for an extended period of time, glistening the hearts and ears of their fans all across the world. Travel to 2016, and Metallica would release their tenth and latest record, ‘Hardwired… to Self-Destruct’, being nearly eight years since any new material was officially out. Before stopping at the Fonda Theater for a special, intimate show, Metallica would first perform on the late night national television show Jimmy Kimmel Live, to a large number of excited and beaming fans, who don’t get the opportunity to see Metallica as often, let alone a free show at that. There was plenty to enjoy from this performance, and also other issues that were difficult to ignore, but be it my first Metallica show in over 13 years, I was ready for this short but fun-filled, metal induced evening. Continue reading “Metal Block Party: Metallica Play Free Outdoor Mini-Concert in Hollywood”

By Lisa Burke

December 13th 2016, Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA: Things aren’t always what they seem is the understatement of the year especially when viewing new incarnations of old bands, or bands with oddly misleading titles. Last Tuesday at the Teragram Ballroom in downtown Los Angeles, I attended the first show of a two-night benefit for Dave Rosser who is fighting colon cancer and has made his mark in bands such as The Gutter Twins and Afghan Whigs. The second night of the benefit featured the latest version of Afghan Whigs while on this first night it featured headliner Eagles Of Death Metal along with support from Josh Homme, guitarist from Queens Of The Stone Age, and an interesting version of a band that seemingly rejoined especially for this occasion, The Gutter Twins featuring guest artist Duff McKagan. Continue reading “Rocking for a Cause: Eagles Of Death Metal Play LA Show for Dave Rosser Benefit”

By Lisa Burke

December 11th 2016, The Largo, Los Angeles CA: If at first you don’t succeed, by all means quit right away because everyone else gets it right their first time and you are just that one exception to every rule that happens to end in failure. This kind of mindset and lack of confidence can either break you down into becoming a follower, or it can break you in to the pitfalls of life that we all face, so that in turn you challenge yourself to fight the good fight for the rest of eternity, making it your life’s work all the while carrying the torch that others may get the privilege to light their own fire from. Who could possibly fit this stigmata better than the wizard of spoken word himself Henry Rollins? On Sunday December 11th, I attended night #7 of an eight-show run that brought Henry Rollins’ newest artfully crafted spoken word act to Largo At The Coronet in West Hollywood. Continue reading ““It Doesn’t Get Better Than This”: Henry Rollins Delivers Spoken Word in Los Angeles”

By Cesar Villatoro

December 10^th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: A few weeks after a successful North American tour supporting French-Canadian death metal titans Gorguts, post-prog masters Intronaut decided to perform a special one-off hometown show at Complex in Glendale, courtesy of Church of the 8^th Day Promotions, to mark their final performance of the year. With an impressive mixture of bands whose sounds can be described anywhere from monstrously heavy to atmospheric and textural, this show promised to be a definite crowd-pleaser for fans of underground extreme metal, and it delivered on that promise. Continue reading “The Pleasant Surprise: Intronaut Play One-Off Hometown Headline Show”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Robert DeAnda

December 9th 2016, The Belasco, Los Angeles CA: Swedish melodic death metal veterans In Flames and Dallas, Texas groove metal supergroup Hellyeah joined forces for the ‘Forged In Fire’ co-headline North American tour this November-December, along with opening acts From Ashes To New and Source. The tour arrived in downtown Los Angeles for a gig at the Belasco, an event that drew an excellent turnout on a Friday night, and treated the audience to a mix bag evening that entertained for reasons good and bad, as some bands underwhelmed while others exceeded expectations. Continue reading “Metal at the Belasco: In Flames, Hellyeah Bring ‘Forged In Fire’ Tour to Los Angeles”