Holy Trinity Of Doom: Saint Vitus, The Skull & Witch Mountain Pack The Viper Room

By Lisa Burke

screen-shot-2016-10-31-at-12-52-49-pm

October 21st 2016, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: Doom metal has always had a strong impact on the heavy metal movements and genres throughout the years, and despite a few moments of fade-out, it has risen with a vengeance as of late. Saint Vitus along with Trouble and of course Black Sabbath are among the founders of this genre and are also three very different bands. On Friday October 21st 2016 at the Viper Room on the slowly dying Sunset Strip, Saint Vitus headlined their current tour with The Skull and Witch Mountain. All of these groups have an interesting track record and have been through some major line up changes that have affected them in various ways. Continue reading “Holy Trinity Of Doom: Saint Vitus, The Skull & Witch Mountain Pack The Viper Room”

From Sanity To Obscura: Gorguts Command And Conquer The Roxy

By Jason Williams

gorguts

October 20th 2016, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: What is music? By Webster’s definition: “An art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.” It truly defines our character, soul, and human nature. Once in several years, or even several decades, we face groundbreaking music. Groundbeaking is defined as: “originating or pioneering a new endeavor, field of inquiry, or the like”. This colored inscription can be applied to Canadian avant-garde extreme metal veterans Gorguts, who erupted onto the scene in 1989, bringing their well above average death metal upon our merciful ears. They managed to truly change the playing field of how to play extreme music forever with their 1998 magnum opus ‘Obscura’, bringing forth a wide array of unrivaled dissonant harmonies, eruption of bass driven force, beautifully doomy pace, combined with a frenetic extreme death metal sound, and the world changed as we know it. Since then, and returning from a hiatus previously, Gorguts are back with a brand new EP ‘Pleiades’ Dust’, a monumental 33-minute track that truly captures the Gorguts sound, as well as ventures into new thrilling progressions and ambience. Touring alongside Gorguts were Intronaut, Brain Tentacles and Mustard Gas and Roses. The excitement level had reached dizzy heights and couldn’t wait a second longer to get to the Roxy and witness a majestic, grand metal performance. Continue reading “From Sanity To Obscura: Gorguts Command And Conquer The Roxy”

Metal MonstroCity: Meshuggah Captivates The Novo

By Lisa Burke

meshugga-ihp-7-15-16

October 19th 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: One misguided ideology in the world of heavy metal is that you can listen to an album and have some clue what a particular band will sound and feel like in a live setting, however I’m here to tell you there are many instances where you end up completely wrong in the sense that they were either painfully or pleasantly opposite of what you imagined in real life. Meshuggah is a perfect example of a band that goes completely underrated until exposure on a face to face level, and on Wednesday October 19th at The Novo in downtown Los Angeles I finally had my first chance at a live encounter with them which was a brutally phenomenal experience to say the least. Continue reading “Metal MonstroCity: Meshuggah Captivates The Novo”

Prog Bonanza: Leprous, Earthside, Binary Code & Dissona Perform At Complex

By Lisa Burke

leprous_complex

October 16th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: Progressive heavy metal has been in existence for around thirty years now and it has since developed in numerous advanced technological ways. The four bands I witnessed on Sunday October 16th 2016 at Complex in Glendale expanded my brain cells with the upmost progression ending in a massive implosion and total sensory overload at what I had just witnessed, and may just be, on the whole, the top contender to any previous prog-dominated metal shows I have seen, although Opeth and Devin Townsend are also high on the ranks as favorites in my world of prog. The headliner was none other than Norwegian band Leprous with support acts Earthside, Binary Code and Dissona. These are four solid bands with their own personal heavy prog style that resonates as much during the performance as it does after. Continue reading “Prog Bonanza: Leprous, Earthside, Binary Code & Dissona Perform At Complex”

In A League Of Their Own: Clutch Headline The Novo

By Lisa Burke

clutchtour

October 14th 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: New beginnings seem to be happening all over Los Angeles lately, with plenty of revamping of old live music venues at various locations to provide new venues for live music acts. Other venues simply changed their name but kept the same interior decor, as is the case with the Novo, formerly Club Nokia, in downtown Los Angeles. On Friday October 14th 2016, I was there for headlining act Clutch who were visiting town on their tour with support acts Zakk Sabbath and Kyng. Continue reading “In A League Of Their Own: Clutch Headline The Novo”

Photo Gallery: Soilwork + Unearth @ 18th St Pier Bar & Grill, San Leon TX

Photos by Joseph Acosta

furytour

October 21st 2016, 18th St Pier Bar & Grill, San Leon TX: Following the release of their rarities collection ‘Death Resonance’, Swedish melodic death metal giants Soilwork embarked on a North American fall headline run this fall, titled ‘Fury Tour’, with support acts Unearth, Wovenwar, Battlecross and Darkness Divided. The five-band lineup began the tour on October 14th and arrived in San Leon, Texas for a gig at 18th St Pier Bar & Grill on October 21st. Our photographer Joseph Acosta was in attendance to capture a few images for us. Enjoy his Soilwork and Unearth photos here, and catch the Fury Tour if it’s coming to a town near you in the remainder of its itinerary (dates below). Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Soilwork + Unearth @ 18th St Pier Bar & Grill, San Leon TX”