Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

Review by Lisa Burke, photos by Timothy Norris

July 15th 2016, The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA: Metal genres now have genres within genres and the latest trend that seems to keep the metal scene in the fresh meat category rather than the walking undead is mixing odd genres of music together with one or more genres of metal in a wildly unique and successful way that can even grasp at the corners of mainstream appeal. What the hell band could I possibly be discussing? Well sadly, probably nothing born in America because we are too busy fighting with ourselves to dovetail unity and culture into our heavy metal. That said, there are exceptions to every rule, but the band I am referring to is Japan’s own Babymetal. Their self-titled debut album was born two years ago and the three gothic Lolita-styled black n’ red dressed J-pop idol girls in pig tails with red bows that front the live show started at around 14 years old of age, so the name of the band speaks volumes on the subject at hand. These three young and adorable Japanese girls are quite adept at vocal skills and their choreographed dance moves are a force from the dark side, and should not be challenged but can only be accepted. The metal band in the background of the stage is a masterly group of players in white robes and face paint with speedy death riffs that keep the show alive from start to finish. On Friday July 15th 2016, I had my first live Babymetal experience at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Continue reading “Babymetal Plays Sold-Out Show At The Wiltern”

By Andrew Bansal

July 14th 2016, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA: Seminal progressive classic hard rock group Boston have entered the 40th year of their career in 2016, and to celebrate the milestone, they embarked on their 40th anniversary North American headline tour, an extensive run of dates that began in late April and is slated to come to end with two back-to-back hometown shows in Boston, Massachusetts in mid-August. Former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung joined Boston on the summer portion of this tour, and the two arrived in the Los Angeles area for a gig at the Greek Theatre on Thursday July 14th 2016 to perform all the hits as well as some deep cuts for the diehards. The classic rock crowd paid good money to fill most of the seats in this lovely open-air venue located in Griffith Park, and expected a great show from both bands. Regardless of the quality of the performances, whether you’d actually be able to hear the show was an entirely different matter altogether, and unfortunately, purely depended on where you were in relation to the stage. Continue reading “Boston Brings 40th Anniversary Tour To Los Angeles”

By Lisa Burke

July 14th 2016, Couture, Hollywood CA: Finding your inner voice in the modern day rock n’ roll and heavy metal scene that can not only stand out among the masses for creativity, individuality and originality, but also remain undamaged by the current financial and personal hurricanes all bands have to fight their way through, can prove more challenging than rocket science with much less accredited rewards to take home to mom at the end of the day. The real prize then becomes personal goals and accomplishments met within a team in the style of music to be proud of that affects the audience in a positive way. There is nu metal and then there is new metal, and I prefer the latter which is the core of what I witnessed at Couture in Hollywood on Thursday July 14th 2016. The headlining act on this evening was Six Foot South, with supporters Void Vator, Crowned By Fire and Eye Of Ember. Couture, if you aren’t aware, is not used to putting on metal shows as the usual scene is more of a night club style with a DJ. That said, both the promoter and the venue were far from virgins in the live metal show department and both parties allowed the night to get off to a slightly rough start due to lack of proper communication. Continue reading “Six Foot South, Void Vator, Crowned By Fire & Eye Of Ember Grace Local Rock Night In Hollywood”

By Andrew Bansal

July 13th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Australian progressive extreme metal group Ne Obliviscaris completed their first ever North American tour as an opening act earlier in 2016. Having been around since 2003, their stateside arrival was a long-awaited one, so much so that fans were far from satisfied with a mere 30-minute set, and five months later, Ne Obliviscaris returned to the continent, this time as headliners. They brought with them Black Crown Initiate and Starkill as support acts, and embarked on this month-long trek starting with a show in San Diego and then visiting the Los Angeles area for a gig at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood. It was an enticing lineup for the city’s extreme metal community, and fans of the genre packed the venue in high anticipation of an enjoyable evening. Continue reading “Ne Obliviscaris, Black Crown Initiate & Starkill Perform At Whisky-A-Go-Go”

By Lisa Burke

July 11th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: While lots of people enjoy heavy metal, few of these same people get on board with the idea of technical death metal, but those who do and are unaware of a brilliant band called Beyond Creation should soon introduce themselves. I hold them very high in my ranking of bands in this genre. On Monday July 11th 2016, I visited the Whisky-A-Go-Go to see Beyond Creation as the headliners with support acts Rivers Of Nihil and The Zenith Passage. As a well booked show this one was a success in terms of all bands hovering in the vain of technical death metal. Continue reading “Tech-Death Massacre: Beyond Creation, Rivers Of Nihil & The Zenith Passage Decimate West Hollywood”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Andrew Hernandez

July 11th 2016, The Lexington, Los Angeles CA: Portland, Maine black/doom metal band Falls Of Rauros embarked on a two-week U.S. West Coast headline tour with Denver, Colorado atmospheric extreme metal group Wayfarer as support for the entire run, and plunged to the murkiest depths of the Los Angeles underground to perform at the Lexington bar in downtown LA last Monday July 11th 2016 with local openers Skyeater and Our Place Of Worship Is Silence for an event put together by tireless promoters Church Of The 8th Day and The Elegy Ensemble. Continue reading “Downtown Doom: Falls Of Rauros, Wayfarer & Skyeater Perform At The Lexington”