Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

July 9th 2016, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: The Viper Room is no stranger to residencies and theme nights, and this summer, West Hollywood’s coziest rock club is bringing you a monthly ’80s rock night called Flashback, with resident all-original band Knights Of Audio, and rotating special guests. Last Saturday July 9th, the lineup featured Kirby’s Dream Band, Paladin Shield and The Megas, and attendees arrived with their party hats and dancing shoes on, in anticipation of a good time. Ironically, the lighting on the Viper Room’s famous and historic marquee suffered a malfunction, and of all nights for this to have happened, it wasn’t lit for this otherwise very lit, luminous, fun-filled, high-energy evening of happy heavy music. Continue reading “Kirby’s Dream Band Performs At Viper Room On ‘Flashback’ ’80s Rock Night”

By Andrew Bansal

July 8th 2016, Glass House, Pomona CA: Following three East Coast shows in June, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida post-hardcore group Poison The Well played three back-to-back Southern California shows in July, including a headline gig at the Glass House in Pomona last Friday July 8th, with support acts Strife and La Bella. After a five-year hiatus, Poison The Well played two reunion shows in 2015 with no further plans to perform or write new music, but are continuing on with the reunion this year, much to the delight of fans that are clearly still packing every club the band plays in. A capacity crowd awaited their arrival at the Glass House, cashing in on a chance to see the band after a long time and anticipating a performance that would prove to be worth the wait. Continue reading “Reunited & Rejuvenated: Poison The Well Play Headline Show In Pomona”

By Andrew Bansal

July 7th 2016, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: After serving as a busy hub for local hard rock and metal artists as well as playing host to national and international touring acts coming through the Los Angeles area, the Loaded Rock Bar in Hollywood closed its doors to live music in March 2016, while still functioning as a bar. While some locals continued to hang out at Loaded, those that went there solely for the shows definitely stopped visiting Loaded. But a few months later, with a revamped and modified interior, Loaded’s live music room is open again, and has started out with local hard rock stalwarts The Drama playing a biweekly residency. The first of The Drama’s residency shows took place on Thursday July 7th, and it was reason enough to go to Loaded after a long time and discover what it now offers as compared to before. Continue reading “Re-Loaded: Hollywood’s Loaded Bar Reopens Doors To Live Music With The Drama Residency”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Cliff Montgomery

July 2nd 2016, Majestic Ventura Theater, Ventura CA: The realms of heavy metal and fantasy have always had an interlinking bond, whether it be in lyrical themes or imagery, and both metalheads as well as fantasy/magic/video game/comic book fans can perhaps be considered nerds/geeks in equal measure, because let’s face it, neither is supposed to be ‘cool’ in popular culture. Combining these two worlds into one is the main concept behind the Magic & Metal Con, and its inaugural edition took place at the Majestic Ventura Theater in the cozy little beach town of Ventura, California last Saturday July 2nd 2016. Continue reading “Decks, Druids & Rock N’ Roll: Inaugural ‘Magic & Metal’ Con Takes Place In Ventura”

By Andrew Bansal

July 1st 2016, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: Formed in June 2015, Furiosa is ex Legal Tender frontman Jonah Nimoy’s brainchild and solo project, and following a few select live appearances with a backing band, Nimoy released the debut Furiosa EP ‘Outta Fox To Give’, on which he has written and recorded all parts of the music, almost a year to the day of the band’s inception. Last Friday July 1st 2016 at the Troubadour, Furiosa played a headline show to a sizable audience, in an attempt to showcase its worth as one of LA’s newest and most notable musical entities. Continue reading “Furiosa Rocks Troubadour”

By Lisa Burke

June 23rd 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Of all the nights I’ve spent at Whisky-A-Go-Go in recent years, Thursday June 23rd 2016 was probably the one that became the most jam-packed to the max capacity with the majority of the population consisting of our younger generation. I’ve never felt so old and so young at the same time, and the best part about it is that these average of eighteen year olds are there to see a 2016 version of a legendary band originating in 1979 which is an average of twenty years before they were born. Venom Inc. was the headliner on this night, which if you are unaware, consists of now former Venom members Jeff “Mantas” Dunn and Anthony “Abaddon” Bray who basically decided to start up a “new” band titled Venom Inc. with Tony “The Demolition Man” Dolan on vocals and bass, because they can. So it’s not 100% the original incarnation, but it’s not really a cover band either, and basically it’s similar to when Entombed added the A.D., and it’s better than when Danzig, Doyle, or Jerry Only decide to play Mistfits songs without being in the same room together. I arrived on the scene to catch Fortress followed by Sunlord and Necrophagia, who I was also excited to see for the first time. Continue reading “Venom Inc. Bulldozes West Hollywood”