Review by Lisa Burke & Brad Worsham, photos by Brad Worsham
October 24th-25th 2015, San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernardino CA: After a successful 2014 edition, Knotfest returned to San Bernardino, California for the second consecutive year. The Metal Assault team was out in full force to capture the action for your reading and viewing pleasure. Check it out below: Continue reading “Knotfest Returns To San Bernardino”
Review by Andrew Bansal, photos & videos by Matt Nielson
October 25th 2015, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles CA: German stoner rock trio Kadavar released their third full-length studio album ‘Berlin’ via Nuclear Blast Records earlier in 2015, and embarked on a North American tour in October, which included shows as main support to The Sword as well as headline gigs. While The Sword were busy making an appearance at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento last Sunday October 25th, Kadavar headlined a show of their own at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles the same night, with The Shrine and All Them Witches as support acts. On their first US tour in 2013, Kadavar garnered a lot of hype which resulted in strong attendences at shows everywhere, and now with an audience comprising repeat attendees and new fans, they are playing to bigger crowds. Despite a plethora of other high-profile events taking place the same weekend in and around Los Angeles, a sizable turnout greeted Kadavar at the El Rey, and anticipated a religious Sunday outing filled with riff worship. Continue reading “Kadavar, The Shrine & All Them Witches Rock The El Rey”
Review by Andrew Bansal, photos & videos by Carsten Steinhausen
October 24th 2015, The Orpheum, Los Angeles CA: Swedish progressive metal masters Opeth celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2010 in grand style with a handful of exclusive ‘evening with’ shows around the world, performing their monumental 2001 album ‘Blackwater Park’ in its entirety and a set of selections from every other album. That tour also included an unforgettable gig at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. Only Opeth themselves could attempt matching the magnitude, class and quality of such an endeavor, and sure enough, five years later, they embarked on a similar quest, this time to celebrate their 25th anniversary as a band. After a run of 12 shows in Europe and one on the US East Coast, Opeth arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday October 24th 2015 for a weekend takeover of the Orpheum Theatre with two back-to-back shows, the first having sold out well and truly in advance and the second added due to unprecedented demand. Metal Assault was in attendance on night #1, to witness Opeth’s play the 2005 album ‘Ghost Reveries’ front to back, and a bit of everything else from their revered, prolific and eclectic career. Continue reading “Opeth Bring 25th Anniversary Tour To Los Angeles”
Review & photos by Andrew Hernandez
October 24th 2015, The Echo, Los Angeles CA: Last Saturday night, the Echo became a sold-out eclectic congregation of musical affectionados all there to see three dudes, Trevor Dunn, Dale Crover, and the mighty Roger “King Buzzo” Osborne, collectively known as the Melvins (or Melvins Lite if you want to get technical). These dudes have been pushing boundaries of the musical spectrum for 35 plus years now, going everywhere from sludge, doom, punk, grunge to even a bit of drone, and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Echo was the perfect playground for them to run amok and personally, I love this place. The sound is always good, it’s small, quaint and always gives me a feeling of nostalgia as it does remind me of the days when I used to go to the Key Club (R.I.P.) to see death and black metal shows. Continue reading “Melvins Play Intimate Sold-Out Show At The Echo”
Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Carsten Steinhausen
October 23rd 2015, The Palladium, Hollywood CA: Rock guitar icon Slash has been busy formulating a solo career over the past five years, and after the 2010 self-titled debut album which featured guest musicians on every track, he found a more solid and recognizable band for this project, both for the studio recordings as well as live performances, better known as The Conspirators, comprising Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass) and Frank Sidoris (guitar). Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators released the album ‘World On Fire’ in 2014, their second as a group, and have been on a world tour ever since. On the North American leg of the tour, SMK&C arrived at the Hollywood Palladium last Friday October 23rd 2015 for a full set of original material along with an assortment of Guns ‘N Roses classics. The venue was packed to near capacity, and the audience awaited a rock ‘n roll treat. Continue reading “Slash Packs Hollywood Palladium”
By Andrew Bansal
October 22nd 2015, Loaded Rock Bar, Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based Ironaut started out in early 2015 as an instrumental stoner rock trio, featuring the talents of Erik Kluiber (ex Gypsyhawk and White Wizzard) on bass, Patrick McHugh on guitar and Ivan Najor on drums. They made a highly impressive live debut at Loaded in Hollywood in April and played a handful of gigs since, before deciding to add vocals into the mix. Erik Kluiber took it upon himself to explore a facet of his musicianship no one had witnessed before, becoming the lead vocalist of the band. Ironaut made their debut as a power trio with vocals in North Hollywood in late September, and three weeks later, returned to the original scene of the crime at Loaded for a gig last Thursday October 22nd. Continue reading “Stoner Rock, Now With A Voice: LA Band Ironaut Adds Vocals”