Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

August 25th 2015, City Hall, Los Angeles CA: For a band with no members originating from the city, rock ‘n roll veterans Motörhead have established as much of a connection with Los Angeles as any hometown band. Fittingly, on their 40th anniversary this year, the Los Angeles City Council decided to honor the band in recognition of their achievements, in a brief ceremony held at the City Council Chambers in the Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday August 26th 2015. Continue reading “Motörhead Receives Los Angeles City Council Honor”

By Andrew Bansal

August 25th 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: Towards the end of a short 10-day run of shows, San Francisco-based sludge/doom metal duo Black Cobra visited Glendale for a headline show at Complex, with local openers Behold! The Monolith and Solar Wimp last Tuesday August 25th, presented by Church Of The 8th Day. Black Cobra have finished work on their fifth full-length studio album, due for release on Season Of Mist, and are presenting some of this new material at these shows to solidify their standing as one of the most devastating live acts going around. The LA underground faithful turned up in good numbers on this Tuesday night, and they got treated to a diverse, high-decibel evening of live entertainment. Continue reading “Black Cobra, Behold! The Monolith & Solar Wimp Perform At Complex”

By Andrew Bansal

August 23rd 2015, Los Globos, Los Angeles CA: Portland, Oregon psychedelic/stoner rock group Black Pussy released their new EP ‘Where The Eagle Flies’ this month, and to coincide with the release, embarked upon a month-long US headline tour with fellow Portland stoner rock band Ape Machine. In the first week of the run, they arrived in Los Angeles for a gig at Los Globos, along with local openers Biblical Proof Of UFOs. Black Pussy have garnered mainstream media attention for all the wrong reasons, mainly their name, but for fans of the genre, the band’s music has done the talking, and they were here to show just that. Continue reading “Black Pussy, Ape Machine & Biblical Proof Of UFOs Perform At Los Globos”

Photos by Chad Alexander

August 22nd 2015, Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles CA: Continuing with their 40th anniversary US tour after shows in Riverside and Las Vegas, Motörhead played a hometown gig at a packed Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles with support acts Saxon and Crobot. Two things that happened here and not at the Riverside show were Saxon bringing out Phil Campbell for the set-ending ‘Denim And Leather’, and Motörhead being joined by Lemmy’s son Paul Inder for ‘Overkill’. The set lists remained the same, although all three bands changed the order of the songs ever so slightly, and Saxon added ‘This Town Rocks’ to make theirs an 11-song set. The Los Angeles faithful witnessed a depleted Motörhead, a show-stealing Saxon, and a highly impressive Crobot. Enjoy our photographer Chad Alexander’s photos below: Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Motörhead, Saxon & Crobot @ Shrine Expo Hall”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Chad Alexander

August 21st 2015, House Of Blues, San Diego CA: The 2015 edition of the annual Summer Slaughter touring festival began its trek in Denver CO in late July and three weeks later, made its way to California for four shows, the first of them taking place at the House Of Blues in San Diego last Friday August 21st. This year’s lineup features an intriguing blend of sub-genres encompassing extreme music, headlined by Arch Enemy with Born Of Osiris, Veil Of Maya, The Acacia Strain, Cattle Decapitation and Beyond Creation in support. In past years, there has been no such thing as a boring Summer Slaughter show, and it remained to be seen whether this edition would live up to the reputation. Continue reading “Summer Slaughter Tour Visits San Diego”

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Chad Alexander

August 20th 2015, Brick By Brick, San Diego CA: Currently on a US tour with Motörhead and Crobot, British metal veterans Saxon are also doing headline shows on off-dates, and are being joined by Los Angeles cult legends Armored Saint for most of these shows. Last Thursday August 20th 2015, Saxon and Armored Saint graced the stage at Brick By Brick in San Diego CA for a sold-out show, both bands turning back the clock several decades and treating attendees with age-defying performances to make for a concert to remember for a lifetime. Continue reading “Saxon & Armored Saint Play Sold-Out Show In San Diego”