{"id":12798,"date":"2016-09-03T14:15:41","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T21:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=12798"},"modified":"2016-09-04T10:43:42","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T17:43:42","slug":"riffs-roulette-world-of-stoner-rock-unites-at-psycho-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2016\/09\/03\/riffs-roulette-world-of-stoner-rock-unites-at-psycho-las-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Riffs & Roulette: World Of Stoner Rock Unites At Psycho Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lisa Burke<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"psycho\"<\/a><\/p>\n

August 25-28 2016, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas NV: <\/strong>Metal festivals in America are few and far between and in comparison to large European festivals such as Wacken, Download, and Hellfest, to name a few, they hardly measure up in size, days, and quality of line-ups. Psycho Fest has proved to stand tall as the best we have in America and is primarily a stoner doom metal festival that has manifested itself in California the last three years. This year, however, from Thursday August 25th to Sunday August 28th, Psycho Fest made its way along with somewhere around 5,000 metalheads from all over the world to Las Vegas, where over 90 bands graced three stages all located in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. These three stages were namely The Joint which is the largest size but not too large to see the stage even from the comfort of the balcony seats, and next door to it the Vinyl stage is the smallest stage and most intimate experience, while the pool stage serves as the only outdoor stage where often times you’d find oddities such as metalheads in a pool tossing a beach ball to black metal.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The pool stage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Technically the festival was three days with an opening pool-only pre-party on Thursday featuring headliner Mudhoney. With all the gambling, drinking, smoking, and lack of regular sleeping that goes on in Vegas it’s hard enough to survive two days of 12-plus hours of metal, let alone four days of it, so most people showed up Friday, or later Thursday evening. Although watching Greenbeard at a pool at noon would have been pleasant, I arrived mid-afternoon for Electric Citizen who put on an electrifying show as always excelling in the female lead vocal department. The highlight on this first evening was the Mothership trio with their non-stop creative stoner riffs and killer beats driven home with purely wild Texan energy and stage presence. They also had the smarts to play shirtless because although getting towards the night hours, that desert heat was still scorching throughout the night. Mudhoney of course also stole the night, and although arguably an odd choice, they were the correct choice to close the show and also a favorite among the crowd. Problematically however, for some ridiculous reason Mac Sabbath was crunched in between the two bands with serious talent. As much as I really wouldn\u2019t have minded seeing a couple of them go up in flames from the heat like an overcooked burger only to put themselves out in the pool, I couldn’t be so lucky, and the only thought that kept me from drowning myself in the pool was the thought that Grimalice was still playing bass accurately despite his insanely large and hot costume, so three cheers to him. The rules on entering the pool stage seemed to change daily through the different security, from no gum, to no mints etc, although not bringing in any drinks was top priority so the attendees were left drinking water to avoid buying a $17 cocktail while out there. Basically, you scarfed down any booze before entering the pool and planned on staying dry till the final escape if you were smart and on a tight budget. The indoor stages were less strict and lower in price where if you bought a drink at one venue you could take it to the other one, although unlike the pool you couldn’t smoke in the indoor venues, but right outside in the casino you could purchase cheaper drinks while pretty much doing whatever the hell you want except murder people as is normal Vegas protocol.<\/p>\n

\"Mothership\"<\/a>
Mothership<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next three days of metal started at noon and ended as late as five in the morning in some instances. If you paced yourself and didn’t waste time with trifles such as a sit-down dinner or a nap, then you as I did would have managed to see an average of fifty bands out of the ninety-plus in attendance. I suppose less would have been more, however the options and the line up and schedule which changed slightly upon arrival was actually really well thought-out, and because of this, I only had a few conflicts of interest some of which could be rectified after the festival because they were playing in LA the week after, as was the case with Death Alley, who is a must-see for their sheer energy and talent. I saw no “five finger death punch myself in the face over how much I hate it” bands except Mac Sabbath but they obviously were either the joke band or the joke of the festival, so it still could have been worse. The other genius at work here was despite popular belief there was no monotony in any of these bands despite genre similarity. With the order of the bands and highlights of each day, there was no dissatisfaction, and everything from the slow drone funeral doom of Demon Lung to the wild stage spectacle show from Alice Cooper was entertainment at its finest. Some highlights from day one were Black Heart Procession with is odd flavor of classy rock mixed with psychedelia that even had a modern Sinatra appeal in vocals and song structure. Yob came on after that and blew minds with their exceptional stoner doom jams, and Gozu at Vinyl was a blast to rock out to, and for me Wovenhand beat out Elder for their great ethereal trippy stoner psychedelic rock and great stage presence. As it was the first real festival day, there were the most lines to get in the venue and everyone had their special indestructible fabric ribbon bracelet that was their ticket that they showered with daily because if you lost it that was the end of Psycho Fest, but even the most self destructive champions of the festival couldn’t shake them.<\/p>\n

\"Pentagram\"<\/a>
Pentagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the plan of exit and entry had been mapped out and put into effect, it was time for the third most exciting band of the day, Pentagram, with a reputation that precedes them, all started by the legendary Bobby Liebling who was sighted throughout the festival at all hours of the night perhaps acting out a scene or two from the movie Fear And Loathing. I am somewhat convinced that someone replaced his insides with cyborg parts sometime back in the seventies because it seems he still lives in that decade most days anyway. Regardless, he wore a\u00a0purple silk big sleeved seventies shirt and put on the best performance I’ve seen live from him while patrons in the pit went crazy. The rest of the band is just as exceptional as his voice is to this day, and it was a very memorable set for sure which ended with the magic trick of Bobby putting on a jacket over that big sleeved shirt with amazing grace and ease that blew my mind, as I myself couldn’t have pulled off that feat. Too bad unfortunately for the next band up which was Down because I was less than thrilled by the ego warm-up and escaped after a couple songs despite that I do enjoy Phil Anselmo and Pepper in other contexts, and maybe even in Down on a different day and situation. I am glad I did, however, because seeing Tribulation at the pool stage was my absolute favorite band from day one. They were a perfect European blackened melodic death metal hair party that gave it their all in stage presence and performance.<\/p>\n

\"Tribulation\"<\/a>
Tribulation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Shrine was after and actually held their own and refrained from any guitar smashing and amp throwing, as I once witnessed from a past show’s technical difficulties that almost resulted in me getting knocked in the head with a guitar neck that was hurled through the audience. Needless to say, attitude is as important as the performance and I was happy to see this energy used towards an entertaining set. Then it was time for Death, and no, not the death metal band, but the seventies punk trio from Detroit who rocked off everyone’s socks even if they weren’t wearing any. Afterwards, while some people were excited for Zombi which was up next pool side and happens to be a two-piece electro act with no vocals and interesting history, I bailed to The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown which won second place in the awesome department on day one. So, this was a 74-year old man who much like David Bowie is full of odd costume and mask surprises and just other stage oddities such as lighting random objects on fire, sometimes even including his own head. In addition to still possessing a great singing voice he also got with the times and wore a colorful LED suit for a bit of the performance. While Alice Cooper on the final night was as good as it was in spectacle, this was more unexpected and therefore rose above in charm. While most people concluded their day one after this, I went all out and stayed up to see The Rare Breed at two in the morning in Vinyl, and I’m so glad I did as it was an extremely enchanting time of young Sabbath-esque vocals and seriously creative stoner jams, and one great aspect of this festival is that I felt all bands were given appropriate set times where they could do all they wanted without feeling the rush.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Shrine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After day one of too many bands followed by too much fun, I went to do it all over again for day two. After a green tea and visit to my favorite slot machine ‘The Dragon Mistress’, I went back into Vinyl to catch Demon Lung whose doomy female vocalist sings out the gloom from under her cloak. Other noteworthy bands were Mondo Drag with their quality vocals and psychedelic progressive doom vibe, along with A Place To Bury Strangers with their post punk and noise rock with gothic undertones who sparked my interest for sure. The winner of day two for me happened to be Boris from Japan who absolutely blew minds and served up a great mosh pit with the female guitarist Wata who crowd surfed with her guitar at the end of the set while the crowd hovered close. The clear pink-rimmed drum kit with a small gong behind it was the perfect dichotomy to describe the band’s music. It is very avant-garde, and coming from Japan and being metal, you know it can’t be boring. It was by far the most unique, and the bass player and vocalist pulled out a double neck that had a guitar on one level and a bass on the other and he played them both. The gong was a great addition and fit in so well with the bizarre yet fantastic tunes, and really I’ve never seen anything comparable.<\/p>\n

Read more on Psycho Las Vegas on Page 2<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Boris\"<\/a>
Boris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

High On Fire had the unfortunate privilege of following that masterpiece and while Matt Pike always gives a solid shirtless performance with a side of plumber crack to boot, it was nothing new to see for me, so after a few songs I went to Vinyl for Lecherous Gaze and all its wonderful weirdness where the singer wraps his face in a white bandage and puts weird glasses on and sometimes adds a fake nose while singing the greatest creative psych, punk, stoner jams out there. It was a major highlight for sure, and then I went for my daily dose of pool madness and Bongrippper’s solid stoner jam session. All throughout the festival, Electric Wizard shirts could be seen and especially on this day as they were the headliners on this night and put on a really long and great set of quality stoner doom with a hint of old school black metal. This was preceded by Uncle Acid and Blue Oyster Cult who were actually hyped up so much that the reality didn’t even live up to it. Uncle Acid went on thirty or so minutes late and were the second band to warm up their egos before playing, which at a festival like this no one has time for or is impressed by. After that, of course, their set was fantastic as always and the mosh pit was full of large angry females who quickly learned how to simmer and appreciate. Then Blue Oyster Cult who is another flavor of rock entirely put on an interesting and fun show yet did seem a bit outdated while other older bands did not have that same vibe and seemed to modernize well. After barely surviving Electric Wizard due to sheer exhaustion, I opted out of metal for the rest of that evening so I could do it all again for the third and final day.<\/p>\n

\"Death\"<\/a>
Death<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sunday fun day in Las Vegas at The Hard Rock was as metal as metal can be except a funny note on the Hard Rock casino is they have gotten schizophrenic on their music as of late and will actually play modern pop and hip hop in between their old and newer rock and rarely do they play the heavier heavy metal, it seems. Even the staff doesn\u2019t like it, not to mention it makes no sense. What is the world coming to? Anyway, day three, the stench of metalheads and hazy fog from the cigarettes engulfed the Hard Rock like a witch’s spell as I made my way to Vinyl stage for INVDRS who brought the doomy yet brutally fast goodness despite their allergy to vowels. Then I hit up Truth And Janey at The Joint for some dirty Jimi Hendrix-like\u00a0classic rock n’ roll, and later escaped back to Vinyl for a great previously undiscovered band Tombstones whose dual vocal styles of scream from one member and clean from another made an interesting and fun enhancement to their brand of Norwegian doom. This trio is rumored to have made their first American west coast appearance and I hope it won’t be their last as they are definitely someone to check for in the future.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Rare Breed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because this final day contained massive\u00a0acts such as Candlemass and Alice Cooper, some people arrived just for this day while others left the festival, so numbers were always fluctuating, but this day was most difficult for me to catch all I wanted because I couldn’t leave Candlemass to see Witch Mountain,\u00a0as\u00a0Candlemass was definitely the best act of the night and while I may have missed the Messiah era of vocals, I must say I was absolutely mesmerized by Mats Leven’s vocals and stage presence. They missed a fan favorite song or two but what they played was sheer brilliance and every true fan was in awe.\u00a0Some other highlights of day three I saw were Fu Manchu, Fireball Ministry, Mars Red Sky, Lo Pan, and Danava who put on an extra special show due to the singer’s intoxication level where he spent much more of the set than usual on some angry whiskey rant and then said he didn’t like singing anyway so I’m pretty sure he made up a lyric or two, but hot damn he can still wail on a guitar to perfection, drunk or not. They are so pro in the intricate guitar jamming that really while they should\u00a0have spent more time playing the show rather than talking up a storm it was still a worthy set, and I guess Vegas got the best of them for a minute but they managed to pull through.<\/p>\n

\"Fireball<\/a>
Fireball Ministry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two really exceptional performances that came in second and third favorite of the day to Candlemass were Midnight and Mantar. Mantar takes third place as a German duo of black metal and doom and punk, which is just very unique and kept my interest throughout. For two sweaty short-haired German dudes who face each other, one on drums and the other on guitar and vocals, they really give a stellar show and should be given the credit they deserve. Appropriately on the pool stage was blackened thrash and punk band from Ohio, Midnight who took the stage around nine and absolutely stole the night with their brand of blackened everything. They covered their faces in black masks and hoods and at the end the singer lit his guitar on fire, jumped into the pit, and then headed to the pool where he dove in to put out the guitar as the crowd hovered, the metalheads in swimsuits came up to give him a hug, and it was the perfect end to their set. I will absolutely make my best effort to see them again in all future shows and I recommend you do the same as it was out-of-control greatness. The craziness at the pool did not end there but I was on other missions of catching Sleep as I’ve never seen this Matt Pike fronted rendition before live, and once again with his strange affliction to shirts on stage he put forth a solid and what I thought a slightly better performance with the Sleep line up. I enjoyed the more subdued stoner doom and the giant pot leaf images on the side screens, and just zoned out in preparation for Alice Cooper which as I’ve mentioned twice was a great spectacle and a great show and Nita Strauss on guitar is always a blast of talent and energy, and the tributes to the fallen greats such as Lemmy, and Bowie were noble yet not unexpected. I could have done without them honestly at this festival as they were almost out of place here and I really didn’t have the energy to keep up with them at this stage of the game, but for those who arrived for only that day I’m sure it was much more fulfilling.<\/p>\n

\"Lecherous<\/a>
Lecherous Gaze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course after that, no one cares to see the bands that played past\u00a0two in the morning and while the Vinyl stage had been running behind by forty-five minutes all day, you could still hear the music outside the venue and Disenchanter was the last band I witnessed because I knew how good they were and will always make an effort to see them if possible. Picture a female vocalist and guitarist who can wail out guitar solos almost as good as Jimi Hendrix and you have the essence of Disenchanter. The good news is there were a decent amount of other die-hard fans in that room as well, so the festival ended on a good strong note as the remaining troopers headed to the circle bar to mingle and watch cheesy rock videos while soaking in the last comforts of an indoor metal festival in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Although Psycho Fest is planning to return to California next year, I for one am enamored by the fact that I barely left the A\/C or the Hard Rock for the whole festival and have never been in such luxurious circumstances in a festival setting, and would gladly take that any day over outdoor desert heat and dust. That said, I’m still already ready for next year’s line up of hopefully lesser bands, since I’ve basically slept for two days to recover from the madness that was Psycho Fest Las Vegas. The direction this festival has taken is what we should all be striving for as a heavy metal community, and the whole modern era stoner doom movement is by far a blessing to keeping rock n’ roll and metal alive, so keep on supporting it.<\/p>\n

If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to our newsletter, and support Metal Assault and buy a shirt<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lisa Burke August 25-28 2016, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas NV: Metal festivals in America are few and far between and in comparison to large European festivals such as Wacken, Download, and Hellfest, to name a few, they hardly measure up in size, days, and quality of line-ups. Psycho Fest has proved … <\/p>\n

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