{"id":13897,"date":"2016-12-05T19:29:52","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T03:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=13897"},"modified":"2016-12-05T19:30:45","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T03:30:45","slug":"sonic-avalanche-helmet-local-h-perform-at-the-roxy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2016\/12\/05\/sonic-avalanche-helmet-local-h-perform-at-the-roxy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic Avalanche: Helmet & Local H Perform At The Roxy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Robert DeAnda<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"001\"<\/a><\/p>\n

December 1st 2016, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA:\u00a0<\/strong>Longstanding\u00a0New York based group Helmet has been highly influential in the hard rock\/heavy metal realm through the nearly three decades of their existence, the ’90s in particular. Led by guitarist\/vocalist Page Hamilton, they are still going as strong as ever, constantly pushing the creative envelope. Their eighth full-length studio album ‘Dead To The World’ was released on October 28th 2016, the first in six years. Having recently toured to perform the ’94 ‘Betty’ album in its entirety, Helmet set out on the road this time to present new material as well as\u00a0selections representing their entire career.\u00a0Combining with sole support act Local H for what promised to deliver quite the treat for ’90s heavy rock fans, Helmet\u00a0brought their six-week North American headline tour to the Los Angeles area for a gig at the Roxy last Thursday December 1st.<\/p>\n

\"Local<\/a>
Local H<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Promptly at 8:15, Local H<\/a><\/strong> took the stage for a set that lasted an hour, which is unusual for an opening act, but when it’s just a two-band lineup, the bands fit together perfectly and share similar demographic, why not? As the Roxy filled in, Local H put on a compelling performance and engaged the audience, instigating mosh pits on quite a few occasions as well. Having been around since ’87 themselves, Local H are veterans in their own right, and their brand of grungy alt\/indie\/punk rock was well-orchestrated on this stage. Frontman Scott Lucas showed his class, not only on vocals but more so with his exploits on bass and guitar through his truly unique setup which allows him to play both using the same instrument. It really makes the two-piece Local H sound like a full band, and is undeniably impressive in itself. Besides his musicianship, Lucas also endeared the crowd by offering a little girl in the front row to sit on the side of the stage to protect her from the mosh pit. This kind of gesture early on in the set, even though it had nothing to do with the music, went a long way towards creating a longlasting impression on the audience, who loved this moment. Local H were loud, heavily distorted and highly energetic, and made it worthwhile for the attendee just as much as Helmet did.<\/p>\n

More Local H photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n