3 Inches of Blood, Legal Tender, and The Hookers at The Whiskey on 2/11

Mad props to everyone who came out last Tuesday and supported one of my very favorite bands ever - 3 Inches of Blood. Those burly Canadians made my night! It was an incredible evening full of incredible music!

I arrived right before Legal Tender started their set. This band gets better and better every time I see them - which is quite often. I think it's really rad that these guys play as many shows as they do. Everyone in the band was working hard to sell it and it really paid off because their performance was full of great energy and super entertaining. I can't wait til these guys get an album out!

                          Legal Tender got the mosh pit going early in the night.

Boy, was I surprised when The Hookers took the stage. Perhaps their name is referencing all of the catchy hooks their songs had, rather than ladies of ill repute. It was a band of rugged roadhouse dudes who looked nothing like hookers. The music was an extremely fast, extremely loud, in your face blend of metal, punk and hard rock. I'll definitely see these guys the next time they come to LA.

I'm sure it seems that I say this about every band I see but 3 Inches of Blood is really one of my favorite bands, up there with Megadeth and Iron Maiden. I'm so happy to see them finally headlining their own tour! I only wish more people had shown up. It's so disappointing to post about how awesome a show was on facebook only to have several people comment, "Oh,  wish I could have made it. I love that band." Get it together, people! Well anyway, this was the best show I've seen them play in a few years. It was really incredible! Cam Pipes sounded so intense and I could actually hear each instrument perfectly. They genuinely sounded better live than on the recordings and that rarely happens (and I love all of their albums). Those guys totally owned that shit!! I cannot WAIT for them to come back to LA as headliners again.  I took lots of photos at the very front. It was worth getting squished against that horrible shelf that the Whiskey has in front of the stage. We even got a surprise special guest for Deadly Sinners! James Luna of Holy Grail jumped on stage and did some guest vocals.

                           I stayed glued to the spot in front of Shane Clark all night.

    Justin Hagberg and Cam Pipes were rocking out together in the middle of the stage.

                                            Byron Stroud is the beast on bass.

I'll have to try harder to get a picture of drummer Ash Pearson next time. The combination of his excellent hiding skills and my lack of photography skills resulted in zero photos of him.  He's one of the best drummers I've ever seen, though, and he was on fire last Tuesday! Can't wait for the next 3IOB tour!

Check them out on facebook where they're streaming some free music!

The next event on my concert calendar is Holy Grail at The Slide Bar in Fullerton tonight. There are lots of great shows this week, including Arsis on 12/20 at The Whiskey, High on Fire and Corrosion of Conformity on 12/20 at The Mayan, Goatwhore on the 21st at The Observatory, and Hirax, Agent Steel and Bonded by Blood on 12/22 at The Key Club. Better check moshking to make sure you're not missing anything!

Metal Blade Records 30th Anniversary with Gypsyhawk, Sacred Reich and Armored Saint

*sniff, sniff*  Metal Blade Records celebrated 30 years in the music business at The House of Blues Friday, December 1st, with a killer line up and a sold out house! What an honor to be in attendance at such a historic celebration! Lots of industry people and metal celebrities were in attendance. The vibe was rockin' yet sentimental.

Gypsyhawk kicked off the celebration for the event with their usual no holds barred rock n' roll style! This hard rock foursome was signed to Metal Blade in 2011 and showcases the promising future of the label and the fact that Metal Blade has "still got it" when it comes to signing great bands. It's a breath of fresh air to see a band like Gypsyhawk re-energizing the classic hard rock sound amidst a market that's so saturated with metalcore and screamo bands. They had a stellar set list which included my favorite song of theirs, "Eyes of Ibad"! I love that song! The crowd warmed up to them pretty quickly, especially when they played Hedgeking and Commander of the High Forest.

                                Is that Animal on drums? Where did Ian go?

Sacred Reich followed them with a very short but sweet set. Brian Slagel explained why the set was so short at the end of the night but I was talking and I missed the explanation. Oops! They're playing again soon, though. 

Armored Saint was the headlining act and they played a super thrashy, high energy show! They even had special musical guests throughout their set, including Johan Hegg from Amon Amarth to sing "Hit the Lights"! Oh man, it was so amazing! For the last song, Eric Harris of Gypsyhawk got to come out and sing a Thin Lizzy song with Dug Pinnick from Redemption. It was a badass ending to a badass evening!

                                          That big blonde blur is Johan Hegg.

                    Eric Harris is on the far right. Too bad most of my photos are blurry.

Three cheers for Metal Blade Records and their continuing efforts to sign great bands, regardless of the difficult and changing music industry. May they have many more years of success!

Check out the Metal Blade Records website to see what other awesome bands they've signed.

I'm seeing Gypsyhawk again tonight at The El Rey with The Sword and the next event on my concert calendar is Holy Grail at The Slide Bar in Fullerton on Monday the 17th.

Eluveitie and Wintersun at The House of Blues on 11/29

The House of Blues was SOLD OUT for Eluveitie and Wintersun last Thursday. I feel sorry for anyone who missed out on this ragin' folk metal party! I waited in line for about 25 minutes and completely missed the first band, Varg (not to be confused with Varg of Burzum). Hope I get a chance to check them out the next time they visit the states.

Apparently Wintersun had never played a U.S. show before so they had a huuuuge turn-out of eager fans. It seems like European folk-inspired metal is the most popular kind of metal in Los Angeles since every time a band from Finland plays, the show sells out. Good for them! It's great to see people support touring bands. I was totally new to Wintersun and they blew me away with their over-the-top sound and amazing performance. Lots of sweeping arpeggios, double bass, and a mix of clean and death growl vocals. If you're into Moonsorrow or Children of Bodom you'll probably also be a Wintersun fan. They played a pretty long set, too, which was very cool since there were as many people there to see them as there were for Eluveitie.

                                 Wintersun! So glad I remembered my camera.

Swiss band Eluveitie finished off the night with a truly epic folk metal set. If you're not familiar with this style of metal, Eluveitie is a great place to start exploring this myth-invoking genre. Since there are eight members in the band there are a lot of different instruments competing for your attention but they manage to pull it off really well, without it sounding like an orchestra or a bunch of noise. Flute and fiddle actually carry most of the melody in their songs but the band is definitely still metal, with the vocals split between a standard male death growl and clean female vocals. The band put on a tremendously high energy show and performed a lot of their new material, which happens to be totally bitchin. Can't wait for them to visit LA again!

 Frontman Chrigal Glazmann was leading the musical charge with some kind of crazy flute.

Be sure to check out Wintersun and Eluveitie on Facebook, Spotify, Pandora, or whatever it is that you use. And if you really like them both, you might also want to check out some other folk metal bands that are playing on the next Paganfest tour.

The next event on my concert calendar is 3 Inches of Blood on December 11th at The Whiskey (they're also playing a free show on the 9th in Fullerton). I'll be missing Megadeth in Pomona on the 7th because of an unavoidable work conflict. Noooooo!! 

Tis the Season to Support Your Favorite Musicians by Purchasing Their Merch!

Alright, I'm busted. This is not a concert recap - it's a metal/hard rock shopping guide. This list is, however, based off of my concert experiences over the last year. If you're planning on buying Christmas gifts, support your favorite musicians in the process. They probably need to buy presents, too. These are my top 10 gift suggestions for hard rock or metal fans.

1. Gypsyhawk - Revelry and Resilience
This is a solid rock album, suitable for heavy metalers and non-heavy metalers alike. I vote it best album of 2012.

2. Gypsyhawk - Patience and Perseverance
Yes, Gypsyhawk gets to be on the list twice. This is their first album. Same band, different feel. I LOVE this album. You could probably give this to anyone and they'd thank you for changing their lives for the better.

3. Scorpion Child - Self Titled
This is a hard rock album with just a touch of psychedelia. Suitable for fans of Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Rainbow. Also, it's got AMAZING production quality. This album is a real gem.

4. Dreaming Dead - Midnightmares
This technical death metal album will render your puny human existence to a pile of cold ash. Buy it for someone you love - or hate.

5. Wanna buy something different than CD's or music downloads? Give the gift of Enslaved concert tickets for their February 8th show at The Troubador.

6. Havok - Time is Up
This thrash metal album will knock the wind out you! Seriously, it's so awesomely violent you might need to include a first aid kit with it!

7. Isolation in Infamy - Self Titled EP

Another brutal technical death metal album that will melt your face and ears off. Give it to your best friend or your grandma. Not sure if it's available on itunes so hit up the band on facebook or at their next show.


8.  Kreator - Phantom Antichist 
Wow, you mean a thrash metal band that's been around since the 80's recently put out a GOOD album?? Yes, I do. Not all bands act like Metallica. Some continue to make good music. Go buy this album.

9.  Accept - Stalingrad
The perfect gift for any Accept fans who've been hiding under a rock for the last year! It's a heavy album with a classic 80's Accept feel - even though it came out in 2012. Also suitable for AC/DC, Judas Priest, and German metal fans.


10. Vegan Black Metal Chef DVD 
You get 10 episodes of instructional cooking videos with original black metal soundtracks. Why the hell not? (Gauntlets not included.)

Ascendancy, Legal Tender, Desecrate at The Whiskey on 11/17

Local metal bands took over The Whiskey last Friday, November 17th, for Desecrate's "At The Edge of Sanity" album release show. It's always great to see a bunch of local bands pack a venue with their fans. I think I even saw some parents in the audience!

Ascendancy started playing right as I walked through the doors. They had kind of a groove-thrash thing going on, in contrast to the typical thrash sound that has been revamped by a lot of bands lately. (When I describe something as groove metal, I'm saying it has a similar vibe to Carcass, not rap-rock or groovy 60's music.) The killer vocals were actually what stood out as best to me and that's not a compliment I give out very often. I grabbed a demo from Gus, their vocalist, after the set and told him I'll definitely be attending another Ascendancy show.

The next band I was there to see was Legal Tender. I saw them play recently at the Skeletonwitch/Havok show and this show was even better than the last one! These guys are great entertainers and I think they're gonna be the next big thing in the LA metal scene. Fingers crossed for them! I really liked their song "Street Walker". 

Desecrate was the last band to play and they took the stage with a tremendous amount of energy and stage presence.  For their last song they invited everyone on stage to celebrate with them. How rad is that!? I can never seem to remember my camera when I go out but I did manage to get a grainy shot on my phone. 

After their set was over, we all met up at the record store across the street for the Desecrate album release party. I got a chance to chat a bit with Vinny of Legal Tender and Gus of Ascendancy. They were both very cool guys.

Be sure to check everyone out on facebook:

Ascendancy
Legal Tender
Desecrate

The next events on my concert calendar are Eluveitie on 11/29 at The House of Blues, followed by Gypsyhawk and The Sword on 11/30 at The House of Blues.

Enslaved at The Roxy - Scion Metal Matinee on 11/10

Enslaved played a special FREE show last Saturday at The Roxy courtesy of Scion A/V Metal's Label Showcase. If you are not on the Scion A/V email list or at least following them on facebook you need to do so ASAP! Scion works with various record labels to host a free matinee show every month and the bands they choose are good at least 50 percent of the time (I've seen Holy Grail and Skeletonwitch on two different metal matinee occasions). That's a pretty good ratio if you ask me. The catch is that you have to RSVP to go to the shows.

So as I was saying, Enslaved played last Saturday. These guys flew all the way out here to play one show in LA, so I feel really fortunate that I was able to attend.  The crowd was pretty good although I was a bit disappointed that the venue didn't hit max capacity since it was a FREE show. I think some people were confused and didn't realize that the show was in the afternoon at 4:00 pm. Pay attention, people! 

If you aren't familiar with them, Enslaved is an awesome metal band from Norway. It's hard to pin them down to a particular genre although Enslaved is currently associated with viking metal. They certainly had roots in the Norwegian black metal movement but their music has become more progressive and atmospheric over the span of their 20 year career. I enjoy it, although there are a few prog moments that make my head spin. Mostly, it reminds me of being lost in a Norwegian blizzard after slaying all of your enemies in a surprise ambush!  If you're into that sort of thing, Enslaved is the band for you! They played some songs off of their newest album, (which I do not currently own but it is on my Christmas wish list) as well as plenty of old stuff. Fans always love the old stuff! Of course they finished with Isa and a cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. I don't place Led Zeppelin on a masturbatory pedestal like lots of other music fans but I really dug this cover. It was kind of evil and foreboding! If you missed them this time, check them out when they come back to LA on an official tour early next year.

Be sure to check out Enslaved on Facebook if you have not done so already. (I always plug everyone on Facebook because it's the easiest thing to do.)

The next events on my concert calendar are Legal Tender, Ascendancy, and Desecrate tonight at The Whiskey, and Eluveitie at The House of Blues on 11/29.

Scattered Hamlet at The Viper Room on 11/07

My buddies in Scattered Hamlet played a truly rockin' show at The Viper Room last Wednesday! These guys are a sweaty, southern hard rock band, and their music makes for good dancing or head-banging - whichever you prefer. I like to call it blue collar rock 'n roll and I think they're giving their predecessors of southern rock a run for their money! This was the first show Scattered Hamlet has played with their new guitar player Branden. He seems like a very cool dude and he wasted no time carving out his own sound alongside veteran guitarist Redd.

As anticipated, it was a great show! Lots of people turned up and the crowd was rockin' out along with the band. Scattered Hamlet played a bitchin' new song for us along with my favorite songs Skeleton Dixie and Shotgun Symphony. Apparently they're just starting to record an album so I'll be waiting patiently for it to hit the stores.

For the first time ever, I remembered my camera.

                                                       Redd knows how to shred.

                                         Jake was commanding the hell out of that drum set.

I accidentally clocked singer Adam Joad in the face after the show while swinging my arms wildly for some forgotten (and stupid?) reason but he was totally cool about it. Sorry!

Check these guys out on facebook: Scattered Hamlet

The next even on my concert calendar is Desecrate, Ascendancy, Legal Tender and a crap load of other bands at The Whiskey on 11/16. Municipal Waste is actually playing tomorrow night at The House of Blues but I won't be able to make it because I have Kendo practice and I've already missed too many practices. Daaaaamn.

Skeletonwitch and Havok at The Whiskey on 10/30

Much head banging was had last Tuesday at The Whiskey for the Skeletonwitch and Havok show! Since it was the night before Halloween there was a smattering of costumes and skull face-paint. Major props to the giant banana circling in the pit!

The first band I caught was a local band named Legal Tender. Seemed like kind of an odd name for a thrash metal band but maybe there's a story behind that. Anyway, they were pretty choice. The bassist and the guitar player shared an incredible dynamic and played really well off of each other. I'll definitely be catching another Legal Tender show!

The big surprise of the night for me was seeing Havok. I've heard a little bit of their music before and I seem to recall thinking it was pretty rad but not ever following up with a second listen. Needless to say, I was not prepared for the face crushing, adrenaline surging show that they brought to The Whiskey. As soon as these guys hit the stage, the crowd erupted into a voracious, frenzied circle pit! Both guitarists stormed up a whirlwind of rapid rhythms, furious melodies and immaculate solos, although it was the drummer who really drove the train with his pounding, relentless drum fills and double bass. This band was seriously tight. I will definitely be picking up a CD soon, and a "No Karate in the Pit" T-shirt.

Few bands could have followed a set like that without falling short but Skeletonwitch didn't miss a beat. They tore right into the audience with a song off of their newest album and kept hammering away with all of their old fan favorites like Beyond the Permafrost, Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery, Submit to the Suffering, and Upon Wings of Black. The nightmarish song lyrics combined with Chase Garnette's despair inducing scream really make Skeletonwitch seem like a band that teleported here straight from the bowels of hell. There's a visceral quality to their music. It has the heaviness and complexity of death metal with the speed and dexterity of thrash. 

My throat was mostly hoarse by the end of the night from screaming along to Skeletonwitch. It was the perfect end to a crazy run of six concerts in seven days. Check out Legal Tender, Havok and Skeletonwitch on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/skeletonwitchmetal

https://www.facebook.com/HavokOfficial

https://www.facebook.com/legaltenderband

The next event on my concert calendar is (hopefully) Scattered Hamlet on Wednesday, November 7^th, at The Viper Room. I'll also be seeing Enslaved on Saturday, November 10^th at The Roxy.

Inquisition, Melechesh, and others at The Key Club on 10/28 - The Hater Recap

The past seven days have been nothing but non-stop concerts for me and there is more on the horizon! I visited The Key Club Sunday night to see Septic Flesh and various other acts I anticipated as being boring and uninteresting (the lineup was mostly black metal - not my thing). I hate to be a negative Nancy but this night had more downs than ups. 

The Key Club is fast becoming my least favorite venue. They opened the doors an hour and a half late, the bar was cash only, they were out of sweet potato fries and Jack Daniels, and security moved the line so slowly I thought I might lose my shit and kill someone. Seriously, the last thing I want to do is discourage people from going out to see metal shows but The Key Club SUCKS so prepare accordingly. Oh, and one of my buddies who played there recently said they treated his band like shit backstage. Well, enough ranting about that.

The opening act was surprisingly really good! I don't like much black metal but Inquisition pulled me in with a stunning performance, especially considering that there were only two guys in the band. Front man Dagon's guitar and vocal styles were similar to Abbath's (of Immortal). He made a thunderously impressive amount of noise for one person and got most of the cranky, defeated crowd to forget the one and a half hour line saga they had just endured. He also had the epic power stance! The drummer also had serious chops and laid down some wickedly fast double bass. Major props to these dudes.

I also really enjoyed Melechesh, a Mesopotamian metal band that played after Ex Deo. These guys were a crunchy, energetic blend of thrash and black metal with a middle eastern sound. They had a local guy named Caleb filling in on rhythm guitars but I think everyone else was from overseas. It was a multicultural kind of night.

The rest of the night was sadly a bit of a let down. There was entirely too much backing track being relied upon by the other bands and not nearly enough soloing or creative guitar playing. You can't win 'em all. But really, most of the concerts I attend are consistently awesome.

Party Weekend Recap! Delta Rose, Future Villains, The Glory Stompers

My quest for hard rock continued over the weekend as I revisited one of my regular haunts and sought out new adventures in the Valley. Last weekend was so non-stop I had to cram two concerts into a single blog post. More cramming is soon to follow.

The adventure started on Friday night at The Viper Room Halloween party with Delta Rose and the Future Villains. I heard the other bands scheduled for that night were really awesome but I missed them because I had another party to hit up before the night was over. Delta Rose is a blues/hard rock band from Rosemead and they know how to rock!  Guitar slinger Forrest is obviously versed in metal phrasing because he was laying down a lot of speedy, chugging rhythms and grinding, metal solos as well as sleazy blues licks. I dug it. The whole band was dressed like the droogs from A Clockwork Orange (it was a costume event). Very cool!

Next up was Future Villains. I've seen these guys plenty of times on the Sunset Strip. They're a hard rock band but they also have a party rock vibe - in a good way. Vocalist Dusty has a killer screech! At times it sounds like he's shredding his vocal chords much like lead guitarist Clay is shredding on his Gibson. These guys tore it up on stage and got the crowd really worked up with two of their best songs - Hell Angel and Down the Drain. They also did a pretty sweet cover of Cowboys from Hell. 

Saturday night I had the pleasure of seeing The Glory Stompers play at a house party in the Valley. I don't make it out to house parties much but there was no way I could pass up a Glory Stompers show. They played a short but sweet set in the garage of former band mate Trevor Howard's house and blew everyone's minds as usual. These guys are on the fast track to becoming local legends and I strongly advise you to check out their live show if you have not done so already (see previous blog post about The Glory Stompers)! They were followed briefly by a Misfits cover band before the cops came and rained on the party, making us dial down the noise. Booooo! It was only 11:00!

Check out all the bands on facebook, like their pages, improve your life.

www.facebook.com/DeltaRose

www.facebook.com/futurevillains

www.facebook.com/theglorystompers

The next event on my concert calendar is Skeletonwitch tonight at The Whiskey.

The Darkness at Club Nokia on 10/24

Last Wednesday, I took off my heavy metal blinders and ventured to Club Nokia to see The Darkness perform. I really like their music, especially Justin Hawkin's screeching vocals, but I wasn't sure what to expect from a live show. Fortunately, the show was hellaciously awesome and blew away all of my expectations!

Maybe you don't like The Darkness because you think they don't take themselves seriously enough as musicians, but my response to that would be that you take yourself too seriously. Like a lot of glam bands and hair metal, The Darkness' musicianship gets over looked because of the band's silly, over the top glam style and the fact that they're not really "heavy". But that doesn't mean that these guys don't know how to shred! Everything I saw Wednesday night demonstrated that they can and do play guitar (and bass and drums) very well. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say that the Hawkins brothers' guitar style is little reminiscent of AC/DC's Angus Young. Maybe it's not full of sweep picking but it's original, competent, and respectable. And when Justin Hawkins plays a solo, it's still an impressive guitar solo.

Even if you're a super serious metalhead, you have to admit that it would be nice to see mainstream rock go more in this direction than the horrendous path it's taken towards DJ point 'n click music that's composed on a Mac or PC. I hope that more bands like The Darkness, Gypsyhawk, and Scorpion Child can start to gain momentum in the popular and alternative music realms because a hard rock and glam revival is just what this world needs. It's more palatable to the generic masses than thrash metal and it's genuinely good music. Who knows? Maybe The Darkness fans of today will become the Accept and 3 Inches of Blood fans of tomorrow?

Dreaming Dead, Isolation in Infamy at The Stardust Club

I was chased by zombies for about three miles last Saturday but it wasn't enough to stop me from going out to see a metal show later that night. It was a close call which show I went to, though. I had already committed to seeing Dreaming Dead play and then my buddies from Gypsyhawk surprised me with a last minute show in Pasadena that was taking place at the exact same time as the Dreaming Dead show. Damn. I ended up sticking to the Dreaming Dead show with promises that I would see the next two upcoming Gypsyhawk shows. I still felt a little cheated at the end of the weekend.
Regardless of that, the show at The Stardust Club was totally killer! A band I had never seen before, Isolation in Infamy, played right before Dreaming Dead, and they put on a great show. It was technical -extremely technical- death metal, and a bit progressive. Isn't most technical death metal also progressive death metal? Well maybe not, but I think that's the only kind of death metal I listen to and enjoy. This band showed a lot of scorn for the luke warm audience response, which I suppose was understandable. They really killed it on stage but most of the crowd was sitting down, half-asleep. I tried to make up for everyone else's lack of spirit by screaming and clapping loudly. I still got scorned. That's death metal for you. Of course, I bought a CD later and talked to the band in between sets and they were actually really nice guys!
Next up was Dreaming Dead. I'm a big fan of front woman Liz Schall's shredding and screaming skills and I think anyone who likes death metal even a little bit will LOVE Dreaming Dead. Everyone in this band has chops. Their music reminds me of some sort of primordial horror rising from the swamps to devour humanity in the middle of the night. Really, it's amazing! The sound was a little weak for the first part of the set but Liz turned up halfway through and all was well. I took off pretty soon after Dreaming Dead finished their set since I was utterly exhausted from the zombie race, but I did make a quick stop at El Taco next door for some amazing Mexican food. Apparently, it was the heavy metal taco shop that night.

The next events on my concert calendar are The Darkness tonight at Club Nokia, then Future Villains at The Viper Room on Friday, October 26th...but I also heard that Gypsyhawk might be playing that same night at an undisclosed location in Rosemead! Too much good shit goin' on!

Scorpion Child, Gypsyhawk at The Viper Room on 10/5

Holy crap, what an awesome night! 70's hard rock commandeered  the Viper Room last Friday with awesome performances by Scorpion Child and Gypsyhawk. It was a rock 'n roll double whammy!

Seeing Scorpion Child play was one of those concert moments when you say to yourself "I can't believe I'm really here now and my life is so hellaciously rad!" When they took the stage, I felt like I had been pulled through a time portal to the early 1970's - except that I was loving it instead of hating it! 
I like some classic rock but I am definitely 100% hesher and 0% flowerchild. Somehow, Scorpion Child has taken classic 70's rock and completely reinvigorated it without really changing the essence of it.  I think it's partly due to the amazing, melodic bass lines that drive most of the songs and the overall incredible, dynamic song composition.  Everyone is pulling their own weight in this band. Sure, there is a Led Zeppelin influence but nothing I heard sounded derivative or unoriginal (did you get that joke?). In fact, I'll go so far as to say I like Scorpion Child better than Zeppelin because they don't remind me of dirty free-love hippies, even though they did have a dude doing psychedelic visuals on an overhead projector, but you know what? He was rad, too.  

The only band that could follow a set like that is Gypsyhawk, and fortunately, that's who played next. These guys also have a 70's rock feel but their style is a little more metal, with muscular guitar riffs and shredding solos. Their set was totally killer and full of songs off of their new album, Revelry and Resilience, which I highly recommend you buy. These guys balanced out their 70's rock vibe with some 80's cock-rock, synchronized, guitar moves and got the crowd really going! People were dancing, head-banging and rockin' out for the entire set! They finished their set with Commander of the High Forest, an awesome song off of their first album, and then we all migrated over to The Rainbow to keep the party going. What a great night! 

Be sure to check out both bands on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Gypsyhawkusa

https://www.facebook.com/scorpionchild

The next event on my concert calendar is Dreaming Dead on October 20th at The Stardust Club.

Accept, Kreator at The Avalon on 9/26

German metal invaded Hollywood and blew the top off of The Avalon last Wednesday!

I had never seen Accept before and I'm not very familiar with the material they've put out in the post-Udo years so I wasn't sure what to expect. Oh man, it was so awesome! These guys had such camaraderie on stage - you could tell they really love performing and they've been doing it for a long time. The crowd was stoked and gave back tons of good energy to the band. I was thrilled when they played Losers and Winners and Fast as a Shark, and I really enjoyed the songs they played off of their new album, Stalingrad. I was standing right behind the sound booth so I could hear them really well. The sound was killer - that's a concert experience I rarely have. After their set the band was walking around and talking to fans, even hanging out at the merch booth for a bit. What an awesome bunch of dudes!

The night got even better when Kreator took to the stage and began to lay waste to everyone's ear drums with some blood thirsty, relentless thrash metal! Same as the Accept set, I really enjoyed the songs they played off of their newest album, Phantom Anti-Christ, and I totally rocked out to Pleasure to Kill and Raise the Flag of Hate.  The only thing I did not enjoy was the lack-luster crowd enthusiasm. Seriously, these guys came all the way from Germany, played an awesome show, and then no one was able to muster more than a golf-clap? Lame. Anyway, if you've never heard Kreator before, you should check them out. You'll definitely like them if you're a Slayer fan. They have a similar angry guitar tone and they're super fast shredders. A lot of their brutal sound also comes from their amazing drummer, Jurgen "Ventor" Reil, who knows exactly how to compose and execute a pounding thrash metal drum fill.

https://www.facebook.com/KreatorOfficial?fref=ts

The next event on my concert calendar is Gypsyhawk at The Viper Room on Oct. 5th.

TYR at The Whiskey, with Moonsorrow, Korpiklaani on 9/12

After almost three years of being a huge fan, I finally got to see TYR live at The Whiskey! As soon as Metsatoll completed their set, I squirmed up to the very front of the stage to maximize my viking metal experience. And what an experience it was! Sure, there are plenty of other folk metal and viking metal bands out there, most of which I've seen, but no other band comes close to sounding like TYR. Ah, the bright clear guitar tone, the Faroese chanting, the ancient rhythms of old Norse songs... all of these attributes and the feelings they impart are unique to TYR. Their songs conjure up images of viking long ships navigating the foamy oceans centuries long past during the great Norse expansion.... sigh. As expected, their live show was nothing short of breath-taking and it exceeded every expectation I had. Now, all of my metal dreams have come true!

Korpiklaani and Moonsorrow also played great sets and I'd say all around it was a stellar show. Major props to whoever managed to put together such an amazing line up! Sometimes a concert is just a concert, but sometimes a concert is a mind-blowing, time traveling journey into an age of epic sagas and glorious, heathen adventures! 


Check TYR out on facebook https://www.facebook.com/tyrband

The next event on my concert calendar is Accept and Kreator at The Avalon on Wednesday, September 26th. 

The Glory Stompers CD Release Party at The House of Blues

I was at the House of Blues twice last week! What a great week for local music. Steel Panther on Monday, and The Glory Stompers on Friday for their long awaited CD release party! 

The Glory Stompers are a high energy five piece that smoothly blend a variety of different influences to summon forth a powerful hard rock-metal alchemy of sorts. They possess a genuinely unique sound - something that is rarely encountered these days, and which easily sets them apart from other hard rock/NWOAHM bands. 
I've watched these dudes play a ton of shows but this was the first time I've seen them pack the House of Blues! I was so stoked for them! And it somewhat restored my faith in the people of LA to see such an outpouring of support for a local band. The Glory Stompers have built a solid track record of delivering exceptional live shows with their over the top stage presence and tremendous, synergistic energy and this show was no exception. It's difficult to describe unless you've seen them, but when these guys take the stage I would maintain that it definitely feels more like a "concert" than like seeing some friends play in a bar (not that I don't enjoying seeing my friends play in bars every chance I get). There is no lack of entertainment or shredding! To complete a perfect evening, singer Joe Manente performed his signature move during the last song of the set by stapling pictures of the presidential candidates to his forehead and chest (while sober). I'm sure you can find some bloody footage on youtube. Seriously, check these guys out the next time they play a show!

The next event on my concert calendar is TYR at The Whiskey on Wednesday, September 12th.

Steel Panther at The House of Blues Every Monday

Here's a possible scenario for you: 

Maybe you love going to metal concerts but you hate comedy clubs. And maybe you have a friend who's one of those "comedy club people" who would rather go listen to people tell jokes than see a totally bitchin' metal concert (I know, it sounds unbelievable but it happens). Well, I have the perfection solution for your hang-out hang-ups:  if you and your friend both go see Steel Panther you will both somehow miraculously agree that you witnessed a killer show full of heavy metal shredding and raunchy jokes! 

I saw these guys perform on Monday night at the House of Blues and (just like the last four times I've seen them) they definitely blew away the expectations of everyone in attendance. All jokes aside, these guys rule! Steel Panther is singly-handedly keeping glam metal alive and well on the Sunset Strip by fully embracing and owning the comedy of the hairspray-spandex era. Songs titles like "Just Like Tiger Woods" and "Asian Hooker" consistently keep every audience shocked and laughing while guitar player Satchel's undeniably impressive guitar skills keep any skeptical metalheads fully engaged and impressed by the music. This is not a show for the pious, though. The humor is definitely R rated and so are the occasional displays of nudity by the random drunk women who crawl onto the stage. Whatever, I just go for the music.

The next event on my concert calendar is The Glory Stompers on Friday, September 7th, at The House of Blues.

Black Cobra, Saviours at Los Globos

Los Globos brought the city of LA another formidable metal show last night with a solid lineup of sludge/doom and stoner metal. Hopefully, the venue will stick with this trend and continue to book metal shows in the future.  Drink prices are steep, but it's an otherwise great place to see live music. The lineup consisted of Secrets of the Sky, Behold! The Monolith, Black Cobra, and Saviours.  I'm not really into sludge or doom metal so I was mostly there to see the last two bands, and I definitely liked what I saw and heard. Black Cobra made a lot noise for a two piece, but in a good way, and I will certainly be checking them out the next time they make the trek down to LA from their hometown of SF.
Saviours tore it up as usual, delivering heavy but energetic stoner metal riffs and lively screaming vocals. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to check out the latest Saviours album, "Death's Procession".  It's a worthwhile investment full of heavy hitting, compelling hard rock.

The next event on my concert calendar will be Steel Panther on Monday, September 3rd, at the House of Blues.

Gypsyhawk, Ex Mortus, and Holy Grail

Last weekend was one of those concert weekends that I hope will go down in music history as the humble beginnings of something huge.  If so, I will be able to look back on it and say that I was there. Gypsyhawk kicked it off on Friday at Vacation Vinyl with their record release party for their new album Revelry & Resilience. (Have you heard it? It's totally bitchin - like 70's rock injected with heavy metal power and epic guitar solos.  So far, my favorite track on the new album is The Fields but Galaxy Rise is a close second.) Vacation Vinyl was completely packed with head bangin' fans and the Grill 'Em All truck was parked out front representing heavy metal cuisine. After party was at 4100 Bar. Awesome night!

But the awesome didn't stop there. Saturday night Holy Grail and Ex Mortus played a free show at Footsie's in Cypress Park. I've spotted Ex Mortus' name on the moshking.com concert calendar several times but I've shamefully never checked them out, mostly because I suspected they were probably a black metal band, which is not my thing. INCORRECT! Ex Mortus turned out to be a shockingly impressive thrash metal band with virtuoso guitar talent. These guys laid down impeccable and energetic neoclassical guitar solos left and right. The bass player and drummer were amazing, too. Everyone who got to watch can now claim that their existence has been improved a little bit.

Holy Grail wrapped up the night at Footsie's by playing some of their awesome new stuff, as well as some of their equally awesome not-so-new stuff (I wouldn't quite call it old stuff, yet). They had kind of a rough start due to sound system issues but when you're playing in a bar parking lot with your amps facing out of the back of two pickup trucks you can't expect the sound to be perfect. Regardless of sound issues, Holy Grail still kicked ass and I'm sure they still made new fans out of anyone who was seeing them for the first time.  

The next event on my concert calendar is Saviours at Los Globos this Thursday, August 30th.

Recap: Holy Grail and Saviours on March 21st at The Satellite

I don't normally frequent The Satellite because it's usually full of hipsters listening to crappy music but I will definitely be going back there if they choose to continue booking metal shows and catering to "my people". The line up for the March 21st show was The Shrine, Holy Grail, and Saviours.  All three bands were great which was a treat.  The Shrine is a heavy rock n' roll band with a psychedelic vibe and I believe they are from LA.  I've seen them play at 3 Clubs before with Gypsyhawk which was also a pretty good show.  Too bad I can't find their facebook page - there are too many other pages called "The Shrine" or something similar.

Holy Grail ALWAYS puts on a good show. If you've never seen them in concert you need to go the next time they play at a venue near you. Or at a venue within 50 miles of you.  Make it happen! They are also an LA band.  The Satellite's sound system kind of tea-bagged the show but it was still a worthy performance. The sound guy at The Satellite is probably only used to playing little crap hipster/indie rock bands and might have literally been blown out of the sound booth when Holy Grail took the stage.  It's understandable. Holy Grail plays in LA again in May with Dragonforce and Huntress.

Saviours finished off the evening and it was most excellent.  They're a metal band with kind of a hard rock groove and lots of shouting. And they're from Oakland, which i think is interesting.  They pumped a lot of energy into the crowd, even during the song they described as "slow and weird".  I'm already looking forward to seeing Saviors again and wishing I had bought more of their merch. I did get a green T-shirt, though.