Paganfest Recap! TYR and Ensiferum at The House of Blues on 4/02

The LA metal scene loves European metal and I am no exception to the rule! Paganfest has become one of my favorite annual concert series because they always book a solid lineup and it's always so fun. This year's lineup was Helsott, Trollfest, Heidevolk, TYR and Ensiferum! The House of Blues was jam-packed with excited fans and I was right in the thick of it. 

Please tell me you didn't miss this!

 
At long last I finally got to see TYR play some songs off of the Eric the Red album! Now I know that when I die, my ghost won't angrily haunt the Faroe Islands, demanding to hear a live performance of Regin Smidur. No one else does viking metal like TYR! This is the band to go see if you like Norse mythology told through artfully composed riffs and archaic Scandinavian chants. They have a completely original (and amazing) sound! I swear this band's guitar tone resounds with the blessings of Valhalla.

Somehow, the moshpit was raging during the entire TYR set, even during the slower songs. It's just proof that LA loves TYR and they need to headline their own serious North American tour!

Ensiferum was the headliner on the Paganfest tour, and they played a bitchin' set, too! They're one of those incredible folk metal bands that's come out of the spectacular Helsinki, Finland music scene. 

Be sure to check out TYR and Ensiferum on Facebook, Reverb Nation, and most importantly, on their next tour!

The next event on my concert calendar is Ascendancy, tonight, at the Smoke and Metal event.

Scorpion Child at The House of Blues on 3/21

In the wake of the news of the Key Club's closure, The House of Blues still stands strong as the premiere metal and hard rock venue of the Sunset Strip. Last Thursday, they hosted the Scorpion Child, Orange Goblin, Lionize and Clutch tour.

Please don't ever close!!

Scorpion Child started the night off right by summoning all of the powers of the rock gods with a haunting and thunderous homage to their classic rock roots.  The Child quickly awakened the curmudgeonly, early-show audience with a portentous, other-worldly opening, and dominated the stage through a haze of eerie orange and red lights for the remainder of the set. Skillful bass lines commanded all of the songs while guitar players Chris Cowart and Tom Frank churned out dramatic riffs and perfectly composed guitar solos. If you're not familiar with these guys, Scorpion Child is a present-day, psychedelic, hard rock band that pulls influences from Zeppelin and Rainbow. All of their songs are ridiculously well-composed and they put on an incredible live performance. If you've never seen them, I highly suggest you make it out to their next show. This band conveys anything but your average arena-rock concert experience.

Aryn Black wailed on the mike like a psychedelic banshee!

Chris Cowart was relentless on that guitar.

Orange Goblin brought a hell of a show, too! These British dudes played some fast paced, metal-boogie tunes and connected with the crowd in a boisterous, rowdy way. I'll definitely be checking them out again on their next tour.

These guys are British but they sort of seem like they're from Ohio...?

The crowd went absolutely wild for Clutch! These guys had a shit-ton of energy!

Be sure to check out Scorpion Child and all the other great acts on Facebook, Reverb Nation, and most importantly, in concert! The next event on my concert calendar is Paganfest, featuring TYR and Ensiferum, at The House of Blues on April 2nd.

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!! 

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.