Unleashed + Krisiun + Belphegor
Location: The Key Club, West Hollywood, California
Date: February 18th, 2007 - Review and photos by Dave Schalek
Less than 24 hours later and with my ears still ringing, I arrive at
the Key Club in time to catch local death metal act Letum Ascensus
as one of the evening’s openers. I had just recently seen this band
open up for the Dark Funeral/ Enslaved show a few weeks back and
wasn’t overly impressed, but they were much better this evening with
a tighter set and an excellent, new drummer. At any rate, my
curiosity was piqued enough to keep an eye on them for the |
future. While
waiting around after their set, I noticed more than a few familiar
faces in the crowd from the previous evening’s Destruction show.
Next up was Belphegor, whose
last album, “Pestapokalypse VI”, made my 2006 Honorable Mention
list. Playing a rather short set on a darkened stage, Belphegor blew
through songs from “Goatreich-Fleshcult” as well as “Pestapokalypse
VI” and were given a good response from the crowd. Lille Gruber, the
session drummer filling in from Defeated Sanity, did an excellent
job and was most impressive. I even had a chance to greet and
welcome the bassist to the U.S after their set in the basement near
the merchandise tables. |
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Frankly, although
Unleashed was headlining, I was there to see Krisiun.
“AssassiNation” was my #2 album for 2006, and still sees heavy
rotation in my stereo. They are also phenomenal live and can be
every bit as mind altering in concert as, say, Slayer. Krisiun just
blew me away. Playing a long set, highlights for me were “Vicious
Wrath”, “Bloodcraft”, and the closer, “Conquerors Of Armageddon”.
The only slight disappointment in their set was the absence of
“Refusal”, my favorite song from the last album. Krisiun is rapidly
becoming one of the few bands that I’ll go see every time that they
appear in Los Angeles.
After a short changeover, Unleashed
takes the stage and, although I appreciate this band, they’re not a
personal favorite of |
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mine, and I left after
about four or five songs. This was at about 12:30 AM and I was
thoroughly exhausted after two back-to-back marathon concerts.
However, I will note that Unleashed plays songs from each of their
albums on this tour and I did get to hear “Never Ending Hate” from
“Shadows In The Deep”. I would also recommend “Midvinterblot” to
anyone.
At any rate, both concerts were excellent, but I need a break. I’ll
skip the L.A. Murderfest coming up and get myself geared up for the
upcoming 1349 and Dimmu Borgir shows.
Reviewers Note: Please check out my blog, Metal Flows In My Veins,
at the address below to see additional photographs and camera phone
videos (poor quality, oh well) of the concerts.
http://metalrunsinmyveins.blogspot.com |
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Destruction + Hirax + Into Eternity +
Anger As Art Location: The Knitting Factory, Hollywood,
California Date: February 17th, 2007 Review and photos by Dave
Schalek
The Knitting Factory is a small club in Hollywood with two stages:
one small stage in the front bar, and the main stage down a hallway.
The main stage area has a capacity of only a couple of hundred, and
is a bit more intimate than, say, the House Of Blues in West
Hollywood. Thanks to Dave Brenner at Earsplit, I had free tickets
for a friend and myself for the finale of the Thrash ‘til Death
tour.
At any rate, there were a few local bands given the opportunity to
perform on the front bar’s stage prior to the main show, but I
bypassed them completely to get a seat (after getting a Destruction
“Thrash Anthems” T-shirt) on the balcony right next to the mixing
board for the entire evening. Taking a look at the crowd, I noted a
mix of young kids and more than a few late thirty/early forty
somethings such as myself. Soon after I settled in, local L.A.
regulars Anger As Art took the
main stage and ran through a 25 minute or so set of hardcore-tinged
thrash metal. For those of you not aware of Anger As Art, they’re
fronted by Steve Gaines, who also fronted the old 80s L.A. thrash
band Abbatoir from way back when. I’ve seen them before, and they
put on a good set that was well received by the crowd.
Up next was Canadian melodic thrash metal band
Into Eternity, whose latest album, “The Scattering Of
Ashes”, has been critically well received. Their sound was a bit off
at first, but that was soon corrected and they blew through a 30
minute or so set consisting mostly of material from “The Scattering
Of Ashes”, as well as featuring flashy guitar work from Tim Roth and
a good drum solo. |
| Crowd anticipation was
growing for the next band, L.A.’s legendary
Hirax. I haven’t listened to Hirax for about 20 years
or so (remember the screaming egg cover art for “Raging Violence”?),
so I was curious to see how they’d do. Frankly, I was blown away.
The crowd went absolutely apeshit during the set, and the drummer,
Fabricio Ravelli, was phenomenal, absolutely beating the shit out of
his kit. Katon W. De Pena was a great frontman, alternately praising
the crowd for their enthusiasm, support, and participation, as well
as putting on a great show. At one point, a skinny kid in glasses
was thrown up onto the stage from crowd surfing and De Pena grabs
the kid in a hug, and has him scream along into the microphone for a
few moments before |
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| tossing him
back. Hirax’s set was very impressive and had it all: presence,
showmanship, and power. Fantastic! |
| After a long changeover of
45 minutes, Destruction finally
takes the stage. For those of you familiar with my writings, you’ll
recall that I’ve never seen this legendary band live, although I’ve
been listening to them since 1984. Naturally my anticipation and
expectations were high, especially after following a phenomenal set
from Hirax. Opening with “Curse The Gods”, Destruction proceeds
through a string of classics appearing on the “Thrash Anthems” album
as well as a few recent gems, such as “Nailed To The Cross”. During
their long set, Schmier even took a request of “Invincible Force”
and also had the roadies pass out water bottles to the crowd, now
exhausted and stifling in the heat. Finally, Destruction closes with
“Bestial Invasion” and “Total Desaster”. Prior to finishing, Schmier
also hinted at the possibility of a Destruction/Sodom/Kreator tour
of America, which, as you might guess, was greeted with a roar from
the appreciative crowd. |
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| Frankly, this
was a fantastic show and I finally arrived home at about 2:00 AM
(way too late) in the morning. After a few hours sleep and a day
spent with my wife…round two. |
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