Light This City: Live at Gold Sounds- Brooklyn, NY 11/9/18

On November 12, 2018, Bay Area, California, melo-death act, Light This City headlined a killer show at Gold Sounds in Brooklyn, NY (my first time at this venue, which I loved!). And, I was on-hand to bring you the kick ass details!

The first band that I got to see on this rainy night in New York, was Generation Underground. The band was down to only two members on this night (for various reasons the others could not be there), but they forged on, regardless. The band opened with a fun cover of the Sepultura classis "Bloody Roots", then went into their own songs. Their music has has a catchy nu-metal tinge to it. And, thanks to both the sound and band members, had a lot of energy to it.

 

Next up were Brooklyn's own Apparition. This kick ass hardcore band was fucking killer live! Their sound has a very Hatebreed/ Walls of Jericho sound, which I simply adored! They had a replacement drummer for the night who did a great job. And, led by their energetic singer and pulling out some groove laden and heavy sounds, they fucking owned that stage!

Next up were hard rock/ metal act Gygax, who have and will be supporting label mates Light This City throughout this East Coast/ Canadian tour. Named after Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, they have a great, swagger filled, old-school sound to them. Their music definitely has a very Motorhead, Dio, Guns N' Roses-esque sound to it, that fans of classic rock and metal will simply eat up! They are also a fucking blast to see live. With a ton of talent and a fun sounding set, they truly rocked the house!

Finally, it was time for a the headliners: Light This City! I have a been a huge fan of this amazing band since I first heard and bought their third album Facing the Thousand. They would release one more album, the masterful Stormchaser, before breaking up. They then returned this year, a good ten years later! Their latest release Terminal Bloom, which I reviewed here: https://www.themastergio.com/2018/05/light-this-city-terminal-bloom-album.html, is without question one of the year's best releases. I had never seen them live before but always wanted to. With all of this in mind, I was so fucking pumped when I heard that they would be playing and so close to my hood, no less!

They played a bunch of songs from their latest, as well as classics. The band has such immense musical talent and energy. Fronted by the lovely and ass kicking Laura Nichol, they are the complete, killer package. One that honestly blows away many other similar bands, that may get more press coverage. A terribly underrated act, this concert proves what I have known for years: that they deserve to be bigger and heard by many more metal fans.

They finished off their amazing set with the absolutely amazing and classic track "The Unwelcome Savior", which was their encore. This is the song that introduced the band to me, and always gets me pumped. It's one of my go to tracks when I am feeling like shit. With this all of this in mind, it got me to do something I never do: I jumped right into pit! It made an awesome night even more kick ass for me.

After the show, I met two of the band members, drummer Ben Murray and the aforementioned signer Laura Nichol. I made sure to tell them about my love for the band, my five out of five review of their latest, and how I think it is one of the year's very best releases! They were both so nice, gracious, and down to earth. This was the perfect closer to the night.

Be sure to get their latest album and catch them live if you can. You won't be disappointed, I promise! And, tell them Master Gio sent ya!

Awesome T-shirt I picked from them at their merch table on this night.

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The Black Dahlia Murder at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY 4/16/16

Last night, on April 16, 2016, I attended, as press, The Black Dahlia Murder (TBDM) show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY. TBDM have long been one of my personal favorite death metal bands. In fact, their latest release, Abysmal, was my pick for album of the year last year. As such, I am very happy to report that whole night was a night of brutal, savage, and kick ass death metal!

Opening up the night was the savage music of Disentomb. Hailing from Australia this is brutal death metal at it's most fucking brutal. The music they played was just pummeling. I had never heard them before, but holy fuck are they ever awesome! This is exactly my cup of blood, and they fucking killed it, in my book. The drumming, and just everything else about them, is ferocious and make for one of the best opening acts I have ever seen at a show. In all, they truly fucking destroyed!

 

 

The next band up was progressive death metal act Fallujah. Hailing from San Fransisco, California, these guys have a complex and highly technical sound. There are lots of tempo changes and amazing musicianship on display. The music, itself, is always remains heavy as fuck, even as it mixes jazzy parts, deathcore breakdowns, and technically proficient death metal. It makes for a significantly original sound that sets them apart from so many other acts in the subgenre. 

 

 

 
It was soon time for the headlines, The Black Dahlia Murder to come and tear shit up. By the time, they did the sold-out crowd was all in attendance, and it was packed to the rafters. And, from the moment they came onstage to the last song they played, it was utter fucking mayhem unleased on earth.

They, of course, played lots of songs from their aforementioned and utterly awesome latest release Absymal. Among the killers tracks that they played from that album were "Receipt", "Vlad, Son of the Dragon", "Threat Level No. 3". They also played classics from their other releases including such favorites like "Nocturnal", "Moonlight Equilibrium" (which had signer Trevor Strnad ask the fans to bark like dogs before they played it!), and "I Will Return".

I cannot stress enough just how awesome a live band TBDM is. Not only do they sound every bit as good as they do on their albums, but they are just such a fun band to experience. They really know how to get the pit going. It was fucking brutal in there! I saw at least one dude who had blood running down his face. When he noticed, he just smiled! That's fucking badass, man! There was also some stage-diving and crowd-surfing. The fact is that pretty much the whole audience would jump and move around adding to an awesome and epic concert!

 One of many fans who got onstage to dive and have fun!

 The ultra-brutal pit!

 Trevor is such an awesome frontman! I would say that he is one of the coolest in death metal.

 

This is Victor. Apparently he is a huge fan of TBDM. The band knows him, and Trevor asked the fans to have him crowd-surf for whole duration of one song.

 It wouldn't be a TBDM if Trevor didn't get shirtless!

 Not gonna lie, meeting Trevor was a huge highlight for me!

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Huntress and Battlecross at St. Vitus 7/22/13

I had never been to St. Vitus until this Mon, but when I heard that Huntress, a band I am really into were playing there, my friend Alan and I bought our tickets in advance. When Monday came we were ready for the show!! And, what a show it was.

Battlecross played before them and fucking rocked the house! I had a heard a lot about this band, especially about how good they have been on Mayhemfest (a tour that Huntress is on, too). But, man is this thrash metal band a fuckin fun time or what?! They have a great, funny, and charismatic lead signer in the form of Kyle Gunther. Dude was making us all laugh and getting the crowd pumped. All the musicians in the band are very talented. If you like harsh vocaled thrash like Kreator, you will love these guys! Be sure to get their new album, War of Will, as it's a kick ass album!!

 

 

 

 

Then Huntress came on and tore shit up!! The heavy metal band, best described by someone once as Slayer meets King Diamond meets Halestorm, are a classic sounding metal band the with a death metal influence that gives them that extra kick in the ass. Fronted by the beautiful Jill Janus, the band is one of the coolest bands with a classic sound to come out in a long time. I love their connection to pagan beliefs that is very well captured in their lyrics and Janus' stage performance and presence. They played great tracks off both of their full length releases, including I'll Fuck You to Death a killer song written by Lemmy Kilmister for them for their new album Starbound Beast, which is their best yet, and the kick ass closer Eight of Swords, which is one of their absolute best tracks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you get chance to see Huntress live do it!! They are a great live band!!

After the show, Alan and I got to meet the band. They signed stuff for us (for Alan got the new album on vinyl signed, which he has just bought. As for me I got Jill to sign last year's Hottest Chicks in Rock issue of Revolver). And, we also got pics with Jill!! She is very sweet and fan friendly in person. Here is mine with her!

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