May The Walls Come Down

So I’ve been racking my brain to come up with new ways to describe the bands playing Saturday night and the truth of the matter is, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel.  There is, however, a reason to remind you, in case you’ve somehow forgotten the mighty madness that will aurally assault your ear canals and, if you’re lucky enough to go, give you full frontal metal at the Viper Room. I, for one, CANNOT wait.

If you haven’t seen HIGH ON FIRE, which I can’t imagine how that would have happened since they seem to always be on the road, an idea of what to expect is a power trio who are, currently, the most down and dirty, in-your-face, riff-laden, rhythm-driving juggernaut of metal magnificence.  Some folks would make comparisons to other bands, i.e. a jug filled with Motorhead, slices of Slayer, dashes of Sabbath, and a pinch of some No Cal thrash metal thrown in for good measure.  Now, with that said, they have risen in rank to be mentioned as contemporaries of those other bands and, subsequently, lesser knowns strive to have a sliver of what HIGH ON FIRE deliver.  Having carved out a very necessary niche in the world of brutally driven, roaring-ly anthemic, throbbing, thunderous metal; they didn’t use a chef’s knife, oh no, no, no… They used a chainsaw. 

Here’s a string of metaphors/ideas that might give you an inkling of an idea as to HIGH ON FIRE’s musical prowess and primal power: 

1)  They are the flame that forges the iron by the blacksmiths of metal gone by.

2)  They are titans of heavy hypnosis driven by aggressive rapid-fire riffs.

3)  They have stolen Thor’s Thunder and Odin’s Hammer to pound anyone within earshot into a frenzy of epileptically head-banging seizures.

If you love metal, like you say you do, then there’ll be no question where you’ll be on Saturday. 

Now, I’ve never seen INDIAN and really, I have to admit that I only learned of them recently but having dropped their sonic bits of doom-y goodness into my musical rotation, the best way I can think to describe them is the following:  Take Chicago’s damp, icy winter wind whipping through an alleyway and have it emerge on the other side as the band INDIAN.  Their collective tongue spits out and spews forth the soundtrack to what skidding tires on black ice as an American made steel vehicle slams into a brick wall.  As icicles fall from balconies in the middle of a Midwest winter and inadvertently kill the random passerby, Indian will drive their way into your very veins, assaulting your senses with the stabbing doom of no return.   

 As a fan of IT'S CASUAL it’s easy for me to bask in the smoggy delight of LA’s homegrown heroes and dish you the lowdown on what you’ll be sure to enjoy.  Feel free to expect them to rev up the room with what can only be described as Black Flag’s “My War” era rife with heartfelt soul and groove coupled with riding the Metro to get from Boyle Heights to Hollywood and then have your expectations blown straight up outta the belching bus’ exhaust.  It’s hard to believe that they are only a two piece, one of LA’s most engaging front men, Eddie Solis provides vocals and blazing guitar work and, usually the amazing Bryan Brown is on drums though for this show, the rhythmic treats will be provided by the one and only Jimmy Sotelo. If you want to know what the musical equivalent of driven fury and public transit sound like, IT'S CASUAL is that band.  They are the hardcore version of wheels-on-the-bus-go-round-and-round.  

I missed THE KNIVES open the Witch Mountain/Premonition 13 show a couple of weeks ago and from what I heard from others, I missed a damn good band.  I gave them a listen and, to me, THE KNIVES sound like a coal-fed locomotive bulldozing it’s way through melodic rock n’ roll.  They seem to have all of the makings of a band that will catch and keep my attention, while causing my foot to tap and my head to while placing a smile on my face.  That can’t be a bad way to kick off what will assuredly be a helluva night.  

Last but certainly far from least, it’s my understanding that the one and only  Mike Gitter will fill the space between bands with tunes to inflame, swell and propel the night forward.  I wholeheartedly believe that if there was ever a man to trust with picking out and playing music on a bill like this, he’s that guy.

Like I mentioned, I CANNOT WAIT for Saturday’s show.  The barbarian assault to anyone in that room’s senses will easily vanquish anything lingering from the course of their week.  A gargantuan fury of seismic sonic battles is what’s coming and I welcome and realize how fortunate we in LA are to have this not-to-be-missed lineup.  Bring on the brutal decimation of all that is pre-packed, pretty and autotuned.  Give me the down n’ dirty any day of the week and this coming week, that day is Saturday.

Click Flyer to Buy Tickets