By Ryan of EAR/SPLITTERS.
2011 was an interesting year in metal: loyal venues such as The BLVD closing their doors, bands such as SLEEP re-uniting, and a slew of incredible record releases riddled the year, keeping everyone busy (whether for better or for worse). Being asked to supply a list of top 6 live rituals in the Los Angeles area from CVLT Nation was both an honor and a burden; it’s a very challenging task to choose only 6 shows to highlight as there have truly been so many worth mentioning. As many as I helped organize, utilizing the EAR/SPLITTERS conduit, there were just as many rituals that I had the pleasure of witnessing while also begrudgingly missing many others. Hopefully, we can find Los Angeles burdened once again next year with difficult decisions due to the abundance of options. And with that we can find one another banging our heads; we can slowly descend into blacked out madness until our necks are just about broken, ears left bleeding, and tabs are cut-off so that we can say we made2012 another successful adventure.
#6 Hull & Bell Witch (among others) @ Que Sera (LBC) & Mountain Bar (LA)
There is no easy way to describe Brooklyn-based juggernauts HULL. They set out west on a journey to support their latest album entitled “Beyond the Lightless Sky” which was produced by LA’s own Billy Anderson. Their sound is thick and cumbersome, leaving no room for remorse as they laid waste to the bodies brave enough to witness them live. Utilizing their vigor in musicianship, they create a unique sound with slight antiquity that only helps to immortalize their name. In a live setting, there is no moment for rest as they pursue ruination with their complex layering of agony and despair alongside an equally ornate, beautiful approach that narrates their story. Aggression, passion and loyalty to their craft and individuality set this 5-piece apart from the rest. Prefacing both shows was Seattle’s BELL WITCH who recently released a disquieting demo of vile things to come. They are a dark, droning band that was a coincidental yet welcomed pairing for Hull. Both nights in the greater Los Angeles area were besieged by these appalling displays of doom and following the dissipation of resonating life-abuse, audiences were left humbled and consumed by the sounds of these cryptic bands. Hull especially is a band that leaves an unsatisfied hunger for what they cook up in their Brooklyn-based dungeon; they leave one counting down the days until the next aural reckoning as they themselves seem to have an insatiable appetite for abhorrence with a looming elegance.
http://bellwitch.bandcamp.com
www.hullorhighwater.com
#5 Weedeater, Zoroaster, Kvelertak @ The Echo
Seeing WEEDEATER is always a fun time; you can always count on heavy drinking and on-stage debauchery courtesy of front-man Dixie. On a good night, you’ll catch him vomiting all over your shoes while keeping it slow and dirty on God Luck and Good Speed. However, the energy was high and he soaked it up while his evil bellows swallowed the Echo. They were joined by Southern favorites ZOROASTER who always deliver an utterly devastating set. Before both of these bands hailed KVELERTAK from somewhere in Europe. Fast, bludgeoning heaviness that was more fun than haunting. This night is summarized by rolling blackouts courtesy of heavy drinking, drug-use and head banging. Another successful bangover compliments of Weedeater!
www.kvelertak.com
www.zoroasterrocks.com
www.myspace.com/weedeater
#4 Yob, Dark Castle @ The Echo
Prolific monarchs of doom YOB returned this year following their monumental release “Atma” via Profound Lore Records. Leaving craters in their wake where each town once stood, Yob pummeled audiences while on the road with their partners in slime DARK CASTLE. Supporting their own audibly devastating release “Surrender to All Life Beyond Form,” this Florida-founded duo mesmerized audiences with their haunting and well-crafted approach to sludge. An absolutely detrimental pairing, these two bands gathered all their might to strike down the spirits of their audience succeeding by crushing them. Summarized in a haze, this was a monumental display of metal sorcery that remains unmatched, both in decibels and ABV.
(Rob Shaffer of Dark Castle gets an honorable hail for his double-duty this tour for also filling in on the throne for Yob.)
http://darkcastlemetal.bandcamp.com
www.yobrock.com
#3 The Atlas Moth, -(16)-, Kowloon Walled City & Batillus @ The Handbag Factory
Three monumental forces collided in Downtown Los Angeles at the end of November: THE ATLAS MOTH, KOWLOON WALLED CITY & BATILLUS joined one another for a demonstration of the horrible things to come in the underworld of metal. The convergence of these entities attracted local devastators -(16)- to assist in the destruction of The Handbag Factory. The cement walls swelled and rattled with the increasing momentum of the evening only to end with every person inside completely obliterated and on the path towards permanent deafness. With recent releases, notably The Atlas Moth’s “An Ache for the Distance” and Batillus’ “Furnace,” demolishing year-end lists everywhere, these bands reinforced these reviews with their unreckoned and unmatched performances. The next time these bands are in town they will not be playing such an intimate venue and that only made this experience that much more profound. Shrieking across the cityscape of Los Angeles, the pummeling sounds resonating from The Handbag Factory veiled the city in darkness and demonstrated just how powerful and united the underground stands.
www.batillusdoom.com
www.inthewalledcity.com
www.facebook.com/16band
http://theatlasmoth.bandcamp.com
#2 Scion Rock Fest: (Namely) Floor, Dark Castle, Black Cobra, Cough, The Body, Anaal Nathrakh, Agalloch @ Downtown Pomona
In March, the streets of Downtown Pomona were flooded with black tshirts, black pants, black hair and black hearts. SCION put a call to arms with their latest Rock Fest to the inhabitants of Los Angeles to join them for headliners MORBID ANGEL and a wide array of supporting bands. Most notable, and the main reason for attendance, was the reunion of FLOOR (members of Torche and Dove), DARK CASTLE, BLACK COBRA (surprise replacement of Kvelertak), COUGH, THE BODY, AGALLOCH & ANAAL NATHRAKH. All of these bands are absolute devastators that belong on one stage together and, sans Floor and Black Cobra, Scion did exactly that. I appreciate the generosity of Scion and the city of Pomona for allowing our community of miscreants to completely obliterate the streets with beer cans, vomit, and small, nearly emptied ziplocs with remaining stems from the festivities that ensued. I remember very little from this day which, as far as I’m concerned, marks a huge success. This was by far the best metal party and hotel rager of the year!
www.scionav.com/metal
#1 Sleep & Harvey Milk @ The Wiltern
The eponymous stoner rock band SLEEP played two shows this year, one being in Los Angeles at the Wiltern. Joining them was the infamous HARVEY MILK from Athens, Georgia who opened and, without any remorse or hesitation, stole the show. Although the sonic styling of Sleep sent me home with a ring in my ear, the desolate anguish that Harvey Milk instilled within me left a distinct impression that has yet to subside. Their latest release via Hydrahead Industries, “A Small Turn of Human Kindness,” is by far one of my favorite albums of last year (and even into this year) as this band continues to display boundless ingenuity and aggression. Their emotionally troubling performance was by far one of the most disturbing and pleasurable experiences of the year.
www.harveymilktheband.com
www.highonfire.com/sleep.html
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order):
Power of the Riff (Pentagram, Eyehategod, Winter, Black Cobra..) @ The Echo/Plex
Weedeater, Bison, Fight Amp @ The Key Club
Liturgy, Chelsea Wolfe, Ides of Gemini @ The Echo
Crom, The Cutthroats 9, AD @ 3 Clubs
Crankbait & ((Thorlock)) @ The Rocks Bar
Laudanum, Destroy Judas, Behold! The Monolith @ Mountain Bar
Mournful Congregation, Aldebaran, Anhedonist & Destroy Judas @ Five Star Bar
Aseethe @ Vacation Vinyl
Drone Throne @ Vacation Vinyl
East of the Wall @ Vacation Vinyl
KENmode, Deafheaven, Graf Orlock, Snakes Alive & Pigeonwing @ The BLVD
Torche, Big Business, Thrones @ The Troubadour
Kylesa, Intronaut, Ides of Gemini, Pigeonwing @ The Troubadour
Indian, The Fucking Wrath, Harassor & Pigeonwing @ Five Star Bar
Behold! The Monolith, Badr Vogu, Hazzard’s Cure, Pigeonwing @ 3 Clubs
www.earsplitters.com
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www.twitter.com/earsplitters
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