Jason RocheFriday, April 1
Power From Hell
Complex
This Brazilian outfit — making their U.S. debut on this tour — has spent the last decade slinging dirty, lo-fi thrash metal that straddles the line between Slayer’s incubatory Haunting the Chapel phase and classic Venom black metal. Their 2004 debut, The True Metal, lived up to its title, and their newest album Devil's Whorehouse continues in a similar vein. Power From Hell worships at the altars of blood, bombs, bullets and Satan. Band leader Sodomic’s darkened grunts and discordant guitar work are enveloped in a coating of beat-up vinyl scum.
Archgoat; Credit: Courtesy of Debemur Morti Records
Saturday, April 2
Archgoat
The Echo
These Finnish black metal overlords show no interest in expanding the boundaries of their chosen genre on albums such as 2015’s The Apocalyptic Triumphator. Followers of Pitchfork-approved bands such as Deafheaven need not apply here, as the strain of black metal Archgoat engages in produces pure, blackened, blasphemous death anthems. This is pure filth as only can be delivered by a band that once had the audacity to title one of their EPs Angelslaying Black Fucking Metal.
All Hail The Yeti; Credit: Courtesy of Minus Head Records
Thursday, April 7
All Hail The Yeti
Whisky A Go Go
This act has carved out their niche within the Los Angeles rock scene the last few years by scratching the sweet spot between hard-driving stoner rock and catchy, melodic radio-rock. That spot is scratched even more on their new sophomore release, Screams From a Black Wilderness. The record’s concept is based on each song being a grim tale in the manner of campfire horror stories, with vocalist Connor Garrity anchoring the band’s sweeping guitar work with rock & roll swagger.
Ritual; Credit: April Jappie Edwards
Friday, April 8
Ritual
Five Star Bar
This underground Los Angeles act was one of the first local bands in the ‘90s to take their cues from the Scandinavian black metal movement. Their 1995 debut The Summoning is one of the more under-appreciated Los Angeles metal classics of its time. The band broke up for the first decade of the 2000s, until vocalist/guitarist Ian Fleming revived the name for 2011’s The Resurrection. Fleming and a new set of musicians have performed sporadically since, but a new album is promised for later this year.
Iron Maiden; Credit: Courtesy of BMG Entertainment
Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16
Iron Maiden
The Forum
The first tour after a new album from Iron Maiden is typically when the road-hardened metal legends devote a large chunk of their set list to the latest record. Last year’s Book of Souls was a sprawling, double-disc epic, but those new songs should fit perfectly alongside classics such as “The Trooper.” Thirty-one years after their still-powerful vocalist Bruce Dickinson declared, “Scream for me, Long Beach!” on 1985’s Live After Death, the iconic band remains a strong live act.
Prong; Credit: Courtesy of Steamhammer/SPV Entertainment
Thursday, April 21
Prong
Whisky A Go Go
New York’s Prong made their mark in the early ‘90s by blending a slight industrial-metal influence with their background in the late ‘80s hardcore scene and a more accessible groove-metal sound on songs like “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck.” They straddled the line between other notable bands of the era such as Fear Factory and Helmet. Vocalist/guitarist Tommy Victor’s songwriting has remained strong into the band’s current era, most recently on their new album X – No Absolutes.
Cattle Decapitation; Credit: Courtesy of Metal Blade Records
Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24
Mini-Murder 2016
Complex
From 2003 through 2009, local Los Angeles metal promoter Church of the 8th Day’s Los Angeles Murderfest was the preeminent festival in the Los Angeles underground metal scene. This three-day bill branded as “Mini-Murder” should serve as a good stop-gap until the day when Murderfest is properly resuscitated. Six to eight bands play each night, with a lineup ranging from longtime deathgrind greats Nausea and Cattle Decapitation to local cult favorites Gravehill to on-the-rise acts like Colombian Necktie.
Exciter; Credit: Courtesy of the band
Saturday, April 23
Long Live the Loud Fest
333 Live
This daylong festival — named after the third album by the headlining act, ’80s Canadian speed-metal greats Exciter — is a tribute to all things thrash and speed-metal. Exciter have remained one of the most consistent thrash acts of the last 30 years, never wavering even during periods when their contemporaries flirted with other metal genres. The group’s appearance — the first with their original lineup since 1985 — is bolstered by an undercard of younger L.A. acts like Merciless Death, Fueled by Fire and Warbringer that have kept the thrash attack strong locally in recent years.
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