the Niedziela 28 Październik 2012, Key Club

Inquisition (USA)

Sunday, October 28th 2012, the day of one of the most anticipated concerts of the year (at least for me) had finally arrived! Why? Well, because the lineup was just amazing: SepticFlesh, Krisiun, Melechesh, Ex-Deo and Inquisition!
The concert was held at The Key Club in West Hollywood. This venue is well known to the local metalheads since many metal shows have been held there. It is not unusual to see the fans start to lineup in front of the venue a few hours before the concert. Unfortunately, this time, the fans were lining up there a lot longer than usual. Well, this was the first negative point of the night (that probably was the reason for all the other negative points of the night – you will understand in a couple of minutes). For some reason that was not announced by the club, the doors that were supposed to open at 5:30pm ended up being opened only around 7:30pm. People were not happy…
After almost everybody was inside the venue, Inquisition started to play. If you don’t know this band, it can be a surprise to see only two musicians entering the stage. Yes, this black metal band has only one drummer and one vocalist/guitarist. But don’t be fooled! Two musicians are not equal to a boring concert. The opposite! This band brought a lot of energy, and I have to say… passion, to their concert. The way the musicians play and the way they feel and act to their song is so intense, that leaves you with an open mouth wanting more and more! The fans were, of course, really excited to see this band. I have to say: definitely an effective concert! This is a band worth checking out if you still don’t know them!

Ex Deo

After Inquisition, Ex Deo took the stage. This band is also pretty unique since their lyrics (and looks) are based on the Roman Empire history. But again… don’t be fooled! They are heavy, they are fast…. this is a death metal band! If you know the death metal scene, you may think that the Ex Deo musicians look familiar. You are not wrong! Ex Deo is a side project of the musicians from the band Kataklysm.
Ex Deo’s concert was very good and entertaining. They are all awesome musicians, they did not stop banging their head the entire time and they did interact a lot with the public. The lead singer Maurizio Iacono was really “acting” according to the lyrics (kneeling, raising his hands, etc). It was almost like he was “into character”. They played songs from their latest album “Caligvla” and of course, from their previous release “Romulus”. But, during their concert I noticed something: the public was not moving as much as you would expect from a Southern Californian crowd! But well… I thought that maybe they were just not familiar with the first two bands and that things would probably get wilder later.

Melechesh

After Ex Deo it was time to see Melechesh. Again: another awesome band. If you don’t know them, here is a little info: they are from Jerusalem, they are a black metal band that uses a lot of Arabic inspired melodies in their music and also uses Sumerian/ Mesopotamian and occult themes in their lyrics. Their concert is full of energy! They always make the crowd move and they bring a different type of energy to the room (maybe due to their unique sound). Some of the fans may have been disappointed to see that the guitar player Moloch was not there (which is not a surprise since the band has already stated several times that he doesn’t like to tour and that they usually use another guitar player for the road). The guitar player in his place did a very good job and also appeared to be having a good time on stage.

Krisiun

The next band to get up on stage was Krisiun. This Brazilian brutal death metal band always performs great. They are so, so, so, so, so fast that it is difficult not to get hypnotized when looking at them…. Every time I look at Max, the drummer, I think he is going to “take off and start flying away from the stage. He is so damn fast! The band played old and also new material from their latest album “The Great Execution”. Krisiun is brutal, is fast, is efficient! But, there was something wrong that night: the public! I had NEVER seen a Krisiun concert without a moshpit. Well… that was a first time! The public seemed to be reluctant to move even after Alex, the bass guitar player and singer of the band, asked over and over for some movement. Well, their concert was still great, regardless.

Septicflesh

After Krisiun it was time for the last band of the night… it was finally the time to see SepticFlesh! A little intro if you don’t know them: they are from Greece and they are often described as a symphonic/ gothic death metal band. Their latest album was really well reviewed (17/20, here at SOM) and it was very often described as a “horror movie soundtrack” type of album.

They entered the stage with an Intro and then started their set with the first song from their latest album. This song is called “The Vampire from Nazareth”. When the first notes of the song started to be played, you could feel the gothic/mystical atmosphere spreading out across the room. They are fantastic… this band brings so much passion to a concert that makes me have chills every time I see them. They are sharp, they are effective, they are incredible musicians. And don’t forget! Their guitar player Christos Antoniou, has also a Masters degree in Composition/Orchestration. Yeah… no wonder their music is so elaborate and precise!

The concert followed with songs like: “Communion”, “A Great Mass of Death”, “Persepolis”, “Anubis”, etc. It was basically a mix of their two latest albums with one or two songs from previous albums. This was a good representation of what the band is now.

On stage, the main figure, the person who is always interacting with the public is the lead singer Spiros "Seth" Antoniou. He expresses everything he is singing, from gestures to face expressions. His vocals were impeccable. Talking about the two guitar players: they did an incredible job, banging their heads and playing to perfection but, don’t expect a lot of movement from the band members (like for example, changing sides of the stage). They stay pretty much in their spots. The drummer Fotis Benardo is also a pleasure to see: precise and fast!

What about the public? Well… unfortunately, what was happening during the entire night didn’t change during SepticFlesh’s set. People left early, people were tired. Thankfully, there was at least a small moshpits that was moved by some enthusiasts. Was it the venue’s fault for their lack of organization? Maybe. But also, don’t be fooled by the LA crowd. You may think that LA is a big city and all metal concerts here are packed and full of energy? Think again. This crowd is unpredictable. You can think a Tuesday night concert will be short on people but ends up being packed. You may think that a weekend concert, with a great lineup will be full but it ends up being empty. That is just the way LA is.

Summary: the concert was awesome! This incredible lineup really delivered! I think the night was a success, even if the public was not reacting as much as expected. All of the bands that played that night were incredibly professional and brutal! If you were there, you were probably happy for witnessing such a great lineup. If you were not, don’t miss the chance to check them out the next time these bands are in the US.