DARKEST HOUR AT ROCK CITY SUTDIOS

D.C.‘s Darkest Hour performed a small but solid show at Rock City Studios in Camarillo, California, with their first show of the year serving as a warm-up for the band. Several local acts opened for Darkest Hour, including Los Angeles-based Goliath- featuring two vocalists, lots of breakdowns, and a sweet deathcore sound that got a circle pit moving with the young crowd that was beginning to gather.

DETHKLOK'S BRENDON SMALL DEBUTS GALAKTIKON AT WESFEST 8

Brendon Small of Dethklok/ Metalocalypse fame debuted his solo project Galaktikon live at the Roxy Theater this past weekend. Small had ten musicians up on stage with him including two members of Dethklok, Morbid Angel drummer Tim Yeung, multiple guitarists, a keyboard player and four back up vocalists.

IN FLAMES, ALL SHALL PERISH, & BATTLECROSS TAKE THE STAGE IN VENTURA

Battlecross opened the show to a quarter filled crowd at the Ventura Theater with the lead singer announcing, "We came here to prove the first band doesn’t suck." This was proven pretty much true as the band proceeded to put on a solid and energetic performance. At 8.10 exactly, however, darkness descended and it was time for one of the night’s favorite acts, Oakland-based outfit All Shall Perish.

NEUROSIS FIRES UP THE HENRY FONDA MUSIC BOX

Oakland’s sludge experimental doom metallers Neurosis put on a solid show to a three-quarters full crowd at the Henry Fonda Music Box in Hollywood. Supported by female-fronted and drummered three-piece act Ides of Gemini- who put on an atmospheric and beautifully haunting set, despite the singer professing to have a touch of laryngitis- and locals Savage Republic. The vibe at the Fonda was mellow but it was definitely a show you could tell Neurosis fans had been itching to see.

GOATWHORE RINGS IN A BLACK NEW YEAR

Goatwhore played a small but intimate show on an offdate from their tour with High on FIre and Corrosion of Conformity at Los Globos in Silverlake just before the holiday break.Taking the stage well after midnight to a modest but zealous crowd, Goatwhore launched right into their set with 'Collapse in Eternal Worth'.

LAMB OF GOD PLAY THE PALLADIUM, ALL HALLOWS EVE

Halloween night in Hollywood marked a big event for metalheads everywhere – Lamb of God’s first show in Los Angeles since singer Randy Blythe’s June incarceration in a Czech prison for an alleged manslaughter charge of a stage diver at a Lamb of God concert in Prague in 2010. The circumstances forced the band to cancel tour dates in both Europe and Stateside after Blythe was held by Czech authorities for 37 days.

SERJ TANKIAN ON SYSTEM OF A DOWN, 

HIS NEW SOLO ALBUM HARAKIRI

Warner Bros. Records held a special Q & A session this past week with Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down and solo artist, at their boutique store in Burbank, California. Attended by around 200 eager fans, the Q & A was to promote Tankian’s new solo album Harakiri and served as a listening party, early CD sales event, and signing.

MAYHEM FESTIVAL KICKS OFF

June 30 marked the kick-off of the fifth annual Rockstar Mayhem Fest at San Manuel Ampitheater in San Bernadino, California. Over 25,000 metal fans attended, making this the biggest Mayhem Fest in its half-decade history. The show featured Mayhem alumni Slayer, Slipknot and Whitechapel, along with first-timers Anthrax, Motorhead, As I Lay Dying, and more playing across multiple stages.

VANS WARPED TOUR-MISS MAY I

Ohio’s Miss May I are back on the Warped Tour for their second time this year. Press Pass LA caught up with lead singer Levi Benton to talk new album At Heart, touring, and 'old skool' metal.

MATTHEW LILLARD, WARPED TOUR Q & A

Actor Matthew Lillard is known for his roles in all kinds of films from Scream to SLC Punk to Scooby Doo and everything in between. Now he’s stepped behind the scenes to put out his directorial feature film debut titled Fat Kid Rules the World, a culmination of nine years of work. Press Pass LA caught up with Matthew at the Vans Warped Tour, Ventura stop, to talk directing, acting, and the breaking the Hollywood mold.