Deicide, Immolation, Skinless, Despised Icon Concert
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Deicide, Immolation, Skinless, Despised Icon Concert
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Hel's Review (6/19/05, The Key Club, Hollywood, CA):
It had been over a month since I had been out to a show, so I was definitely looking forward to this one. I wanted to be sure to see Skinless, so I arrived at a respectable time, and found a giant line outside. I went straight to the guy with the list and was admitted, but with a glitch - no photo pass. The Key Club is a funny venue in that one day they won't care whether or not you have a pass and the next they will be so strict they will try to take your camera for the slightest offense. So I snuck my camera in, hoping that if things were crowded the bouncers wouldn't have time to bother checking my credentials.
Photos by Hel
SkinlessI entered to find Despised Icon onstage and the worst possible scenario for my photo situation. Despised Icon was encountering a very hostile L.A. audience. I was a bit puzzled that they were on the bill, since I consider them a metalcore band and this is predominately a brutal death tour. The audience appeared to share my viewpoint and had zero tolerance for these Canadians, even screaming insults at them between songs. This all meant that things were very quiet up front, and the security staff was completely bored. With nothing better to do than mess with me, I thought to myself, and chose to forgo trying to take pictures of the band. Despised Icon actually won me over a little bit with their set, which was highly energetic despite the catcalls they had to endure. They wisely did not engage and simply played out their set to the best of their ability. They are actually heavier than I expected and it seems to me it is mainly their image that is pigeonholing them as a metalcore act.
ImmolationSkinless was the next act for me, and the crowd was absolutely thrilled to welcome these Upstate New Yorkers back to town. Former vocalist Sherwood happened to be in town at the time and was instantly dragged up on stage and performed nearly the entire set alongside his replacement, who was doing an admirable job on his own, but was clearly enjoying having Sherwood join him. The chaos was massive, onstage and off. Everyone onstage was tackling each other and things were truly getting insane. I no longer had any worries that the bouncers would pick on me - they suddenly had much more on their minds and hands. A fairly steady stream of people were making their way onstage and jumping off, despite the efforts of the staff to prevent it. The entire floor was a giant pit. This was obviously a brutal death crowd, and Skinless was giving them what they came to see. I don't recall if anyone from the band jumped into the crowd, but I do remember that Sherwood did. Of course. The band tried to get the crowd to toss around a giant inflatable Heineken bottle, stating that they hoped it would go for the whole show, but it was only a matter of time before a bouncer got their hands on it and stashed it on the side of the stage. All in all, another classic Skinless set.
Immolation is a band I have not seen in a very long time. I hadn't really realized how long, since I felt like I saw them every other weekend for most of the years I lived in New York. But then it dawned on me that the last time they were around, it was at this very same club nearly three years ago. Wow. Yet once they were onstage it was if no time at all had passed. They delivered the same quality set they always do, with their workmanlike attitude translating the pummeling riffs into a forcible message of mayhem. It seemed as though L.A. missed them as the ferocity built during Skinless' set continued to simmer. The stage diving had mostly been quelled, but the floor was jammed tight with moving bodies. Clearly this was a successful return to L.A. for these New Yorkers.
DeicideDeicide closed out the night. The club, which had been getting more and more packed throughout the evening, was now filled to bursting. Very few times have I been to the Key Club and had it be more crowded that it was on this night. L.A. and Glen Benton have a loving hateful relationship and on this evening, Glen was tossing the remaining merchandise they had with them into the crowd. Yes, it was quite a scene indeed. The replacements for the Hoffman brothers did an outstanding job. This was certainly a hectic and animated show. I eventually go tried of being pushed and shoved trying to take photos and decided to call it an evening. It was definitely a successful show, which is always gratifying, and it was a great way to spend a Sunday evening.
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