"THE ABOUT THAT LIFE TOUR" AT CHAIN REACTION LIVE REVIEW / INTERVIEW WITH DANNY LEAL FROM UPON A BURNING BODY

Attila is currently on the road touring off of their newest album release, “About That Life”, with their tour mates, Upon A Burning Body, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE, The Plot In You, and Fit For a King. I got a chance to catch the seventh show of this thirty date nationwide tour… and this was my experience.

Right from the beginning, it was obvious that this was a sold out show and I didn’t need to see the “Sold Out” sign in the front to determine that. As soon as I walked into the venue, people were body-to-body in just about every place except the slight opening for the pathway to the exit. Within seconds, sweat began to roll down my face from the heat generated from a couple hundred of pumped metal heads engaging in the festivities.

The first band to storm the stage that night was Dallas Texas’s Christian metal band Fit For A King. Personally I had only heard of this band but I never actually took a second to check them out and mannnnnnn now I wish I would have. This band puts on a high energy performance with very clean and precise musical talent. This is no doubt a band that I am going to keep my eye on because I think in the next couple of years they are going to blow up the scene.

Next, The Plot In You handled their business and they were entertaining as hell. The highlight of their performance was the intensity of their front man, Landon Tewers who is indeed a performer of the highest caliber. He expressed his passion by continuously moving all across the stage and by doing so he effortlessly kept the overall intensity of the room at a high level. I had never seen this band live before and I definitely recommend it on the account of just a visually energetic show.

Due to sitting down and chatting with Danny Leal for a exclusive interview and needed to get some fresh air I wasn’t able to catch IWRESTLEDABEARONCE’s performance, but based off of the craziness that I could hear pounding through the venue walls, I have no doubt that they had a elite performance as well.

Next up was the band we were there for. As soon as Upon A Burning Body hit the stage the crowd responded just as any band would want their fans to. Within seconds people were climbing onto the stage and diving on the crowd of screaming fans that were bouncing in synchronization while yelling the song lyrics as passionately as they could. This venue, unlike so many others in Southern California, offers an intimate experience because there are no security guards and no barricades that keep the crowd at a distance from the band. By the end of Upon A Burning Body’s set at least twenty people must have jumped onstage, including a female who rolled onstage, just before the exploding bass of a breakdown, and got tangled in Danny’s microphone completely messing up the rhythm of the song. Danny’s reply was something to the extent of, “Wow you just completely fucked that up…. You better make it up with an epic stage dive as soon as the music kicks in,” Which of course she did.
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Upon A Burning Body’s set list was:

1. Showtime
2. Intermission
3. Devil's Advocate
4. Mimic
5. El Mariachi
6. Desperado
7. Once Upon a Time in Mexico
8. Game Over
9. Texas Blood Money
10. Sin City
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Lastly the tour head liner, Attila, performed and if you have ever seen Attila before then you know that their show is always fun. Say what you want about their music, but their performances are a blast and it was very easy to see that Atilla was the band that the majority of the crowd was waiting to see. From middle fingers in the air, to screaming Fronz’s funny and somewhat controversial lyrics the crowd was going nuts. The moisture in the venue from heat was so strong that Fronz was having a difficult time keeping his balance on the metal risers that were on the stage. Attila played a wide variety of songs from multiple albums and when they attempted to end the night with “Callout” the crowd wasn’t ready to go home and by their chanting of “One more song!,” Attila came back to the stage and closed it up with a crowd favorite, “Payback.”
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Atilla’s set list was:

1. Middle Fingers Up
2. Hellraiser
3. Rage
4. Sex, Drugs, & Violence
5. Outlawed
6. Break Shit
7. Nasty Mouth
8. Party With the Devil
9. The New Kings
10. About That Life
11. Callout
12. Payback
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-\m/eyer

Links:  Upon A Burning Body Facebook // Twitter // iTunes
Attila Facebook // Official Website // iTunes
The Plot In You Facebook // Twitter // iTunes
Fit For A King Facebook // Merch // iTunes 
Iwrestledabearonce Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE “LATE FOR NOTHING” ALBUM REVIEW

“Late For Nothing” is the third full-length from Experimental Metal 5-piece, Iwrestledabearonce, produced by the band’s own Steven Bradley. While most have been on the band’s case following the departure of former vocalist Krysta Cameron, the band has emerged from their studio with 12 fresh new tracks featuring new vocalist Courtney LaPlante, and they are dramatically stellar with what they have to offer. Here’s why.

“Late For Nothing” can be best described by the word “Schizophrenic”, which is something of a prerequisite when it comes to Math influenced bands. Exhibit A: The track “Firebees”, groove tinged Hardcore that blends into an Indie influenced interlude, is something most listeners would expect, more so when it metamorphoses further into Chaotic Hardcore. Or perhaps, the “Carnage Asada”, which features the legendary Steve Vai and his fluid lead-work slithering through some Salsa (yeah that’s right) influenced percussion, culminating in a monstrous outro breakdown. Needless to say, the band’s eccentricity and habit of not taking themselves too seriously is a boon because it makes their music all the more enjoyable since they have the finesse and musicianship to speak for it. Also, I do not believe the band’s prank about them changing their style to Black Metal was really a prank, because there are quite a few atmospheric/symphonic/doomy keyboard segments layered in this baby, which incidentally is aces in my book, along with their quirky track names.

What Krysta Cameron had over Courtney LaPlante would be the grandiose quality in the formers cleans. However, that is not to say that Courtney LaPlante’s not good enough to step into the former’s shoes, because she makes more than up for it with her vicious, throaty gutturals. Also, LaPlante’s vocals I believe have a tinge of Alt.Metal/Gothic flavour to it which I have come to associate with childhood favourites such as Flyleaf, an added plus to be honest. The best example of this would be the tracks “That’s a Horse of a Different Color” and “Inside Job”.

“Late For Nothing” may not be genre-defining perfect but it definitely is the most mature album in the band’s kitty, owing to some of the most sickening riffing I have had the pleasure of headbanging to this year. The icing on the cake would be the consistency with which the album flows. The band knows what to set their crosshair on and make the best of their maniacal compositional skills.

“Late For Nothing” is as tight and experimental as I like my metal to be and this time Iwrestledabearonce have just pushed the envelope further than they ever had. Applauding their decision to stay unpredictable as ever, and commending their technical dexterity to obliterate any creeping chance of monotony, I sign off to replay the record again.

-Aurko

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE WITH STEVE VAI?

If there were ever two names I never expected to see together, it would be these two. Well behold... Iwrestledabearonce have released a brand new single featuring a guitar solo from the legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. Mind blown. Give a listen right here.

The single "Carnage Asada" was debuted through Guitar World. This was done in support of their upcoming album "Late For Nothing" due to hit stores on August 6th. It will not be a late release. You can check the other single "Thunder Chunky" down yonder along with some Steve Vai shreds.

Links: Iwrestledabearonce Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes
Steve Vai Facebook // Official Website // iTunes

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE RELEASE NEW SINGLE “THUNDER CHUNKY”

American math/weird/hipsterore band Iwrestledabearonce just released a new tune called “Thunder Chunky”. It's the very first single taken off their upcoming new album “Late For Nothing”, which is going to be released on August 6th via Century Media Records.

The song is very significant because it's the first one to be heard with the band's new vocalist Courtney, who recently replaced Krysta. Except for a more accentuated approach on melody, their vocals are very similar! So I think this is the best thing the band could hope for given their situation. Go check the new track below and also give a listen to some of the band's biggest hits. We'll keep you updated on their new album.

- MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Twitter // iTunes