Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Machine Head’s final show for their Slaughter The Martøur North America run was at LA’s freshest new venue The Bellwether. Along for the ride are Los Angeles industrial metal giants Fear Factory, Sweeden’s melodic death metal quartet Orbit Culture, and Kentucky’s Gates To Hell.
Gates To Hell opened the night and the venue had its share of early birds packed against the rail up front to get their faces melted off. The pure energy and crunchy riffs this band put forth had everyone head banging throughout their set. Vocalist Ryan Storey commanded the stage as his bandmates produced brutality with their instruments. Guitarists Seth Lewis and Elijah Hanson made shredding look easy, bassist Dustin Cantrell provided the low end while drummer Jared Barron went off and sounded amazing. This group on a tour like this gains new fans at every stop and Los Angeles was no exception. Be sure to check out their latest single “Resurrected” that was released earlier this year, you won’t be disappointed.
Orbit Culture was next and it seemed like the venue was at capacity when they started. Mosh pits and crowd surfing commenced and didn’t stop until the end of their set. They ripped through their intense set with fierce joy and ferocious energy. Vocalist/guitarist Niklas Karlsson got the crowd involved during their set and even had a wall of death with the crowd complying 100%. Was this the first wall of death at The Bellwether?
Lead guitarist Richard Hansson and bassist Fredrik Lennartsson were all over the stage raging, head banging, and shredding while drummer Christopher Wallerstedt provided the beats that you could feel. These guys have been gaining momentum and accumulating fans around the world the past few years and last year released a three song EP titled The Forgotten. They are about to embark on a European tour which is more than 80% sold out so if you get the chance to see them do it, you won’t be disappointed.
Los Angeles metal giants Fear Factory took the stage and chaos continued into the night. Opening their set with “Shock” and “Edgecrusher”, two tracks from 1998’s Obsolete, had the audience singing along with Milo Silvestro and playing air guitar along with founding member guitarist Dino Cazares. Brandan Schieppati, vocalist of Bleeding Through, joined the band during “Edgecrusher” and it sounded brutal. Bassist Javier Arriaga fits right in with the band on this tour and drummer Pete Webber continues to be a human machine behind his kit. “Powershifter” off of 2010’s Mechanize was next followed by “Disruptor” and “Fuel Injected Suicide Machine” from 2021’s Aggression Continuum. “Linchpin” off of 2001’s Digimortal brought the energy even higher and had everyone jumping up and down with the beat.
A surprise track that was played was from the opening track from the 2004 release Archetype titled “Slave Labor”. Even though it’s part of Fear Factory’s history, none of the current band members, including Dino, was on that record. It was definitely a good surprise and the crowd was super stoked to hear something from that era. To end the night they played two tracks from 1995’s masterpiece Demanufacture. The opening/title track “Demanufacture” and “Replica” ended the set and it was a perfect ending. Fear Factory sound amazing and hopefully we’ll get some new music soon!
The mighty Machine Head took the stage and chant’s of “Machine F*^king Head” echoed throughout the sold out packed venue. They opened the night with “Imperium” off of 2003’s Through The Ashes Of Empires followed with “Ten Ton Hammer” off their second album The More Things Change… released in 1996. One massive mosh pit erupted and couldn’t be slowed down; individuals were being lifted into the air as they surfed their way to the front of the stage for a chance to get the attention or a high five from one of the band members.
Front man Robb Flynn always gets the audience involved and makes sure that they’re having the best time. “CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE” off their latest album ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN, which is an amazing album from start to finish, followed and gave the head cases another reason to go nuts in the pit. A tribute to Dimebag Darrell followed called “Aesthetics Of Hate” from 2007’s The Blackening and the mayhem continued as this is one of Machine Head’s faster songs. Reece Scruggs on guitar shreds away on the solos and sounds amazing, bassist Jared MacEachern is always having fun making the best faces in the process. His backing vocals blend well with Robb and his energy is unmatched. Drummer Matt Alston behind his kit goes off and plays these songs flawlessly with force and passion. It’s truly amazing to witness these guys and this band perform at the top of their game even if it’s the last stop on their tour, it shows their love and dedication to the music. “Old” off the brutal 1994 debut album Burn My Eyes started and everyone was stoked to hear it, a fan favorite for sure.
The lights went green and the familiar riff of “Locust” was played from 2011’s Unto The Locust with the roar of the crowd getting louder and louder. “The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears” off of 1999’s The Burning Red kept the partying going and beers flowing. Two more tracks off their latest album followed, “NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS” and “SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR”, which showcased Robb’s impressive vocal range and left people just standing there watching him sing the beginning of the song. “Bulldozer” from 2001’s Supercharger had the entire venue head banging in sync as the band went nuts on stage as well.
Another banger from The Burning Red Album “From This Day” kept the energy level high with more and more crowd surfers emerging. Ladies were on their man’s shoulders and the floor was overflowing with mosh pits as they went into “Davidian” the opening track from Burn My Eyes. Everyone sang along and Robb made sure everyone was head banging as he commanded it during the song. With the night coming to an end they thanked everyone and closed the night with “Halo”. Not a single person left before the last note and everyone knew at the very end Machine Head would have a couple photos taken of them on stage with their diehard fans in the back ground. What a night, what a show, what a band. Check out Machine Head when they play near you, it’ll be life changing.
Gates To Hell
Orbit Culture
Fear Factory
Fear Factory setlist:
Shock
Edgecrusher
Powershifter
Disruptor
Fuel Injected Suicide Machine
Linchpin
Slave Labor
Demanufacture
Replica
Machine Head
Machine Head setlist:
Imperium
Ten Ton Hammer
CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Locust
The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears
NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS
SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR
Bulldozer
From This Day
Davidian
Halo
