One of my favorite things about going to see bands that I’ve loved for years and years, is looking around at the crowd and seeing fans from the beginning till now reveling in the music. Vision Of Disorder has that effect on people. The legends that they are still pack one hell of a punch live and deliver with all their might. More on them in a bit.
The night began for my friend and I with the band Matriarchs. This 5 piece hardcore band from Los Angeles was the surprise of the night. Not only did they pummel the crowd with their brutal intense brand of hardcore, they managed to get a Los Angeles crowd on a Sunday night into quite a frenzy. It’s been a while since I listened to this type of hardcore. They reminded me of old school Hatebreed and Terror. Matriarchs are legit and deliver the goods as each song goes into the next. This band is on my radar for sure.
Next up was a band called Critic. These guys had something really cool going on. Musically they had elements of prog, industrial and hardcore, making for quite an intriguing set. Just as Matriarchs did, the crowd got into a bit of a frenzy during their set. Even the security guards at the venue were into them and Matriarchs. This band as well will see some more attention as time goes on.
After Critic, the reformed Pissing Razors took the stage. I have to say that while enjoyable, I couldn’t help but think they were taking their groove metal love of Pantera a bit too far. While watching them, I could see and hear the distinct similarities of Pantera in their music and stage personas. Not to take anything away from them, but when you start singing Pantera songs over their songs, you might want to revisit your own songs.
The highlight of the night was of course the legendary Vision Of Disorder. Their unrelenting set consisted of songs from their beginning to their latest release Razed To The Ground (which by the way is a great album). The sheer magnitude of intensity that lives within each member of the band was left on stage last night. Songs like “DTO,” “Suffer,” “What You Are,” “Set To Fail,” and “Loveless,” killed. One of the coolest things during their set was watching a swarm of fans push forward to the front of the stage to sing along with Tim Williams. Amongst the crowd and singing along was Dave Peters of Throwdown. Seeing him in the crowd pushing to sing along instead of jumping on stage was quite an awesome move on his part. Very punk rock Dave!!!
The entire night was outstanding. Vision Of Disorder are still the real deal and continue to put out great new music. Matriarchs and Critic are two bands I will be following and writing about soon. It’s shows like this that make it fun for me still. As I get older I’ve noticed I’ve become more selective in the shows I go to, but as long as my favorite bands keep playing in Los Angeles, like VOD, I will be there.
By: Brian Lacy
audioeclectica 