[youtube]https://youtu.be/uS8hwWfZFMQ[/youtube]
Deiphago has created a name of their own for a bit more than a quarter of a century, becoming one of the biggest exponents of extreme metal coming out of the Philippines. Their path of destruction goes beyond their home-country as they’re regarded as one of the pioneers on their sound by combining the vehement brutality taken from Hellhammer and Sarcofago with the precision and musicality of Morbid Angel and Profanatica. Nowadays, Deiphago is its own entity, with an unparalleled vision towards the word of Satan and vicious sound of chaos in the form of black/death metal. Frontman, Voltaire 666 took some time to elaborate on his beliefs, as well to speak about their new record ‘Into The Eye of Satan.’
The finely curated lineup prepared for the show seemed like a perfect package for a sweaty Tuesday night in Downtown LA, and the most loyal fans in the area knew it. Even when the crowd took its time to fill up the Five Star Bar, the expectation was palpable making the room a hall filled with energy and the opening band Blue Hummingbird on the Left (aka B.H.L.) took advantage of it and provided a powerful beginning of the show. As the first time witnessing their live performance, I was very pleased by the quality on their sound and musicianship creating the abrasive atmosphere to set the right mood for what the rest of the show was. Sadly, no pictures of their performance as I was preparing for the above interview.
Up next was another band I had never seen or even properly heard before, Nigrummagia hailing from Texas and Arizona. The recently formed band have been appearing on many small festival and shows since its conception and created a healthy expectation for me to find out what they were all about. Full war paraphernalia combined with traditional black metal outfits took over the stage but, regretfully, did not cause the destruction expected as their set felt careless, monotone and bland. Little to no energy came off that stage, making some of the musical mistakes even more obvious to the eye of the attendance. As a young band, only time will guide them into the right track.
LA is known for many big bands you see every day on big magazines or even this website but there are some hidden gems that shine on their own to the underground community and one of them is Volahn. The ritualistic group are widely known within the underground for their exceptional style, superb songwriting and embracing spiritual tone found within their music. The band is not about rock and roll or entertain the masses, instead, is about creating a place of worship to the occult through their music, therefore, there’s no interaction with the crowd and that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be for this kind of rite. The dedication and true passion can be seen when the band perform and the energy can be felt through the sonic blasts of black metal. Definitely one of my favorite bands to see live.
The highlight of the evening was up next and despite having some technical difficulties which ended up pushing the show a bit more than expected, time felt irrelevant once Deiphago delivered their musical chaos as it created a warp which no one could escape. Their sound was punishing from beginning to end, encouraging the dormant crowd to finally mosh pit to par with the cataclysmic waves coming out of the trembling speakers, proving that once you know how to compose devastating riffs, there’s no need for more than just a bass, a guitar and a drum. At this point, the die-hard fans reciprocated the hostile gift by headbanging and screaming right in front of the stage, even when the heat was taking its toll on those who had been near the spot lights since the beginning. Definitely a fantastic show to fade the tediousness of a weekday night.
