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LIVE REVIEW

Dimmu Borgir, Devildriver, Unearth & Kataklysm at The Wiltern

It's late Thursday afternoon and the sound of hovering helicopters add more disorder to the much busy Wilshire blvd. A protest march is taking place a couple of blocks down Wilshire Blvd and has caused a slight detour. I wonder if this will delay the many metalheads on their way to the show at the Wiltern tonight?...Yeah Right! As I and my fellow headbangers get closer to the venue, we can see the line wrapping its way around Denny's. Traffic or not, these fans found they're way around the chaos. Looks like the show is sold out and now its time to play the waiting game.....but a quick trip to Ralphs will help make it pleasant. Finally after 45 mins. of pounding down a bottle of Jack and munching on chips, Teh Wiltern opened their doors and started to let the masses in.

First up was Katalysm, a band I have never listen to before but after their performance, I wanted more. They had a huge effect on the crowd. People went nuts and a pit started claiming victims instanly. Minutes later, there were injured bodies and bloody noses in the pit. This was a jolting start of what was to come.

Now its second round and I was very excited about the next band. I've been a Dez fan for a while but never had the privilege to see him, nor Devildriver live before. So here I am, propped up in front of the stage, waiting for his presents and in an instant, here he comes with the boys. He fuckin got the crowd to open up the pit and motherfuckers got brutal. Even the chicks that went in were fuckin shit up. Wow it was incredible, hair raising and brutal. I loved it! I even got me a devildriver shirt.

Next up is Unearth. I've heard good stuff about this band but never really got the chance to hear them before. So I figured I'd see what the fuss is all about. They came out and people seemed excited and started headbanging. After two songs though, the atomosphere lost its adrenaline. I'm not sure what it was...they sounded ok, singer was clear, so was the rest of the band. It was that something special, that chillin, I want to thrash type of feeling i got from them. Oh well, I went to have a beer break in the lobby and ran into Katalysm. I didnt say anything, just gestured a friendly salute with my beer.

Now comes that time of the night were the Headliner draws near and the fans grow restless. This will be my last time making my way to the front, for Dimmu Borgir. Not quite a fan yet, but I have been listening to their Death Cult Armageddon album and its good. Slowly but surely, I'm becoming kind of fawn of their sound but not their costumes. Suddenly a strange errie chant has stirred up a rumble behind me. A small army of fans are waiting for the signal to rush security. Everyone is screaming and yelling satanic slurs. The curtain pulls back and there on the platform, Shagrath stood with his back to the audience. A single beam of light above him is exposed and the eerie chants continue. The stage goes black and on come the lights with the thunderous sounds of blast beats coming from none other than Hellhammer. At this time, I decide to turn back and was shocked to see a wave of people trampling over each other and security. Wow....people running into the pit with no mercy. I had to get out after three songs. It was too much and I saw enough. I was impressed by the end of the night. Dimmu did a great job, Unearth..well, I'll leave it up to their fans for support. Katalysm gained my ears. Till the next show.....

By: Muzikwhore