Brutal Assault 2017 - Jaromer, Czech Republic 09-12/08/2019
What better way to see how our time at BA went than our image galleries. Click on each picture of higher-resolution versions, or to access our gallery pages.
With Amorphis finally returning to tour the US, there was no way we would miss going to this killer show. Braving the pouring rain and crappy Bay Area traffic, we managed to make our way up to Slim’s to be in time for the openers: Swallow the Sun.
Hailing from Finland, Swallow the Sun delivered a killer set with their moody Death/Doom / Melodic Death Metal sound. As the only opener, the band had around 45 minutes to deliver their highly melancholic music.
Braving once more the Bay Area traffic after work, today we made it up to the city to catch this very interesting tour featuring very technically proficient bands from different genres. Unluckily for us, the show started super early and thanks to the two and a half hours that traffic made our commute take, we managed to miss ONI and half the set of Exmortus. Only catching a few songs from Exmortus, we still enjoyed a few tracks of their intense Technical Thrash/Melodic Death Metal.
After braving the terrible Bay Area traffic on a Friday, we managed to make it all the way to the city and found a huge line outside Slim’s. With the promise of a quality show, fans crowded the venue to support the bands. Most people had Sonata Arctica t-shirts followed closely by fans of Omnium Gatherum and Leaves’ Eyes.
Kicking off the post-summer touring cycle in the North America, this week we had a killer tour package with Technical Deathcore Northern California outfit Fallujah, Progressive Metal/Rock outfit Between the Buried and Me (BTBAM) and the legendary Devin Townsend. Having seen BTBAM back in December 2015, we are psyched to hear them play their epic “Coma Ecliptic” album in its entirety during this show. Fallujah delivered a very impressive album this 2016, and we are quite psyched to see if their complex sound translates live.
After a fantastic first day, we were pretty excited for the excellent lineup in the closing day. After hitting up the local ReWe for some adult beverages and some food, we made our way to the bat cave again for more music.
Having missed attending this very unique festival in 2015, there was no way we will not attend this year with the very impressive lineup. While Balve is a very unique location, it is also a bit of a pain to get there. There is definitely train service, but it is not as frequent as one would expect. This made the decision of renting a car to be able to make our flight back to the states in time on Sunday a no brainer. Another drawback of the remote location is that there are very few housing options, making it a race to book the few hotels or camp.
Haven’t seen Behemoth live since 2008 at Tuska Open Air, we were psyched to be able to hear them play their latest release “The Satanist” live for North American audiences. As park part of the package the tour also included newcomer Myrkur and her killer Black Metal onslaughts.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their historic “Demanufacture” album, Fear Factory returns to the Bay Area with a killer touring line-up featuring Soilwork, Spades and Blades and Omnikage. Braving the Tuesday after work traffic, we made our way up to San Francisco for this killer show.
As a new player in the scene, Rockbar has managed to attract pretty good shows in the last few months. Considered a ‘B’ market, San Jose, CA is 30 miles from San Francisco, CA and a completely different world when it comes to Metal shows. Living between the two cities allows us to fully enjoy attending shows in both places.
Zeal & Ardor - Baroness - Deafheaven
March 8th, 2019 - Houston, Texas
Ensiferum - Septicflesh - Arsis
January 28th, 2019 - Atlanta, Georgia
November 2nd & 3rd, 2018 - Brooklyn, NY
Eye of Solitude - Marche Funebre - Catapult the Dead
March 13th, 2018 - Oakland, California
Enslaved - Wolves in the Throne Room - Myrkur - Khemis
March 9th, 2018 - San Francisco, California
November 6th, 2017 - Atlanta, Georgia
October 29th, 2017 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
October 28th, 2017 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Brujeria + Powerflo + Pinnata Protest
October 23rd, 2017 - San Francisco, CA
Orphaned Land + Pain + Voodoo KungFu
September 20th, 2017 - Oakland, California
August 16-19th, 2017 - Dinkelsbühl, Germany
August 10th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
August 11th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
August 12th, 2017 - Jaroměř, Czech Republic
July 28-29th, 2017 - Germany
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Feb 2-6, 2017 - USA
Children of Bodom + Abbath + Exmortus + Oni
12/05/2016 - The Regency, CA
Sonata Arctica + Leaves' Eyes + Omnium Gatherum
12/02/2016 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Epica + Arkona + Fleshgod Apocalypse + The Agonist
11/18/2016 - Social Hall - San Francisco, CA
Fallujah + Between The Buried And Me + Devin Townsend Project
10/05/2016 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
