Power Of The Riff 2012- The Echo/Echoplex,Los Angeles CA,8/11/12

This is the 3rd annual Power Of The Riff at the Echo/Echoplex. I went to the first year,which was free and headlined by Corrosion of Conformity. One of the best shows I went to that year. 2nd year they actually started charging so I did not attend cause I'm a cheap bastard and was not big on the headliners. This years line up was really interesting but due to lack of funds I wasnt gonna go.But thanks to my good luck I won tickets as always and I think this show ended this great summer of shows with a bang. My life rules dude. Sadly Xaphan and Avon Ladies had to cancel. They both rule hard so please check em out. Lewd Acts replaced  Avon Ladies.
    First band was COPS. I cant find much info on them. All i know is that they're from San Francisco. They play Hardcore with Keyboards. They reminded me a lot of The Locust. They where the first band so they had a short set and very few people where there so not much of a reaction. I loved it tho. I'm gonna try to find way more info on these guys and hopefully see them again soon.

    For the 4th time this summer I saw Hordes. They are probably the most hard working band right now and thier reputation is getting bigger and more known. I can honestly say this performance was the best they've ever given(and I'm not just saying that cause Jose of ACxDC was on guest guitar). This year has been a really good one for Hordes and I'm sure they'll bring us more the next couple years. Great job guys,great fucking job.

  This fest makes you choose which bands to see like others so I chose wisely. I went to Echoplex(which is down stairs) to see Bio Crisis. This is D-Beat/Crust band from Tijuana,Mexico. And this band was pretty pissed off. I was really into it and so were a few others. Hopefully they come up here more often. They just released an EP called "En memoria al dolor". So check it out.

After Nausea (The LA Grind one,AKA the only one that matters) was next. I was super stoked to see em again cause last time I saw em in May they seriously blew me away. They played the same set I believe and people went nuts for the Terrorizer cover. They where one of my favorite bands of the day for sure and I hope to see em more times. Seriously LA Grinders/Death Metalheads need to see em ASAP. Hopefully we'll hear new music soon.

From Dallas,Texas came Thrash Metal's best kept secret,Power Trip. Tho they play really good Crossover Thrash they're mostly known in the Hardcore scene so of course all the HxC kids came out dancing and moshing hard. The friends I came with were super stoked for them and they didn't let us down. For fans of Thrash and Hardcore alike I HIGHLY recommend this band. They're on tour right now so go see em. Check out their S/T 7 inch. Real new modern Thrash done right. No poser shit.

LA HxC band Alpha & Omega was up. Ive been wanting to see them for a while. The first song they started with was this really heavy ass song that made two big ol buff guys dance like crazy. It ruled fuckin hard. Great new modern HxC for fans of Leeway,Biohazard,and of course Cro-Mags. Check out their album Life Swallower.

The craziest band that day was Hoax. I missed em last time they came on tour from Massachusetts. So I'm glad I had chance to catch em this time. As soon as they hit the first note the place erupted. I was thrown into into the other side of the room. People were screaming their lungs off. The frontman who was the skinny bald man who kept hitting his head with a microphone til he bled like crazy. It was seriously one set that you just stare at and be amazed. They ruled. I REALLY need to see em again right away. They have 3 EP's all S/T. Get on that shit. This is insane. Holy shit.

Lewd Acts played and had a big crowed surrounding them. I didn't enjoy em. Sorry guys. I hear a lot of good stuff about their first album but this set wasn't so great.

I ain't gonna lie,I was stoked that I wont those tickets mainly because it l was able to see Despise You for the 3rd time. And everyone knows they only play like once a year so of coarse I didn't wanna miss em. Right away I put my glasses away and got upfront. I saved my energy all day for em and I was planning to lose it. First song played and me and 10 other dudes got on stage to sing a long. After jumping off I got back upfront and sang my ass off with 100 other pissed off kids. Its no surprise that Despise You may indeed be the most pissed off band in the world. They played my favorite song "Roll Call" and I got on stage to sing along but I went 10 seconds too early before the singing part so I looked stupid so i just jumped off. I actually ended up going in the pit for that song(and you know me I never freakin dance). More songs where played and more songs I screamed my ass off including a FEAR cover of "I Don't Care About You". During the song "Cedar Ave." I got so into it I danced around the pit. I said it once and ill say it again,DESPISE YOU IS THE GREATEST BAND IVE SEEN LIVE THIS YEAR. Now I don't care if you don't listen to Powerviolence or let alone Punk Rock, you need West Side Horizon/And On and On..... in your music section ASAP. This is Powerviolence at its finest. Oh and it turns out guitar player Phil Vera(also of Crom) attended my aunts wedding. Crazy huh?

 So it seems every year I see Grindcore pioneers Repulsion. This is their 2nd year playing POTR and my 3rd time seeing them for free. I tried to get up front but then some big dude knocked my glasses off,had a Scooby-Doo moment trying to find my glasses,and when I did a lense was a missing. So I stood in the back pissed off. Anyways,they played their usual sick set. A grumpy and blind me was in the side singing a long to Maggots In A Coffin,Black Breath,and Horrified. They where great as usual. I told you 3 times already to get Horrified in your collection.

 The headliner I was most excited for was The legendary Dr. Know. A  version of Dr. Know with original singer,Kyle Toucher reunited this year,and it was a big fuckin deal. I missed em when they played here so this was my chance to see em again,I was stoked. They started with "God Told Me To"and the place erupted. They played more songs off Wreckage Of Flesh. Then more old skool Punk songs like Life Returns,Circle Of Fear,and of course the greatest Nardcore song ever written,Mr. Freeze. Singing a long to Kyle Toucher's Dr. Know was something I've always wanted to do. Both versions of Dr. Know rule hard but nothing will ever beat Touchers. Listen to Plug-In Jesus and Burn. From there check out The Island Earth and Wreckage Of Flesh. Please go see Kyles Dr. Know . Its seriously one of the best Punk performances I've ever seen.

Punk Rock super group OFF! took on stage and had kids singing like crazy. We all sang a long and Keith Morris kept talking on how stoked he was to be on this. They played most of the First 4 EPs and songs from the new album. They played a great decent set but after seeing Dr. Know it was hard to get super into it. Nevertheless go see em damn it. They're amazing dude,they really are but I was too pooped.

This is the part where everyone gets mad at me. I did not stay for Sunn O))). Yes i know they're a big deal and never come. Yes I totally regret missing them even tho I hate slow music but fuck i was tired. My best bud in King Kattans Blog posted a review so ill post his. Thanks for letting me post this dude <3.
   I wanted to leave for being so tired, but I was very curious about Sunn o))), the band that is involved with Power of the Riff plus the band has not played a show in years. I've listened to their music and it is.....interesting. It is known to be doom metal/drone/experimental. My friend let me borrow a cd from them and I actually liked it; a 5 years ago I would say that this is garbage and not even music, but now I appreciate for what it is. I was found a place to sit which was near a merch booth because I was really tired and this band is something that you have to feel according to people who have seen Sunn o))). They took a while to actually start and kept teasing the crowd. After 20 minutes of waiting again, they started. Not trying to be sarcastic or making fun of them, but their music gave the best back massages. The vibrations of the music was neat. I tried to see the band, but it was too foggy and all I saw were 2 black figures. People were starting to leave during their set (I guess they didn't know what to expect from them at all). After a half hour of hearing the same thing over and over again, I left. I was getting hungry again and needed to see if my car wasn't towed (I'm paranoid with parking in Los Angeles). I was bummed I didn't get to hear those dark vocals but oh well. See this band if you have a chance, and if you like to use drugs or feel strange vibrations OR if you're a huge drone fan.

 And there you have it. This years Power Of The Riff ruled hard and it ended my summer with a bang. Check out all these bands. This line up was very diverse and I think thats what made the fest rule the most. I had so much fun. Thanks for reading as always.