The Inarguable: Alpinist, Masakari and more at Yayo Taco

If you can tell by the location of my show reviews, Las Vegas is a fairly stagnant location when it comes to metal shows (hence me driving down to Los Angeles now and then). Probably Less then a fifth of the bands that tour through California make it to Vegas, and most of those that do play 21+ shows. So, it was pretty damn exciting when I realized that crusty hardcore bands Alpinist and Masakari would be coming through.

The opening bands, Alarido, Seeds of Rape, and First Cousins were all exceptional as well. Unfortunately I missed most of Alarido since I had work before, but I rushed over as soon as I was done. If you are ever in the mood for blackened crust, make sure to look them up. Following Alarido came Seeds of Rape, a three piece face bludgeoning powerviolence band. Their performance probably more intense then getting shot in the face with a 12-gauge, and it was done with absolute precision. From the beginning, it was typical (thereby excellent) powerviolence affair, with brief songs filled with grinding riffs, breakdowns and the occasional blast beat, as well as two vocalists.

First Cousins came after Seeds of Rape, and they were sort of the odd ones out in a sense, but no one seemed to mind, except perhaps the punk kids out in the parking lot drinking. Why were they the odd ones out? Well have you ever seen a post rock-esque/instrumental rock band play with hardcore bands? Me neither, but it was a pretty cool change of pace, and they were really good as well. Afterwards I realized that I was pretty hungry, and proceeded to order some tacos (yes, this is a taco shop). They were good, except once the band started to set up I had to rush a bit.

Finally, it was time for the touring bands to play. Alpinist, all the way from Münster, Germany, was on first. I had been listening to Lichtlaerm+Minus.Mensch a lot during the past couple weeks, and was pretty damn excited to see these guys. They played through an awesome set, with the crowd knocking into each other (and sometimes the band) a good portion of the time. I suppose it's them I have to thank for my neck being sore as well. The coolest part was when they finished, we were all clapping and yelling for more, and so they played an actual encore (none of that fake walk off stage then walk back on and play another song or two bullshit here) which was pretty fucking awesome, both for us, the crowd, and I'm sure for the band as well.

Aside form the lack of shows that come to Vegas, another thing that's sort of idiotic is that usually, midway through the show, people start leaving, or just hang around outside and drink. This happens at nearly every show here, and it's ridiculous. When Ohio hardcore band Masakari started, there were maybe 15-20 of us standing around, and after five or so minutes maybe 30, but based on how they were playing, Masakari, didn't seem to care, and neither did we. Vocalist Tony soon through himself into the crowd, pushing, shoving, and screaming into the microphone. It was intense, and they even did an encore too.

These two will be touring for another couple weeks, and will also be performing at Power of the Riff in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. If they come near you, go; you will not be disappointed.

Check out more pictures from the show below, with full sets located at the bottom.

MASAKARI