Top 10 Metal Shows in LA in 2010 (with Bonus Video Evidence!)
Timothy Norris The 2010 LA Weekly poster children for LA Metal posing at Sunset Strip Music Festival
"THE" 10 best LA Metal shows of the year? How dare we? Alright--we're gonna go there. It wasn't easy but after a few hours rummaging through the desk drawer that finds my old drunkenly discarded ticket stubs and wrist bands, backtracking through my paper and computer calendars, and scanning facebook photo uploads I've rounded up the most accurate list possible. Still skeptical? I dare you to find a better metal show. Check out the countdown:
Top 10 Metal Shows in LA in 2010 (in chronological order)
Behemoth @ House of Blues 1/16
A killer way to kick of 2010, Behemoth set the tone early at House of Blues. It's hard to believe that a few months later frontman Adam Darski would be diagnosed with leukemia and seeking a bone marrow transplant.
Arch Enemy @ HOB 2/19
Let's get one thing out of the way, Arch Enemy is one of those bands that reminds you why you got into metal in the first place: Classic, tight and fully badass. Chops that make even most experienced players feel small. To say their songs are well written is like saying the Empire State building is kinda tall. Then there's the live show, everything a metal band should ever be. It's not fair to rule them out of the top shows of the year just because the show this year was as good as their shows in the past--it was cruel, bone rattling and classic metal.
Opeth @ Wiltern 4/9
Anniversary shows were apparently the thing to do this year. Everyone was doing it. Megadeth, Slayer, Killing Joke, Einstürzende Neubauten... oh wait, maybe not everyone. Opeth took part in the wave and unleashed what was probably the most epic of the anniversary shows and played their 20-year-old Blackwater Park album in its sacred entirety at The Wiltern. The show sold out quickly and left many enormously bummed, and well, they should be, since it was easily one of the best shows of the decade.
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