Frost and Fire IV

MAGAZINE
FROST and FIRE IV REVIEW
By Kit Ekman

FROST AND FIRE IV
Ventura, California
October 4-6, 2018
By Kit Ekman
Photos by Stephan Bachmann
Within a very short period of time,
Frost and Fire has garnered a
reputation as the gold standard of
underground true heavy metal
festivals in the United States. And
why not? Start with an organizing
team that is motivated, experienced,
and meticulous. Build on that
foundation with stacked, all-killer-nofi
l l e r l i n e u p s t h a t c a n s t a n d
unflinchingly alongside even the
most revered of their European
counterparts. Add an audience
consisting of roughly 500 die-hards
from around the world (I swear,
sometimes it feels like there are more
Europeans than Americans at F&F),
the vast majority of them being
awesome people and kindred spirits.
It’s the kind of event where, every time
you turn around, you see a dear friend
that you encounter all too rarely, so
you stop what you’re doing, grin and
give them a hug because you’re so
happy to see them. Top it all off with
t h e p i c t u r e s q u e b a c k d r o p o f
downtown Ventura, California, a
beachside paradise situated roughly
an hour north of Los Angeles. The
result is a surefire winner, every
single time. Frost and Fire has
definitely become my favorite festival
in the world, and I’d wager that a
sizeable percentage of attendees
would concur.
That said, event organizers Night
Demon (who hail from Ventura) strive
to avoid stagnancy, so they tinker
with the formula and logistics from
year to year. For this edition, the
m o s t v i s i b l e c h a n g e w a s t h e
elimination of Bombay Bar & Grill as
the primary fest venue; indeed,
Bombay wasn’t part of F&F at all this
year, and the only time I walked inside
the place was to enjoy a tasty Bloody
Mary on Saturday morning. That’s a
major change, indeed, but the
organizers’ hand was forced by
operational changes at Bombay that
were simply not conducive to a
continued relationship with the fest.
Instead, all events, save the afterparties,
were conducted at the
spacious Majestic Ventura Theater.
It’s a beautiful, cavernous old facility
with a generous stage, excellent
lighting, and a sloped, tiered floor that
guarantees superb sightlines for all.
The 15-minute set changeovers
allowed ample time to socialize, refill
one’s glass, explore merch and
vendor tables, take smoke breaks,
use the restroom, etc., between
bands, which was nice. (By contrast,
at Bombay, there was a two-stage
format, meaning that bands were
playing at all times, forcing painful
decisions of whether to watch a killer
band or socialize/ use the loo / get
another drink.) With “only” seven
bands appearing each day (as
compared to the 12 or more in years
past), it seemed easier to devote
mental energy to each act while they
were onstage and enjoy them fully,
with an allotted music time of 4:30
p.m. – midnight (or 3:30 p.m. –
midnight on Saturday).
An experiment was the “Pit Pass,”
which meant that only patrons who
paid a sizeable premium were allowed
into the floor area immediately in
front of the stage (at least for the first
two and a half days, until the rule was
jettisoned with no announcement). It
worked out well for me because I paid
that premium, and there was plenty
of space in the pit; it was easy to find
friends there, and the quotient of
wasted lunkheads looking to cause
trouble was kept to an absolute
minimum. But I do understand there
was some grousing about the policy
in certain quarters. The classiest part
about the festival? Oh, that’s easy. A
large Manilla Road banner hung from
the balcony (which was closed off, by
the way) to honor the memory of the
late, great Mark “The Shark” Shelton.
Sometimes a band would be playing
and I’d turn around and look up,
catching a glimpse of that banner and
feeling Shark’s spirit in the room,
keeping a watchful eye over us all and
guiding us to the heavy metal
promised land.
Photo: Shelton Family Archives
Was the festival perfect? Well, no,
perfection is an unattainable ideal,
after all. Far and away the biggest
source of discontent was the Ventura
Theater itself. Drawbacks that
rankled attendees ranged from the
lack of air conditioning (it was so hot
inside that my clothes were spotted
with salt stains from profuse sweat at
the end of each night – Ragnarokkrera
Bob Byrne would have died), to
the unappetizing food options
(cardboard-flavored pizza anyone?),
to the egregiously overpriced drinks

(my solution was to stick with the
Long Island Iced Teas, which ran $12
apiece but were extremely potent
and, therefore, the most costeffective
alcohol option), to the
unfortunately muddy sound up close
to the stage, to the sometimesabrasive
staff (I nearly got kicked out
on Friday by an overzealous security
guard when I was working in an
official capacity), to the muchballyhooed
lack of in-and-out
privileges (which particularly hurt the
earlier bands because many fans
don’t want to be cooped up for the
duration of a long festival schedule,
so consequently they do not show up
until several bands into the day). Of
course, none of these shortcomings
were the organizers’ fault. They had
no choice but to work within the
parameters meted out by the Ventura
Theater. And notwithstanding
venue-related drawbacks, Frost and
Fire IV was immensely fun – strike
that, legendary. Don’t believe me?
Read on.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
The festival officially commenced at
4:30 p.m., when Fresno upstarts,
HAUNT, took the stage. I honestly
cannot think of a better kick-off band
than Haunt, who have made major
waves this year with their stellar
Luminous Eyes EP and their even
better Burst Into Flame full-length.
Despite having played late, living
after midnight in LA the night before,
Haunt were revved up and rocking in
fine form this afternoon, making the
most of their abbreviated 30-minute
slot. Guitarist/vocalist Trevor
William Church and his troops
whipped through 5 of the very best
numbers from Burst into Flame, with
simply exquisite renditions of the
l i k e s o f “ R e fl e c t o r s ” a n d
“Wanderlust.” After announcing that
the band had two songs left, Church
encountered a technical issue and
instructed fellow guitarist John
Michael Tucker to solo. Tucker
gamely obliged for the next minute or
two until the problem was solved, but
unfortunately, one of the remaining
songs had to be cut. Still, Haunt
finished with a sparkling rendition of
“Luminous Eyes,” the combination
of wistful vocals and sterling guitar
harmonies ringing through the air. It
was a fine effort for Haunt, whose star
is definitely on the rise. With their
undeniable talent and blue-collar
w o r k e t h i c ( C h u r c h t o l d m e
afterwards that the next album is
already written), Haunt won’t be
relegated to opening slots and 30-
minute sets on festival billings for
much longer.
Setlist: Burst into Flame, Reflectors,
Crystal Ball, Frozen in Time,
Wanderlust, Luminous Eyes.
Celebrating their West Coast debut,
Pittsburgh’s LADY BEAST were
visibly amped and wired for their
F r o s t a n d F i r e p e r f o r m a n c e .
Goodness knows they deserved to
be here. With each of their three
albums (plus an EP), Lady Beast have
steadily improved, to the point where
their most recent album, Vicious
Breed, was one of my favorite albums
of 2017. But where Lady Beast truly
shine is in the live arena. Diminutive,
warpainted vocalist, Deborah Levine,
is a living, breathing fireball of
incandescent energy, and clearly the
focal point of the Lady Beast attack.
She completely surrenders to the
music and just rages on stage from
b e g i n n i n g t o e n d w i t h p u r e
exuberance, which is exactly how it’s
supposed to be. Guitarists Andy
Ramage and Christopher Tritschler
are more reserved, but it’s magical to
watch them play those soul-stirring
melodies and riffs. Last time I saw
Lady Beast (at the Cleveland Metal
Food Drive in December 2017), I
wished they’d play more Vicious
Breed material. Well, my wish came
true today, as the band delivered 5
cuts from Vicious Breed (including
“Get Out,” which Lady Beast
superfan – and super good dude –
Rich Dillon told me they had never
performed live before), as well as one
song each from their other releases.

They definitely showcased their
faster, heavier material, which was a
prudent decision given the brevity of
their set and the understandable
desire to just go out there and kick
ass. (That said, someday I’d love to
hear them play “Always with Me,” a
more nuanced, highly emotional
tune, which has emerged as my
favorite on the new record.) Levine
offered up a heartfelt speech about
never giving up before “Every Giant
Shall Fall.” Those bastards who try
to thwart your dreams will turn to
stone at morning light if you can just
survive the night, so keep fighting
on, my friends. By the time the
band’s namesake tune, “Lady
Beast,” closed out the festivities, the
party was in full force, Levine
extending the mike into the front row
to let many fans (including me) belt
out the chorus. What a killer set. It
made me so happy for Lady Beast
that their initial foray to California
was such a triumph.
Setlist: Seal the Hex, Forest of the
Impaled, Lone Hunter, Devil’s Due,
Vicious Breed, Every Giant Shall
Fall, Get Out, Lady Beast.
Sadly, it’s become a rarity to see
European bands at underground
metal fests in the US these days.
The visa process is so convoluted,
arbitrary, and expensive that
promoters simply can’t take the risk
of booking Euro acts, fronting the
money for flights and deposits, and
having the whole escapade fall apart
at the eleventh hour. That sad story
has played out far too often at far too
many fests in recent years. For that
reason, I was pleasantly surprised to
see SCREAMER on the Frost and
Fire bill, playing this fest as part of a
short, 4-gig run through California.
T h i s a f t e r n o o n w a s m y fi r s t
encounter with the Swedish fivepiece
NWOBHM/trad metal machine,
and they did not disappoint. Their
choice of attire was interesting, all
wearing matching black vests and
trousers, with the only difference
b e i n g t h a t v o c a l i s t A n d r e a s
Wikstrom wore a black t-shirt under
his vest, whereas his colleagues
across the front of the stage were all
clad in white tees. I don’t generally
go for “uniform bands,” but this
consistent look worked for me.
Everything about Screamer’s 40-
minute performance screamed
(errmmm, sorry, couldn’t resist)
professionalism. All members had
great stage presence, moving
around constantly, interacting with
each other, making eye contact with
the audience, and generally rocking
the hell out. The catchy, fist-banging
material had everyone smiling and
singing along in no time, with the
band looking ecstatic about their
enthusiastic reception at the Ventura
Theater. Songs like “Can You Hear
Me Now” and “Monte Carlo Nights”
(fantastic singalong to this one), and
“Keep on Walking” and closer,
“Rock Bottom,” were tailor-made for
the stage, and they all worked
beautifully. As the song goes,
s o m e t i m e s l i f e i s j u s t p u r e
rock’n’roll, and that’s exactly what
Screamer were today. Top-notch
performance in all categories, and a
definite highlight of the weekend.
I must admit, I was quite curious to
experience TANITH live for the first
time. Ordinarily, ‘70s progressive
hard rock stylings are not my thing;
however, Tanith is the side project of
Satan guitarist Russ Tippins, whose
acumen as both a player and a writer
is well documented. Tanith ended
up being an outstanding change-ofpace
band for Frost and Fire. Not
blazingly fast or heavy, arguably not
even metal at all, but just cool
laidback music with excellent guitar
playing, and trade-off lead vocals
between Tippins and bassist Cindy
Maynard (who rocked hard even
though her bass was as big as she
was). Watching this band felt like a
time warp to the 1970s, not only
musically, but also in terms of the
band’s stage clothes, all the way
down to their white patent leather
boots. I could sit and watch Russ
Tippins play guitar all night long,
despite my lack of familiarity with the
material. Tanith were extremely well
received, and the band seemed

pleased with their reception. I
understand that Tanith’s full-length
album is done or mostly done
(they’ve only released a 7-inch
single to date), and on the strength
of tonight’s performance, I definitely
look forward to checking it out.
When last I witnessed local Ventura
rockers GYGAX – back at Frost and
Fire I in 2015 – they featured a
hotshot guitarist by the name of
A r m a n d J o h n A n t h o n y. T h e
following year, Armand joined Night
Demon, and Gygax soldiered on with
a new guitar player. They’ve
released two successful albums.
And they definitely came to the
Ventura Theater to rock. I didn’t
catch Gygax’s entire set this
evening, as drinking and socializing
took priority for the moment. From
the significant chunk that I did
experience, however, I greatly
enjoyed the band’s Thin Lizzyinspired
attack, despite not knowing
any of the songs other than the
earworm “Draw Breath” and one of
the more unexpected Black Sabbath
covers I’ve ever heard, in the form of
“Air Dance” off Never Say Die! It was
also a very cool gesture that they
called out their former bandmate,
Armand, who was standing side
stage and working as guitar tech
throughout the festival, to recognize
his contributions to the band and
their friendship. I am now highly
motivated to check out the albums.
SLOUGH FEG is one of those love-
‘em-or-hate-‘em bands. Quirky and
idiosyncratic as all hell, the longrunning
Bay Area quartet (joined this
evening by a new drummer with
whom I had not heretofore seen
them play) came through with a
typically effective, unpredictable 70-
minute set in Ventura. It was an
unusual setlist, and I heard some
grousing about it, but for me Slough
Feg is all about the vibe and the
energy and the glorious guitar
melodies of Mike Scalzi and Angelo
Trengali than the actual songs.
Maybe that’s just me, but that’s how
the band always hits me, especially
live. Besides, for those who wanted
to hear the standards, Slough Feg
did a run of crowd favorites
including the likes of “Warriors
Dawn,” “The Wickerman,” “Traders
and Gunboats,” “Death Machine,”
and “The Final Gambit.” What’s not
to like about that? Add their
excellent new song, “New Organon,”
featured on their new single, and
you’ve got another strong outing by
Scalzi and the boys.
Topping the bill tonight was
Ventura’s pride and joy, the mighty
CIRITH UNGOL. Although tonight
marked the band’s third Frost and
Fire appearance and they’ve
performed enough select dates
around the world that most in the
audience who wanted to see them
have surely done so by now, there’s
absolutely nothing old-hat or
perfunctory about an Ungol gig.
They play only a handful of shows
each year. They do an excellent job
of mixing up the setlist and bringing
in other tunes from one gig to the
next, so you really never see the
same show twice. And c’mon, it’s
Cirith Ungol, the kings of the freakin’
dead. Most of us never imagined in
our wildest dreams we’d ever get to
witness them onstage. Now that we
can, we’d best treasure every single
moment. Time is fleeting, and it
doesn’t slow down. If Mark Shelton
taught you nothing else, surely he
taught you that. The band sounded
great tonight, with drummer Robert
Garven making a point of telling me
afterwards that he really thought he
played well. (There’ve been other
times in other cities where Rob’s
p o s t - s h o w c r i t i q u e o f h i s
performance in conversation with
me was not so cheery, so this is
definitely a positive sign for a strong
Ungol gig). Bespectacled vocalist
Tim Baker brought the anguished
howls and tortured screams from
beyond this mortal realm, as only he
can do, and also extended his arms
and glided around the stage more
than he usually does. The guitar
tandem of Jimmy Barraza and Greg
Lindstrom wove mystical six-string
magic. (I watched part of the set with
Jimmy’s daughter, Alishea, who had
played the daughter card to get pit
access for Ungol’s set despite
lacking the requisite wristband. At

one point, I just had to lean over and
exclaim, “Look at him. Your Dad is
such a badass.” He really, really is.)
And bassist Jarvis Leatherby
worked the stage, served as
ringleader to keep his bandmates on
the same page, and sweated even
more than usual in the sweltering
Ventura Theater. The visuals were
accentuated (beyond the massive
black praying skeletons backdrop
overlaying the white Frost and Fire
backdrop, to create an image of four
praying skeletons behind the band,
as well as the two illuminated
physical praying skeletons guarding
the sides of the stage all weekend)
by a pair of makeshift fog machines
in large trash cans, creating ankledeep
fog for much of the set. Cool.
P e r h a p s t h e m o s t e a g e r l y
anticipated moment tonight was the
live debut of Ungol’s new single,
“Witch’s Game.” It’s a challenging,
epic track, one fully deserving of the
Cirith Ungol legacy, and it appeared
in the setlist as first encore. Perhaps
it was a bit rough in spots, but how
cool to hear a brand-new Ungol tune
played live for the first time: “Ride
into the battle / play the witch’s
game!” Another definite highlight
was the trilogy of “Chaos Rising,”
“Fallen Idols” and “Paradise Lost”
played back-to-back-to-back, which
I’d not heard them do since their
inaugural reunion performance at
Frost and Fire II. It’s enough to send
shivers down your spine. All in all, a
glorious ending to a glorious first
day of Frost and Fire. All hail the
kings of the dead, and play the
witch’s game!
Setlist: Atom Smasher, I’m Alive,
Join the Legion, Black Machine,
Frost and Fire, Finger of Scorn,
Blood and Iron, Chaos Descends,
War Eternal, Chaos Rising, Fallen
Idols, Paradise Lost. Encores:
Witch’s Game, Master of the Pit, King
of the Dead.
The music was over for today, but
the party was just beginning. You
see, Frost and Fire has become
legendary for its after-show beach
parties. For some reason, they let
you drink on the beach in a certain
section of the Ventura coastline,
alongside the rickety old wooden
pier. (Not so on other areas of the
beach, as a friend from Germany
unfortunately discovered the next
night and nearly got arrested.
Fortunately, today was not the day.)
Thus, the post-show ritual each
night for several dozen attendees
was to exit the Theater, head over to
Clark’s Liquor Store before it closed
at 1:00 a.m., load up on booze, and
walk 10 minutes or so to the
designated location at the beach.
Some of the best conversations I had
all weekend long were on that beach,
in a sleep-deprived and alcoholenhanced
state. Tonight I’m proud
to say I was one of the last ones
standing, and it was past 5:00 a.m.
when I stumbled back to the
Clocktower Inn to catch a bit of
shuteye. After all, Day 2 beckoned.

Friday, October 5, 2018
Even though it’d been a wicked late
night (after an equally late night on
Wednesday night for reasons I won’t
get into), I was up and out the door
before 10:00 a.m. this morning.
Why? The Ventura coastline is
breathtakingly beautiful. I was not
going to miss the opportunity to
experience it in all of its glory. So I
cleared the mental cobwebs as best I
could, strapped on my running
shoes, ran to the beach, then took a
right turn and headed north up the
coastline. Over the next 12 miles, I
reveled in the beauty of the place,
from the waves crashing ashore, to
the surfers, to the birds, to the
strawberry fields and hills. And it
just goes on and on forever. Wow.
Even if there weren’t a Frost and Fire
festival, Ventura would be a most
w o r t h y v a c a t i o n p a r a d i s e .
Afterwards, I had lunch at Habit –
everyone’s favorite burger chain in
downtown Ventura – with a friend. I
love the place, so it’s more than a bit
surprising I only had one Habit meal
on this entire trip, but I certainly
enjoyed it. A series of festivalrelated
errands followed, as well as
some pre-show drinks with friends
across the street at Sans Souci (no
shots today, unlike yesterday), and
before I knew it, it was 4:00 and time
for doors to open again. Time does
fly when you’re having fun.
Getting the ball rolling today was
VANDALLUS from Cleveland, a fivepiece
featuring Shaun Vanek of
Midnight on guitar and his brother
Jason on vocals, as well as my friend
Tyler Harvey (ex-Deadiron) on guitar.
In stark contrast to Shaun Vanek’s
day job, Vandallus plays ‘80s style
melodic metal, like a punchier,
anthemic Dokken perhaps. The
night before I left home for California,
the mailman delivered my copy of
Vandallus’s second album, Bad
Disease, which I listened to three
times that evening before catching
my plane. It’s a great record. New
and old songs translated really well
live today. “Break the Stone” was
aired early on, and that’s my jam from
the first album. What a killer song,
perfectly tailored for singing along,
throwing fists in the air and going
nuts. I obliged. And really the bulk
of Vandallus’ 30-minute set was in
that vein: straightahead melodic
rockers, easy to latch on to and fun to
sing along with. I was definitely
happy to see Vandallus.
Setlist: Infected, Break the Stone, On
the High Side, Heart Attacker,
Sundown Haze, Who’s Chasing Me,
Get Out, Bad Disease.
Southern California’s THRUST were
a late addition to the Frost and Fire IV
party, recruited to replace Shok Paris
who sadly were unable to participate
because of a family health matter.
Much as I missed seeing Shok Paris, I
was ecstatic to get to see Thrust
again. Over the last couple of years,
those guys have shown me time and
time again what a killer live band they
are, plus they’ve become my friends.
What made today’s Thrust show
special was that it featured a fistful of
tracks from the band’s acclaimed
new album, Harvest of Souls, which
holds true to Thrust’s signature
heavier-than-hell sound without
sacrificing songwriting skill along
the way. It also helped that the band
were putting everything they had into
their performance, clearly jazzed to
have the opportunity to rock the
Frost and Fire crowd on the big
stage. Just look at drummer Joe
Rezendes, arms flailing, hair flying,
singing along, and rocking out
behind the kit. Or guitarist Ronnie
Cooke, never staying still, even as
his face remained a mask of

concentration as he broke out his
brand-new V guitar for the occasion.
As for vocalist Eric Claro, I swear I’ve
never heard him sound better than he
did today, his powerful, distinctive
voice cutting through the PA din, and
leading the charge on those new
songs. (Okay, yeah, he forgot the
lyrics to “Feel the Pain” momentarily,
but Rezendes got him back on track
and Claro kicked ass from there to the
finish line.) When a band’s got a chip
on their shoulder and something to
prove, it always shows. And today it
did. The result was a killer set
featuring my favorite songs from the
new album (“Sorceress,” “Deceiver,”
and “Feel the Pain”) as well as the
expected classics “Fist Held High”
(Claro bringing the mike around to let
audience members join in the chorus,
and at one point shouting “Kit!” and
thrusting (ha) it right in my face to
have a go at the chorus), “Overdrive,”
and “Posers Will Die.” I was so proud
of Thrust today. They showed up
with clear-eyed determination and
focus, and they put their best foot
forward. Great live band. Great
friends. Can’t wait to see them again.
Setlist: Deceiver, Sorceress, Fist Held
High, Immortal, Overdrive, Shadow of
the Cross, Blood King, Feel the Pain,
Posers Will Die.
British ‘80s metal titans CLOVEN
HOOF have been making the rounds
in the United States for several weeks
now on their first-ever American tour.
I had the pleasure of catching up with
the tour on a rainy Wednesday night
in New Orleans a couple of weeks
ago, so I knew what was in store.
Actually, I didn’t quite. That night in
New Orleans was musclebound fill-in
guitarist Joseph Whelan’s last show,
as wunderkind Luke Hatton finally
returned from his vacation in Kenya
to join up with the tour. So tonight
was my first time seeing Luke play on
this tour (he’d attended the New
Orleans gig in an observer capacity).
I spent the first three songs out in
front of the stage in the first row,
banging my head and singing along
gleefully to “Inquisitor,” “Cloven
Hoof,” and my favorite, “Nova
Battlestar.” As for the song “Cloven
Hoof,” the lads had regaled me in New
Orleans with stories of all the
mystical, bizarre things that had
happened while they played the song
live, particularly during the “witches
rune” part (you know what I mean if
you know the tune). Tonight I actually
witnessed one in person.
Bassist Lee Payne (the founder of
Cloven Hoof, a blur of onstage
energy, and a man I’m honored to call
my friend) was up there rocking out
with reckless abandon, as he always
does, when during the “witches rune”
part of “Cloven Hoof” the crucifix on
his necklace became detached and
fell into his hand. His facial
expression instantly changed to one
of vexed concern, and he made a
point of showing it to singer George
Call before the song ended. Creepy.
After “Nova Battlestar,” I was
summoned backstage to work with
Night Demon in preparation for their
set, which is when I was nearly kicked
out by that overzealous asshole
security guard I mentioned earlier.
The result was that I missed all of
“Highlander” and the first half of
“ G a t e s o f G e h e n n a ” b e f o r e
successfully making my way to the
s i d e s t a g e a r e a t o w a t c h t h e
remainder of Cloven Hoof’s set. Luke
immediately spied me and came over
to play his solo while leaning back
into me. And George came over for a
hug and a quick chat during the
instrumental bit. I had the best seat in
the house for the closing trio of Hoof
classics: “Crack the Whip,” “Laying
Down the Law,” and “Reach for the
Sky.” From my vantage point, I could
also see the audience very clearly.
They were going nuts, especially up
front where dudes like Visigoth’s
Jake Rogers were going batshit
crazy for Cloven Hoof. And rightfully
so. The band played brilliantly. The
classic Hoof tunes rule (though I was
a bit sad that nothing at all was aired
from their most recent album, the
outstanding Who Mourns for the
Mourning Star).

Lee Payne is a true gentleman and a
lifer for this music we all love. Call
sang great. Danny White is as solid,
steady, and precise a drummer as
you’ll ever see. And as they
scampered off stage, I told Luke,
“You’re better than Joe.” He
laughed. If Joe ever heard that, he’d
break me like a twig, haha, so
hopefully word never gets back to
him. If it does, Joe, just kidding. You
rule, bro. Please don’t kill me. All hail
Lee Payne and Cloven Hoof. Setlist:
Inquisitor, Cloven Hoof, Nova
Battlestar, Highlander, Gates of
Gehenna, Crack the Whip, Laying
Down the Law, Reach for the Sky.
arms to the sea of troubles. And
they’re among the nicest guys I’ve
ever encountered in metal. Yeah, I
was really hoping Destructor would
go out and crush skulls today, and
that’s what they did. All decked out in
leather, studs and a Lady Beast shirt
for good measure, Dave Overkill
rallied his forces from the outset with
a blistering rendition of “Tear Down
the Heavens.” Man, this is US
power/thrash metal at its absolute
best. Overkill’s voice remains
commanding, laden with equal parts
grit and melody. From side stage, I
had an awesome view of Matt
Flammable on drums. The man’s had
to each other, marveling at the
nuance and finesse that Destructor
successfully embedded within the
brute force of certain cuts. From old
gems like “Pounding Evil” and “Iron
C u r t a i n ” t h r o u g h m o r e
contemporary slabs such as “Keep
the Faith” and “Metal Spike Deep,”
the band maintained full intensity
and full power for the entire set. By
the end of set-closing “Dominate,”
Dave Overkill had the perfect grand
finale, to-wit: he smashed his guitar
to bits on the stage, Paul Stanley
style, and handed the pieces to
audience members in the front row.
That, my friends, is rock’n’roll, and
Cleveland’s DESTRUCTOR are one of
the easiest bands in our scene to pull
for. They released an absolute
legendary album in the form of
Maximum Destruction in 1985, and
they’ve continued putting out quality
material to this day. They’ve endured
more misfortune and tragedy within
the band than anyone deserves, but
have somehow weathered the slings
and arrows of outrageous fortune
with dignity and grace, taking up
some significant health setbacks in
recent years, but you’d never have
guessed it by the way he assaulted
the kit. A really cool thing about
Destructor’s performance today is
that, while it was certainly bruising
and visceral, it was also very musical
and in places surprisingly nimble and
technical. From my vantage point, I
was standing near musicians from
other bands who were watching
Destructor play. I heard them talking
that’s how it’s done. Destructor did
to their performance today what Dave
Overkill did to that guitar: They
smashed it. Awesome set.
Setlist: Tear Down the Heavens,
Pounding Evil, Keep the Faith, World
of War, Metal Spike Deep, Blackest
Night, Iron Curtain, Dominate.
(“Sonic Bullet” was also on the
handwritten setlist, but I have no
recollection of them playing it so I
think it was cut for time restrictions.)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one
before: NIGHT DEMON plays a
festival in their hometown, a festival
they themselves organize, in front of
a ravenous audience consisting of
their family and friends from both
Southern California and all around
the world. What exactly do you think
is going to happen? The same thing
that happens every single year when
Night Demon plays Frost and Fire.
They blow the roof off the place.
They find another gear you never
knew they had. They take no
prisoners. They remind you why
you love this band and these people,
and why you traveled so far to be
here in the first place. It was a simply
world-class performance in front of
perhaps the largest, most rabid
audience of the entire weekend.
The opening four-cut salvo of
“Welcome to the Night” into “Full
Speed Ahead” into “Maiden Hell”
into “Dawn Rider” (complete with
Motorhead tribute in the form of the
beginning of “Overkill” before
switching over to “Dawn Rider”) is
simply untouchable, all sweat and
fire and speed and blood and guts.
The middle part of the set is where
the dynamics come out, with more
brooding tracks like “Howling Man”
and “Stranger in the Room” (which
Jarvis Leatherby dedicated to “the
one person who isn’t having fun” at
Frost and Fire, a twist on his usual
dedication of the song to the one guy
in the back who doesn’t own
Darkness Remains) alongside
burners like “Hallowed Ground” and
“Screams in the Night.”
Before “Life on the Run,” the band
paused for Jarvis to pay tribute to
the late Mark “The Shark” Shelton,
which he did in such a heartfelt
manner that I don’t think there was a
dry eye in the house, and not from
sweat either. I had the distinct honor
of reprising the role of Rocky the
mascot during “The Chalice” this
evening, which is noteworthy only
because I damn near missed my cue
as certain notorious band members,
who shall remain nameless, were
insisting on multiple photo ops with
Rocky before he went on stage,
haha.
The Scorpions cover “In Trance” is
now so masterfully done by Night
Demon that it is absolutely a work of
beauty, a guaranteed shiver-downthe-spine
moment and a true
highlight of the set. All too soon it
was time for “Night Demon,” with
Jarvis, Armand and Dusty sprinting
to the finish line of what was simply a
steamroller performance, a lesson in
precision and power, muscle and
might, and wild-eyed, barely
controlled chaos. This is what
heavy metal’s all about. I couldn’t
have been more proud.
Setlist: Welcome to the Night, Full
Speed Ahead, Maiden Hell, Dawn
Rider, Howling Man, Hallowed
Ground, Life on the Run, Stranger in
the Room, Screams in the Night, The
Chalice, In Trance, Night Demon.

From here, the agenda evolved into
more extreme realms for the
remainder of the evening, courtesy
of WARBRINGER and MIDNIGHT. It
was a shrewd move. I mean,
obviously Frost and Fire is a
traditional metal festival that caters
to a traditional metal crowd, but it’s
healthy to add a bit of diversity, both
on the mellower end of the spectrum
(Tanith, Ashbury), and the heavier
end of the spectrum.
There were a significant number of
people who came to the show
tonight for the express purpose of
seeing Warbringer and Midnight,
and who were not present for the
other days of the festival. From a
ticket sales standpoint, that’s
fantastic. But also, for me, as the
target audience of Frost and Fire, it
feels really good to have a couple of
change-of-pace bands in the mix.
Because I’d been working to help
with the Night Demon performance, I
hadn’t been drinking really at all to
this point of the day, and so I was
distressingly sober. But once Night
Demon finished, the Long Island
Iced Teas started flowing, and I went
out front and headbanged myself
into oblivion.
For Warbringer’s set (an eleventhhour
replacement for Germany’s
Exumer, who were forced to cancel
because of visa issues), I was
captivated by the razor-sharp
riffage, the amazing leadwork of
Chase Becker, and the intensity of
frontman John Kevill. It helped that
they played a ton of old stuff. It’s
easy to rage to songs like “Combat
Shock” and “Total War.” I enjoyed
Warbringer’s set thoroughly.
Then Midnight came out, and I was
stunned to see them playing as a
four-piece rather than a three-piece,
even more so when I realized later
that the man behind the hood on the
second guitar is a friend of mine. (I
don’t know if his identity is
s u p p o s e d t o b e a s e c r e t o r
something, so I won’t identify him
here. Anyway, the dude played great
a n d fi t t h e b a n d p e r f e c t l y ;
unfortunately, he broke a string that
knocked him out of commission for a
couple of minutes, and was clearly
perturbed about it afterwards. No
worries, my friend. You rocked!) If
you can imagine an even heavier,
more bludgeoning Midnight live
assault than you’ve ever witnessed
before, that’s what the second guitar
adds. Pure unadulterated mayhem!
After a couple of songs, the band
dove right into performing their
Satanic Royalty album in its entirety,
with predictably euphoric reaction
from the crowd. Afterwards, they
did “Evil Like a Knife,” which is well-

k n o w n e v e n t o t r a d i t i o n a l
metalheads because Night Demon
famously covered it on their Live
Darkness album recorded in
Midnight’s hometown of Cleveland,
Ohio, last December. So it was only
right and proper that for this
performance of “Evil Like a Knife,”
Jarvis Leatherby joined Athenar and
his minions on stage for a rip-riding
blast through the track.
I didn’t stick around until the end of
the Midnight set, but not because I’m
lame. On the contrary, there was a
good reason for it. You see, the
after-party was to commence at
11:30 p.m. (approximately 15
minutes before Midnight’s set
concluded) across the street from
the Ventura Theater at a cozy little
dive bar called Sans Souci. When I
say “cozy,” I mean the room is
freakin’ small. The sign on the wall
fixes capacity at 48 people (if
memory serves). It’s a tiny little
postage-stamp of a place. No stage.
The band just sets up in a corner of
the room under a couple of dim red
lights. I knew the after-party would
be packed in no time, so I jetted out
of Midnight early to make certain I
was able to get inside and stake out
some prime real estate to see
BLOOD STAR.
Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah,
Blood Star had the opening slot on
Night Demon’s US tour in August. I
consider all four band members to
be friends, and I was damned if I was
going to miss them tonight. It was a
wise decision. The set they played
at Sans Souci was so much fun,
tearing through all five of their
original songs they performed on
the Night Demon tour (“Tortured
Earth” is my favorite, but stuff like
“The Fear” and “Fearless Priestess”
have grown quite dear in my heart as
well), plus their warp-speed romp
through Twisted Sister’s “Stay
Hungry.”
As a special bonus tonight, Blood
Star played a surprise cover of
Savatage’s “White Witch,” an
overlooked gem from Hall of the
M o u n t a i n K i n g w h i c h t h e y
completely nailed. (The next day,
singer Madi Smith told me she hadn’t
been feeling well and didn’t think
she’d be able to get through “White
Witch,” which is of course a highly
demanding song to sing. I never
would have guessed because she
powered through admirably and did
a hell of a job.) So yes, Blood Star
was fantastic tonight. But more
than that, there was something really
cool and really special after
watching bands play on a big stage
in a big room for two days to go into a
tiny little dive bar and rock out with a
few dozen friends and the band at
eye level. It’s where this music came
from. It’s where this music belongs.
And Blood Star rocked it. Setlist:
Stalking the Beast, Stiff Liver, Stay
Hungry, The Fear, Tortured Earth,
White Witch, Fearless Priestess.
There was still one more band to play
the after-party (Novareign, an
unknown entity to me about whom I
heard very good things later in the
weekend). I missed Novareign’s set
because I decided it was time to hit
the beach party and I needed to go
back to my hotel room to grab my
Ungol hoodie (it’s chilly on the beach
Photo: Blood Star Facebook
in the middle of the night in October)
and some beers first. The beach
party carried on well into the wee
hours of the night, and I had a great
time talking with friends old and new
and watching the waves crash into
the shore while enjoying a tasty
beverage or four. The Frost and Fire
beach party tradition is the best. It
was almost time for the sun to peek
out over the horizon when I finally
made it back to my bed at the
Clocktower Inn and crashed hard for
a couple of hours.

Saturday, October 6, 2018
After maybe three hours of sleep, I
awakened with a start. Time was
wasting. No, I wasn’t going to go for
another long run up and down the
Ventura coastline today, though God
knows I would have loved to do so.
Today was the final day of perhaps
the final Frost and Fire. I had a
packed social schedule leading up to
the time when I needed to be at the
venue to help with the day’s
preparations, so there was simply no
time to sleep. It was great to visit oneon-one
with a few awesome people,
whom I see all too rarely, and I’m
really glad I made it a priority this
time. You know who you are, and I
thank each one of you from the
depths of my blackened heart.
Doors opened a bit earlier today (3:00
p.m. versus 4 o’clock on the other
days), with the first band to go on at
3:30. That first band was a real treat,
in the form of SACRED FEW. The
Cleveland band (wow, Cleveland was
exceedingly well represented at Frost
and Fire IV, eh? rightfully so, if you
ask me) released a cult album called
Beyond the Iron Walls back in 1985,
and has technically been around
since 1977, but they hardly ever
perform live, so this was very cool.
Even better, original vocalist Sandy
K r u g e r w a s j o i n e d f o r t h i s
performance by ¾ of the Midnight
lineup that played last night. That’s
awesome. Between the early start
today and the fatigue inherent in Day
3 of a fest, there were not as many
people on hand at the Ventura
Theater to witness Sacred Few as
there should have been, but it didn’t
matter. Kruger put her entire heart
into her performance, belting out the
t u n e s w i t h i n c r e d i b l e p o w e r,
infectious enthusiasm, and a
massive booming voice that rivals
any of the big-name classic rock
female singers of the 1970s and
1980s. She’s amazing. And it was so
cool to see the Midnight dudes clearly
relishing the opportunity to play
these songs. They weren’t just going
through the motions or doing anyone
a favor; on the contrary, you could tell
they dug the hell out the Sacred Few
material and that they were having a
great time up there. Tunes like
“Screamin’ Guitars” and “Coming to
Your Town” sounded great this
afternoon, and all the more so
because it was obvious that Sandy
Kruger was having the time of her life,
chugging alcohol and cracking jokes
i n b e t w e e n s o n g s w i t h a n
omnipresent smile on her face. When
the set ended, I made a point of going
to the lobby, finding Sandy, giving her
a big hug and telling her I was proud
of her. I was. She rocked it.

A 4:25 p.m. timeslot seemed awfully
early in the day for a legendary band
like VICIOUS RUMORS, but so be it.
The band is in the midst of a fullscale
US tour, celebrating the 30th
anniversary of Digital Dictator by
playing the album in its entirety.
Geoff Thorpe, Larry Howe, and the
boys were revved up and ready to
rock, notwithstanding the hellishly
early hour. What followed was a very
impressive display of prime US
power metal. It’s difficult to keep
track of who’s who in Vicious
Rumors sometimes because of all
t h e l i n e u p c h a n g e s , b u t t h e
personnel that Thorpe and Howe
have assembled for this tour are all
top-notch. They now possess a
tremendous singer, who had the
range and the power to do justice to
Carl Albert’s vocal lines, as well as
stage presence for miles. And a
lead guitarist who could keep up
with Thorpe in the shredding
department, but also knew how to
work a stage. Same for the bass
player. The results were nothing
short of lethal. And goodness
knows, it’s impossible to find fault
with such timeless classics as
“Minute to Kill” or “Lady Took a
Chance” or “Condemned.” The
entire Digital Dictator album
sounded incredible today, and I also
really enjoyed the bits of stagecraft
Photo: Michael Podrybau
where the band would come
together at the front of the stage for
choreographed moves (I’ve always
been a sucker for that sort of thing,
ever since I saw Accept for the first
time as a precocious lad back in
1986). I was rocking out so hard
during Vicious Rumors’ set that I
somehow hit my head on the rail
(haha, klutz I know), giving me a nice
bruise on the side of the noggin that
persists to this day. My only
disappointment was that there was
no time after completing the Digital
Dictator portion of the set to play
some of their other classics such as
“Don’t Wait for Me,” which they’ve
been doing at other shows on this
tour. Nonetheless, Vicious Rumors
upped the ante considerably, and set
a standard of performance that the
ensuing bands would have to work
very hard to match, indeed.
Setlist: Digital Dictator, Minute to
Kill, Town’s on Fire, Lady took a
Chance, Worlds and Machines, The
Crest, R.L.H., Condemned, Out of the
Shadows.

Anyone who knows me knows that
ATTACKER is one of my favorite
bands. There are so many reasons. I
mean, Battle at Helm’s Deep and The
Second Coming reeled me in as a
teenager. I was always enthralled by
the band’s muscular, aggressive take
on traditional metal, with the thrashy
rhythms, the screechy vocals, the
pulverizing intensity, and the Jersey
attitude, yet all combined with catchy
melodies and killer songwriting. The
icing on the cake is that the Attacker
guys are some of my favorite people
as well. So I am always overjoyed to
see the New Jersey quintet play live,
especially when (as here) I’d suffered
a drought exceeding a year since the
last time I saw them. As always,
Attacker turned in a brilliant
performance today. On a number of
shows this year, Attacker have been
playing The Second Coming in its
entirety in honor of that record’s 30th
anniversary; however, they weren’t
doing so today, although drummer
Michael Sabatini hastened to point
and “Slayer’s Blade” (flawless) all
the way up to more recent tracks like
“Skinwalker” and my all-time
favorite, “Glen of the Ghost,” which
Lucas dedicated to Mark Shelton in a
very classy move. That song gives
me goosebumps every single time,
and today was no different. Armed
with a generous 60-minute set,
Attacker nonetheless came sprinting
out of the gate and never slowed
down, miraculously maintaining the
energy and intensity for the entire
performance (although Sabatini told
me later that it was so hot up there
that he thought he was going to pass
out near the end). Mikey Benetatos is
a truly awe-inspiring guitar player
and a world-class performer as well,
really the visual focal point of
Attacker ’s live configuration.
Guitarist Jon Hasselbrink and
bassist Brian Smith are also a lot of
fun to watch, and definitely hold up
their end of the deal in terms of
musicianship and stagecraft. Then
there’s Bobby “Leather Lungs”
Lucas, whose stellar pipes put all of
these songs over the top with grit and
thunder and power and rage. Yeah,
Attacker’s one of my favorite bands.
And today they played one of my
absolute favorite Frost and Fire sets.
I’m in awe, and extremely thankful.
Setlist: Lords of Thunder, The
Hammer, World Destroyer, Slayer’s
Blade, Zero Hour, This is Power, The
Madness, Skinwalker, The End,
Octagon, Emanon, The Hermit,
Captives of Babylon, Glen of the
Ghost.
out to me that they were playing 6
Second Coming songs today, and he
k n e w I h a d s e e n t h e m p l a y
“Revelations of Evil” before so really
I w a s o n l y m i s s i n g o u t o n
“Desecration.” The man’s got a
point. Besides, it was worth
foregoing a couple of The Second
Coming tracks to get a full, balanced
14-song setlist that embraced the
entire Attacker discography, from
Battle at Helm’s Deep all the way to
the current, awesome Armor of the
Gods EP. The set was absolutely
littered with killer cuts, from “This is
Power” and “The End” (love the
vocal tradeoffs between Bobby
Lucas and Mike Benetatos on that
one) to early stuff like “The Hermit”

Next up were ETERNAL CHAMPION,
one of the brightest hopes for epic
heavy metal in the United States
today. Yeah, The Armor of Ire is a
truly monstrous slab of pure molten
metal, but the honest truth is that I
only liked (and did not love) the
band’s set at Hell’s Heroes Festival in
Houston this spring. Today was a
different story. Eternal Champion
(themselves a replacement band,
filling in for the eagerly anticipated
P a g a n A l t a r ) c a m e o u t a n d
dominated the Frost and Fire crowd
for 50 minutes. Opening with
“Retaliator” off the split they did with
Gatekeeper a couple of years ago,
Eternal Champion proceeded to tear
through the bulk of The Armor of Ire,
each song sounding more killer,
more epic, and more metal than the
last. Frontman Jason Tarpey (clad in
a white cutoff Gatekeeper shirt) cut
an imposing figure onstage with his
violent headbanging and his “air
archery” (best stage move ever – he
shoots imaginary arrows, drawing
the bowstring back with full strength
and releasing the arrow to find its
target in the hearts of his enemies –
eat your heart out, Legolas) and his
gruff barks and bellows. Somewhere
around the time they played “The
Last King of Pictdom,” a friend
leaned over and shouted in my ear,
“When did they turn into such a great
live band?” She was right. Eternal
Champion blew me (and I think,
everyone else too) away tonight.
“Invoker” was simply glorious, and
“Sing a Last Song of Valdese” was
utterly triumphant. But Eternal
Champion saved the best for last.
Tarpey said, “This song is about
being hard as f**k,” and they ripped
into “I Am the Hammer,” complete
with guest appearance by Visigoth’s
Jake Rogers. Amazing. All hail
Eternal Champion. A more worthy
band never strode onto the Frost and
Fire stage this year.
Setlist: Retaliator, The Armor of Ire,
The Last King of Pictdom, Invoker,
Sing a Last Song of Valdese, I Am the
Hammer.
Can you go higher still? Sacred Few
made me feel all warm and fuzzy,
Vicious Rumors crushed with a
Digital Dictator set, Attacker were
Jersey-style world destroyers, and
E t e r n a l C h a m p i o n w e r e t h e
motherf**king hammer. It didn’t
seem possible that this day could
maintain an upwards trajectory, but
I’ll be damned: It did. VISIGOTH
came out and slaughtered the entire
place for an hour. I’ve often said that
Visigoth are perhaps the last, best
hope for epic metal in America, but
I’ve never seen them so on fire
before. They went out there and
played a flawless set, with the entire
audience eating out of their hands,
singing along every word, banging
their heads and generally going
crazy.
I bonded with complete strangers up
front in the suddenly-packed pit area
(after Attacker, the venue abruptly
changed their policy of keeping the
pit reserved for those who had
purchased the triple-priced pit
p a s s e s a n d s t a r t e d a l l o w i n g
everyone in, with the result being a
crowded, roiling pit section for the
reminder of the night). I don’t want to
start naming songs, but my God,
Visigoth kicked off the set with “Steel
and Silver,” hundreds of voices
joining forces with Jake Rogers in
the night to belt out, “By Steel / By
Silver / I slay / Like a wolf in the
night.” Glorious. “Outlive Them All”
is an instant classic off Conqueror’s
Oath and the damn thing works even
better live – “THERE CAN BE ONLY
ONE!!!!”

Somewhere around this time, I
spotted Madi Smith (singer of Blood
Star and wife of Visigoth guitarist
Jamison Palmer) in the pit nearby.
We exchanged a knowing smile, a
smile that said, “Holy crap, Visigoth
completely and totally rule.” Then
when they played “Blood Sacrifice,”
a large dude behind me screamed,
“That’s my jam,” and all of us went
utterly ballistic for seven minutes.
When it couldn’t get better, it did.
Visigoth brought out Bryan Patrick
to help sing their Manilla Road cover,
“Necropolis,” a moment that I don’t
think left a single soul in the Ventura
Theater unscathed. Then I’ll be
damned, they played “Traitor’s
Gate.” Best song of the year? Yeah,
probably, and I swear, it’s even more
incredible live. The cherry on top
was “The Revenant King” off the first
album, when Eternal Champion
mainman Jason Tarpey joined
Visigoth onstage to return the favor
and help Jake sing it and send us all
to heavy metal Valhalla. “We are
revenant / We have returned / So bow
y o u r h e a d s / W e a r e y o u r
doooooom.” Holy hell. Visigoth
completely blew me away. This is a
performance I will never, ever forget.
Wow.
Setlist: Steel and Silver, Warrior
Queen, Outlive Them All, Dungeon
Master, Blood Sacrifice, Necropolis,
Hammerforged, Traitor’s Gate, The
Revenant King.
It was a brilliant bit of scheduling to
structure the running order like this.
You see, after the exhilarating
crescendo of Visigoth’s set, there
was nowhere to go that would be
more epic, more powerful, more
metal. So the fest organizers didn’t
even try. Instead, they used this
moment to bring out the ultimate
change-of-pace band, ASHBURY. To
be sure, the Davis brothers’ music is
intense and emotional, but it’s a
totally different animal than the
Attackers and Eternal Champions
and Visigoths of the world. Ashbury
has performed at every single Frost
and Fire, and with good reason.
People love them. The Davis
brothers weave mystical magic with
their guitars and their voices,
carrying us all off to faraway realms
of mystery, sadness and hope. The
Endless Skies material is timeless
and deeply spiritual for so many
Frost and Fire attendees.

Sure enough, the gig was beautiful.
Ashbury played all your favorites
from Endless Skies, including songs
that make me tear up like “Mystery
M a n ” a n d “ M a d m a n ” a n d f o r
heaven’s sake, “Take Your Love
Away.” “Cold Light of Day” and
“Evacuation Time” are always
welcome, and the lone inclusion from
the new album (“Good Guitar”) has
quickly become an audience favorite
as well. The only strange thing was
that even though the band played for
over an hour, the set seemed quite
short in comparison to the marathon
sessions they’d delivered at the last
couple of Frost and Fire gigs at the
Bombay. No matter. What’s
important is that Ashbury’s music
soothes the soul, it calms troubled
waters, and it brings peace and
comfort to the weariest of spirits. It
was exactly what I needed to hear at
this moment during the festival. And
the execution was simply perfect.
Every opportunity to see Ashbury is
a gift, and it’d be worth flying to
California just to see them. Long
may they rock.
Setlist: The Warning, Take Your Love
Away, Hard Fight, No Mourning,
Mystery Man, Evacuation Time, Good
Guitar, Madman, Eternal Skies, Cold
Light of Day, Vengeance.
Thus refreshed, rejuvenated and
relaxed, the Frost and Fire faithful
were ready to kick it into high gear
one last time. Chosen for the anchor
leg of the festival, damn proper, were
none other than SATAN. Not only did
the British royalty release an all-time
classic album in the form of Court in
the Act in 1983, but their reunion
(seven years in and still going strong)
of all classic-lineup members has
been an unqualified success, both in
terms of studio output and live
performances. Satan were on the
second gig of a 10-show run from
Artwork by Eliran Kantor
coast to coast in the USA, but tonight
was billed as a special gig. In lieu of
their normal tour set, Satan played
the entire Court in the Act LP for Frost
and Fire. I’m generally not in favor of
the “play-the-entire-album” format
for live shows, simply because
precious few albums are sufficiently
strong from top to bottom to deserve
such treatment. But Court in the Act
is. Sure, there are magnificent songs
like “Trial by Fire” and “Blades of
Steel” and “Break Free” that have
been staples of the Satan set forever,
b u t t h e n t h e r e a r e e q u a l l y
compelling, but seldom played tunes
such as “Hunt You Down” and
“Broken Treaties” and even the
instrumental, “The Ritual.” Anyway,
Satan’s sprint through Court in the
Act went over extremely well, with
guitarists Russ Tippins and Steve
Ramsey playing as if possessed by
demons, and Brian Ross adding his
courtly, timeless vocals over the top.
The band left the stage after “Alone in
the Dock,” and I knew they’d be back
for a potentially lengthy encore. (I
heard later that Satan played another
9 songs and 45 minutes or so after
they came back out.) Unfortunately, I
could not stay. You see, I had
promises to keep, and miles to go
before I sleep. Actually, no, to hell
with Robert Frost, I really wanted to
see the two bands playing the after
party at Sans Souci tonight, and I
knew I’d be seeing Satan again in
Hollywood tomorrow, so I bailed to
get a spot across the street before the
place packed out.

The set-up at Sans Souci was the
same tonight as last night. No stage,
bands set up on the floor in a tiny
corner of the tiny room under a
couple of red lights, with no room to
move a muscle. But the room got way
more crowded tonight, as these
bands were in great demand.
Fortunately, I was able to position
myself in the very front so I had a
great view of everything. A friend
bought me a margarita (why not? It
was a nice change of pace after all
those devilishly strong Long Island
Iced Teas I’d been downing all day),
and I was soooooo ready to rock
when the lights went down at 11:30
p.m.
I had never seen ROAD RASH before,
but I was eager to do so. Their lead
guitarist, Benny Kemp (a/k/a Benny
Burn), is a friend and a really good
dude, whom I hung out with in May at
the London installment of Frost and
Fire. Plus, I own their Thunder in
Paradise album on CD and enjoy it a
lot. I was expecting nutty, over-thetop,
fun-loving Canadian speed metal
from the Vancouver wackos tonight,
and that’s exactly what I got. Benny
and the boys blasted through four
tunes from Thunder in Paradise, all
high-velocity, shout-along, bangyour-fist
numbers like “Asphalt
Assault” and “Speedwheel.” They
also played an apparently new song
in the form of “Street Guerreros,”
which (in addition to being really fun
to say) was definitely up to par. Then
Road Rash ended their short set in
the best possible way by covering
Maiden’s “Running Free,” a surefire
way to rile everyone up, sweaty and
rocking out.
To me, the most amazing aspect
about Road Rash was that somehow
they managed to move around in that
microscopic “stage” area and
actually deliver a show instead of
standing still and playing. It seemed
like every time I looked, there was
Benny, moving to the other side of the
“stage” and falling to his knees or
hoisting his axe high and playing it
behind his head. Those guys were
determined to move and have fun no
matter the ridiculously cramped
confines of the area they were
playing. And it showed. Fun is
infectious, and I think everyone at
Sans Souci had a blast during Road
Rash’s set.
If you haven’t heard Road Rash, and
you dig killer speed metal with lyrics
about streets and roads and avenues
and boulevards and gasoline and
antifreeze and brake fluid and shock
absorbers, then do yourself a favor
and check out their performance
video for “Asphalt Assault,” which is
a great introduction to what the
Vancouver quartet are all about.
Setlist: Petrol for Breakfast, Asphalt
Assault, Street Guerreros, Burnout,
Speedwheel, Running Free.
If it were up to me, Frost and Fire IV
would never end. But if it had to end,
then it was supremely fitting that
B E W I T C H E R c l o s e d o u t t h e
festivities on the Sans Souci stage
with odes to Satan delivered at devilmay-care
velocities, burning the
whole damn place to the ground
(metaphorically speaking, of course).
Mateo, Andreas and Rand always
bring it, but I think they had a little
extra tonight, as I’ve never heard
them so tight, so intense and so
damned evil. I was standing there,
just inches from the dreadlocked
Mateo, looking him eye to eye and
losing myself in the mighty riffs
raging forth from his V. I honestly
don’t remember exactly what they
played (I blame the margaritas), but I
know they opened with a new tune
(“Too Fast for the Flame”) and they
played a big chunk of the debut album
(“Speed ‘til You Bleed,” “Black Speed
Delirium,” “Sin is in Her Blood,”
“Bewitcher,” and “In the Night (the
Cult Will Rise)” were all in there for
sure), before wrapping things up with
a pair suitably Bewitcherized covers,
Priest’s “Green Manalishi” and
Motorhead’s “(We are) the Road
Crew.” The latter, especially, sent me
into a delirious headbanging frenzy
because I’d kind of been pestering
Mateo and Andreas about playing
that song all weekend long (sorry,
guys). I’m sure they were going to do
it anyway, but in the sleep-deprived,
alcohol-fueled, reality-bending haze
of the moment, I was 100% convinced
that Bewitcher were playing “(We are)
the Road Crew” just for me. It’s kind
of the greatest feeling in the world
when you think one of your favorite
bands is up there playing one of your
favorite songs just for you. Whether
it’s true or not is beside the point.
To make the moment even more
special, I could turn and scan the
faces of the people packed into Sans
Souci and see so many awesome
people and good friends from
everywhere, all packed in like
sardines into this tiny bar and rocking
out like it was the end of the world.
What an amazing way to end the
festival. It captured the essence of
everything I love about going to gigs,
all encapsulated in a singular
precious memory seared into my
brain. Thank you, Bewitcher. You
rule.
Of course, the night didn’t end when
Bewitcher took off their guitars and
turned off the amps. Did someone
say shenanigans? Oh, yes, there
were shenanigans in abundance. A
large group of us retired to the beach
for another epic after- after-party.
Things got really out of control for
awhile, before they suddenly turned
very intense and serious. But not
every story needs to be told. There’s
some stuff about that night I’ll
remember forever, both good and
bad. Well after sunrise, I finally made
it back to my hotel room and
collapsed for about 2 hours of sleep
before hastily packing my bag,
checking out and hauling ass for
Hollywood.

Thus, the end of Frost and Fire IV. I
am so thankful for everyone who
m a d e i t s u c h a n i n c r e d i b l e
experience. Before concluding this
report, I’m going to get on my
soapbox for just a minute, so please
indulge me (assuming any of you are
insane or masochistic enough to
have read this far). F&F IV was billed
as the last installment of the fest, or
at least the last one in Ventura (the
message was kept intentionally
vague).
Predictably, because everyone had
such a killer time, there has been a
stream of chatter about whether it’s
*really* the last one, and surely they
*have* to do it again next year and so
on. I’ll say this: I love Frost and Fire
at least as much as any of you do.
It’s my favorite festival in the world.
I’ve attended all of them and it’s been
my life’s highlight each year. But it’s
critically important to understand
that this event we all love comes at a
h i g h c o s t t h a t i s b o r n
disproportionately by three dudes.
Whether the fun is worth that heavy
price isn’t for you or I or any of us to
answer. Only those three dudes can
say. So don’t hassle ‘em, don’t
pressure ‘em and for God’s sake,
don’t try to goad or guilt ‘em into
doing it again. If the subject comes
up, just say thank you, tell ‘em Frost
and Fire rules, you had a great time,
and let ‘em know you love and
support them whatever they decide.
Then leave it at that. Please. To say
a n y t h i n g e l s e i s o n l y
counterproductive to what you want
to happen. Just give it a rest. What
will be, will be.
Photo: Night Demon Facebook

POSTSCRIPT: October 7, 2018
Okay, so now it was Sunday
morning. Frost and Fire IV was over,
but my sleepless, hungover self was
hauling ass to Hollywood. Why?
There was one more epic day of F&Frelated
mayhem in store. I played
tour guide for a pair of friends hitting
some of the tourist attractions in
Hollywood, as well as stopping for
bloody marys and beers along the
way. Then by mid-afternoon, we
hopped an Uber to the Sunset Strip
and wound up at the Rainbow. The
next few hours were perhaps my
favorite part of this California trip.
You see, a good number of Frost and
Fire attendees had the same idea
that we did. The Rainbow was the
place to be.
There were copious Lemmys (Jack
and Coke, don’t you know) being
consumed, so much laughter and
conversation with awesome friends
o l d a n d n e w, t e q u i l a s h o t s ,
countless photo ops in front of the
iconic Lemmy statue, more Jack and
Cokes, and God knows what else. At
some point, Hirax singer (and super
good dude) Katon De Pena was
walking through the room on his way
to his DJ gig upstairs. My friend and
I ran over and accosted him and,
bless him, Katon stopped and spoke
with us for probably 20 minutes, all
sincere and genuine and solid as the
ground you walk on. Katon is
awesome, sorry if we made you late
for work.
Eventually, most of us stumbled
down the street to the Whisky a Go-
Go to see SATAN, who completely
dominated with a superb set culled
from all of their albums, including a
whopping five numbers from the
awesome Cruel Magic album
(“Doomsday Clock” and “Into the
M o u t h o f E t e r n i t y ” s o u n d e d
especially magnificent). I also loved
hearing a healthy portion of Life
Sentence in the set as well, with
songs like “Time to Die” and
“Testimony” being as strong as
anything they’ve ever done. Sure,
Brian Ross was more than a little
longwinded in between songs
(which was endearing and amusing,
more than anything else, because he
was very self-conscious about it),
and the few drunk people slamming
into everyone else and making me
spill my drink weren’t too cool. But
wow, Satan are an incredible live
band. I just marveled at them and
thanked my lucky stars I got to see
them two nights in a row, with a
damn near flawless setlist. Russ
Tippins is the coolest guitar player
there ever was.
Setlist: Trial by Fire, Blades of Steel,
Doomsday Clock, Twenty Twenty
Five, Devil’s Infantry, Into the Mouth
of Eternity, Break Free, Ophidian,
Siege Mentality, Cruel Magic,
Incantations, Legions Hellbound,
Testimony, Fall of Persephone.
Encores: Time to Die, Alone in the
Dock.
After the gig, a group of us went back
to the Rainbow and had a couple
more Lemmys before the bar closed
and it was time to leave. Three hours
later, I was sitting in an Uber on the
way to LAX, trying to wrap my head
a r o u n d e v e r y t h i n g t h a t h a d
happened. Wow. What an all-time
classic weekend. It just doesn’t get
any better than this.