By Noe Gutierrez
VM Management and The Hood Bar & Pizza bring you another ‘Ghidorah of Metal’ music event: One Shot Thrill, Malaki and Behind The Fallen on Saturday August 16, 2014. Ghidorah was the fictional three-headed monster that ravaged Japan in the 1960’s in the Godzilla series of motion pictures. In the movie a meteor crashes to earth and winds up being the vessel that carries the beast. Like King Ghidorah, One Shot Thrill, Malaki and Behind The Fallen are prepped to land and blast The Hood with their hardcore monstrosity of hardcore heavy metal!
The current OST line-up is solid and involves Daniel on vocals, Robby on vocals, Frank on guitar, Jordan on bass and Dominic on drums. Last names have been left out to protect the innocent.
OST was initiated in 2011. They have been under the radar and not active on the scene for good reason. Daniel explains. “Although we started developing the band in 2011, we’ve been spending most of the past couple years developing our sound. Robby and I started OST as a side project from a previous local band. We realized that we shared and envisioned the same sound and decided to start writing.”
OST are not caught up in attempting to define their sound. It is eclectic as far as hardcore metal goes. “We’ve been told it’s like Linkin Park had a baby with Bury Your Dead.”
“The Let Down” featuring Andy Leo of Crown the Empire was released in January of 2014 and is available on iTunes. In listening to this song I visualized a mosh pit strewn with metal heads smashing each other in the name of camaraderie. The song has great production, drum sound and a mix of hardcore and melodious vocals.
In moving forward, OST are treading without trepidation. “The remainder of 2014 and all of 2015 are looking very promising for the future of the band. We’ve invested so much time and energy into writing and recording our debut record, so we’re grateful for all the positive feedback we’ve received from our first two releases. We can’t wait to show you our new stuff!” shared Daniel.
OST are also more focused on expanding their sound and continuing to improve quality control. “We honestly couldn’t even tell you what we think our next song will sound like, all we can promise is that we won’t put anything out unless we already love it.”
The Hood show will be the debut of OST in the Coachella Valley. “Most of us haven’t played a show out here in over two years. We’re looking forward to our first local show here at The Hood with some other great bands, (Malaki, Behind the Fallen). We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.”
Daniel is a desert native and shared with CV Weekly his take on the past and present music scene. “It seems like the past couple of years there wasn’t a whole lot going on. There were hardly any venues to play, especially for this type of music. Lately though, it seems like live music in general is growing and more venues are opening up. As different styles of music continue to mesh we hope metal and all genres of music continue to grow together, rather than apart, and people won’t have to worry about “genres” and just enjoy GOOD music, regardless of its biggest influence.”
According to guitarist Josh Buma, the name Malaki is derived from the Hebrew term meaning “messenger” or “the message”. Buma expands, “Initially, I called the band that because I felt it was finally the kind of music I had always wanted to write and perform. As I put together the band, the others joined and felt the same way.”
Joining Malaki in her debut show at The Dragonfly on August 7th in Los Angeles was new vocalist Shauna Lisse. Remaining members are Dave Gentry on drums, bassist Joe Guerra and Michael Breamer on guitar.
Buma shared a little about Malaki’s brief history. “We started playing shows in the LA area about two years ago, did a small west coast run and performed a headline set at House of Blues Sunset Strip back in May of 2013. Since then, we’ve been working on the next two EP’s and found a vocalist (Lisse) that was finally a perfect fit for the band.”
Malaki is also taking a diverse approach to their music. “Musically, Malaki combines the passion and songwriting that defined so many of the great bands of the last couple decades, yet incorporates much heavier elements that traditional and progressive metal fans crave. We are trying to be the best of both worlds, which in turn creates a unique and powerful musical statement.”
The show at The Hood will be the band’s first foray in performing for the notoriously finicky desert crowd. Buma is well-versed in our musical back-drop and is appreciative of the fan base and their music IQ. “In terms of playing the desert, it will be a new experience for most of us. Coachella Valley gets some of the best musical acts in the word to come visit during the annual festival, and some great bands like Kyuss have come out of that scene. We’re really looking forward to playing for an audience that has a keen musical ear and who aren’t as ambivalent as many of the crowds are in our hometown.”
The future of Malaki will present the release of two EP’s over the next 6 months followed by US tours that will help spread “the message”.
In addition, Behind The Fallen will be performing for the first time in the CV. Drummer Stevie Peralta, bassist Chris Khaos, guitarist Kyle Ort, guitarist/vocalist David Bruno and vocalist Johnny Presley will be ready to establish a desert following.
The show is free!
