Not saying much and ripping straight into it, Unholy goes straight for the jugular. Vocalist Billy Price and company jumped up onstage and started the melee with few words to say but offered a serious amount of ripping metal instead. Billy Price, looking like a young Vin Diesel, screamed, kicked and entertained the crowd with his “Jesus Christ” poses and undeniable charismatic growling.

Unholy recently released their brutal Prosthetic Records debut and it’s already gaining steam in the metal universe with it’s hardcore breakdowns, full-on metal assault and it’s vicious type of metal intricacy that metal bands these days lack. Their debut, New Life Behind Closed Eyes is a wrecking ball spinning out of control with one mission to accomplish: Destroy Everything.

“Hey Guys, thanks for coming out!” exclaims Mr. Price, “We’re Unholy from Syracuse, New York.” to which the crowd warmly replied and then the onslaught started back up again. Unholy demonstrated pure metal mastery as they ripped through song per song, mixing it up in styles and callously delivering a brutal set. There was not one moment where the band really let up, they pressed down hard throughout the show.

Going through songs from their debut, some tracks shined more than others. “No Faith” got the crowd banging their heads to the heavy groove while the more up-tempo waltz of “Behind The Veil” served the crowd another reason to go ape shit. Title track “New Life Behind Closed Eyes” showcased why Unholy is deserving of their new found fame and that steady groove over those crushing riffs really came alive even though the hardcore crowd seemed at a loss of what was going on.

Speaking of the crowd, jaded Los Angeles was in the house again. Not understanding the immense metal brutality of Unholy, some wrote Unholy off way too fast. I understand that the hardcore kids can’t do their high kicks, shadow boxing moves and lawnmower maneuvers to all of Unholy’s songs but one cannot deny the in your face metal, c’mon kids!

Unholy was tight. The heart stopping guitar riffs complemented by the intense drumming made the atmosphere more musical than just an all out bar chord barrage. Unholy’s lead guitarist also had a few tricks up his sleeve that really took Unholy’s sound to chaotic levels. Of course, frontman Billy Price had all his ducks in a row and sounded magnificently bloodthirsty. Unholy’s musical direction is definitely my cup of tea, my type of metal.

Other songs that broke ground were “These Wounds Never Heal” and “Seeker immortal.” Undoubtedly, the best song of the evening was the thrashy metal discharge of “Children Of Eternal Sleep” where band pulled all the stops and let it all loose.

After seeing Unholy’s set, it was no wonder why this band has shared the stage with likes of Meshuggah, Municipal Waste, God Forbid, Shadows Fall, and Soilent Green to say the least. It had balls, great musicianship and most of all, great stage presence with great metal anthems. By end of night, I became more of a fan, enough said.

Notable Mention:

Reign Of Supreme and Blood Stands Still did a great job bringing the hardcore. Reign Of Supreme, whom I’ve never heard of before, actually caught my attention with their own brand of hardcore. They also caught my attention right off the bat when the lead singer came out sporting pink running shorts. That’s balls man, balls.

Check out my photos down below: