It has been a busy, busy last few weeks in the Vegas valley! But you bet your ass I did not miss my friends in CLAUSTROFOBIA & MYNAS; as well as PARIAH WAS ONE, ANNELIDA, and FATAL ILLUSIONS on 4/29! This show at Backstage Bar & Billiards, was definitely one for the books. A very eventful and successful night for all the bands who took the stage.
Fatal Illusions
I personally am not too crazy over tribute bands. However, Megadeth tribute FATAL ILLUSIONS definitely kicked the night off right! These guys played all the popular cuts from the thrash metal heavyweights! A lot of us recently saw Megadeth hit Vegas for the Metal Tour of the Year; and I can only speak for myself, but I never get enough of that thrash sound. These guys could definitely fit on just about any heavier metal bill. I hope to catch them again in the future!
ANNELIDA
I had seen this name floating around the hardcore scene a bit; and I have to say I really dug their energy and their overall sound. I was reminded of the band CONVERGE; who is a hardcore band that formed back in the 90’s, but really blew up a bit in the early 2000’s. The sound is not conventional in the slightest. However if you’re into that side of hardcore, they are definitely worth checking out!
PARIAH WAS ONE
Pariah Was One is another Las Vegas local that we’ve caught a number of times. Vocalist Calvin Sroka always delivers an intense performance in which you can really feel his emotion and intensity. I always love that. The guys have been on a number of big shows, including The Black Dahlia Murder and Holiday Hellfest featuring Cattle Decapitation and Unearth in 2019; and they are definitely no strangers to the scene out here. Heaven is a Chemical was released not too long ago also, so definitely go check that out while you’re here!
PARIAH WAS ONE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
MYNAS
As I mentioned in the “Violence” album release piece I did, this show was partly an album release show for the guys in Mynas. I have been fortunate to work with and photograph these guys on a number of occasions and I am never disappointed! Between the modern metal sound and their stage presence, these guys are going places! What a long way they’ve come from the Cheyenne Saloon days. (I still have some mini flyers from those times hanging around in my collections of music stuff!) I am very excited to see what the future holds for these guys. It’s damn near impossible to not see the hard work they have put in, and especially with their latest release, I hope to see them just take off onto a whole other level.
If you haven’t, make sure you listen to “VIOLENCE”!
CLAUSTROFOBIA
And for the main headliner! CLAUSTROFOBIA has been making waves since they landed in the Vegas scene a few years back and I really don’t think anybody is upset about that. Not only are these guys just genuinely nice dudes – you can see them out and about at all kinds of shows supporting other bands in the city; but when they play live they REALLY bring the intensity! They bring a very unique brand of death metal mixed with thrash metal and create a very different kind of energy to the sets they play around the city. I’ve seen them crash the stage at Eagle Aerie Hall as well as on the Backstage Bar stage opening for Soulfy before the pandemic swept away the music scene.
CLAUSTROFOBIA OFFICIAL WEBSITE
CLAUSTROFOBIA also has a brand new album that was released not too long ago, and it’s a perfect addition to any death/thrash metal collections and playlists so go give it a listen!
All live photos by Courtney Ware for ZrockR Magazine 2022 – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.