Immortal Guardian; photo Reuben Martinez
Having never been to The Parish Room at House of Blues Anaheim or having never seen Immortal Guardian before, I did my research on the band and was very curious on how they would sound live.
This band from Texas made headways with their music exposure on ESPN’s X Games and performing at NAMM Jam in the past which brought them to open for major name bands in the business.
While NAMM 2019 was in full bloom in Anaheim, Immortal Guardian opened for guitar God Marty Friedman. Trying to get in, there was a huge line at the box office to get my credentials, since Metal Allegiance was playing next door. Finally walking into this small venue, it was hard to get up front to take photos since the place was packed.
Immortal Guardian; photo Reuben Martinez
When Immortal Guardian came on, they blew me away! Guitarist Gabriel Guardian, playing both guitar and keyboards simultaneously, played a short instrumental before singer Carlos Zema came on. As a powerhouse on vocals, he kept impressing me. Everyone in this band brings pure talent to the table, Thad Stevens on bass and Cody Gilliland on drums. You could hear in the reaction of the crowd after each song that the applause kept growing louder and louder. Immortal Guardian sounds like a six piece instead of a four piece. As a guitarist, my eye was drawn to Gabriel soloing on two instruments.
With a couple of albums under their belt the latest came out late 2018. But nothing compares to seeing Immortal Guardian live. Even after the show the band hung around the merchandise booth, shaking hands and signing autographs. As I was saying before, it was so hard to get up front to take photos with a full crowd, but I was thankful for a good zoom lens. Often as a photographer I run across a band that I’m covering and get totally impressed. Immortal Guardian is one band that made me a fan. Be on the lookout for this band to make more waves.