WEAPONS OF ANEW; photo Andy Ortega
As the elevator door to the top floor of the Anaheim Gardenwalk opened, the older, bearded man next to me with a black jean jacket with patches says, “Looks like the rest of us are here for the show!” A few of my elevator-mates were still wearing their NAMM badge. The North American Association of Music Merchants was in its first night of their convention at the Anaheim Convention Center just across the street and from the looks of it, it was just ending for the night and many were coming here for the Metal Allegiance show at the Anaheim House of Blues.
WEAPONS OF ANEW; photo Andy Ortega
My mission tonight was to cover rock band, Weapons Of Anew, who was playing after Trauma and before Exmortus, while the Metal Allegiance superband would be the final set. Weapons of Anew released their single “Killshot” in 2016 when Freddy Ordine, former guitarist for Axiom and HavocHate got together with vocalist, Ray West, formerly of Spread Eagle and formed their new band.
Weapons Of Anew describes themselves as a band that is “not afraid to sonically paint outside the lines and refuse to be ‘boxed in’ or categorized. Their brash, bold sound is colorful, layered and textured; a testament to each member’s vast musical background while maintaining a strong nod to the new.”
WEAPONS OF ANEW; photo Andy Ortega
As they started playing, I made my way to the photo pit in front of the stage, and for a second they had to continue fumbling with their audio settings with the sound engineers since you couldn’t really hear the vocalist, Ray West. But once things actually started to sound like there was a band playing, Weapons of Anew brought their energy and really started to give life to the audience – and the photo pit. About a dozen photographers wiggled and squeezed their way around each other, trying to get that viral money shot that brings in the “likes”. There are some bands or artists that know how and where to position themselves for photographers while performing. They will even look right at you sometimes right before they kneel in front of you at the moment they unleash their solo and the audience goes nuts. Meanwhile, you’re snapping photos and delighting in how the stars have aligned for you and how the metal gods are smiling upon you at this moment.
WEAPONS OF ANEW; photo Andy Ortega
The House of Blues in Anaheim is on the smaller, intimate end for music venues with capacity for up to 2,200 people in the music hall. VIP ticket holders can sit upstairs and if you have a general audience ticket, you’ll have plenty of standing/moshing room in front of the stage. There are multiple areas to get a drink, so you won’t need to go far or wait long if you get thirsty. Security at the entrance included a bag search, metal detectors and pat-downs. Parking sucks at this shopping center. It gets full often and it’s paid parking only. You can bring your parking ticket to have it validated and there’s screens while waiting at the entrance that will let you do it.