CRYPTA with CLAUSTROFOBIA - MADZILLA - ELOTEROS at BACKSTAGE, BAR & BILLIARDS LV

Crypta brought a mad metal show to Las Vegas at the Backstage Bar & Billiards, with support from local metal bands Claustrofobia, Madzilla, and Eloteros, some of the best underground metal in sin city. It made for a good match and a pummeling night of mosh and music.

It's been a few years since I have seen ELOTEROS, led by Baal Rivera, a solid front man and vocalist who loves interacting with the fans. Eloteros brand of death metal and madness really set the tone for the show, and the musicianship of this foursome is impressive - Ivan Najera on bass is a master, and Saul Najera and Bryan Mireles-Bello on guitars really riiippppp through the tunes, while drummer Diego Najera is a brutal backbone. More on ELOTEROS and where to catch them HERE. A band I highly recommend, you won’t be disappointed in their savage brand of death metal.

MADZILLA is a band I have followed since its inception about 6 years ago, and this show was the band's triumphant return home after being out on the road. These guys have toured the world the last few years, so it was nice for me to see them back home in Vegas, and how tight their set was, and how polished their sound has become.

Madzilla is a guitar driven band led by David Cabezas on vocals and guitar, with Daniel Gortaire on bass, drummer Luis Zevallos, and the newest member guitarist Sarah Dugdale (who I last saw in Buried By Vengeance). I love the high energy that David brings to the stage and his guitar shredding is as good as it gets. More on Madzilla HERE.

CLAUSTROFOBIA is a freight train with no brakes barrelling through a tunnel at 200 mph. This band has so much energy and has a wall of sound like no other band. Claustrafobia is a Brazilian thrash metal band that's been around since 1993., and has toured with the likes of Slayer, Iron Maiden and more.

I was truly blown away by their show, and the highlight was when the lead singer Marcos D’Angelo and drummer Caio D’Angelo traded places and crushed Sepultura's “War For Territory”. A cool moment was when Marcos said his parents were in the crowd, and the next day was his fathers birthday, it was really a Vegas metal family moment. Fantastic show and one of the best metal / thrash bands you will see in Vegas. Catch everything Claustrophobia HERE

It was time for CRYPTA, and to see if the hype about this Brazilian Death Metal band I had been seeing online was true. I can honestly tell you these girls are the real death metal deal, The band was formed by former NERVOSA members Fernanda Lira and Luana Dametto, and Lira is one of the most engaging, fan friendly, entertaining female bass players / singers I have seen, and one of the most brutal as well. The band kicked off their show with “The Other Side Of Anger” followed by “Kali”, and it was a ruthless full on metal attack.

Lira constantly would lean out over the stage and snarl at the crowd, who loved every moment of it, and the fans there really gave back - headbanging and screaming. Each band member really shone in their roles and drummer Luana Dametto just crushed the double kick. Guitarists Tainá Bergamaschi and Helena Nagagata did an awesome job shredding, but their guitars could have been turned up louder. Never too loud!

Crypta really walks the walk, and are definitely ruthless in their metal. You can see what I mean on their most recent album Shades of Sorrow via Napalm Records.

Catch everything about the band Crypta HERE and follow them on IG at Cryptodeath.