THE TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON 2025 with POWERMAN 5000 / ILL NINO / (HED)pe / PRIEST at HOUSE OF BLUES LV

Photos Harold Mountain, Words Harold Mountain/Jo Anna Jackson
Aug 5
3 min read

Updated: Aug 9

The Taste of Armageddon Tour left a trail of destruction at House of Blues in Las Vegas, with a line up made to blast the face off the fans. Powerman5000 led the pack, but brought along a powerful lineup that made for a electro infused night.

Kicking off the show was the band PRIEST, a metal act that features former members of the band Ghost and keeps a bit of the same aura. It’s taken me a few shows but I have come to really like this band and their sound - danceable electronic music and much more gothlike, and their masked vocalist "Mercury” has an amazing voice. The members wear all black and masks as well, and you don't really know the members identities. I really love their song “Burning Love” from their debut album Dark Pulse, check out this song and more HERE.

I have followed (Hed)PE for years and have loved every show, and really looked forward to seeing them again live. They have a different type of laid back energy that is very infectious but also can explode into chaos in a split second. Jared Gomes led the set with "No Way Out" and the crowd tuned up to their mix of danceable rap punk. "Bartender" and "Raise Hell" were fire, both recut on their recent album release New and Improved, along with eclectic covers that came out this year.

The last studio album DETOX was released in 2023 and we got to taste "Rat Race" in the set as well. It was sad to not see long time drummer Trauma on the kit, but new drummer Greg Gregzilla Harrison did a fantastic job. Check out more from the new release and DETOX albums, and everything (Hed)PE HERE.

ILL NINO has had an ongoing challenge with keeping vocalists, and this band had such promise as a latin Nu Metal powerhouse with Christian Machado before the revolving door of singers. The band has been through five so far, and this show had yet another with new vocalist Tommy Roulette. Tommy gives his best, but sounds like he should be singing for a metalcore band, and the band has lost its roots.

Ill Nino opened with the 2001 song “If You Still Hate Me”, and “This Is War”, and tried to get a pit going in the crowd but the response was light. Ill Nino had a drum collab near the end where (Hed) PE drummer Stephen Arango joined Tommy, Ill Nino drummer and founder Dave Chavarri and percussionist Miggy Sanchez in a rousing jam that for the first time really got the crowd cheering for them. The band has announced a soon to be new single and video "Born To Suffer" out this year. More on Ill Nino HERE.

POWERMAN 5000 has always been one of my favorite bands, so looked forward to seeing Spider and the band for the Armageddon show. They kicked off their set with the infectious “Supernova Goes Pop” and “Tonight the Stars Revolt”, that really got the crowd going and the floor moving.

The Armageddon set is basically all hits and faves, and PM5 was in rare form, killing it on each song. Spider told the fans that "this was the best crowd of the tour" with only a couple dates to go, and how much he appreciated that everyone came out to support them.

They finished off their main set with my favorite song “Bombshell”, and after a very brief break the band returned to the roar of the packed venue and continued with “How To Be A Human” followed by “When Worlds Collide”. Another fantastic show and tour by one of the most underrated bands in rock - Powerman 5000 always delivers a blistering show. The band released Abandon Ship on CLeopatra Records in 2024, check out the album and more on Powerman 5000 HERE.