Warbringer brings Hell to The Bottleneck

April 5, 2025

Nick Spacek,

Warbringer. // photo by Nick Spacek

Warbringer
with Allaegeon, Skeletal Remains, and Summoning the Lich
The Bottleneck
Thursday, April 3

You want to know what a good show is? It’s one that lets you get past having to replace a headlamp half an hour before show time, while battling a sinus headache which has plagued you for the past 24 hours. You’re flagging, realizing you have to be up at 6am the next morning, and wondering if it’s even worth leaving the house. A good show makes all of that feel like you were being silly and self-destructive by not catching some of the best acts in the metal sphere totally wreck your shit for a couple hours.

Los Angeles’ Warbringer is touring in support of their just-released Wrath and Ruin, and if our interview with frontman John Kevill told me anything, it was that this was going to be the sort of set where we got into some things and worked them out. Opening with Waking into Nightmares’ “Severed Reality” and going into the new record’s “A Better World” ably demonstrated that the band was going to lean into the idea that the world is fucked, and we all need some way to deal with it, so why not scream your throat raw and bang your head until it’s been shaken apart, then pick up the pieces? They are here to kick each and every one of you in the teeth, and they do it with precision.

Allaegeon. // photo by Nick Spacek

I literally knew nothing of Ft. Collins death metal band Allaegeon, aside from their name, prior to this show being announced, but catching them live has made me a fan. They have this energy matched with an underlying groove which manages to be extraordinarily heavy, yet chill, in a way that I can only assume comes with the territory for a band from the land of craft beer and legal weed. Their interstitial music went heavily toward Spanish folk guitar, lending the whole affair a sense of “I would like some green chili sauce on a burrito after throwing down in the pit” vibes, and I am very much down for shredding, regardless of the situation.

Skeletal Remains. // photo by Nick Spacek

California death metal act Skeletal Remains is a band who comes through seemingly all the time, yet I’ve never managed to catch them live. As their set Thursday night proved, I’ve been missing out. Utterly intense songs, with a complete dedication to just pummeling the absolute shit out of the audience with each song. The samples in between each song felt like a brief breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally, as I haven’t experienced this much use of smoke machines since last year’s Frozen Soul opening set for Gatecreeper. Atmosphere and audience attack, all in one. It felt like we were somewhere near midnight in Hell, even though it was still light outside the Bottleneck’s front windows, an impressive achievement.

Summoning the Lich. // photo by Nick Spacek

Openers Summoning the Lich hail from St. Louis and their blackened tech metal was heavy on fantasy themes, with classical music bridging the gaps between their intense attack. Props to the band for having a sense of humor about what they do, introducing one song as “‘Reviled Crystal Wielders.’ It’s about … reviled crystal wielders!” It balanced out some music which was, to my tastes, delivered with prowess, but a little busier than I want in my metal. When they leaned toward the blacker elements of their music, Summoning the Lich killed, but the more technically-leaning aspects left me a little overwhelmed.

All photos by Nick Spacek

Warbringer