Power of the Riff in pics

August 16, 2010

photos by Adam L. Murray, words by BBG

Goatsnake: Greg Anderson raises his axe in praise of the riff

Think of Sunday’s (8/6) all-day Power of the Riff Festival at the Echo and the Echoplex as less of a celebration of heavy metal and more of a mission statement. The objective: Raise respectability for the perennially underground hard rock genre.

“I’ve been a fan of heavy music for as long as I can remember,” said Night Horse singer Sam James Velde, who organized Riff Fest with Southern Lord head Greg Anderson. “I hope this will increase awareness and opportunity for bands of this nature to be able to play. You look at bigger festivals like Coachella, and you have a token heavy band. There’s Dillinger Escape Plan, or there’s Mastodon. But there’s no tent dedicated to that music. Yet metal, hardcore and true rock ‘n’ roll has an incredible fan base. This is something to try and make a strong impact.” -[LA Times blog]

I couldn’t agree more, and a gang of people showed up to the 2010 Power of The Riff Festival in Los Angeles last week. With sets from Goatsnake, Corrosion of Conformity III (who are coming to NYC), Repulsion, Trap Them, Black Breath, Nails (who will support Venomous Concept), and many more, the Converse-presented show was free to the public with RSVP.

More pics from the show are below…