Show Review: Cattle Decapitation, Aborted, Frozen Soul, Tribal Gaze at The Belasco, 12-20-2025

“Every Body a Host, Every Body Infected”

If there is one Death Metal band that seems to consistently captivate me and grab my attention, it is Cattle Decapitation. Having grown up in a rural area with a progressive background, I couldn’t help but develop a strong sense of respect for environmental ecology. I went to clear cut protests in high school, I’ve been a supporter of indigenous tribal water rights and the movement to remove the Klamath Dam (which thankfully came through a few years ago and has already seen a healthy increase in Klamath Salmon numbers now that their run has been restored), and I’ve been staggeringly aware of man’s effects on our home. So when I wandered by the local record store one day and saw the promotional art for Cattle’s death grind album Humanure, let’s just say I knew I was going to be on board with their mission statement: Earth First, Humans Last.

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Show Review: Highlights of Aftershock 2025!

Review by:
Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro and Emily Anderson @emilyphotoadventure

Photos by:
Alan Ralph @ConcertGoingPro unless otherwise stated

Nearly one year ago, at the very end of Spinning Platters’ Aftershock 2024 review, this question was raised: “West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival had such a stellar lineup this year, HOW are they possibly going to outdo themselves in 2025?!?!” 

If one hundred people were asked if 2025 was better than 2024, there would undoubtedly be one hundred different answers and opinions. Aftershock 2024 was so exceptionally good and a heavy metal fan’s wet dream – Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Slayer, Pantera, Slipknot, Mastodon, Anthrax, Clutch, Ministry, Body Count and more! Fans of other genres of rock, punk, and loud music were still out in force, as Aftershock 2024 set an attendance record of 40,000 people per day, but may have felt neglected by the sheer amount of metal that closed every night of the festival.

For the 13th annual Aftershock in 2025, promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) altered the overall lineup to cater to the rest of those fans while still appealing to the heavy metal fans, by combining every Warped TourOzzfest and Rockstar Mayhem Festival lineup, put it all in a blender, and poured it in a tall glass of Discovery Park for four days of the best rock, alt-rock, metal, 2000’s nu-metal, hardcore, and pop-punk bands, all in one place at one time in the outskirts of downtown Sacramento!  

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Show Review: Chaos and Carnage at The Belasco, 05-24-2024

FAST. HEAVY. FUCKING. METAL.

As one of the resident heavy music fans of Spinning Platters, it is often equal parts duty and pleasure that guide me from show to show. Duty in the sense that there aren’t many other writers in our humble group that cover punk and metal, pleasure in the sense that I absolutely fucking love it. It also helps that we’ve been in somewhat of a watershed year since 2023, for heavy music, with many bands releasing some of their best music to date, as well as a slough of new bands pushing their way into the lights. Nothing quite embodies that statement like the Chaos and Carnage Tour this year, so it was my absolute pleasure to leave work a bit early to zip on over to Downtown Los Angeles to see one hell of a metal music lineup.

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Show Review: Cattle Decapitation, Immolation, Sanguisugabogg, and Castrator at The Belasco Theatre, 12/15/2023

The Terrasitic Infestation of Los Angeles

Heavy music has been making a pretty big comeback into the public eye lately. My theory is that when the world around us seems intent on reminding us that we are a species that is hardly worth the time and effort it takes to survive, we gravitate toward music that shares that outlook. No band embodies this thesis wholeheartedly as much as San Diego’s Cattle Decapitation, so it should be no surprise that I’m a pretty big fan. That aside, it was one hell of a night for death metal at The Belasco.

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 7/18/13-7/24/13

Playing 924 Gilman on Sunday. Plus, you will get a penny back.
Playing 924 Gilman on Sunday. Plus, you will get a penny back.

The middle of Summer means a surprisingly eclectic week with a bunch of bands you never thought you’d see live again!

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