Somewhere in the past we all got really lucky with the way metal came about. Instead of testosterone soaked bros in ill fitting tank tops jamming out to music that seethed with aggression (don’t worry this still happened in the ‘90s) we got a bunch of nerds who read too much Tolkien and had one too many bong rips earlier in the day. And from those addled, unrepentantly geeky minds, metal was born.
The reason it’s so important that metal began as a genre that was inherently silly, is that it opened up an avenue to explore the absurd without fear of judgement. Sometimes that results in brutal, moving albums about evil space slugs that are trying to enslave humanity, or wild riffs by a bunch of J-Pop superstars, this time it results in Mac Sabbath, the Drive-Thru Metal kings.
Mac Sabbath, as the name implies, perform in full McDonalds costume with the addition of corpse paint. Each song they play is a decently straightforward interpretation of Black Sabbath’s music but with comical titles and rearranged lyrics like “Frying Pan” and “Pair-a-Buns.” Of course there really is only one way to see this band, and that’s live. You haven’t fully gripped the scepter of metal until you’ve seen a clown shouting about a frying pan.
There’s a bunch of people who would prefer that metal be serious and brutal all the time. But real metalheads understand the inherent silliness of the genre. It’s baked into its very buns. So go catch the most ridiculous metal act out there.
Location: The Echoplex
Address: 1154 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
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