METALACHI CityWalk 5 Towers Universal City July 8, 2012

I really love mariachi music.

I used to go see an incredible mariachi band play before my ex-wife’s boxing matches in South El Monte.

There’s something about the instruments that gets me every time. I have a deep appreciation for the violin and trumpet.

I also love heavy metal (most of it, anyway- some is incredibly embarrassing and some of it rocks). Once I heard that a band combined the two, I was already sold. And it turns out they’re really good at it, too. This concert far exceeded my expectations with their great song selections and impressive musicianship.

Having seen Flametal/ Heavy Mellow (an incredible flamenco group that plays metal songs) a few times this year, it was only fitting that I go and enjoy Metalachi- “The World’s First and ONLY Heavy Metal mariachi band”. I’m really digging these bands that combine different styles of music. It’s always nice to hear a new take on good songs that have stood the test of time.

This was also the first real opportunity I’ve had to check out the amazing new outdoor stage area at Citywalk called 5 Towers, so this made for a perfect afternoon. 5 Towers is a fairly new state-of-the-art outdoor concert experience and this concert was part of its Music Spotlight Series. The screen and the lights are beyond awesome. I could go on for a while about how neat it is, but I’ll just recommend going there and checking it out instead.

Metalachi did two shows at CityWalk. I actually got there early enough to hear the sound check. They sounded great. They came out and played at 7PM for almost an hour. They took a small break and then rocked for another hour. It was nice being able to see them in the daytime and then again at night. This is definitely the best time of year for outdoor shows.

What an impressive set list it what over the course of the two sets.

They played mariachi metal versions of Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains, Faith No More, Whitesnake and Europe- every song was great and most of the people in the sizeable crowd were really into it.

The highlights were when they played a Slayer song (I just found it too funny they were playing that on a Sunday at CityWalk) and two impressive medleys from Metallica and Led Zeppelin.