Last Thursday, Excision earned back his place in the top shows I’ve ever seen live with his headbanging, bass-boosted, glorious set at the House of Blues in Anaheim. The Paradox tour felt almost like a comeback after the surprisingly mediocre set I saw at Life is Beautiful in September. Of the four insane openers, Cookie Monsta, Barely Alive, Party Thieves, and Dion Timmer, Cookie Monsta set the true tone for the purely sonic experience to come. Compared to my last visit to this venue to see Adventure Club, the lines were much faster, and a random elevator chat revealed that I was talking to the infamous T-Rex that’s been running around on stage this tour; turns out it just so happens to be Excision’s cousin. My bar for a live Excision show was set back in 2015 in Ventura, California when the bass was so loud that I looked up to see pieces of the ceiling crumbling on the crowd. Fire alarms were sounding and lights were flashing, but the crowd barely even noticed with the mayhem coming from the speakers. However, my expectations were more than exceeded on this tour when 150,000 watts of bass hit, vibrating through my entire body and leaving every hair on end. As a force of habit, I looked up to see how the ceiling was faring and once again, bits of the ceiling and insulation were slowly fluttering down.
The visuals and lasers for this new Paradox stage were both immersive and surreal. The second the bass kicked in, the crowd was instantly electrified and hyped up for the first drop. Excision did America’s favorite gorilla some true justice by dropping his mix with Datsik and Dion Timmer, “Harambe.” Being a part of a crowd that was heavily involved in headbanging circles throughout the entire set was truly an experience that connected attendees on a another level. Mid-set, he dropped the classic tour and live-rig namesake, “The Paradox,” paired with insane visuals of a fiery spaceship. By the time Excision’s cousin, aka Mr.T-Rex, hit the stage, the crowd was going hard to the remix of Skrillex’s song, “Purple Lamborghini” and reveling in the carnivorous beast’s blasts of cold air.
The energy kept going with Jauz and Ghastly’s mix, “Ghosts N’ Sharks,” followed with Zomboy’s VIP remix of “Burial.” He dropped a couple tracks highlighting screeches reminiscent of Doctor P, something I haven’t heard before from him before. I waited patiently for my all-time favorite live Excision song, “Throwin Elbows,” and it paid off with the biggest headbanging circle/mosh pit I’ve ever been thrown into. Soon after came some classic crowd-pleasers like “Robo Kitty,” “Neck Brace,” and Antiserum and Mayhem’s remix of Destroid’s “Bounce.” With nowhere left to go but up, Excision turned it up another notch; the crowd responded with raging approval to Eptic & Trampa’s remix of Zomboy’s track, “Get With the Program.” His set was perfectly tailored for the classic, die-hard basshead. A level of absolute insanity was broken during his encore when he dropped “X Ip.” If the Paradox Tour happens to stop in your town, do not miss out on one of the most epic, sonically-satisfying tours of the year. Also, be sure to have your neckbrace waiting.
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