{"id":17779,"date":"2026-04-19T21:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/?p=17779"},"modified":"2026-04-19T22:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T02:09:20","slug":"review-mike-botello-resurrection-tour-april-18-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heavensmetalmagazine.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/19\/review-mike-botello-resurrection-tour-april-18-concert\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Mike Botello Resurrection Tour April 18 concert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mike Botello Concert Review (April 18, 2026)<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Botello started his\u00a0Resurrection Tour<\/em>\u00a0last fall after almost hanging up the music career. Through\u00a0the persuasion of his bandmates and prayer,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0put together a roaring fight to the finish. Tonight\u2019s show was recorded live (audio and video), so fans worldwide can see and hear what they missed on this\u00a0unusally\u00a0cold and overcast\u00a0night.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening the show was a Black Sabbath tribute band from the area called\u00a0War\u00a0Pigs<\/strong>. The weather\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0have been more perfect (especially if they\u00a0would\u2019ve\u00a0opened\u00a0with the self-titled track from the band\u2019s debut album. With a long-haired and fringe-sleeved shirt, the young Ozzy lookalike kept the energy going with\u00a0an appropriate visual.\u00a0He\u2019s definitely done his homework with all the leaning forward hand clapping and victorious double peace signs flashed at several moments.\u00a0It was quite a full and fun show. What metalhead worth his historic salt would not\u00a0relish in singing so many of\u00a0Sabbath\u2019s uber\u00a0heavy riffs at full volume. It was quite\u00a0a\u00a0gas\u00a0and the sound system mix was full-on rocking.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mike Botello<\/strong>\u00a0started with a brief video intro on the giant video screen behind the stage. Each song of the set\u00a0featured\u00a0the album or single cover with album title reference.\u00a0The band started off with\u00a0the chemical addiction commentary tune,\u00a0\u201cChasing the Dragon,\u201d\u00a0which had every bit as much low-end monster heaviness as any of the Sabbath tunes we all just finished hearing. It was massive and it got the show rolling in a \u201cwe\u2019re not messing around\u201d direction and mood. Botello briefly mentioned at the end of the song that there was help\u00a0available\u00a0and he encouraged anyone struggling with addiction to seek that help.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings up another\u00a0totally professional\u00a0angle that Botello took throughout the night. Instead of talking between every song and letting the mood die out,\u00a0whenever he did talk, he always did it under a bed of music that was going on underneath. This kept the well-paced show going\u00a0smoothly\u00a0and it felt like one big, intentional show<\/em> (not just a concert). As a performer, he was moving and as active as a two-edged sword throughout the night, often swiftly moving around the stage for some playful one-on-one interaction with his two capable guitarists, Tony Smith and Jason\u00a0Barrett.\u00a0He did the same with drummer Dan Poole as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show had many surprises rolled up in the bands\u2019 sleeves, one of which was hinted at by a large\u00a0but empty\u00a0drumset\u00a0with dozens of pieces set up on stage right.\u00a0Being a multi-instrumentalist, this reviewer\u00a0had a good guess of what that was set up for, but it was silently ignored for most of the set, which was full of visuals on screen, movement on stage, and intense, progressive metal music. Metal and prog rock fans and any musicians in the audience had plenty to marvel at from any of the four musicians throughout\u00a0the\u00a0nearly two-hour\u00a0set.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band banged out lots of tunes from the most recent album, Indigenous<\/em>, including \u201cI\u2019m Down,\u201d \u201cThe Nihilist,\u201d and \u201cSecret Identity.\u201d\u00a0Botello\u2019s voice was\u00a0on\u00a0and both guitarists jammed with\u00a0proficiency\u00a0and cool effects (like a\u00a0wah\u00a0pedal and a tremolo-like\u00a0effect that\u00a0Barrett\u00a0used). We had\u00a0haunting\u00a0atmosphere, lead runs, and furiously pounding\u00a0drums by Poole.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other musicians left for a moment when Botello traded his bass for an acoustic guitar. He shared about a vision the Lord gave him of heaven, which inspired the song, \u201cTimeless State,\u201d\u00a0describing the outside-of-time world in which we will reside in soon. It was cool to hear him throw in vocal lead breaks\/comments like, \u201cImagine that!\u201d as well as laughter as he vocalized the song\u2019s description of the afterlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith put on a guitar solo that was atmospheric and super melodic. It was easy to imagine him atop a mountain like some guitar wizard, with his flowing silver hair cascading over his shoulders as he leaned into his instrument. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band shifted gears to cover the first of a few songs from Botello\u2019s previous Austin band, Awake. \u201cThe System\u201d was dedicated to its guitarist, Jessie Villegas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Matador,\u201d from the Rule of Law<\/em> album, was one of the show\u2019s many big highlights or moments where it was easy to get pulled into the music, its message, and its emotion. This one had a fun, rollicking rhythm that prompted Botello to practically skip around the stage in rock and roll joy. It was heavy, but brought smiles to our faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the title track to Rule of Law<\/em>, Botello unveiled the mystery behind the massive yet empty drumkit. He and Poole battled each other for a thrilling, trilling, and clever drum duel. This unusual tact worked quite well and delivered. It\u2019s risky doing a drum solo, but when it\u2019s done right, the reward is great. This was special and impressive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n