Live Review : Absolva's Christmas Party @ Academy 3, Manchester on December 21st 2019

I’m starting this review in a slightly different way – with an apology. You see it’s now been a month since I trotted down to the Academy 3 to attend this little seasonal shindig, so you’re probably wondering why you’re only reading about it now? Nope, I don’t know either. Life, the universe and everything got in the way and although I kept meaning to sit down at the laptop and start scribbling, somehow it just didn’t happen. So I’m sorry you’ve all been kept waiting for so long. Normal service will shortly be resumed!

Right! Now that’s out of the way, what did I actually get to see on the night in question? Well, a stonking night of traditional British Metal to be fair.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby26 December 2019Academy 3Absolva, Vice, Stormrider, Academy 3, Manchester, 2019, Live Review, Jo CrosbyComment

Live Review : Cats In Space + Hand Of Dimes @ the Tivoli, Buckley on December 20th 2019

Sometimes you can go to watch a band and they sound really similar to someone else, and you go “Oh they are just like <insert band name> aren’t they”? Whereas sometimes you go to watch a band and they have captured a genre just right, and although they don’t sound exactly the same as anyone you can definitely hear their influences and get where they are coming from. Hand Of Dimes fall into that second category.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby24 December 2019The TivoliCats In Space, Hand Of Dimes, The Tivoli, Buckley, 2019, Live Review, Jo CrosbyComment

Live Review : FM + GUN + Dan Reed Network @ Academy 2, Manchester on December 20th 2019

Way before the days of all things grunge and everything else since, there was a time that we all remember rather fondly. Well, the ones like me that are now above a certain age do anyway. Back in 1989, music was just as strong as it is now, especially if you where a rock and metal fan. It was the tail end of the ‘Hair or Poodle Metal’ days, the land of big shoulders, long sparkled coats, mullets, denim, leathers, cowboy boots, sequins and blokes applying make-up playing pink pointy guitars.

Aah, those where the days!

Gig ReviewAuthor : Phil Beswick23 December 2019Academy 2FM, Dan Reed Network, GUN, Academy 2, Manchester, 2019, Live Review, Phil Beswick, Gregg HowarthComment

Live Review : Bury Tomorrow + Employed To Serve + Blood Youth @ Academy, Manchester on December 20th 2019

My last gig of 2019 sees me catching one of my favourite bands for some festive metal shenanigans at Manchester Academy. We get there nice and early, following a few expensive beers elsewhere, to make sure we don't miss what are some excellent support bands. This limited venue tour from Bury Tomorrow is very much a purists offering. The two bands they have supporting them aren’t necessarily the most immediately accessible or mainstream acts, but instead they are young up and coming bands that are unique and exciting – hence presumably why Bury Tomorrow are giving them this platform.

Live Review : The Darkness + Rews @ O2 Academy, Liverpool on December 18th 2019

REWS are a three-piece pop/rock band hailing from London despite there being a distinct Norn Irish twang about the vocals. They are bubbly, with catchy songs, and the female vocals are OK. There’s nothing that reaches out and grips me about them, but nothing I particularly dislike either. They do sound a lot like Scotland’s Amorettes though, to the extent that from my position at the back I had to squidge a bit closer to the stage just to check that this wasn’t them under another name. (It wasn’t).

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby22 December 2019O2 AcademyThe Darkness, Rews, O2 Academy, Liverpool, 2019, Live Review, Jo Crosby, Johann WierzbickiComment

Live Review : Winter Rocks @ the Corporation, Sheffield on December 7th 2019

Sheffield. City of steel, birthplace of my favourite band in the world ever, and a bit of a pain to get to for an all-day festival if you live on the other side of the Pennines to it! Accordingly I manage to arrive at The Corporation just in time to totally miss the first two bands, sorry. This is my first visit to the venue and I am impressed. It’s normally a nightclub, and is a bit of a rabbit-warren of a place with one big main room and several smaller ones. Today one of the smaller ones was put to use as a merch room, and one of the upstairs ones was the site of the second stage. Stage times were staggered so there were no overlaps which was great, if a little tiring trying not to miss anyone!

Live Review : John Corabi + Tony Mitchell @ the Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on December 11th 2019

It’s another bleeding Wednesday gig, bah. Sometimes I think the Universe conspires against me, other reviewers get to go and do nice no-need-to-juggle-work weekend gigs but for some reason all the best gigs that I get to go to are on Wednesdays at the moment. I do cheat a bit tonight though by accepting a lift from my ROCKFLESH colleague and ace photographer Johann, so at least I don’t have to tackle the M6 again and I can have a couple of rum & coke for *ahem* medicinal purposes when I get there. The Waterloo itself when we arrive is warm and welcoming. It’s really starting to take off as a venue now and some class acts are queueing up to play here. Ian and his team have done a superb job of making it into a venue that’s a good experience for both bands and fans, and if someone you like announces a gig at the Waterloo I highly recommend that you pop along and see for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the décor, the atmos, the sound or the bar prices!

Live Review : Hundred Year Old Man + E-L-R + Ba'al @ Rebellion, Manchester on December 8th 2019

Fifty years on from Heavy Metal’s inception it is heartening that bands are still obsessed with how far they can push its boundaries. All three of tonight’s acts are deconstructing and subverting the templates of our genre and experimenting with its confides. The only cloud in the (winter) sky is only about fifty or so people have wandered up on this cold winter’s evening (made even more maddening by the fact that a mere stone’s throw away at the Ritz a sold out crowd is watching the insipid goth metal by numbers of Motionless in White).

Live Review : Evil Scarecrow + Lullaby For A Unicorn + Thrashatouille @ the Live Rooms, Chester on December 7th 2019

Comedy-infused metal wouldn’t normally be my thing, but with a few friends across from Yorkshire and a couple of pints in my belly I head to my local venue in Chester, The Live Rooms, to see how much fun I can have.

Live Review : Massive Wagons + Bootyard Bandits @ Gorilla, Manchester on December 7th 2019

My sister has followed Massive Wagons for years. I've listened to the CD's she's bought and seen numerous Facebook posts showing she was at another Massive Wagons gig having a great time, and she's constantly telling me how good they are live, about how their brilliant party atmosphere is always delivered and how it’s like one massive (see what I did there) night out for everyyone. Can they be really that good live?

Live Review : Sweet + Novatines @ Parr Hall, Warrington on December 6th 2019

It’s Friday, and tonight I am off out to re-live my childhood by watching one of the best pop/rock bands that the 70s managed to thow at me. As a young and impressionable pre-teen my musical journey pretty much started in the early 70s, and tonight’s headline band were a big influence on shaping my taste.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby6 December 2019Parr HallSweet, Novatines, Parr Hall, Warrington, 2019, Live Review, Jo Crosby, Johann WierzbickiComment

Live Review : Stray From The Path + The Devil Wears Prada + Loathe + Gideon @ Rebellion, Manchester on December 5th 2019

Tonight we’re back at Rebellion for some up close and personal metal, and despite the early doors it's already pretty busy for first band on Gideon. These lads from Alabama deliver a modern take on 90’s hardcore-punk which is aggressive, intense and emotive.

Live Review : Jinjer + The Agonist + Khroma + Space of Variations @ Academy 2, Manchester on December 3rd 2019

We’re back at Academy 2, and Johann and I actually allow ourselves a joke that we should possibly setup residency here such is the number of gigs we’ve covered at the venue recently. Tonight was originally listed for Rebellion, but was upgraded well in advance of the date (we later find out that tonight is completely sold-out too). As I make my way through the front entrance I can already see that it was a very good call by the promoter to allow even more people to witness what could be the start of something special.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Matt Fraser4 December 2019Academy 2Jinjer, The Agonist, Khroma, Space Of Variations, Academy 2, 2019, Live ReviewComment

Live Review : GWAR + Voivod + Childrain @ Academy Club, Manchester on November 30th 2019

Three things we learnt from this gig. Number one is that GWAR do really take it up the arse, secondly that Voivod are still gleefully subverting Metal thirty seven years after they started and finally beetroot does not come out, of anything. For Metal fans of a certain age (i.e. a teen in the eighties and distinctly middle aged in this decade) this is both an intriguing and rather puzzling bill. You see Voivod were the champions of intelligent avant-garde deconstructed Metal. Their fourth album “Dimension Hatross” is the last word in complex progressive thrash and stood head and shoulder above anything else going on. GWAR on the other hand always seemed to be the last word stupid. Dressed in gross homemade costumes, they sang simple seemingly idiotic songs and poured suspect liquids all over their audience. But here they are in 2019 sharing a stage in Manchester.

Live Review : Amon Amarth + Arch Enemy + Hypocrisy @ O2 Apollo, Manchester on November 29th 20

It seems fitting that as the northern winds waft icy cold blasts across Manchester that they should also blow into town an exquisite Swedish Melo-Death triple bill. Aside from the obvious combination of gruff vocals and melodic guitar lines, what all three acts have in common is grit, determination and resilience. With a heady mix of hard work, blood, sweat and road-miles, all three bands have earned the respect that the sold out crowd show them. These are acts that show that it may well be a long way to the top, but if you stick to your guns and your principals you will get there.

Live Review : Northlane + Polaris + Void Of Vision @ Academy 2, Manchester on November 27th 2019

Tonight’s Academy 2 lineup is a real treat for this reviewer as I’m a big fan of all three of listed bands. Silent Planet should’ve been a fourth band on the bill, but they had to pull out of the tour, and so with a later door time (and the unsurprisingly cancelled and then late train under the belt) I’m left with all killer no filler tonight. All tonight’s bands are good examples of modern metalcore – heavy naturally distorted vocals interspersed with searching melodic vocals layered over the top of pounding drums, electronic incidental elements and angular, intricate guitars and bass. That being said, each of tonight's bands add a unique characterization to this theme, so stick with me on this one or the nuances might get lost...

Live Review : Last In Line + Vega + Gin Annie @ The Tivoli, Buckley on November 27th 2019

Wednesday. It’s a bastard of a day. Just far enough away for you to be forgetting the fun you had last weekend, not close enough to the fun you’re going to have next weekend. It’s a desolate, bleak day, it’s the place where you can view a long horizon during the hell of another working week. So whose bright idea was it to have one of the best gigs I’ve been to this year on it then eh? Eh? Eh? I want to know who is responsible for this travesty! Well that would be the people at the Tiv, a venue that is continuing to improve every time I go there. It’s now got a lovely, shiny, new, long, well-stocked bar, so naturally it’s Wednesday and I am a) driving home and b) needing to be up for work in the morning, so I don’t get to sample the wares. Bloody Wednesday!

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby30 November 2019The TivoliLast In Line, Vega, Gin Annie, The Tivoli, Buckley, 2019, Live Review, Jo CrosbyComment

Live Review : Heart Of A Coward + Unprocessed + Severenth @ The Live Rooms, Chester on November 26th 2019

It’s exciting to get a tour with excellent metal bands coming through Chester – it simply doesn’t happen that often – so with Heart Of A Coward and Unprocessed choosing to stop off at The Live Rooms, ROCKFLESH jumped on the chance to get along for the fun.

First up are local lads Severenth. They’ve only just reformed this year after disbanding back around 2013, and are looking to hit the ground running with a new album in the works.

Live Review : Florence Black + Revival Black + The 99 Degree @ FAC251 , Manchester on November 26th 2019

Whoever coined the phrase "Dance like nobody’s watching bla blah blah" obviously haven't seen The 99 Degree play, or they would have changed it to "Write songs like nobody will ever hear them because that's the way you love them, then scare the shit out of everyone by letting people hear them".

Gig Review©Gregg Howarth28 November 2019Florence Black, Revival Black, The 99 Degree, FAC251, Manchester, 2019, Live Review, Gregg HowarthComment

Live Review : Midnite City + Saints Of Sin + King Voodoo @ Nigthrain, Bradford on November 23rd 2019

It’s a grim day today. The weather is dreadful, and low cloud hangs like a pall over the city of Bradford. So what better way to get past it than getting my glitter on and heading out for a night of party rock?

First band King Voodoo didn’t appear to get the memo. They are good, but in more of a broody, bluesy, dark kind of way. Their songs have an edge to them, and although I enjoy them they are not exactly party animals.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby26 November 2019NightrainMidnite City, Saints Of Sin, King Voodoo, Nigthrain, Bradford, 2019, Live Review, Jo CrosbyComment