Live Review : W.A.S.P. + South Of Salem @ Academy, Manchester on March 17th 2023

It transpires that the Great British Classic Rock revival has found a fresh stream of inspiration to draw from. The dense 70’s blues rock of Free and vintage Quo, has been abandoned in favour of pillaging the fertile vineyards of eighties hair metal. For South of Salem, it provides a veritable smorgasbord of stimulation and they are meticulous in their level of imitation. Their second track in is so shrouded in familiarity, that if you close your eyes, its’s 1982, you’re in the whiskey a go-go and Mötley Crüe are treading the boards in their moment of ascendancy.

Live Review : Tygers of Pan Tang + The Loose Cut @ The Continental, Preston on March 12th 2023

As I walk through the doors of The Continental on this damp March night, it strikes me what a gamble it can be catching the 21st century version of a band you’ve followed and liked for decades. Best case scenario, they play a blinding set and confirm your long-time faith in them; on the flip side if they don’t, you can tarnish a life time of memories. Which of those would come to pass tonight remained to be seen, but before Tygers of Pan Tang showed if they were still worth the price of admission were openers The Loose Cut.

Live Review : ERRA + Silent Planet + Invent Animate + Sentinels @ Club Academy, Manchester on March 13th 2023

Opening tonight are New Jersey’s Sentinels, who take to the stage with a bang, the energy in the room equally immediately electric. Sentinels are simply awesome tonight. Their music off the scale, with drumming and guitars that are so technically stunning, it is hard for some of the crowd to keep up. It’s brutal, experimental, extreme and chaotic – like a sped-up Gojira on steroids, with that added touch of higher tempo and intricacy making it even more enjoyable and intense.

Live Review : Black Spiders + Cola Bay + Attic Theory @ Retro, Manchester on March 12th 2023

It's very easy to lose a sense of perspective when you get the opportunity to review shows in arenas, theatres, and cavernous academies. But it takes evenings like tonight to remind you that minuscule basement venues like retro here in Manchester is where rock 'n' roll came from and, for the majority of the North-West scene, continues to dwell. Peter from The Black Spiders continually describes the confined surroundings as being someone’s living room, and he is not half wrong.

Live Review : Napalm Death + Dropdead + Siberian Meat Grinder + Escuela Grind @ Club Academy, Manchester on March 8th 2023

Just as people were arriving, New England grindcore/hardcore punk band Escuela Grind took to the stage and immediately gave the audience a flavour of what the evening was to be. It was loud and fast with clean and tight blast beats as well as a nice guitar tone with lots of bite. They had relentless energy and from the first song, a decent sized pit was forming with singer Katerina jumping and bouncing around the stage like a hyperactive kid who had drank a ton of energy drinks

Live Review : Lamb Of God + Kreator + Municipal Waste @ Academy, Manchester on March 7th 2023

Three years. It was three blooming years ago that this show was meant to happen. It is so long ago that both main acts are on different album cycles to the one that the show was originally meant to be part of, and the undercard has changed at least four times since it was originally announced. There has been so much to-ing and fro-ing at the bottom end of the bill that there seems to be a general sense of bewilderment as the masses wander to be greeted by the frat party thrash of Municipal Waste.

Live Review : ChrysalïD + Devils Henchmen + Wailing Banshee + Wicked Side @ The Snig, Widnes on February 25th 2023

Heavy Metal & Widnes are two things that are seldom seen together in a sentence; however, Saturday Night at The Snig in West Bank offered those yearning a chance to see some Heavy Metal on their front doors a chance to see 4 of the finest up and coming bands the North West has to offer.

Live Review : Bullet For My Valentine + Jinjer + Atreyu @ Mountford Hall, Liverpool on March 1st 2023

Atreyu start the evening with a total contradiction in terms, some clean melodic metalcore. Even so this is pretty outside my musical comfort zone and despite the band having been around for 25 years I am unfamiliar with their style & output. I miss the first song due to traffic so walk in during ‘Save Us’, which is a brutal slice of hardcore rock but with a catchy chorus. I also have some beard envy when I see the bass player!

Live Review : Bad Omens + Ghøstkid + Oxymorrons @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on February 28th 2023

First up are the rap metal band Oxymorrons. Their mix of influences is impressive, and with their energetic and funky grooves they soon have everyone nodding along. They’ll appeal to fans of Fever333 and Skindred for sure, but they're also not afraid to break out some Turnstile type tunes too. One of the things that really impressees me about Oxymorrons is their ability to switch things up and keep the audience engaged.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Matt Fraser3 March 2023O2 RitzBad Omens, Ghstkid, Oxymorrons, O2 Ritz, Manchester, Live Review, 2023, Matt FraserComment

Live Review : Black Veil Brides + Lilith Czar + Cemetery Sun @ Academy, Manchester on February 22nd 2023

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I miss most of Cemetery Sun. They are a four-piece band from Sacramento, and from the queue outside the Academy, they sound OK. There’s melody, a decent beat, and they’re not too shouty. I make it in just in time to catch the last song and find them doing some typical noughties rap-metal, very obviously inspired by Linkin Park and their ilk. It’s bouncy and the crowd are enjoying it and bouncing with them so I’m sad that I saw so little of it. Hopefully, I will catch them again at some point.

Live Review : Beast in Black + Firewind @ Academy Club, Manchester on February 23rd 2023

You do have to feel sorry for Gus G. He is one of the world's most sought-after guitarists (a modern-dayYngwie Malmsteen). For the last twenty-five years, with his main outfit Firewind, he has been a stalwart in keeping power metal's ornate flag flying. Yet here he is (with Firewind) supporting in a subterranean club that is probably smaller in size than his front room. The indignity is probably made even more pertinent by the fact that tonight's headline act, Beast in Black, have been in existence for a mere fraction of the time that Firewind have been hauling themselves across the globe. However, if Mr G does feel any level of petulance about the introverted nature of tonight’s billing, he certainly doesn't show it.

Live Review : Esprit D'Air + Diamond Black + Dacara @ Academy 3, Manchester on February 22nd 2023

Opening for the night, Manchester’s own Dacara take to the stage with their brand of pop metal infused with themes from anime, videogames, and popular culture. This young band needs our support, and they certainly prove they deserve it with their energetic set. The songs touch on serious topics like calling out liars and those stuck in denial, but equally with fun tracks about weebs, sell-outs, and psychopathic anime girls. Fans of early Sertraline, Lake Malice and Within Destruction will enjoy their mix of bouncy and fun pop metal, which is reminiscent of a more rocky Future Palace.

Live Review : Gojira + Alien Weaponry + Employed To Serve @ O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on February 19th 2023

This is only my second time here at O2 Victoria Warehouse and I arrive just as UK heavy metal act Employed to Serve begin their set. This five-piece were formed in 2011 and with five studio albums under their belt, supporting the mighty Gojira on this tour must be a dream come true. They are noisy, angry and in your face, so they complement the rest of tonight’s line-up.

Live Review : Avatar + Veil Of Maya + Mastiff @ Academy, Manchester on February 18th 2023

Mastiff bill themselves as being “A Miserable Band From A Miserable Town” which makes sense being from Hull (I’ve seen Hull beat Widnes way too many times in the Rugby, so let me have this one lads, it’s only fair). Rugby League rivalries aside, Mastiff are a fantastic blend of Sludge and Hardcore, a combination that may seem out of place on this night, a celebration of everything grandiose & theatrical given the headliners.

Live Review : Dream Theater + Arion @ O2 Apollo, Manchester on February 17th 2023

In a world of nonconformity, Dream Theater are strident nonconformists. For nearly 40 years they have defiantly bucked the trends and ignored metal's prevailing winds. They have managed to operate in their own cryogenically sealed bubble, immune from passing fashions or fads. They initially emerged at a point in time when everything had gone short and spiky (song length, hair length, and stature of lead singers) and they defiantly ploughed their own field. Resolutely un-vogue from conception, they have built a fevered fan base through word of mouth, hard work, and by never wavering from their steadfast belief that more is definitely more.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Stewart Lucas18 February 2023O2 ApolloDream Theater, Arion, O2 Apollo, Manchester, 2023Comment

Live Review : Black Star Riders + Michael Monroe + Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on February 17th 2023

Everyone and their dog will be aware of Phil Campbell at this point. Joining a new look Motörhead in 1984, Campbell was a mainstay of the band until they disbanded after Lemmy Kilmeisters unfortunate passing in 2015. These days the Welsh guitarist can instead be found playing alongside the Bastard Sons. In case anyone was unaware of who they were, opening song ‘We Are the Bastards’ made sure that anyone yet unaware would quickly learn the name and what they were about.

Live Review : Twister + Autonym @ The Waterloo, Blackpool on February 12th 2023

Autonym are a new band to me, and turn out to be genial north-easterners with a slightly off-key indie rock vibe. They're not bad, they play original songs but with a heavy Nirvana influence. It comes across in the dirty groove and the vocals, they definitely have that early 90s grunge feel about them. I do note that the drummer is really good though, and wonder if maybe in 20 years time he'll be a multi-millionaire front man too?

Gig ReviewAuthor : Jo Crosby15 February 2023The Waterloo Music BarTwister, Autonym, The Waterloo, Blackpool, 2023, Live Review, Jo CrosbyComment

Live Review : Gospelheim + Lure In + Omega Throne @ Satan's Hollow, Manchester on February 11th 2023

Despite being a haunt of mine for some time, this is the first time I have ever attended a concert at Satan’s Hollow. It’s unique in the round setting offers punters a chance to have a 360-degree viewpoint, meaning that every bit of atmosphere can be soaked in.

Opening tonight’s 3 bands bill were Liverpool Blackened Death Metallers, Omega Throne. At first, Omega Throne just came across as your run of the mill Death Metal Band comprising all the regular staples found within the genre to create inoffensive music that does enough to keep the punters inside Satan’s Hollow nodding their heads along to it.

Live Review : Katatonia + Sólstafir + Som @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on February 11th 2023

I need to be honest and say that this is one of those reviews where objectivity goes out the window. You see, for me, Sólstafir and Katatonia represent the finer points of modern metal. I adore, with a heartfelt passion, both acts, and, in my eyes, they illustrate how metal is evolving as an art form.Sólstafir’s bleak metallised sonic landscapes speak to my lifelong love for Springsteen, whilst Katatonia have taken remorseless doom and made it utterly beautiful. This long-delayed but much-anticipated tour brings them both together in what can only be a win-win scenario for those who like their metal based on emotion and pathos. The Ritz is not heaving, but there is a good-sized crowd in and the number of couples that I see in his and hers matching Sólstafir and Katatonia T-shirts shows that there is a massive cross-section in their two fan bases.

Gig ReviewAuthor : Stewart Lucas12 February 2023O2 RitzKatatonia, Sólstafir, Som, O2 Ritz, Manchester, 2023, Live Review, Stewart Lucas, Johann WierzbickiComment

Live Review : Kris Barras Band + Dea Matrona @ The Tivoli, Buckley on February 10th 2023

Little do I know as I wander into the always welcoming arms of the Tiv that tonight is going to be a night full of surprises! We start off with Dea Matrona, who are two young lasses from Belfast who came to fame via youtube. Apparently they busk on the streets of their home city, film it, and have amassed over seven million views in the last couple of years. Not bad going! Tonight they also bring a drummer and come on playing bouncy blues. OK, that's not a bad start, accessible and hummable.