Last week as I was running to Of Mice and Men, I commented on the wintery chill in the air. Well tonight as Johann and I descend on Manchester, we're stuck in tail backs, amongst a sea of Christmas lights. Winter is coming. If I was to be honest, the thought of my supremely un-goth Minnie Mouse onesie holds all the appeal. There's something about the rush hour traffic that winds me up.
Read MoreAfter my Liverpudlian midweek logistical nightmare of shooting 2 gigs in the same venue at the same time, it becomes increasingly evident that tonight may also be one of those night. As I reach the door of Gorilla in Manchester for Northern Irish band Therapy?, my name is nowhere to be found on the list of approved photographers. After some lengthy conversation outside on the pavement (backed up by the hard evidence of email conversations) my name miraculously reappears on the guest list and I’m in.
Read MoreOne of the most startling developments of the last few years has been the re-emergence of heavy, bluesy rock as a dominant force in our musical world. Classic (or you can call it hard, heavy, bluesy or commercial it really doesn’t matter) rock was seemingly dead and buried ten years ago or at least only worth a dollop of tongue in cheek irony (The Darkness, I’m looking at you). But now there is a virtual Smorgasbord of young whipper-snappers playing the type of infectious guitar-driven danceable rock that was last in vogue before any of them were glints in the soundman’s eye.
Read MoreThere's a wintery chill in the air as I make my way to the legendary venue that is O2 Academy. I've got some stories about this place... but I’m not here to reminisce. I’m here tonight to review what promised to be a “wild" night.
Maybe it’s traditional to review things in the order they happened.
I’m not a traditional person.
Read MoreEden’s Curse have an uphill struggle from the off. Theirs is smooth retro AOR and whilst it is melodic and even sweet in places, it just echoes around an almost empty Academy. The Schenker devotees that have crawled in early, look like they are still shaking off their Sunday morning hangovers and look in no mood to be swayed by Survivor-esque light rock, it is almost like they are playing into a void.
Read MoreLet's get this out there first, during the entire gig the sound is utterly atrocious. It is far too quiet, the guitar and bass are lost in a muddy quagmire and the whole thing sounds like it is being relayed through a dodgy mono radio. I believe that protracted conversations at gigs should be defined as a criminal offence and with the sound so muffled and faint you can hear quite clearly every single conversation happening across the packed Apollo, most of them about why the sound is so dreadful.
Read MoreIt was only in 2010 that I saw Slayer headline a three quarters full Academy, just eight short years later they pretty much filled the Arena. But this is no bog standard Slayer gig, this is, apparently, the end and everyone wants to get one last look at Slayer before its all over. Because the truth is at some point over the last decade Slayer replaced Black Sabbath as being the officially recognised dictionary definition of Metal. They have become metal's spirit and essence distilled into one band. And now they are going away.
Read MoreIt’s been that long since I jumped in the Johann’s Crimson, German death wagon that I have changed career paths, got past a serious medical scare (not mine) and watched Johann jet-set about Europe. Going to a unvisited venue is always exciting. Aside form the new things too write about each venue has its own character. Satan’s Hollow is off the beaten track a little, situated in the back roads between Oxford road and Piccadilly it sits askew to its corporate surroundings. A large, dark, heavy gate greets the visitor, a portent of things inside? We traverse the usual entry problems, god help us if Johann forgets his phone. Once inside we can see an unusual layout. It’s a small venue, 500 people would see this uncomfortable. The stage is a small penned garden of metal right in the centre of the oddly shaped room. Shining have wrapped a large banner around one side of the pen creating a temporary backdrop to the normally circular stage. The room is intimate but has space for two separate bars.
Read MoreRob Wheeler appeared on stage for his acoustic set to an excited crowd no doubt waiting to see the local lad perform. Rob was accompanied on stage for his 9 songs set by Stephen Tams on keyboards & Elizabeth Birks on backing vocals, he played a mixture of songs from his debut album 'Little Ghosts Full Of Songs' from last year & his new album 'Luxury of Time' that will be released early next year.
Read MoreThere is nothing better than a well-constructed and immaculately curated package tour and tonight's sludgetastic double header of Corrosion of Conformity and Orange Goblin is made even more appetizing by the inclusion of cult stoners Fireball Ministry and Leeds’ Black Moth. The latter are shoved on ten minutes after opening and initially have a mere smattering of a crowd, which is a shame as this is slick doom done remarkably well.
Read MoreThe gifted Marcus King Band play to a sold out Night and Day Cafe tonight. Punching well above his years Marcus King is already a star with blues music lovers due to his exceptional guitar prowess. His debut album ‘Soul Insight’, released in 2015 had all and sundry getting their knickers in a twist due to his age, 19 years old, being too young for the quality of the songs on that release. Strong connections with Warren Haynes (produced their second album, The Marcus King Band) and Derek Trucks from the Tedeschi Trucks Band who King opened for on TTB Wheels of Soul Tour in 2018 gave the band much needed exposure.
Read MoreI am often struggling to comprehend if we will ever have decent motorways in the U.K. I had it all planned and set off earlier than most occasions but the gods of travel decided otherwise tonight. After having spent an hour stuck on the M57, it became quickly apparent that no matter what, I would be a no show for the supporting act, Kansas City based electro-deathcore fusion item The Browning. Being always on the look out for new bands and missing out on support acts makes my blood boil and must admit that screaming a few times in my car was more than therapeutic.
Eventually, I made it to the Academy Club in Manchester on a rather busy night for a Monday. The Student Union building reception is surrounded by over-emotional youth bringing drama to the scene as ambulance staff arrives for reasons unknown.
Read MoreWayward Sons marks the second (or to be honest third or even fourth) musical coming of former Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson. Their debut album ‘Ghosts of Yet to Come’ emerged last year and was an enthusiastic and passionate collection of well-crafted and highly charged heavy rock songs. Live they display that same energy, lust for life and authenticity that made their first album stand out from the crowd.
Read MoreIn your mind’s eye draw what you think the stereotypical Hoxton dwelling uber hipster looks like and voila you have Gold Keys. They wander on stage giving the distinct impression they are about to accept an award for creating the trendiest of trendy hairstyles or the hoppiest craft beer ever and then precede to be rather subdued Radiohead copyist. I was expecting vim and vigour but what we do get is, to be brutally honest, rather dull.
Read MoreOver the course of an hour and a half Evil Scarecrow provide one of the most enjoyable stage shows I have seen this year. There are more props and special effects than most Sci-fi movies and yes its more Plan 9 from Outer Space than Star Wars but that’s part of the charm. We get battling robots, drumming skeletons, aliens, UFO’s, massive slugs, NASA spacemen, robotic crabs, one of those huge inflatable men you get outside car showrooms and guest appearances from Link of Legends of Zelda and Chun-Li from Street Fighter 2. They may all have been lovingly created with Papier-Mache and sticky back plastic in someone’s garage but the effort that Evil Scarecrow go to make their show a riot of colourfulness and wackiness puts most other more ‘serious’ bands to shame.
Read MoreEnslaved and High on Fire make for interesting tour bedfellows. The former are the thinking person’s Black Metal band. Pedalling an intricate, complex and subtle take on a musical genre that can be rather harsh and one dimensional. On the other hand High on fire are the drinking persons Doom band, offering up a guttural, primitive and brutally direct take on what an often be an introspective genre.
Read MoreDue to children and trains I miss the first ten minutes of openers Inter Arma, given that they manage to traverse a good twenty-odd genres and musical touchstones in the four tracks I do see (it could have been six, they did rather blur into each other), I could have easily missed their takes on Nu-country, Bolivian folk and Hi-NRG dance. What I do see is a collusion of Doom, Black, Post and Prog metals with a splash of Faith No More and generous glug of Pantera. It's not bad at all and the introspective Prog breakdowns (which see vocalist Mike Paparo reverentially kneel in front of the drum kit) makes it stand out from other identikit Blackened Doom acts I could mention.
Read MoreI’d literally just clicked send on the Just Eat order, the anticipation of a large chicken kebab swirling around the axions and synapses. Was I droolin? Then that little ping and a blue message “I’m on my way”. What? Why are you on your way? What purpose? I check the ROCKFLESH calendar, clear as a bell, Oct 1st - Sons of Apollo. I quickly throw a t-shirt and hoodie on and dive out. Johann’s late for a gig I thought was tomorrow. He roars down the street, I’m already missing the kebab. The rain has turned the roads black, slick and shiny. Distorted brake lights multiplied in the windscreen. After a few death defying, maybe law breaking manoeuvres, we are at the familiar side street in Manchester city centre. The Academy 2 is the epitome of a box auditorium. It looks like a glorified Punch and Judy stand.
Read MoreA midweek gig in Manchester on a Tuesday Champions League soccer night is always a blessing for me. When one half of the city is in a stadium and the other glued to their TV screens to watch guys chasing after a ball, it generally means getting there should be a doddle. But for live bands, Tuesdays are more of a predicament and as I get through the door of Rebellion, tonight is no exception for the Cambridge quintet The Treatment who is halfway through its UK tour.
Read MoreFinally reaching the third installment of live music this week, I head tonight to the Arts Club in Liverpool City Centre. I had been there recently, attending the Russian World Cup troublemakers Pussy Riot. But this evening the performance is set in the smaller and more intimate room up the stairs; Jaret Reddick’s 5 U.K. shows Heartache & Hilarity tour or in other words '‘songs on acoustic and a few stories in between’.
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