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Firewind And Fury Rip Through The Underworld
Power metal isn't for everyone, that's for sure, but it definitely needs to be a part of the metal spectrum. There's a lot of people who love heavy music, but don't always want to experience the darkness and negativity of say death or black metal. There needs to be an outlet for head bangers who wouldn't mind feeling happy, and that's where power metal steps in. Undoubtedly one of the brightest names to emerge from the genre in the 21st century is Firewind and for over twenty years now, the band led by guitar virtuoso Gus G. has gone from strength to strength. At the beginning of the month, the Thessaloniki born group unleashed their tenth studio album, "Stand United" and fans were eager to hear these new songs live. They may have saved London for last when it came to their European tour, but the British capital proved to be worth the wait.
Heading down to The Underworld (which we'll be revisiting later this week,) it wasn't long before the crowd were treated to the special guests this evening, Fury. Not to be confused with Fury UK from Manchester way, the Midlands based band combines heavy metal with power, thrash and a little bit of old fashioned rock and roll to create a truly exciting sound. Honestly, the audience seemed almost as happy to see Fury as they were to see Firewind, and with good reason. From the opening notes of "If You Get To Hell First," Fury set the Underworld alight. Almost every song is filled with heart racing beats and wild guitars, complimented perfectly by the vocal partnership of founder Julian Jenkins and Nyah Ifill and the driving bass of Becky Baldwin. More...
70,000 Tons Of Metal 2024 (Day Three)
Day three is always the day when you arrive at your destination port during the 70,000 Tons Of Metal festival. Most survivors (the festival’s nomenclature for festival attendees) choose to debark the ship and enjoy the local beaches, shops, and restaurants. There are also excursions that you can sign up for beforehand that include members of the festival’s bands. These are at an additional cost and consist of activities such as ziplining, snorkeling, boat excursions and even playing with the local monkeys.
Puerto Plata
This year’s destination port city was Puerto Plata located in the northwestern coast of the Dominican Republic. This touristy cruise ship port (Taino Bay) was very modern and chock full of shops, bars, and eateries. Like most Caribbean cruise ship ports, I describe Taino Bay as a sprawling Margaritaville, at least a football field length long. My wife and I are more of the adventurous types so we made our way through the plethora of friendly yet persistent vendors and walked through traffic laden streets for about 5 minutes before arriving in the colonial and cultural heart of Puerto Plata.
Umbrella Street
As far as Caribbean port cities are concerned, I give it a 7 out of 10. There are a couple of photogenic areas like Umbrella Street, and the Pink Alley. If you’re a “grammer” type, these areas are your jam. There were plenty of cute shops and cheap cafes all over the area. However, we had to hunt down a restaurant that serves local Dominican fare. We ended up at a place called Kelvin y Patricia Bar Restaurant. It’s located at the entrance of Umbrella Street and Calle San Felipe. This place rocked. We noticed that the platters were large, so we ordered a couple of beers and a plate of chicharrones de cerdo with some mofongo and platanos on the side. Everything was incredibly delicious. I highly recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Puerto Plata.
Chicharrones and Mofungo
After lunch, we wanted to get a head start back to the ship to take advantage of some quiet time on the ship, i.e., jacuzzi/libations, before the masses of “survivors” returned. After a couple of hours unwinding, it was time to start getting ready for the third night of bands. It was a tricky schedule because we picked to see Warkings, Nanowar of Steel, Saor and Blind Guardian back-to-back at the front part of tonight’s line-up and then we planned to take a nap to catch Infected Rain and Crypta in the early morning hours of the next day. More...
70,000 Tons Of Metal 2024 (Day Two)
Day two of 70,000 Tons Of Metal was an early start, and by early, I mean around noon. The first bands of the day normally start playing around ten in the morning, but only the very hardcore or the still inebriated fans are having metal for breakfast. One of NWOBHM’s elite bands, Tygers of Pan Tang, was the first band on our list that day. They were good, but at this point of their career, they reminded me of your friend’s fathers band playing classic heavy metal at your local bar and grill. Next up was Nervosa. There have been so many line-up changes over the past couple of years, I wasn’t sure who was currently in the band other than Prika Amaral. There were some technical issues at the start of their set, but they were cruising along by their second song.
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Tygers of Pan Tang
With our boat cruising through the Atlantic Ocean towards Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, it was time to enjoy some of the other things on the Freedom Of The Seas other than just metal. There are several restaurants on board the ship that are not included within the price of admission. You pay extra for these restaurants and you must make reservations right away because the spots are limited. My wife and I made reservations at the Izumi Hibachi (Japanese steakhouse) and at Chops Grill (steakhouse) on back-to-back nights.
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Nervosa
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Windjammer Grill or the main dining room, but sometimes you just want to get away from it all and these restaurants are a good option and a not too terribly expensive option. There is also an Italian restaurant and a Johnny Rockets burger grill to choose from.
For late night eats, the standbys have always been Sorrento’s Pizza and the Promenade Café. However, the Windjammer is now offering late night eats from midnight until 4 am. This wasn’t available in 2020 and was much appreciated by the looks of all the metalheads filling up their plates to refuel in the middle of the night. More...
70,000 Tons Of Metal 2024 (Day One)
There are very few metal festivals that the attendees will lose sleep over waiting for the band announcements, 70,000 Tons Of Metal just might rank number one on that list. This is my sixth 70,000 Tons Of Metal, so I’m never surprised that many of the 60 bands are announced during the final two weeks leading up to the cruise ship’s departure date. At this point in my 70 Tons Of Metal exploits, I just know that something awesome is about to happen and to just enjoy the ride, but in this case, let’s just cruise man…
It’s amusing to read the comments in certain social media platforms dedicated to the festival. There always those that post things such as, “This is my last 70k Of Metal because it’s so unfair that we have to wait so long to know the full line-up.” I read many similar comments this year. They just don’t get it. Even though it’s nice to know the full line-up before reserving your spot on the boat, it’s more of a convenience. This festival isn’t about the line-up per se, it's about the full experience. This is also what this road report is about, my 2024, 70,000 Tons Of Metal experience.
The unofficial festival starts about a week before the actual sail date. For those that live in colder climates, they are usually the first to arrive and I don’t blame them. Normally, the average temperatures are very mild around late January and early February, however, this year it was a little cooler than average. Try telling that to any Canadian or Norwegian attending 70,000 Tons and they’ll laugh you off the beach.
There are several events that take place during the week leading up to the festival. There are some local warm-up shows, a few parties, BBQ’s and the original beach party located on Miami Beach. 70,000 Tons Of Metal is a community. It’s global and it’s welcoming to anyone and everyone that’s a fan of heavy music. There are no barriers or borders on board either. We were all here to have a fun time together and that’s part of the 70,000 Tons Of Metal experience.
I had a lot going on in my personal life leading up to this year’s festival, so my wife and I flew in the day before and checked out the beach party for a bit.
It was late afternoon when we arrived and by that time, they were getting ready for the annual beach party group photo. My wife and I are somewhat vertically challenged, so we took off our flip-flops and held them up so we could find ourselves easier once the photos were published. A few hours later, we saw some of the photos and because the beach party has grown exponentially over the years, the only thing we could see were the tips of our flip-flops. It was still awesome to see that mass of black t-shirts taking over the beach, that never gets old. More...
Cultura Tres Brings South America To South London
With Sepultura announcing their farewell last year, many fans are wondering what the future holds for the members of the most illustrious metal band to come from South America. One who seems to have answered the question already however is their longest serving representative, bassist Paolo Xisto Jr., who is now a member of Cultura Tres, a sludge metal band formed in Venezuela eighteen years ago. Last Spring, the group released their latest full length record, "Camino de Brujos" and not long afterwards, embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom. Only months later, the quartet returned to the European island for another headlining run and this time, Metal Underground was in London to catch their show at the New Cross Inn.
It's been quite some time since I've been to this venue, which can be a little tricky to get to if you don't know where you're going, but it's well worth a visit. It's small, but makes good use of the space it has, while also being very reasonable when it comes to prices and the staff are very friendly. There were also two local opening bands tonight, Sawticide and Slave Steel (the latter having originally formed in Italy) and to be honest, they weren't dissimilar from each other. Both bands were received warmly by the crowd, with plenty of crushing heaviness to offer. However, neither outfit has much more to offer than that, with it also becoming a detriment at times, making song structure difficult to hear. I'm sure both will improve in time, so I don't want to be too harsh, but some advice I will give is to speak to the audience clearer, as there was no way of knowing what Sawticide were called without looking at the stage time sheet or Facebook event page. Best of luck in the future, lads. More...
Girlschool, Alcatrazz & Raven Rock Tufnell Park
There are some tours which are almost impossible to pass up. When a legendary band announces a tour it's exciting, but when a team of pioneers get together, then you know you're in for something special (or an explorers expedition.) So when it was announced that Girlschool and Raven, two bands from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal who, while not always gaining the recognition they deserve, helped lay the foundations for what metal is today, would be hitting the road with Alcatrazz, a band who achieved much success in the heyday of heavy metal, it was a no brainer. Time then to hop on the coach to London once again to visit The Dome in Tufnell Park, just a couple of stops away from Camden on the Northern Line to witness what promised to be a great night of old school heavy metal music.
As if the triple co-headlining sets weren't enough, opening the show was Airforce, who formed back in 1987 and is perhaps most notable for featuring former Iron Maiden drummer Doug Sampson behind the kit. What will immediately strike anyone witnessing them though is the absolute vocal powerhouse that is singer Flávio Lino, the former vocalist of doom metal band On The Loose. Lino has the perfect voice for this kind of metal and if one was looking to start a heavy metal band, he would be exactly the kind of vocalist you'd want. Airforce plays a fun, up-tempo brand of music well suited to this tour and it's of good quality too, leading to a number of fans in attendance singing along, even if they weren't familiar with them before. Airforce is a real treat for lovers of traditional heavy metal and I'd definitely recommend catching them live. More...
A Cold Day In Hell: Frozen Soul At The Underworld
So far this year, we've covered gigs headlined by Cabal and Baest, two bands with plenty of heaviness to offer. This week is no exception, as Frozen Soul, one of the fastest rising death metal groups in America, returned to European shores for a headlining tour in support of their latest record, "Glacial Domination," which more than lives up to the title. They weren't alone either, as they brought some stellar support along with them for the ride who were all eager to impress and crush crowds in equal measure. Tonight, it was time for Frozen Soul's first headlining performance at The Underworld, one of the most notable venues in Camden (and there's plenty to choose from,) which has hosted many of metal's most beloved names.
Kicking things off with a little bit of local flavour, London death metal squadron Overthrow got things underway. They certainly looked the part and the music was no different, boasting a real meaty sound reminiscent of the genre's heyday. Songs like "Ruptured Nebula" and "Lords Of Xibalba," really demonstrated how menacing death metal can be and did a good job of grabbing the interest of concert goers who weren't too familiar with the group. In addition to their own material, the band finished with a rendition of the Cannibal Corpse classic, "Hammer Smashed Face," perhaps a daring thing to do but the crowd loved it and Overthrow pulled it off very well. A solid opening act which is well worth your time if you get the opportunity to see them for yourself. More...
Baest Puts On A Death Metal Masterclass In London
Denmark sure does seem to keep itself busy when it comes to metal music. Only a few weeks after witnessing Cabal at the Underworld, another extreme outfit from the southern Scandinavian country invaded Camden in the form of death metal stalwarts Baest. The Aarhus quintet has been going from strength to strength since the release of their 2018 debut album, "Danse Macabre," establishing themselves as one of Europe's premier death metal bands and the young flag bearers of the genre. It may have been almost three years since their last full length, but they've still been busy, most recently unleashing a new single named, "Colossus."
Just like the last time we covered a Baest show, the Danes were headlining The Black Heart, just across the road from the Camden underground station, round the corner from The Underworld. It's a reasonably priced venue and a must visit for metal fans in the English capital, where you'll be met by some very friendly staff and be treated to a superb selection of metal and hardcore playing over the speakers, all while surrounded by a plethora of gig posters, the perfect place to get in the mood for a show. Just by the toilets is the staircase which leads up to the performance area itself, featuring a small stage, a tiny bar and a merch stand, where members of Baest were waiting to chat away to fans as soon as the doors opened. More...
Cabal Delivers Deathcore Decimation In London
Live music is something which is almost essential to the lives of most people who read this site, or stumble across articles like this one. It's where we get to experience the music which played an important part of our lives, discover new favourites, meet new and old friends or simply let out our frustrations, aggression and negativity. This seems especially true for metal fans. So after going without a live show for over two months, I was itching to get to any kind of metal gig that I could, which is a growing problem in post-Brexit Britain, with many bands omitting it from their tour schedule. Fortunately, Danish quintet Cabal were kind enough to include a number of shows in the UK on their current tour and had some very intriguing support joining them, so it was off to London for my first show of 2024.
Though they had their fans, opening band Lifesick weren't who I was thinking of in the "intriguing support" statement. Having signed with Metal Blade Records recently, there's some buzz around the Fredericia natives. Being totally unfamiliar with a band is usually a good place to be when seeing them live, as one can't compare them to their studio output or previous gig experiences. For die hard fans of metalcore, and there were some in the Underworld tonight, there's enough to enjoy, which is to say, a lot of breakdowns. Breakdowns and jumping around like an early 2000s pop punk band seemed to be all Lifesick had to offer though. Not the worst band ever, but no different from every other local metalcore band you've ever seen and thus, not much to write about. More...
Igorrr Downgrade The Arizona Desert
I’ve seen the electric and eclectic Igorrr once before when I covered one of my favorite metal festivals, the severely underrated Mystic Festival (Gdansk, Poland) in 2022. I was only able to catch three songs before I had to move on to my next band on my “must see” list for that day. Igorrr fits the mold of one of those bands that are on the, “Hey, you should check out this band!” list that your music loving friends are always blabbering about. I clearly remember that after I edited their photo set from the festival, I wished that I could have caught their full set because I was blown away with only three songs that day. Well, my wish came true and after catching the full set in Mesa, Arizona recently, I knew that I wasn’t the only one blown away that night.
Igorrr isn’t your traditional heavy metal band. They skate the blurred and fractured lines of several different sub-genres within the heavy metal cosmos. For those that know nothing about Igorrr, here is the band line-up. There’s a DJ/turntable frontman, one guitarist, two vocalists, and a drummer. While this set-up isn’t completely out of the ordinary, it’s not something you see often for an extreme metal band. Every member in this band is fully utilized and showcased at some point during their set. There is not a weak link in this band as far as musicianship is concerned. Their live sound is almost identical to their releases and much of their set this night consisted of material from their most recent release, “Spirituality and Distortion.”
Kicking off their set with “Paranoid Bulldozer Italiano,” Igorrr proceeded to rip through an impressive 17 song set. Throughout the show, we witnessed the genius behind Igorrr, Gautier Serre, switch back and forth between his turntables and a six-string axe. The amount of creativity in Igorrr’s songwriting is better understood when focusing on Serre during his time behind his setup. Serre is the brainiac behind the musical juggernaut that is Igorrr, but without his bandmates to put his musical genius in motion, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be anywhere near a captivating live experience as it stands currently. More...
KK's Priest Brings Their Sermon To London
Some lineups just can't be missed. With the recent release of their sophomore album, "The Sinner Rides Again" (you can find our review here,) it was inevitable that KK's Priest would be hitting the road in support of the record. The legendary guitarist of Judas Priest fame wasn't alone with his highly skilled band however, as joining the group on their European tour are the superb Swiss traditional metal outfit Burning Witches, and for the UK dates only, former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'anno. With these three names on one bill, it was essential to get to one of these gigs. But could the show deliver on such a promising night of metal? I think we all know the answer to that.
The Shepherds Bush Empire, located a very short walk from the tube station, is a wonderful venue, it must be said. It's relatively small with a capacity of 2000 and has hosted acts from Charlie Chaplin to the Rolling Stones to Amy Winehouse (and Kid Rock, but we don't talk about that) and feels quite grand upon entry, while the staff were particularly friendly and helpful. This all helps put the attendee at ease as they prepare for the evening, which tonight was kicked off by the heavy metal flag bearers Burning Witches.
With five albums under their belts now, the band appropriately chose one song from each album to represent them in their short set. Burning Witches can work in any environment it seems, from smaller venues like The Dome or The Underworld to the bigger stages such as these, they put in a hell of a performance. Vocalist Laura Guldemond was not only in fine voice, but she understood the audience perfectly and did a great job of getting everyone excited, winning over fans who hadn't heard of them before and delighted those who were already anticipating their set. The quintet tore through the likes of "Wings Of Steel" and "We Stand As One," as well as the brilliant "Hexenhammer," before closing with their eponymous song. Burning Witches continues to be one of the premier young heavy metal bands in the world today with such electric live shows. More...
Victorius Lets Dinos And Dragons Loose In Swindon
It's so rare that a tour comes to Swindon these days. Where once there was a decent metal scene and bands like Napalm Death, 3 Inches Of Blood and even the likes of Motorhead and Alice Cooper would pass through, now it seems that it's a bit of a ghost town, and not just because of the decimated town centre which now only hosts charity shops, bookies and crazed Christian preachers. So when the announcement came that German power metal warriors Victorius would be coming to the recently rechristened Underground (formerly known as Level III or The Furnace,) it was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up, if only to find out why of all the places the band could have chosen for their only southern England show, they picked a town where culture begins and ends with a roundabout.
Those who came out this Sunday were in for a real treat of a lineup, which was kicked off in wonderful fashion by Southampton's Toledo Steel. For those unfamiliar, the south coast unit are staunch flag bearers of traditional heavy metal and they're good at it, bringing the old NWOBHM sound into the modern era, instead of just replicating it. It was a special night for the group too as this was the first gig with new guitarist Michael Lewis, who fits Toledo Steel like a glove. Despite the small crowd, who took a little while to get going, the band put their all into their set and soon there were more heads banging and horns raised. Songs like "Writing's On The Wall" and "Rock Nights" sounded superb as Toledo Steel forged ahead, determined to win new fans with their live show, which they almost certainly did. More...
Brutal Assault 2023 - Seven Most Memorable Bands
Sometimes as a writer, you must mix things up from time to time. I normally write up festival reports, day by day, band by band, blah, blah, blah…it gets mundane for the writer and more importantly, the reader. Brutal Assault 2023 took place in early August of this year and we’re already in mid-September as of this writing.
I took plenty of notes after each day so I know most of the details of each day. However, I’m going to write up Brutal Assault 2023 in such a way where I’m going to list my top seven most memorable bands of the festival and why I remembered them. I’ll refer to my notes only to confirm what I remembered, but the meat of it will be from my own personal, gray matter hard drive.
For reference, here are some personal stats regarding my Brutal Assault band viewing numbers. I saw at least 30 bands over 4 days and I photographed 28 of them. Most bands were headliner type bands you would see on tour or that put out releases through well-known metal labels. Most of these bands are in the extreme metal genre.
Without further ado, and not ranked in any particular order, my top seven: More...
Sabertooth 2023 Part 3
Sabertooth Portland 2023 – Part 3 (of 3)
Before moving on to the final three bands of the evening, I need to clarify a few things from Part 1 and Part 2 of this report.
Some of my questions in those parts were answered via email. Will was booked for 2020 Sabertooth (which obviously didn’t happen) so they were given a good slot for their patience. Rhododendron draw large crowds at all-ages events. The audience probably seemed less familiar because Sabertooth was 21+. Again, both bands were great; I was just wondering why they were given better time slots and stages than Cloak and Ghost Bath.
Speaking of which, both Cloak and Ghost Bath were “along for the ride” due to their tour with UADA, who was up next as one of the last three bands on the Crystal Ballroom stage.
2023 Sabertooth Part 2
Sabertooth Portland 2023 – Part 2 (of 3)
Part 1 can be found here.
Back to the Crystal Ballroom stage for Rhododendron—a band I hadn’t heard of. My first thought was, “Why are these three kids playing on the big stage with proper lighting, ventilation, etc. when I just had to see Cloak on the tiny, hot stage in the dark and packed Lola’s Room?”
After listening a bit, I softened my disdain. They were good and have a very promising future. But still, shouldn’t Cloak and Rhododendron have been switched?
I headed down the stairs for Year of the Cobra, a band I could swear I’ve seen before, but I can’t remember where or when. I thought I had at least 10 minutes to spare, but they had already begun playing. From this point on, I think every band started before the advertised start times. Did they get changed and the website wasn’t updated? I don’t know.
Year of the Cobra is a wonderful two-piece band. Their set was intense, beautiful, and Amy’s shout out to the metal women in the audience (including Grayceon’s Jackie Perez Gratz) was the first time that the higher female percentage of this festival (that I mentioned in Part 1) hit me.
Portland funeral doom band Will was up next. Funeral doom can be enjoyable live with the proper intoxicants, but it can also bore me—especially when not in a live setting. The second half of a couple of Will’s songs were quite good—when the pace picked up and/or soloing occurred.
Will has been doing their thing, mostly opening for touring bands in Portland, for a while now, but I don’t think they have any albums. Again, I’m still asking the question why Cloak and Ghost Bath weren’t swapped on the bill with Rhododendron and Will?
Speaking of Ghost Bath, they were the final act in Lola’s Room. The place was packed and hotter than ever by this point in the evening. Ghost Bath only got through a couple of songs before the power went off. Rather than endure the heat and masses in the hopes that power to the instruments be restored, I retreated to the much cooler Crystal Ballroom for a rest and wait for the final three artists—UADA, Ludicra, and YOB.
2023 Sabertooth PDX
Sabertooth Portland 2023 – Part 1 (of 3)
I had heard of Sabertooth Fest before, but 2023 was my first experience. In prior years, I always had something else planned or couldn’t make the 5-hour drive. The festival has been going since 2015—when it was a three-day festival (all in Portland) and headlined by Sleep. Dubbed a psychedelic music festival—the emphasis was much more on doom and stoner metal this year.
This year’s Sabertooth took place over two days—the first in Tacoma with a much smaller lineup. This was the first time Sabertooth has happened in several years. The festival usually took place in February when it was active between 2015 and May of 2019. Prior acts included Built to Spill, Japanese Breakfast, Parquet Courts, Super Furry Animals, etc. so this year’s Sabertooth definitely moved in a heavier direction.
10 bands were on the Portland bill, with the first band not beginning until 4:20. Yob wrapped things up before 11:30. How do 10 bands play in just seven hours? Two stages, with some overlapping, and fairly-short sets is how.
I arrived at about 4:20 and wandered into Lola’s Room, for the first time, shortly thereafter. Lividus was probably into their second or third song. I wasn’t familiar with them, but they sounded good. The room was hot, and the lighting was minimal and unchanging. Not good, as things were only going to get hotter and more crowded as the evening progressed.
Lola’s Room (just under the Crystal Ballroom—which was good for not having to go far between bands) is designed for a small, sit down audience on a cold winter night. Portland may have hit 90 degrees on this day, but Lola’s Room felt hotter than that. A stand-up crowd meant few could see well as the stage was only about a foot off the ground. The silver linings to the space were the seating on one side and the ample water stations in the back.
Heading upstairs to the Crystal Ballroom was a breath of fresh air—literally. Not crowded and at least 15 degrees cooler, I was excited to see a band that had been in my music rotation for the last few months—Hoaxed.
Hoaxed was excellent live, and I began to notice an unadvertised theme of the festival—women in metal! When’s the last time you went to a metal festival in which 40% of the bands had at least one female on stage and more than 20% of the musicians performing were women? (If the UADA/Ghost Bath/Cloak tour wasn’t on the Sabertooth bill the numbers would have been closer to 60% and 35%!)
Speaking of Cloak, they were one of the main reasons I decided to drive five hours (each way) to attend. As far as I know, this was as close as they’ve ever been to me, and I’ve been a big fan of their music since I first heard their debut album in 2017. Their style hits my sweet spot. If you are not familiar, I suppose you could say that if Satyricon, Slayer, and Tribulation had a baby… If you are already acquainted (and are looking for somewhat similar bands), then I suggest you check out Denmark’s Slægt.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed their set. My two complaints are that they were in Lola’s Room instead of the Crystal Ballroom, and they weren’t given enough time. Personally, I would have switched Will and Cloak. Local band Will (who don’t even have an album out yet) may have more friends in Portland, but the fact that Cloak came so far and has a much greater following overall (not to mention three excellent albums) should have bumped them up on the bill IMO.
Part 2 can be found here.
Eyehategod Teams With Church Of Misery In London
When it comes to tours, everyone loves a good pairing. It's always a treat to see one of your favourite bands, but if they come to town with another awesome group, then it makes the tour even more appealing. This is the case when it comes to the current European tour headlined by Eyehategod, New Orleans' answer to the question, "What if Black Sabbath and Discharge were locked in a room together?", who are currently stomping across the continent with Japanese serial killer historians Church Of Misery. Add returning English band Hang The Bastard to the mix and the show at the Dome in Tufnell Park, North London was irresistible, as evidenced by the fact that the show sold out.
Opening the show was recently reactivated London outfit Hang The Bastard. It's been nine years since their last album, "Sex In The Seventh Circle" but their fan base are as thrilled to see them as ever. Mixing doom and sludge metal with hardcore aggression, Hang The Bastard immediately grabbed everyone's attention with their combination of riffs and breakdowns. It was a little hard for the more metal orientated fans to fully enjoy themselves, thanks to the tank on two legs swirling around the floor performing the most rhythmless spin kicks you've ever seen, creating a significant gap which the crowd were reluctant to fill, but nevertheless, it's fair to say that no one in attendance was disappointed by the music itself. The band has tremendous energy and this comeback will no doubt win over plenty of fans. More...
Frozen Soul Delivers A Short But Sharp London Set
If a UK tour is happening, it's all but guaranteed that it's coming to London. The British capital city has a reputation for being difficult when it comes to audiences, since so many bands come through, but the truth is that London audiences can go as hard as anyone else, it just takes something special. This was exactly what was on offer in Tufnell Park as one of death metal's fastest rising bands, Frozen Soul, made their way back to the smoke.
Kicking off the night with little time wasted was Wallowing, a band from Brighton who are incredibly hard to define. Clad in what could only be described as black beekeeper outfits with Iron Man's arc reactor attached to their clothes, Wallowing took no prisoners with their blend of noise, doom and industrial. Undoubtedly one of the more unique bands to take to a London stage this year (which is saying something,) for a newcomer they are so out there that the viewer will spend as much time wondering what it is they're seeing as they will being won over by the music they're hearing. The music itself is, as implied, very interesting and after a while, quite infectious. It's hard to say much more, but Wallowing a band which must be seen and heard and emit an atmosphere which will draw the attendee back for more. More...
Dark Angel Has Finally Arrived In Athens
Before I even arrived at Gagarin 205, the Athens, Greece venue that would host both Xentrix and Dark Angel tonight, I was feeling anxious about how the turnout was going to be. Does Greece still remember this remember this fringe Big Four band from the late 80’s/early 90’s???
In my opinion, Dark Angel has never received the respect they deserved. Was it because they were based in Los Angeles and not the Bay Area? Was it because they were labeled a Slayer knock-off? Or was it because of their label not pushing them as hard as their peers? Whatever the answer was, it really doesn’t matter anymore. Almost 40 years after the release of “We Have Arrived,” they were playing in Athens, Greece for the very first time tonight.
Xentrix was already playing when I nudged my way through the entrance. The crowd was already awake and thrashing and the beer lines were long. I’m not sure how many metalheads Gagarin 205 can hold, but already the only area you could move around without bumping shoulders was near the entrance. Dark Angel wouldn’t even hit the stage for another hour! After a tight and energetic set by Xentrix, it was time to heal those broken hearts caused by Dark Angel by never playing in Greece until now. After a few moments into their intro music, “The Atomic Clock,” Gene Hoglan, took to his throne and the already sweat drenched Athenian crowd went full Spartan.
Not surprisingly, the first song of Dark Angel’s set was “We Have Arrived.” After playing a handful of songs from “Time Does Not Heal” and “Leave Scars,” it was time for what we’ve been waiting on for decades. Tonight, was to be a special setlist in tribute to the late founding member, Jim Durkin. They were going to play their sophomore effort, the thrash metal classic that has been mentioned in numerous top ten thrash metal albums of all time lists, “Darkness Descends” in full.
Mystic Festival 2023 - Day Three
The final day of any music festival is a bittersweet one. Just when you start finding your spots and getting into a routine, poof, it’s over. The first band I marked for Mystic’s final day was Djevel, a Norwegian black metal band that’s been around since 2009. It’s very rare that I’ll write something negative about any band, especially their live shows, but I must be honest about Djevel…they are not a good live band. They’re sloppy and they don’t move around much during their shows. I saw them at Inferno Festival in 2018 and I thought they were awkward and boring live to play such a prestigious festival. It’s 5 years later and I thought the same thing again.
Djevel
The next band/musician I saw was Lili Refrain from Rome, Italy. This was one of the artists I picked out to watch only if I could make it work within the scheduling. She was sound checking when I arrived at the Sabbath Stage. There was a table full of guitar effect pedals in front of her along with a floor tom and a guitar set up to her right. A short time later, she adorned the stage with her unique style and opened her set with “Travellers.” It was super impressive to watch her replicate the exact sound from the recorded version of the song. I wish I had more time to watch her whole set, hopefully she’ll be touring soon.
Lili Refrain
One of the bands that Mystic featured during this year’s edition was Voivod. The festival even pressed a limited number of 7” records with a never recorded single entitled “Chaotic Harmony, Mystic Festival Anthem.” They made 3 different colored vinyl versions of it that were limited to 999 copies in total. In addition, they dedicated the art gallery basement space to display the famed and storied artwork of Voivod’s famed drummer and artist, Michael "Away" Langevin. The prints displayed encompassed every era of Voivod’s existence. It was a touching and heartfelt tribute to such an influential band that has “Rrröööaaarrr”ed over 4 decades.
Voivod - Michael "Away" Langevin
When Voivod took to the Shrine Stage, the venue was completely full. The chants for Voivod were probably heard across the Baltic Sea, they were so loud. They kicked their set off with “Killing Technology.” Maybe it was a little bit of a political statement regarding the war happening next door? Only they know. Voivod wasn’t the first band in the past couple of years to make such a statement at Poland’s Mystic Festival. Snake and company played material from nine albums, there aren’t many bands from their era that can do the same anymore. I noticed everyone in the band smiling throughout their set which means they still love their day job and each other. That can’t be said about many bands that have even been around longer than Voivod.
Voivod - Denis "Snake" Bélanger
After the passing of their founding guitarist, Jim Durkin, everyone wondered if Dark Angel would continue with their tour and festival dates they committed to before his passing. Dark Angel has always persevered throughout their existence so it was really no surprise they were going to fulfill those commitments because that’s what Jim Durkin would have wanted.
Dark Angel - Ron Rinehart/Eric Meyer More...
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