Tag Archives: New Wave of Classic Rock

New Collateral single ‘On The Long Road’ out now ahead of 24th May album release

Music news, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , , ,

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a sneak preview of the new single from Collateral when they played legendary Hastings rock venue, The Carlisle this month. ‘On The Long Road’ (released today 19th April) is the second single to be released from the band’s forthcoming album Should’ve Known Better. With this latest single the Kent-based hard rock band slow things a notch with an emotive ballad on a deeply personal theme.

Collateral frontman Angelo Tristan comments: “I’ve never been in a position to write about such a personal painful subject,” says  about the new single. “During the pandemic, my partner’s mum passed away with no real warning. It was a real dark time, and there was no way of escaping it, so I did the only thing I know how, and that was to try and get those feelings out. It’s about tragedy, but I’m starting to see an underlying hope within the song. After all, it’s a story that sooner or later, we all take part in.”

‘On The Long Road’ is available on all streaming platforms HERE.

On May 24th, the album will be released by Big Shot Records on red vinyl, picture disc, CD and digital with worldwide distribution by Cargo Records Direct. The album is available to pre-order from www.collateralofficial.com and Cargo Records Direct.

Collateral are comprised of Angelo Tristan (lead vocals, guitar), Louis Malagodi (guitar), Jack Bentley-Smith (bass) and Ben Atkinson (drums). 

Photo credits (this and header image): Rob Blackham

Both the new single and the forthcoming album are produced by Dan Weller (Those Damn Crows, Elles Bailey, Enter Shikari, Monster Truck, Kris Barras). It’s the band’s second album following their eponymous debut in 2020 which secured a Top 5 placing in the UK Rock Album Chart. A remixed and remastered version of the album, retitled Re-Wired, also saw the band back in the UK rock charts.

Commenting on the new album Angelo Tristan added:

“We felt that our debut album was lacking the production. For the sophomore album, I wanted to make sure that this time we left no room for error and so got one of the hottest producers in the music industry, Dan Weller, to help lift these songs into a new dimension. With Dan’s pioneering studio expertise, this album has massive production quality that enables you to get lost in each character-filled track. Dan really brought out the emotions we were trying to portray and has achieved it with his own unique style.”

“We wanted this album to express where we were in our own lives since the release of our first. So much has happened since then, I mean the world shut down for what felt like a lifetime! And it was obvious that people were going to need some sort of optimism.  I hope ‘Glass Sky’ is one of those songs that gives people the belief to find themselves again.”

“Whereas, the feel-good ‘Just One Of Those Days’ is trying to find the good side of a bad day. Me being me, couldn’t help but to write a big power ballad, ‘The Long Road’, that I wrote from a very hard and deep place, in hope that it could maybe bring some peace and comfort to people who need it. I think there’s all aspects of life running though this album and what it means to us will remain in our hearts forever.”

“Should’ve Known Better” is an album that goes beyond specific music genres. It’s almost like a soundtrack to a beating heart.  It’s an album that will remain timeless in years to come.”

https://www.collateralofficial.com

Live review: Toledo Steel at The Carlisle, Hastings 3/11/18

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , ,

A third live blast of this band for me in recent months, Toledo Steel are rapidly becoming one of my absolute favourite modern-era heavy metal bands.

Although they released their debut album ‘No Quarter’ earlier this year, the band are not quite new kids on the block, having been around since 2011 and with two prior EPs and a relentless round of gigging under their belts. Unlike a number of similar bands, however, their line-up has been relatively stable during that time and on-stage they are a formidable unit together.

Rich Rutter’s powerfully melodic vocals, combined with the twin guitar assault of Tom Potter and Josh Haysom and some truly, truly memorable songs make Toledo Steel a really great classic heavy metal outfit.

Storming through a set-list including ‘Heavy Metal Headache’ and ‘No Quarter’ from their recent album and ‘City Lights’ and ‘Speed Killer’ from their last EP the impact on the crowd is instant. These are not just great songs. They are fully-formed heavy metal anthems.

And with a nod to the classic era of heavy metal that has done so much to help shape and influence this band we also get a brilliant cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Heading Out to the Highway’.

Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath and Motorhead in having an eponymously-named killer track they leave us with a momentous blast of ‘Toledo Steel’ for an encore and for everyone to roar along to. Superb!

While the Carlisle is not packed tonight the band absolutely storm the place and it’s clear Toledo Steel have some committed fans in the audience, myself included. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before they are playing on far bigger stages to far bigger crowds. They 100% deserve it.

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http://www.toledosteel.co.uk/

Related reviews:

Toledo Steel – album launch gig in London

Toledo Steel at Mearfest 2017

 

The new wave of classic rock: six more bands to watch out for

Album reviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , ,

There has been a definite groundswell of bands forming in recent years playing their own original brand of classic hard rock/metal, influenced by both the first wave of hard rock/metal bands formed in the late 60s/early 70s and the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) formed a decade later. Following my last round-up a few months ago, here is another batch of bands that have gone out of their way to impress me recently.

1. Ethyrfield

Absolutely everyone who saw them at Minehead’s Giants of Rock this year was raving about Ethyrfield. Not me I’m afraid – this was one of the bands I sadly missed at Minehead. However, I finally managed to catch Ethyrfield at the New Cross Inn and it was well worth the wait. Aged just 17, 16 and 14, Zach Cornish (vocals/bass), Ben Cornish, (vocals/lead guitar) and Dan Aston (drums) put in an absolutely incredible performance. Tony Iommi has mentored the band, they’ve picked up various awards and were voted winners of the introducing stage at Giants of Rock this year and will thus be returning to the main stage next year. I’ll be there. Simply incredible.

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https://www.ethyrfield.com/

2. Saints Of Sin

If many of the bands flying under the NWOCR look to the NWOBHM scene of the late 70s/early 80s for inspiration Saints Of Sin appear to have stepped straight out of the LA metal scene circa 1987. Big hooks, catchy choruses and bags of attitude they were one of Friday’s highlights for me. The band’s excellent album ‘Welcome To The Circus’ is well worth getting hold of.

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https://www.saintsofsin.band/

3. The Black Bullets

The Black Bullets who, if I had to describe them, bring to mind a meeting of Bon Scott and Angus Young circa 1975 and The New York Dolls. Sleazy, raunchy, dirty and brilliantly fun this is the kind of music you could never tire of. From an amazingly strong line-up of acts at the New Cross Inn’s Four Sticks Classic Rock All Dayer back in March The Black Bullets were one of my favourite bands of the day.

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https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackBulletsUK

4. Tomorrow Is Lost

Tomorrow Is Lost, a young band from Newcastle formed last year and fronted by female singer, Cass King, were one of the highlights at the New Cross Inn’s second Four Sticks event this October. Great vocals and a real sense of showmanship I snapped up their two recent EPs after their set and they are now a definite addition to my ‘ones to watch’ list.

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https://tomorrowislost.com/

5. Animal Drive

Bite! Is the debut album from Croatian hard rock band Animal Drive. Four guys in their mid to late twenties, front-man Dino Jelusic has toured as a vocalist with the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I came equipped with zero knowledge of the Croatian rock/metal scene prior to reviewing this CD but extremely polished production, a thunderous rhythm section some blinding guitar work and powerfully melodic vocals means there’s much to like about this album. Such is the sheer professionalism of Bite! that it wouldn’t be out of place sitting alongside releases from much more experienced and established bands. One of the most impressive debuts I’ve heard in a while.

animal-drive-bite

http://animal-drive.com/

6. New Device

Polished melodic hard rock and catchy well-written songs, New Device proved to be a great start to the day for when I caught them at the New Cross Inn’s first Four Sticks classic rock event. I picked up a copy of their 2013 album ‘Here We Stand’ and my initial positive impressions were definitely confirmed. Lead singer Daniel Leigh is an impressive vocalist, both when handling the all-out rockers as well as the slower, more sensitive material.

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http://www.newdevice.co.uk/

Related post – now visit part one here:

A renaissance in classic heavy metal: six bands to watch out for

Live review: Four Sticks Classic Rock Weekender at the New Cross Inn, London 5-7 October 2018

Live reviews, new wave of British heavy metal, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This review was also published by Get Ready To Rock here

Following a successful all-dayer at the same venue back in March the Four Sticks classic rock event was back for a full weekend this time. With twenty-six bands over three days it showcased the breadth of talent on the NWOCR (New Wave Of Classic Rock) scene as well as featuring a couple of veteran stalwarts from the original New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene as headliners, Diamond Head and Praying Mantis.

There were just too many quality bands to give a detailed run-down of each one but it’s worth noting that the overall quality was exceptionally high as was the range of styles and influences on display falling under the NWOCR banner.

On the Friday evening power trio Alteration got things off to a fine start and Neuronspolier combined charisma, good songs and great riffs to deliver an entertaining set. If many of the bands flying under the NWOCR look to the NWOBHM scene of the late 70s/early 80s for inspiration Saints Of Sin appear to have stepped straight out of the LA metal scene circa 1987. Big hooks, catchy choruses and bags of attitude they were one of Friday’s highlights for me. The band’s excellent album ‘Welcome To The Circus’ is well worth getting hold of. Reliable as ever and somehow bottling up that spirit of early AC/DC to unleash some raunchy good time rock ‘n’ roll Burnt Out Wreck, who headlined last time, got the crowd brilliantly warmed-up for the main headliners, even finishing with a cover of DC’s Highway To Hell. Diamond Head largely passed me by back in the day but their influence on heavy metal has been phenomenal, inspiring the likes of Metallica and the thrash scene. Finally, I get to see what all the fuss is about as Brian Tatler and co. deliver an awesome set with the crowd going to crazy to classics like ‘Shoot Out The Lights’ and ‘Am I Evil?’

Diamond Head 1.jpg

Saturday delivered lots of new faces on stage for me. Tomorrow Is Lost, a young band from Newcastle formed last year and fronted by female singer, Cass King, were one of the highlights. Great vocals and a real sense of showmanship I snapped up their two recent EPs after their set and they are now a definite addition to my ‘ones to watch’ list. Black Whiskey, another band who were on the bill last time – and the only band of the day who I had encountered several times before, also delivered an impressive set. With a new album due to be officially launched imminently it was good to see them expanding their repertoire with some great new tunes. Belfast’s Baleful Creed, with their brand of hard and heavy blues rock, were another of my favourites from Saturday. All chunky riffs and soulful vocals they instantly transported us away from a packed boozer in south London back to a time and a place where stadium giants ruled the rock world. Big Foot’s melodic-sounding metal then got us all nicely in the mood for Saturday’s headliners, Praying Mantis. With a slew of renowned rock vocalists passing through the band over the years, lead singer John Cuijpers has been gigging with the Troy brothers for several years now and the band has undergone a real creative renaissance with two quality albums picking up excellent reviews. Mantis deliver a supremely polished performance and some great songs, new and old. You just can’t quite believe the strength of the line-up of bands that the promoter has managed to pull together for Four Sticks this weekend.

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Sunday was a packed day with eleven bands appearing. I didn’t get to see them all but, as with Saturday, although there were some unfamiliar faces taking the stage there were also some old friends, too. Hammerjack and New Device, who were both on the bill back in March, returned to deliver impressive sets once again. The absolute stand-out act though, who I will never tire of enthusing about, were the Oxford-based Hell’s Gazelles. As one of the bands on the Introducing Stage at Minehead’s Giants Of Rock weekend in January I’d seen them set the crowd alight, tear the place apart and deliver an absolutely stunning set of hard rocking heavy metal. And the band did exactly the same here. They instantly lifted the atmosphere in the place ten-fold with their on-stage energy. With an incredible vocal range the band’s hyperactive front-man, Cole Bryant, exudes star quality from every pore. And his band-mates, Nath Digman (guitar), Rik Ridemark (bass) and Luke Evans (drums) deliver a phenomenal wall of noise behind him. There really is something very special about this band and with a new EP out ‘Take Your Medicine’ it’s heartening to see the band picking up great reviews and recognition in the likes of Kerrang. This band deserve to be huge!

Hells Gazelles 2

I didn’t get to see everything but overall the weekend was a brilliant showcase for some newly emerging rock bands as well as a great chance to see some well-respected veterans of the scene – all for £40 for a weekend ticket. Superb!

Related reviews:

Four Stick Classic Rock All Day March 2018
A renaissance in classic heavy metal: six bands to watch out for

Live review: Toledo Steel at The Dev, Camden 12/5/18 (album launch gig for ‘No Quarter’)

Album reviews, Live reviews, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , ,

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) gave a shot in the arm to the hard rock/heavy metal scene in the late 70s/early80s. By the second half of the seventies many of the original pioneers from the late 60s/early 70s were on hiatus or running out of steam and a crop of new bands took the can-do spirit of punk and began taking hard rock out of the mega stadiums and into the altogether more accessible pubs and small venues. The scene didn’t last long and apart from a few bands who made it into the mega stadiums themselves, many fell by the wayside. In recent years, however, there has been a renewed interest in the NWOBHM. A number of the old bands have reformed and are out gigging again but, importantly, a whole new generation of younger bands, many of them taking direct musical inspiration from that scene, are once again filling up pubs and small venues, releasing albums and building up solid fan-bases.

One of those bands is Toledo Steel who are releasing their debut album ‘No Quarter’ and, in the guise of playing the official after-show party for the Frost & Fire heavy metal all-dayer at Camden’s Underworld, are at The Dev to formally launch it with a special gig.

Formed in 2011 in Southampton and with two well-received EPs under their belt the five-piece combine melodic vocals, a twin guitar attack, furiously heavy delivery and a ear for a catchy well-written song. Indeed, those very qualities that made NWOBHM bands like Saxon and Iron Maiden such a breath of fresh air back in the late 70s.

With two EPs and a brand new album the band have a really decent stash of powerful material to draw from, their set-list tonight combining earlier material like the utterly unforgettable ‘City Lights’ with material from the new album like the excellent title track ‘No Quarter’ and a song that celebrates the curse of tinnitus ‘Heavy Metal Headache.’

Looking around the crowd packed into this smallish boozer tonight it’s noticeable that there are a fair few of us in our late 40s/early 50s, clearly drawn to this renaissance of classic-sounding metal. But what is more significant is that we are far outnumbered by much younger guys and girls around the same age as the band. This is looking far less like a mid-life crisis driven nostalgia-fest and far more like a genuine movement – and that is a very hopeful sign for the future of rock.

Fast and furious, loud and heavy as hell but never less than tuneful and melodic Toledo Steel are everything you want from a truly great heavy metal band and ‘No Quarter’ is a brilliant debut album.

Released: May 18th 2018

http://www.toledosteel.co.uk/

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Related review:

Mearfest at the Carlisle, Hastings 2017

Live review: Four Sticks – Classic Rock All Dayer at the New Cross Inn, London 25/3/18

Live reviews, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , ,

More evidence of the avalanche of impressive talents that constitute what has been loosely labelled the New Wave of Classic Rock came in the shape of the Four Sticks event at south London’s New Cross Inn last Sunday. From 2pm through until 11pm ten bands took to the stage and cranked up the volume.

I arrived just in time to catch New Device begin their set. Polished melodic hard rock and catchy well-written songs, New Device proved to be a great start to the day for me (even though I missed the first couple of bands…) I picked up a copy of their 2013 album ‘Here We Stand’ and my initial positive impressions were definitely confirmed. Lead singer Daniel Leigh is an impressive vocalist, both when handling the all-out rockers as well as the slower, more sensitive material.

http://www.newdevice.co.uk/

From there it’s on to Hammerjack who offered a brand of sleazy, raunchy rock ‘n’ roll that put me in mind of AC/DC, Aerosmith and Guns N Roses. The Guildford-based band have been around five years now. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.

http://www.hammerjackuk.com/

Next up were Black Whiskey who appeared on the introducing stage at Giants of Rock and will be returning to Butlins Minehead in 2019 on the main stage. A band who drip with classic rock influences, from Free to Led Zeppelin to Thin Lizzy, they effortlessly give the impression that they’ve been playing this way for for decades yet still manage to deliver something that is both original and compelling. I’d seen this band once before at the aforementioned Giants of Rock and picked up their album – but seeing them a second time they grew on me even more. Their debut album Heavy Train is well worth listening to and they’ve another album out later this year.

https://www.facebook.com/BlackWhiskeyUK/

After that it was time for the unbelievably talented Ethyrfield. Absolutely everyone who saw them at Minehead’s Giants of Rock this year was raving about them. Not me I’m afraid – a man’s got to eat at some point and this was one of the bands I sadly missed at Minehead. However, I finally managed to catch Ethyrfield at the New Cross Inn and it was well worth the wait. Aged just 17, 16 and 14, Zach Cornish (vocals/bass), Ben Cornish, (vocals/lead guitar) and Dan Aston (drums) put in an absolutely incredible performance. Tony Iommi has mentored the band, they’ve picked up various awards and were voted winners of the introducing stage at Giants of Rock this year and will thus be returning to the main stage next year. I’ll be there. Simply incredible.

https://www.ethyrfield.com/

Then it was time for StoneWire. Classic heavy, bluesy rock fronted by a female vocalist with a great voice, this London-based five-piece continued to keep the New Cross crowd entertained.

http://www.stonewire.net/

One of the great things about the slew of bands who are finding themselves thrown together under the New Wave of Classic Rock label is the huge variety in sound and styles. So from the precocious virtuoso talents of Ethyrfield and the experienced bluesy southern-flavoured rock of StoneWire we go straight to The Black Bullets who, if I had to describe them, bring to mind a meeting of Bon Scott and Angus Young circa 1975 and The New York Dolls. Sleazy, raunchy, dirty and brilliantly fun this is the kind of music you could never tire of. From an amazingly strong line-up of acts The Black Bullets were one of my favourite bands of the day.

https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackBulletsUK

Then it’s time for for penultimate headliners Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters. Big loud riffs, quality hard rock, great catchy songs and another female singer with a great voice, Beth and her band-mates certainly kept the quality levels high. I picked up a copy of their 2016 album Bad Habit which deservedly picked up a pile of rave reviews.

https://bethbladeandthebeautifuldisasters.com/

And so on to the headliners Burnt Out Wreck, the band fronted by former Heavy Pettin’ drummer, Gary Moat. When I saw these a few weeks ago supporting Anvil I actually thought they were much better than the headliners. But now they are headlining, over eight hours of bands and much alcohol, appears to have taken its toll on the New Cross audience and there don’t seem to be many of us who’ve stayed the course. This does not dampen Moat and co though who deliver an awesome set of rock ‘n’ roll swagger that has ‘headliner’ written all over it, regardless of how many they are playing to.

https://www.burntoutwreck.com/

So a fantastic day, some fantastic bands and, for me, my first all-day drinking session in the New Cross Inn since I was a student at Goldsmiths College across the road in the mid 90s. I’ll be back there for a full weekend in the Autumn – if not before.

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A renaissance in classic heavy metal: six bands to watch out for

Album reviews, Live reviews, Music culture & history, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , ,

There was a time not too long ago when anything described as a ‘new’ heavy metal band I simply did not get at all. All these weirdly-named sub-genres and even weirder-sounding vocals that just left me feeling old, bewildered and confused.

But in recent years there seems to have been a real renaissance in classic heavy metal from young, upcoming bands who cite influences such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon and a host of others from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) stable from the late 70s/early 80s. Well-written songs, great guitar solos, melodic vocals and crunching riffs: classic heavy metal seems to be in better shape than it’s been for many, many years. There’s plenty out there but here’s a quick round-up of bands that have really captured my imagination recently.

1. Hell’s Gazelles

Stage presence, charisma, good songs, great riffs, quality musicianship. Many upcoming young bands have some of these elements. Few have them all. But Hell’s Gazelles had absolutely everything – in spades. A young four-piece from Oxford, vocalist Cole Bryant has an immense vocal range and proved himself an incredible front-man. Similarly, the young Nath Digman is a great lead guitarist. Amongst very stiff competition Hell’s Gazelles were definitely the stand-out new act of the weekend for me. It’s hard to predict what the music industry or the rock scene is going to be like in twenty year’s time but if Hell’s Gazelles are not up there alongside whatever 2040’s equivalent of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest is by then there’s no justice in the world. Get their debut EP ‘Hell’s Gazelles’.

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http://www.hellsgazelles.com/

2. JoanovArc

Dubbed the ‘new queens of rock’ JoanovArc immediately impressed with an energetic and high-quality performance. Big drums, powerful bass, nice heavy guitar and great vocals, their songs stand up nicely alongside the likes of female hard-rock trailblazers Girlschool, Rock Goddess and Joan Jett. Formed in 2004 by sisters Sam and Shelley Walker, they were soon joined by Deborah Wildish. After five years as a trio, Laura Ozholl completed the line-up. These new queens of rock are definitely worth watching out for.

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http://joanovarc.co.uk/

3. Kaine

Kaine is a four-piece formed in 2009 and musically inspired by the late 70s/early 80s New Wave Of British Heavy Metal boom. Powerful well-written songs and powerful delivery, you can hear the influences from their musical heroes like Iron Maiden in their performance. The band released its debut album ‘Falling Through Freedom’ in 2012, and it’s follow-up ‘The Waystone’ in 2014. New album ‘A Crisis of Faith’ is now on pre-order and due for release in 2018. Definitely on my ‘ones to watch list’.

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https://kaine-metal.com/

4. Killit

Killit are one of the most impressive bands I’ve come across in recent years. They just have that knack of coming up with instantly catchy, instantly memorable songs and demonstrate the centrality of great song-writing to truly great classic rock. They are awesome performers, too, with vocalist Gaz Twist a talented front-man with a great voice. Numbers like ‘Calm Before The Storm’ and ‘Shut It Down’ from their debut album meant that this classic-sounding heavy metal band can wow audiences with some classic-sounding heavy metal songs.

killit

http://www.killitband.com/

5. The Mighty Wraith

Hailing from the spiritual home of heavy metal itself, Birmingham-based four-piece The Mighty Wraith deliver powerful vocals and mighty riffs. Catching them on the off-chance one night while at a loose end in Wolverhampton last Autumn, frontman Matt Gore and his bandmates immediately stood out alongside the other bands taking the stage that evening. 2017 was an important year for the band, with a new EP ‘Outcast’ released, support slots for the likes of of Armored Saint and even hosting their own festival ‘Wraith Fest’. Looking forward to seeing more from these in 2018.

the-mighty-wraith-heavy-metal-uk-cd-cover-design-album-artwork-layout-art-digipak

https://www.themightywraith.com/home

6. Toledo Steel

Powerfully majestic but hard and heavy Toledo Steel put me in mind of classic-era Dio and Rich Rutter’s vocals and Tom Potter’s and Josh Haysom’s guitars are the perfect combination for this brand of hard-hitting melodic rock metal. Toledo Steel are definitely on my list to see and hear more of and I am certainly enjoying their excellent six-track EP ‘Zero Hour’. The band’s debut album ‘ No Quarter’ is released in May this year.

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http://www.toledosteel.co.uk/

Related post – now visit part two here:

The new wave of classic rock: six more bands to watch out for

Live Review – Giants of Rock, Minehead 26-29 January 2018

Glam rock, Live reviews, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Extracts from this review were also published on Get Ready To Rock here

Another weekend, another Butlins music festival. Giants of Rock at Minehead has become an absolute must in my musical calendar each January now. With three stages, forty-three bands and many, many clashes it’s obvious you can’t see everything – and I don’t even try. Inevitably, I missed some great performances but my general approach at weekends like this is as follows:

– I do like to watch act in full and properly appreciate their performance, from the minute they walk on stage to their final encore, rather than flitting about catching half an hour here and half an hour there.

– I also do like to eat, chill, socialise (and sleep) so I inevitably miss a good few bands – but the ones I do see generally get my full attention.

With those caveats here then are my highlights (and a couple of lowlights) from Giants of Rock 2018:

Friday

Taking a chance on Curved Air I thought they might be an Atomic Rooster-like surprise for me whom I enjoyed at Butlins Skegness so much the previous week. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It took me less than five minutes to realise that Curved Air were really, really not my cup of tea at all. That opened the way, however, for moving on to the Introducing Stage just as all-female foursome JoanovArc were about to start…

Dubbed the ‘new queens of rock’ JoanovArc immediately impressed with an energetic and high-quality performance. Big drums, powerful bass, nice heavy guitar and great vocals, their songs stand up nicely alongside the likes of female hard-rock trailblazers Girlschool, Rock Goddess and Joan Jett. These new queens of rock are definitely worth watching out for.

http://joanovarc.co.uk/

Then it was a return to one of the two main stages to watch former Wishbone Ash man, Martin Turner and his band wow the crowd with their performance of the classic 1972 album, Argus. I’d really enjoyed Andy Powell’s continuing ‘official’ version of Wishbone Ash at Giants of Rock two years ago. But Turner’s interpretation of this early material is just perfection. ‘Time Was’, ‘Blowin’ Free’, ‘The King Will Come’… No-one will ever do these songs better.

https://www.martinturnermusic.com/

Saturday

I was greatly entertained by ex-Argent guitarist John Verity at Giants of Rock two years ago and he was back once more with a lunchtime slot delivering a mix of rock classics, blues standards and material from his recent solo albums as well as, of course, a version of Argent’s irresistible classic ‘Hold Your Head Up’. A great way to start the day’s music.

http://www.johnverity.com/

Stage presence, charisma, good songs, great riffs, quality musicianship. Many upcoming young bands have some of these elements. Few have them all. But Hell’s Gazelles had absolutely everything – in spades. A young four-piece from Oxford, vocalist Cole Bryant has an immense vocal range and proved himself an incredible front-man. Similarly, the young Nath Digman is a great lead guitarist. Amongst very stiff competition Hell’s Gazelles were definitely the stand-out new act of the weekend for me. It’s hard to predict what the music industry or the rock scene is going to be like in twenty year’s time but if Hell’s Gazelles are not up there alongside whatever 2040’s equivalent of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest is by then there’s no justice in the world.

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http://www.hellsgazelles.com/

After bumping into Uriah Heep in the chippy and having a lovely chat with a very affable Mick Box and co, it was soon time to see them up on stage. Playing mainly Byron-era classics: ‘Gypsy’ followed by ‘Look At Yourself’ followed by ‘Sunrise’ followed by ‘Stealin’, they threw in one song from the last studio album (the excellent ‘One Minute’ from 2014’s The Outsider) before going on to 1998’s ‘Between Two Worlds’ then incredible versions of ‘July Morning’ ‘Lady in Black’ and ‘Easy Livin’. Pounding hammond, stunning vocals and Mick Box on guitar having the time of his life, not only did it rank of one of my favourite Giants of Rock performances ever, it’s now up there as one of my favourite performances by anyone, anywhere ever.

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Things were slightly different next door on the other main stage with rumblings from audience members that Hawkwind only got to play for an hour and didn’t have time for any well-known crowd pleasers like ‘Silver Machine’ at the end. But all bands get an hour – to use exactly as they see fit. While Uriah Heep used their allotted hour with devastating efficiency to give us an out-of-this-world-performance of some of their greatest songs ever, Hawkwind chose a different approach. But at the end of the day you only get an hour. It’s Butlins not Stonehenge…

http://www.uriah-heep.com/newa/index.php

From probably the best Giants of Rock performance ever to possibly the worst…

After Uriah Heep I wandered over to the other main stage to watch a bit of ex-Toto singer, Bobby Kimball. Never really a fan of that very polished, very commercial, very shiny American AOR anyway, this was more out of morbid curiosity than anything else. In the week’s building up to his appearance numerous videos circulated on social media showing some shockingly out-of-tune vocals as Kimball murdered numerous Toto hits like ‘Africa’. If Kimball would be able to turn things around and put in a half-decent performance at Butlins it would be one of the big surprises of the festival. If he wasn’t it was going to be one horrific car-crash. Unfortunately, it was the latter. I lasted three songs – just long enough to see him murder ‘Africa’ again, before joining the mass of exodus next door to catch Stray. At least Del Bromham and his band were guaranteed a large crowd. The place was absolutely rammed and Stray put in a blistering set. The second-time I’d seen them in a week, it was a great way to end the second day.

http://www.stray-the-band.co.uk/

Sunday

Killit, who were one of the Introducing Stage winners last year, were on one of the main stages this year starting the day with a lunchtime set. One of the most impressive bands I’ve come across in recent years, they have a knack of coming up with instantly catchy, instantly memorable songs and demonstrate the centrality of great song-writing to truly great classic rock. They are awesome performers, too, with vocalist Gaz Twist a talented front-man with a great voice. I so want this band to do well.

http://www.killitband.com/

My visit to the Introducing Stage on the Sunday was to catch Black Whiskey, who would go on to be that day’s winners and thus will be appearing on the main stage next year. Citing influences like Zeppelin, Free, Purple and UFO, Black Whiskey very much opt for a classic rock sound. Bluesy guitar, soulful vocals and solid rhythm. It’s a timeless, infectious mix and I am definitely happy to see more of them in future.

https://www.facebook.com/BlackWhiskeyUK/

My absolute must-see band for the Sunday night was Slade. It would be the twenty-fifth time I had seen this band since I first saw the original line-up send the crowd at Donington Monsters of Rock absolutely crazy as a 15-year old teenager back in 1981. Noddy Holder and Jim Lea have long gone, of course, but Dave Hill and Don Powell are still flying the flag with a stable line-up of vocalist/guitarist Mal McNulty and vocalist/bass-player John Berry. Anyone expecting a note-for-note musically and vocally perfect copy of the original Slade you’re going to be disappointed. But if you want a crazy, fun-packed, non-stop celebration of some of the greatest songs ever – clapping your hands, stamping your feet, getting your boots off, singing along at the top of your voice, and generally waving your arms about – you’re in for a treat. A brilliantly fun twenty-fifth Slade gig for me – I can’t wait for my twenty-sixth…

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https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSladeBand/

After Slade finished I opted not to stick around for Nazareth having already enjoyed them at Skegness the weekend before. (Read my review here to find out what I thought of Nazareth). Instead, I headed over to the other main stage to watch the AC/DC tribute, Bon, who were performing the Powerage album in full. I’ve nothing against tributes and have enjoyed quite a few of them at my local rock pub back home but generally it’s not what I travel hundreds of miles to Minehead for. However, a great bunch of musicians performing a classic album in full followed by a run-through of all the iconic title tracks from every Bon Scott-era AC/DC album seemed like a great party band and a great way to finish the weekend on a high – and it was.

Hard rock, prog rock, glam rock, space rock, blues rock, contemporary heavy metal… One of the great things about Giants of Rock is that if you are a classic rock fan there really is something for everyone. Another great thing is the strong sense of community amongst those coming together at Minehead to celebrate their shared love of rock. A vibrant and active presence on social media via the Giants of Rock Facebook group (set up by fans for fans completely independently of Butlins) has meant that many close bonds have been made over the four years since the the festival started. It makes for one of the friendliest weekends of this type you can possibly imagine. Roll on Giants of Rock 2019!

You can join the Giants of Rock Minehead Facebook discussion group here 

Related reviews:
Skegness Rock and Blues 2018
Minehead Giants of Rock 2017
Slade at Giants of Rock 2015

Review: Mearfest at the Carlisle, Hastings 9/12/17

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, new wave of British heavy metal, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday saw Hastings’ legendary rock pub, The Carlisle, host Mearfest. Inspired by personal tragedy Claire and Brian Mear have been running their rock and metal charity events for several years now, with funds going to The Willows stillbirth charity and other local causes.

Comprising a dozen bands and one solo acoustic set, all performing original material – no tribute acts or covers bands – what struck me throughout the day was the sheer quality of the acts taking the stage.

Particular standouts for me were Southampton five-piece, Toledo Steel; ‘Now Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ act, Kaine; and NWOBHM veterans Satan’s Empire, reformed after three decades.

Powerfully majestic but hard and heavy Toledo Steel put me in mind of classic-era Dio and Rich Rutter’s vocals and Tom Potter’s and Josh Haysom’s guitars are the perfect combination for this brand of hard-hitting melodic rock metal. Toledo Steel are definitely on my list to see and hear more of and I am certainly enjoying their excellent six-track EP ‘Zero Hour’.

http://www.toledosteel.co.uk/

Kaine is a four-piece formed in 2009 and musically inspired by the late 70s/early 80s New Wave Of British Heavy Metal boom. Powerful well-written songs and powerful delivery, you can hear the influences from their musical heroes like Iron Maiden in their performance. I took a copy of their excellent album ‘The Waystone’ away which confirms why they are getting so many plaudits on the contemporary metal scene.

https://kaine-metal.com/

Satan’s Empire had a breakthrough of sorts in 1981 when their excellent single ‘Soldiers Of War’ appeared on a Neat Records compilation. Sadly, they disappeared from view but now, with the original line-up still intact, they have reformed. Their performance oozed class, stage presence and memorable songs and it’s great to see them get a second bite of the cherry. They deserve it.

https://www.facebook.com/SatansEmpireOfficial/

I’ve just pulled three acts out here that particularly inspired but in truth the quality didn’t let up throughout the day. It’s clear that organisers Brian and Claire Mear love what they are doing and, importantly, know what they are doing.

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http://www.mearfest.org/

Slam Cartel at The Carlisle, Hastings 25/3/17

Hastings music scene, Live reviews, New Wave of Classic Rock, Rock music, , , , , ,

This review has also been published on the Get Ready to Rock website here

“It’s quite overwhelming having all these people singing these songs back at us,” lead singer, Gary Moffat, tells the audience at the Carlisle at one point during tonight’s gig. Clearly, the Kent-based hard rock outfit, Slam Cartel, have something of a following in Hastings and they have made regular appearances at the Carlisle in recent years. However, regardless of how many times gigs you perform, it’s not every lesser-known band producing wholly original material that is rewarded with impromptu crowd sing-alongs throughout the night. It just goes to emphasise the sheer quality of this band’s song-writing. Or, as one of their enthusiastic supporters told me afterwards, “What I like about these lads is that they really know how to write a good chorus.”

With a hard n heavy yet infectiously melodic approach, a charismatic and energetic front-man in Gary Moffat and, as mentioned, a superb set of songs, Slam Cartel are thoroughly deserving of the response they got tonight.

Combining the irresistible hook-lines of 80s metal with the down-at-heel honesty of grunge and the attachment to melody that every great classic rock band has always aspired to, Slam Cartel have created a distinctive sound and a musical identity for themselves that they carry off with self-confidence.

Songs from the band’s début album Handful Of Dreams (released prior to Moffat joining the band) dominate the set-list. Given it contains great catchy rock songs like Powerstorm, Wishing Eye and Once In A Lifetime, it would make no sense at all for the band to turn their back on these, particularly as Moffat has absolutely made them his own in terms of delivery. Songs from two more recently-recorded singles, however, also make it into the set including the superb Vanishing Worlds.

With the reception they got in the Carlisle, once again, I’m sure it won’t be too long before Hastings is treated to another energetic night with Slam Cartel. In the meantime, there’s also a new album to look forward to, currently being recorded and due out later this year.

Radio-friendly, melodic hard rock that is fresh and contemporary, yet at the same time gets you singing along like you’ve known the stuff for years, it’s immediately apparent why gig-goers in Hastings have taken this band to heart. Let’s hope the rest of the rock world soon follows suite.

Setlist:

Powerstorm
Mismatched Ties
Worldstarlove
Free Again
Vanishing Worlds
Goldenstream
Strike No. 1
Wildflower
Hold Me
Hypnotised
Wishing Eye
Handful of Dreams
Storm Seasoned
Sundown
Breathe
Once In A Lifetime

http://www.slamcartel.com/

17521957_10155191598023573_877491994_oPhoto credit: Sue Stevens