Metal & Prog Picks: August 2016

A select few gigs this month, but they’re all pretty much essential: ass-shaking boogie monsters Honky, bonkers alleged Venusians Valient Thorr and the very welcome return of Nik Turner. The Autumn rock schedule is filling up nicely too, with plenty of inevitable annoying clashes – including The Amorettes on the same night as Red Fang and Lazuli competing with Wolf People. Why aren’t promoters obliged to clear these things with us before booking shows?

Honky

Exchange, Aug 1

How cool is this video? Take a closer look at the three gnarly, beardy dudes playing the absolute shit out of that old Pat Travers classic Snortin’ Whiskey and they may seem rather familiar. Yep, that’s Butthole Surfers/Melvins fella JD Pinkus on bass, alongside Down guitarist Bobby Ed Landgraf, with sundry additional members of Down and Corrosion of Conformity on backing vocals. Now forget whatever their pedigree might suggest. Honky don’t play stoner rock, alt-rock, punk or doom. They’re an old-skool good-time Texan boogie – or “championship superboogie”, to use their preferred terminology – trio. Think ZZ Top or Homer Simpson’s fave band, Grand Funk Railroad, and you’ll have some idea of what to expect from what they promise will be a “butt shakin’ good time”.

Support comes from Oxford’s Desert Storm and Cheltenham’s promising Welcome Back Delta, whom we last caught supporting Clutch at their sold-out Academy show back in November. Check out their amusing new video for Jeremy’s Iron above

Valient Thorr

Fleece, Aug 16

Yup, that’s Valient Himself on vocals, with Eiden Thorr and Deimos Thorr on guitars, Storm Thorr on bass and Iggy Thorr on drums. According to the preposterous official bollocks, they hail from Venus but crash-landed in, er, North Carolina where they decided to pursue a career in southern-tinged heavy metal, as you do, writing songs about the various catastrophes that are about to befall puny Earthlings while trying to figure out a way to get home. Anyhoo, having toured with the likes of Motorhead and Mastodon and lots of other really cool bands whose name begins with the letter M, they finally drag their stranded Venusian asses to Bristol to perform one of those sweaty, frenetic shows for which they’re renowned. New album Old Salt is out now on Napalm Records.

Get there early for the ace, Julian Cope-approved Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – gorblimey Sarf Londoners with a taste for Budgie-style album cover artwork and the late ’60s proto-metal of the similarly named Sir Lord Baltimore.

Nik Turner’s Inner City Unit

Louisiana, Aug 25

He’s a “stupid old cunt who I wish would just die,” according to former bandmate Dave Brock, as quoted in a recent issue of Prog magazine. No chance of a reunion of the ‘classic’ Hawkwind line-up, then? Here in B24/7’s wholly non-partisan Metal/Prog dept, we take a less jaundiced view of lovely Old Nik, who used to be a regular visitor to these parts with his all-parping, all-tootling jazz combo the Fantastic All-Stars. So it’s great to have him back for this rare Bristol gig. These days, the ever-eclectic frontman and saxophonist seems to have umpteen projects on the go, playing everything from jazz-fusion to space rock and guesting with the likes of Jah Wobble. His recent Space Fusion Odyssey album featured the extraordinary, never-to-be-repeated line-up of ex-Megadeth man Chris Poland, jazz legend Billy Cobham and Robby Krieger of The Doors. Tonight, however, it’s all about Inner City Unit – the on again-off again punk/space rock combo he toured and recorded with between bouts of Hawkwind service. There’s no sign of a new album, so one trusts they’ll be disinterring some gems from Pass Out, Punkadelic, New Anatomy and The President’s Tapes. Go on, Nik – promise you’ll play Bones of Elvis just for us. Support comes from the proggier ICU spin-off Krankschaft, currently featuring ICU guitarist Steve Pond and former Enid bassist Alex Tsentides.

Coming Soon

Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.

The Enid, Fleece, Sept 22

Red Fang, Bierkeller, Sept 28

The Amorettes, Exchange, Sept 28

Akercocke, Fleece, Oct 2

Yob/Black Cobra, Fleece, Oct 7

Ugly Kid Joe, Thekla, Oct 10

Stream of Passion, Bierkeller, Oct 14

Steve Howe, The Lantern, Oct 18

Focus, Tunnels, Oct 19

Lounge Kittens, Exchange, Oct 20

Gun, Thekla, Oct 21

John Carpenter, Colston Hall, Oct 23

Anvil, Bierkeller, Oct 28

Saxon/Girlschool/Fastway, O2 Academy, Nov 3

The Skull/Witch Mountain, Exchange, Nov 4

Y&T/Praying Mantis, Academy, Nov 6

Blues Pills/Kadavar, Marble Factory, Nov 8

Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, Tunnels, Nov 10

Phil Campbell’s All Starr Band, Bierkeller, Nov 10

Cadillac Three, O2 Academy, Nov 11

Lacuna Coil, Marble Factory, Nov 11

Entombed AD/Voivod/Lord Dying, Fleece, Nov 13

Alcest/Mono, Marble Factory, Nov 16

Onslaught, Fleece, Nov 18

Lordi, Bierkeller, Nov 19

Planet of Zeus, Exchange, Nov 26

Lazuli, Fleece, Nov 27

Wolf People, Louisiana, Nov 27

Black Stone Cherry, Colston Hall, Dec 2

Meshuggah, O2 Academy, Jan 12

Devin Townsend Project, Colston Hall, March 12