Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: August 2018
Blue Öyster Cult at St. Philips Gate? Really? Yep, Buck Dharma, Eric Bloom and chums are back in town for the first time since, oh, nineteen-eighty-something, with The Temperance Movement in support. D’ya reckon they’ll play that song? You know the one. How does it go again? This is the first big gig in our world to be announced for 2019. But the autumn of this year is already insanely packed, with plenty more gigs to come. Meanwhile, August is pretty quiet, if you can use such a word in the context of shows by the likes of Soulfly and Full of Hell.
Fleece, Aug 13
is needed now More than ever
Max Cavalera might be a 49-year-old grandpa these days, but the founder of Brazil’s ground-breaking Sepultura shows no sign of slowing down. Following that band’s almighty bust-up, he’s been the sole constant member of Soulfly since 1997. Despite a brief, regrettable flirtation with nu-metal, the band’s music remains rooted in global metal (y’know – ‘world music’ that’s too loud, aggressive and exciting for the WOMAD crowd). And after enjoying something of a revolving door for musicians, Soulfly’s line-up has been settled for the last three years, with Max’s son Zyon on drums and percussion, Mike Leon on bass and excellent former Ill Niño guitarist Marc Rizzo bringing jazz and flamenco influences to the ferocious mix. It’s fair to say that neither Soulfly nor the current Sepultura line-up have matched the commercial success of the original Sepultura after they roared out of Belo Horizonte to shake up the world of metal back in the early ’90s. But this does mean we get to see the whites of Max’s eyes and risk dreadlock whiplash at Soulfly’s intense and riotous shows. Such is the bad blood between the two bands that a reformation still seems highly unlikely. Indeed, Soulfly’s eleventh album, Ritual, is scheduled for a September release on Nuclear Blast.
Fernhill Farm, Compton Martin, Aug 16-18
It’s probably a little glib to say that ‘math rock’ is to da yoof what us old-timers know as progressive rock, but there’s plenty of crossover appeal in the line-up for this year’s small (5,000 capacity) but perfectly formed boutique ArcTanGent Festival just outside Bristol. Thursday’s headliners are proggy instrumentalists And So I Watch You From Afar; Friday brings the magnificent Anathema (purveyors of the best album of 2017, The Optimist, and last seen at the Marble Factory), Norway’s extraordinary Leprous (last seen at the Colston Hall opening for Devin Townsend) and avant-metallers Zeal & Ardour; and on Sunday, there’s France’s superb Alcest (also last seen at the Marble Factory, supporting Anathema) along with Denmark’s breathtaking Myrkur (last seen supporting Epica at the O2 Academy and purveyor of the second-best album of 2017, Mareridt).
https://youtu.be/4jpf-eC-Xlk
Skid Row/Bad Touch/Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics
O2 Academy, Aug 20
Skid Row’s previous Bristol show was at the Bierkeller back in 2014. You’d have thought that by booking in a gig at such a sizeable venue as the Academy, they’d finally got back together with Sebastian Bach. Not a bit of it. Having worked their way through a couple of singers (Johnny Solinger, Tony Harnell), they’ve now settled on South African ZP Theart, who was last seen at the Academy fronting Brit power metallers Dragonforce. Their most recent releases are a couple of EPs under the United World Rebellion banner and they’re apparently still working on their debut album with Theart. This gig was postponed from March owing to unspecified illness affecting members of the band. That means Toseland are no longer on the bill, so Bad Touch, Norfolk’s finest exponents of rootsy classic rock and extravagant facial hair arrangements, step up as main tour support. If the name is unfamiliar, you may recognise them from 99% or their cover (with Mollie Marriott) of Tina Turner’s Baby Get It On, which has been getting plenty of airplay on Planet Rock. Opening the show are Aaron Buchanan & the Cult Classics, who are yet another spin-off from the embers of Heaven’s Basement. Buchanan was that band’s vocalist until 2015, but his new project is a very different proposition, bieng influenced primarily by ’90s grunge. Their debut album has the decidedly Bolan-esque title The Man with Stars on His Knees.
Rough Trade, Aug 22
Previously seen at the Exchange last July, East Coast grindcore merchants Full of Hell gained plenty of critical cred thanks to their collaborations with Merzbow and The Body. Their fifth studio album, Trumpeting Ecstasy, was released last year and broadened their palette with guest vocals from Canadian singer/songwriter Nicole Dollanganger. They’ve just signed to Relapse Records.
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Camel, The Forum, Bath, Sept 11
Bad Flowers/Federal Charm, Thekla, Sept 19
The Darkness, Fleece, Sept 26
Halestorm, O2 Academy, Sept 29
Sons of Apollo, SWX, Sept 29
The Osiris Club/Kavus Torabi, Cube, Sept 29
Glenn Hughes, O2 Academy, Oct 2
Elder, Fleece, Oct 4
Yob/Wiegedood, Fleece, Oct 7
Evil Scarecrow, Marble Factory, Oct 11
Enslaved, SWX, Oct 14
Sheepdogs, Fleece, Oct 31
Caligula’s Horse, The Lanes, Nov 6
Saxon/Doro/Wayward Sons, The Forum, Bath, Nov 8
MC50, O2 Academy, Nov 9
Blackberry Smoke, O2 Academy, Nov 11
The Vintage Caravan, Exchange, Nov 14
Dan Reed Network, Fleece, Nov 18
Hawkwind, The Forum, Bath, Nov 24
The New Roses, Louisiana, Nov 27
TesseracT, SWX, Nov 27
Lazuli, Exchange, Nov 28
Zeal & Ardour, Fleece, Nov 30
Von Hertzen Brothers, Thekla, Dec 4
Graveyard, Thekla, Dec 12
Rick Wakeman, St. George’s, Dec 16
Clutch, O2 Academy, Dec 18
Myrkur, Fleece, Dec 19
Blue Öyster Cult/The Temperance Movement, St. Philips Gate, Feb 28
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