Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: January 2019
After a typically slow start, January brings us melodic death metal from Sweden, power metal from Germany, prog-metal from Atlanta and classic rock from all over the shop. Check the coming soons for plenty of newly announced tasty stuff further ahead, including Monster Truck stepping up to the Academy, In Flames at SWX, the return of the Lounge Kittens and a double-header featuring former Enid frontman Joe Payne and Fish collaborator Doris Brendel. Oh, and it’s time to dust down that propeller hat: Gong are back in May.
Damian Wilson and Adam Wakeman
Chapel Arts Centre, Bath, Jan 10
is needed now More than ever
Rick Wakeman’s classically trained pianist son Adam – who inherited his dad’s keyboard playing role with Black Sabbath on their epic The End jaunt – join forces with prog songwriter/vocalist Damian Wilson. They’re both members of prog-metallers Headspace, but tonight will come over all acoustic to play songs from many of the acts they’ve been associated with as well as material from their own collaborations, such as the rather excellent, folky Weir Keeper’s Tale album. The first of this month’s rescheduled shows, this one was originally due to take place last March.
Cube, Jan 11
Another evening of avant-metal/prog from those splendid Cube folks. The formerly masked men of The Osiris Club (the name comes from the Hellboy comics, as nerds will not need reminding) channel their ’70s horror movie and prog influences (chiefly Genesis and King Crimson) via the production talents of Ulver and Myrkur collaborator Anders Moller on new album The Wine-Dark Sea. Support comes from that crazy Kavus Torabi fella – formerly of The Cardiacs and now juggling roles fronting Gong and Knifeworld. He’ll be playing tracks from his Solar Divination EP. This gig has been rescheduled from last September, which is probably just as well given that it clashed with two bigger shows competing for much the same audience
Anson Rooms, Jan 19
Revelation of 2018? That’s easy: Gothenburg metallers Avatar’s hugely entertaining support slot with Halestorm at the Academy back in September, which came very close to stealing the show. Their winning blend of melodic death metal and prog-metal served up using every trick in the Bumper Book of Shock Rock – as studiously consulted by frontman Johannes Eckerström – won them plenty of new fans. They’ve wasted no time in extending their epic Avatar Country tour with this UK headline jaunt. Rather than picking fellow metallers as their supports, they’ve chosen two unlikely Irish acts: punks The Mahones and Christy Moore-approved singer/songwriter Dylan Walshe.
Powerwolf/Amaranthe/Kissin’ Dynamite
SWX, Jan 21
Yay! Germany’s leading power metal band brighten up our January, with their Swedish chums Amaranthe and fellow countrymen Kissin’ Dynamite coming along as support. Alas, power metal is much bigger on the continent than it is over here, where critics and punters alike tend to be more than usually sniffy. Powerwolf’s pre-Christmas Wolfsnächte arena tour sold out across Europe, while their current Sacrament of Sin album topped the German charts and went top ten just about everywhere else except, er, the UK. In case you’re unfamiliar with their lupine oeuvre, you need to know that Powerwolf all have pseudonyms with elaborate backstories and perform catchy goth-tinged anthems about werewolves, vampires and the like in full corpse paint. Amaranthe pursue more of a melodic death metal/metalcore direction with no fewer than three vocalists – one of whom, the splendidly named Hanna Elise Isabell Maj Höstblomma Ryd (Elize to her chums), is a lady. She almost landed the Nightwish gig after Tarja was fired and was ranked as one of, ahem, the ‘Hottest Metal Maidens in Face-melting History’ by no less a metal authority than Playboy magazine back in 2015. Openers Kissin’ Dynamite trade in old-skool metal and do indeed take their name from the AC/DC song.
O2 Academy, Jan 25
That’s no misprunt: Skid Row really are back just five months after they last headlined the Academy. There’s no new music to promote, so perhaps they were just rather surprised to find that they still have a sizeable audience in the UK and wanted to maintain the momentum. It helps that former DragonForce fella ZP Theart is the best frontman they’ve had in 20 years (and they’ve had a few). Cannily, the promoter has made this a big-value package with three strong support acts to tempt punters. Stockholm’s Backyard Babies do the punky, snotty, sleazy rock thing and were last seen at this venue supporting the Black Star Riders back in 2017. Hard-working Brits Vega keep the British end up with their Def Leppard-esque melodic hard rock. Best of all, Swedish rockers H.E.A.T. promise to give the headliners a run for their money by rockin’ it unashamedly ’80s style.
O2 Academy, Jan 26
Gig of the month alert! Bill Bailey’s favourite band make a welcome return to the Academy as they continue to tour their best seller to date, 2017’s concept album Emperor of Sand, which was Metal Hammer‘s 2017 Album of the Year, made number three in The Independent‘s metal and rock albums of the year list (“…a spectacular prog-metal fantasy and … further proof that Mastodon are one of the most singularly distinctive bands in modern heavy metal”) and yielded the Grammy winning Sultan’s Curse. Mastodon are also one of the best live bands around, as they demonstrated during their previous gig here. Support comes from Norwegian rockers Kvelertak, who opened for Metallica on their extensive WorldWired tour.
O2 Academy, Jan 29
Booking Academy-sized venues seemed a little ambitious for plucky Britrockers Inglorious, but who can fault ambition? Nothing, however, prepared us for the shitstorm that followed. After the tour was announced, an almighty bust-up led to the departure of three-fifths of the band. Frontman Nathan James then posted an unedifying video which has been described as an “ego rant”. He quickly thought better of it and took this down again, but not before it had been reposted and had the piss taken out of it mercilessly. James then put up a tearful ‘apology’ video. (You can find all this stuff on YouTube if you’re interested.) Inglorious indeed. The music? Last seen at the Academy supporting Steel Panther a year ago and heavily influenced by the classic rock of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, they benefit from the huge voice of leonine former reality TV star James (The Voice, Superstar), who also performs as The Voice of Humanity in Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds juggernaut. They release their third album, Ride to Nowhere, this month. The really good news is that despite those ructions they retain the services of the drummer with the best (genuine) name in rock: Somerset’s very own Mr. Phil Beaver.
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Behemoth/At the Gates/Wolves in the Throne Room, Motion, Feb 6
Buckcherry/Hoobastank, O2 Academy, Feb 6
Thunder, Bath Forum, Feb 11
Haken, Fleece, Feb 17
Decapitated, Thekla, Feb 18
Blue Oyster Cult/The Temperance Movement, St. Philips Gate, Feb 28
UFO, O2 Academy, March 7
Cats in Space, Thekla, March 8
Hayseed Dixie, Fleece, March 11
Windhand, Exchange, March 12
The Lounge Kittens, Fleece, March 21
Riverside, SWX, March 21
The Pineapple Thief, SWX, March 24
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Exchange, March 28
That Joe Payne/Doris Brendel, Exchange, March 31
The Black Dahlia Murder, Fleece, April 5
Massive Wagons, Thekla, April 6
In Flames, SWX, April 7
Monster Truck, O2 Academy, April 18
Devin Townsend, St. George’s, April 26
Gong, Thekla, May 24
Astral Festival, SWX/The Lanes/Rough Trade, July 6
Marillion, Bath Forum, Nov 9
Steve Hackett, Bath Forum, Nov 20
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