Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: June 2023
If you were lucky enough to bag a ticket for Frost*’s magnificent show at Komedia last November, you’ll be overjoyed to learn that the film of the event is finally released this month as a blu-ray/2CD box set entitled Island Live. Equally excitingly, the cover photograph is by our very own Mike Evans. Pre-orders of the special edition from the Tigermoth Shop include a bonus CD of unreleased material.
June is never the most packed month for gigs as festival season kicks in, but there’s still plenty to enjoy – though much of the good stuff (Carcass, The Aristocrats, etc) is already sold out. There have also been some great additions to the Coming Soon list, including Extreme and Living Color on the same bill at the Academy in December and Black Stone Cherry doing a low-key show at the Fleece in October, which will have sold out by the time you read this.
The return of the Hall Formerly Known as Colston in its new incarnation as the Bristol Beacon also offers much proggy joy next year. First up is Rick Wakeman on Feb 28, bringing his Return of the Caped Crusader tour to the regions following its sell-out success at the London Palladium back in February. Unless I’m very much mistaken, this will be Rick’s first solo performance at the venue in 44 years. Then on May 31, Rick’s old mates in Yes (well, OK, Steve Howe, who’s the only current member from the Wakeman era) are back with a new Bristol date following the cancellation of their planned Relayer tour.
is needed now More than ever
Fleece, June 7
Welcome return of the veteran extreme metallers whose 1993 album Heartwork is one of the great founding recordings of the melodic death metal genre. Vocalist Jeff Walker and former Napalm Death guitarist Bill Steer remain at the helm and their first album in eight years, Torn Arteries, was released to great acclaim in 2021. Indeed, Metal Hammer ranked this as the best death metal album of the year, against stiff competition from At the Gates and Cannibal Corpse. This is Carcass’s first Bristol show since they headlined that package tour with Obituary, Naplam Death and Voivod at the Marble Factory back in 2015. Support comes from rising Britmetallers and Nuclear Blast labelmates Conjurer.
O2 Academy, June 14
You’ve got to hand it to Hu svengali B. Dashdondog for piloting their career so successfully. The easiest, and laziest, course would have been to market them to the world music crowd as a novelty act (“Oh look – a Mongolian heavy metal band. What a jolly lark!”). But he obviously realised that to win loyal fans they need to tour the metal circuit with the likes of Megadeth. Second album Rumble of Thunder also includes guest vocals by William DuVall of Alice in Chains and Serj Tankian of System of a Down. “The churning violins and hypnotic chants of the nine-minute Black Thunder sound like the soundtrack to the bloodiest conquest ever undertaken, and by its climax you’ll regret not owning a horse,” enthused Classic Rock.
Fleece, June 15
Great news for erotic cakes and sweaty breasts enthusiasts. It’s been a long time (nine years if I’m not very much mistaken), but Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann have finally found time in their busy schedule of other commitments to return to Bristol for another outburst of disgraceful humour and outstanding musicianship (who could forget Marco ‘playing’ the Fleece’s legendary pillars with his drumsticks?). Luckily for them, The Aristocrats are re-emerging in a climate that’s much more welcoming to complex instrumental prog-metal. Needless to say, this show on their long-awaited post-Covid Defrost tour is sold out.
Fleece, June 20
It’s Slipknot – the Next Generation as the sons of Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan tour with their own band. They’re a bit touchy about being compared to their masked parents (indeed their official bio doesn’t even mention Sl*pkn*t), although sonic similarities are perhaps inevitable. This is Vended’s first show in Bristol.
Exchange, June 24
The regional final of this year’s Metal 2 the Masses unsigned band contest (think Eurovision but with better music and a somewhat smaller audience), with local acts going head to head for the coveted prize of a slot on the New Blood stage at this year’s Bloodstock Festival. The also-rans were winnowed out during May’s semi-finals, so this is an opportunity to see our real contenders in action, with the result announced on the night.
Main image of The Hu: Enkhbat Nyamkhishig
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Pitchshifter, Exchange, July 7
HR, Fleece, July 27
Eyehategod, Fleece, August 15
ArcTanGent Festival: Heilung, Devin Townsend, VOLA, Cave In, Elder, Enslaved, Haken, etc., Fernhill Farm, August 16-19
Trivium, O2 Academy, Sept 4
Hayseed Dixie, Fleece, Sept 12
Lord of the Lost, Thekla, Sept 24
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, SWX, Sept 29
Wishbone Ash, St. George’s, Oct 3
The Winery Dogs, Marble Factory, Oct 7
Alcest, SWX, Oct 16
Rival Sons, O2 Academy, Oct 21
Elder, Fleece, Nov 7
Focus, Fleece, Nov 16
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Fleece, Nov 21
Gong/Ozric Tentacles, O2 Academy, Nov 24
Extreme/Living Color, O2 Academy, Dec 3
Rick Wakeman, Bristol Beacon, Feb 28 2024
Yes, Bristol Beacon, May 31 2024
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