Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: March 2022
After a long dry spell, there’s an avalanche of gigs this month. In addition to the shows that were rescheduled from last year, we now have a bunch of new ones. All the best genres are represented, from old-school prog to classic rock, smokin’ blues, kosmische titans, melodic death metal and folk-metal from the Faroe Islands.
Beware, however, that several of these are already sold out (Eric Gales, In Flames, Smith/Kotzen, etc) and international artists are still postponing tours at short notice because of the covid situation elsewhere in the world.
is needed now More than ever
The Forum, Bath, March 1
The covid-delayed return of Van der Graaf kicks off a cracking month for vintage prog. Resolutely uncommercial and challenging – and much admired by everyone from Julian Cope to Marillion – the first band to sign to Charisma Records are still led by founder Peter Hammill. Currently a sax-free trio, with Hugh Banton on organ/bass guitar and Guy Evans on drums and percussion, they’ve said they won’t be playing familiar epics such as A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers on this tour, in favour of “constantly varying sets of shorter works, ancient and modern”. Fingers crossed for the wokely-challenged Nutter Alert, then.
Thekla, March 6
Last seen playing a brilliant show at the Fleece in 2018 – and before that making their Bristol debut at the Louisiana in 2013 – this classic rock quartet from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, boast the distinction of being the first unsigned band ever to make the prestigious cover of Rolling Stone magazine back in 2011, landing them a deal with the legendary Atlantic Records. They were also the winners of three 2012 Grammy-equivalent Juno Awards (New Group of the Year, Single of the Year and Rock Album of the Year). The suitably shaggy Sheepdogs manage to incorporate a bunch of influences, from The Band to the Allman Brothers, without ever sounding derivative. Hell, they even chuck in the occasional trombone solo. And Jimmy Bowskill’s pedal steel guitar is a delight. Brilliantly titled new live album Live at Lee’s is available for streaming now.
Fleece, March 7
That’s Adrian Smith, as in one of Iron Maiden’s three guitarists. And that’s Richie Kotzen, as in the only guitarist in the world to have collaborated with jazz-fusion legend Stanley Clarke and been a member of Poison. Little wonder this show sold out in a flash. On the face of it, theirs is an unlikely collaboration, but Smith’s extracurricular ventures have seen him branching out musically into bluesy classic rock while Kotzen is an accomplished pigeonhole-dodger – as he demonstrated during his impressive solo show at the Thekla in 2018. Their album was recorded on the Turks & Caicos Islands in February 2020 (nice work if you can get it). “The results, it hardly needs saying, are aimed squarely at guitar freaks,” wrote Dom Lawson in his Metal Hammer review, “but these are deftly crafted songs, with the gruffly soulful Smith and the more bombastic Kotzen taking turns to sing their hearts out.”
Thekla, March 8
Last seen in Bristol supporting Korpiklaani at the Fleece back in 2014, Týr are the finest folk-metal berserkers in the whole of the Faroe Islands. They’ve just celebrated their 20th anniversary with the multi-format live album A Night at the Nordic House, which captures these hairy Norsemen in concert with the Symphony Orchestra of the Faroe Islands just before lockdown in February 2020.
Marble Factory, March 14
Last seen in town giving a very good account of himself supporting Black Stone Cherry at the Academy in September, rockin’ Mr. Barras is a former cage fighter from Torquay (no kidding) who also plays alongside ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons in Supersonic Blues Machine. New album Death Valley Paradise is out on March 4.
Trinity, March 16
The great kosmische pioneers’ first Bristol gig in 25 years (the Hall Formerly Known as Colston in 1997) and our first opportunity to see the current no-original-members incarnation. This has provoked a certain sniffiness in certain quarters, but since TD always played in semi-darkness anyway it could always have been just about anyone up there. What’s more, Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, Ulrich Schnauss and Paul Frick are doing a pretty damn good job of updating TD’s sound to take advantage of new technology while remaining true to Edgar Froese’s original vision, as demonstrated on the excellent Quantum Gate album. Only a fool would attempt to predict the set list, but old-schoolers will be delighted to learn that lately they’ve been playing some of their soundtrack stuff from Sorcerer and Risky Business, plus music from Stratosfear, Ricochet, Force Majeure and set one of 1980’s magnificent Tangram. Expect a suitably cosmic lightshow and, in a nod to TD tradition, a concluding improvisation. New album Raum is out now on Kscope.
The Forum, Bath, March 18
Francis Rossi’s the only original member left, their last album was 2019’s okay-ish Backbone (which was certainly a lot better than some of the crap they’ve put their name to in recent years) and they’re promising to play all the hits. That’s all you really need to know. Now let’s just remind ourselves of when Quo were untouchable . . .
Thekla, March 19
It’s not quite clear why Gothenburg’s veteran melodeath pioneers have decided to take a step down to the Thekla from SWX (where they played back in 2019) as there’s been no decline in their popularity. Indeed, this show sold out pretty much immediately. Even if you’re not overly familiar with their material, you’ll know the insistently catchy Cloud Connected if you’ve got an ounce of metal in your soul. There’s been no new music since 2019’s I, the Mask, though they did recently put out a remastered and partially re-recorded 20th anniversary edition of Clayman.
Fleece, March 21
Pop quiz! What links great Canterbury scene prog veterans Caravan with aging boy band Take That? No idea? It’s bassist Lee Pomeroy, who’s one of the blokes lurking at the back playing the music while Mr. Barlow, Mr. Donald and so on do their choreographed cavorting in the nation’s arenas. Away from his day job, Pomeroy is something of a proghead, playing with Rick Wakeman, Steve Hackett and prog-metallers Headspace. Following the departure of Jim Leverton, he’s now guesting with Caravan, bringing the mean age of the band down by a couple of decades. We last caught Caravan on splendid form at Komedia in Bath in November 2017, when they were belatedly plugging 2013’s Paradise Filter album. The core members of the band remain the same – founder Pye Hastings (guitar, vocals) Geoffrey Richardson (viola, mandolin, guitar, er, spoons) and Jan Schelhaas (keyboards) – with Mark Walker on drums following the sad death of Richard Coughlan. And it’s been an expensive few months for Caravan fans, with eminently covetable 37-disc (no kidding) box set Who Do We Think We Are? released last August, swiftly followed by a new studio album, It’s None of Your Business. The trademark warmth, whimsy and wit remains firmly in place, though Hastings can’t resist taking a pot shot at anti-vaxers, who have made him unusually cross, in Spare a Thought. Expect to hear plenty from the new album tonight, though obviously they won’t be allowed to leave the venue with revisiting their masterpiece, In the Land of Grey and Pink.
Fleece, March 22
Northern Ireland’s Therapy? were occasionally viewed with suspicion by metalheads on account of having been indie darlings for the first ten minutes of their career. Two million album sales and more than three decades on, they’ve outlived most of their peers and silenced the carpers with an impressive catalogue of melodic punk/metal. You can expect to hear all the hits tonight in what was originally planned as a 30th anniversary tour but is now a 32nd anniversary tour.
Thekla, March 23
You’ve got to hand it to the Kavus Torabi-fronted incarnation of Gong (which also features Fabio Golfetti, Dave Sturt, Ian East and Cheb Nettles): after the transitional Rejoice! I’m Dead! they’ve successfully forged their own identity with the superb The Universe Also Collapses. Just check out My Sawtooth Wake (above) from new live album Pulsing Signals for all the evidence you need. This is their first headline show in Bristol since 2019.
Fleece, March 27
Let’s be honest, here: blues guitar titans are ten a penny these days. It takes something really special to stand out from the crowd. And Eric Gales has certainly got it. Raised in a religious household, he gorged on a diet of old-school blues, Jimi Hendrix and the mighty King’s X. Signed to Elektra, he released his first album at the tender age of 16 and moved easily between the worlds of guitar shredding and hip-hop. Some jail time in 2009 (possession of drugs and a weapon) added to the backstory, but Gales is so revered by his peers (“This guy could be the best player on Earth,” reckons Mark Tremonti) that he’s shared stages with everybody from Carlos Santana to Zakk Wylde and Gary Clark Jr. His new album, Crown, is co-produced by Joe Bonamassa. Support tonight comes from Danny Bryant. Too bad if you haven’t already got a ticket, though: this is another of the March sell-outs.
Thekla, March 28
Bristol-based former Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson’s ‘new’ band were enjoying a steady upward trajectory until bloody Covid intervened. We last saw them supporting their chums Steel Panther at the O2 Academy in February 2020. But now they’re back on track with their musically eclectic third album, Even Up the Score, which continues and develops Toby’s troll-baiting political (but never didactic) songwriting, which has incurred the ire of Brexiteers and their ilk. New single Bloody Typical is out now.
Fleece, March 30
Last time portly yodeller Thijs Van Leer and chums played the Fleece back in June 2019, they drew a large, loud and boisterous audience. There were even ladies present. This might have been because the gig was better promoted than their previous regular appearances at the Tunnels. Or maybe Edgar Wright’s imaginative use of Hocus Pocus to drive a chase sequence in Baby Driver had something to do with it. Anyway, the excellent current line-up of Thijs, Pierre, Menno and Udo are back for a Covid-delayed 50th anniversary tour. Enterprisingly, they’ll even sell you a facemask bearing Roger Dean’s new Focus 50 design.
Main pic: Eric Gales by Sten Thorborg
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Rosalie Cunningham, Chapel Arts Centre Bath, April 1
Decapitated, Thekla, April 3
Skunk Anansie, O2 Academy, April 12
Igorrr, Fleece, April 14
Deicide, Fleece, April 16
Primitive Man, Fleece, April 19
The Picturebooks, Exchange, April 24
Bongzilla, Thekla, April 27
Stoner, Thekla, May 4
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, The Forum, Bath, May 7
Karnivool, O2 Academy, May 19
Bowling for Soup acoustic sianglong, Thekla, May 22
OM, Fleece, May 26
Meshuggah/Zeal & Ardor, O2 Academy, May 29
The Quireboys, Thekla, June 17
Rammstein, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, June 22
High On Fire, Fleece, June 26
Tremonti, O2 Academy, June 27
Mushroomhead, Thekla, June 27
Love with Johnny Echols, Fleece, July 3
GWAR, Fleece, August 10
ArcTanGent: Opeth, Cult of Luna, Tesserat, Enslaved, Pallbearer, Amenra, Zeal and Ardor, etc, Fernhill Farm, August 17-20
Evergrey, Thekla, Sept 19
Magnum, Fleece, Sept 19
Vola, Fleece, Sept 27
Cheap Trick, O2 Academy, Oct 4
Steve Hackett, Bath Forum, Oct 5
Anthrax/Municipal Waste, O2 Academy, Oct 6
Dare, Fleece, Oct 23
Pallbearer/Elder, Fleece, Nov 3
Saxon, Bath Forum, Nov 15
Frost*, Komedia, Bath, Nov 30
Tony MacAlpine, Exchange, Dec 2
Lamb of God/Kreator, O2 Academy, Dec 16
Epica/Apocalyptica, O2 Academy, Jan 30 2023
Katatonia/Solstafir, Marble Factory, Feb 12 2023
Avatar, SWX, Feb 23 2023
Napalm Death, O2 Academy, March 7 2023
WASP, O2 Academy, March 23 2023
The Zombies, Fleece, April 13 2023
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