Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: May 2016
Oldsters (Yes, Magnum, Ron Geesin), relative youngsters (Haken, Long Distance Calling), evil Swedes (Marduk), Maryland beardies (Lionize), jam band legends (Gov’t Mule), a Norwegian troll with a new mask (that’ll be Mr. Mortiis), Zappa on film, and a weekend of doom at the Cube. It’s another packed month of the only sounds you need for a healthy musical diet. In local news, Onslaught have just announced a hometown date in November (see Coming Soon section). That’ll cap an exceptionally busy year for the well-travelled Bristol thrashers, during which they’ll have played most of Europe, plus Vietnam, Taiwan and Indonesia. Right now, they’re on a 10-date tour of China. Incredibly, they’ve just shared a stage with the Backstreet Boys at the Chang Jiang International Music Festival.
is needed now More than ever
Colston Hall, May 4
The prog titans’ first Bristol gig since Chris Squire’s death, which sees Billy Sherwood return as full-time bassist. If you’ve been following the ongoing Yes soap opera, you’ll know this means they’re now down to two members of the classic line-up – guitarist Steve Howe and drummer Alan White – with Jon Davison and on vocals and Geoff Downes on keyboards. Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman? Following the latest split, they’re off with 90125-era guitarist turned noted film score composer Trevor Rabin. Anyhoo, as before they’ll be playing two albums in full tonight. 1971’s Fragile is a bona fide classic, including such live staples as Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround and Heart of the Sunrise. Indeed, Fragile was included in the recent book 1971 – Never a Dull Moment: Rock’s Golden Year by David Hepworth, who might have been expected to be sniffy. More controversially, perhaps, they’re doing 1980’s Drama, for which they were ridiculed in some quarters as ‘Yuggles’ after Buggles twosome Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes joined the band, following the departure of Anderson and Wakeman (nothing ever changes, eh?). Actually, time has been kind to this one as it includes such great songs as Tempus Fugit and Into the Lens and is certainly a great improvement on its immediate predecessor – the woeful Tormato.
Thekla, May 5
Great mates of Clutch, Maryland’s Lionize were last in town back in November 2014 on the Lords of the Riff tour at this very venue, where they effortlessly stole the show from headliners Planet of Zeus. They claim influences ranging from Bad Brains to Deep Purple and Funkadelic. That seems pretty all-encompassing, but is actually a fair reflection of their music, which has been known to turn on a sixpence from hard rock to dub reggae wig-out. They’re currently celebrating their 10th anniversary with a new EP, The Voyage.
The Cube, May 7-8
This weekend doom metal takeover of Bristol’s tiddliest arthouse cinema includes plenty of local bands that are well worthy of your attention. Day one is a launch show for the new split EP between London’s Torpor and Bristol’s Sonance. Also on the bill are Bristol acts Olanza and Bongthrone (guess what style of music they play). Day two brings Chicago arty experimental doom collective Wreckmeister Harmonies (yep, they’re named after the ultra-dull Bela Tarr movie Werckmeister Harmonies, arthouse fans). Support comes from Blakk Metal – aka Fat Paul sampling and twisting the blackest of black metal – and Bristol’s very own, rather fine prog-metallers ANTA.
Watershed, May 8
Floyd enthusiasts will know of Geesin for orchestrating Atom Heart Mother and collaborating with Roger Waters on Music from The Body. But there’s a great deal more to this crazed experimentalist who reportedly enraged prog audiences back in the early ’70s. Now he’s the subject of a new documentary, An Improvised Life, with contributions from David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, Nick Mason, Robert Wyatt and Pete Townshend. He’ll be present for a Q&A after this screening. Read our interview with Ron here.
Watershed, May 10
Some 43 years after it was filmed, this great Mothers of Invention concert film from the band’s three-night residency at Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre is finally unleashed. If you’re familiar with the Roxy and Elsewhere live album, you’ll know what to expect musically, but seeing this incredible, complex and diverse music performed on stage is another experience entirely – especially as the film was directed by Frank Zappa himself. The Watershed’s very welcome screening is part of Filmic 2016. There’s a Skype introduction from Alex Winter (yup – Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), who’s behind a project to crowd-fund the ultimate Zappa documentary.
Exchange, May 11
German four-piece Long Distance Calling operate in that space variously labelled post-rock, prog-metal and avant garde metal, so choose whatever description makes you feel most comfortable. Traditionally, most of their stuff has been instrumental, though new album Trips, which they describe as their most colourful and diverse collection to date, features vocals by Petter Carlsen on around half of its tracks. Tool, Anathema and Steven Wilson are the most obvious reference points here.
Fleece, May 11
Veteran Swedish black metallers named after the patron deity of Babylon. Originally, their commendable ambition was to become “the most blasphemous band in the world”. But when the well of Beelzebub dried up, they diversified into WWII and the history of the Third Reich for lyrical inspiration (hence 1999’s Panzer Division Marduk). Their 13th album, Frontschwein (which roughly translates as ‘cannon fodder’), is agreeably vicious, packed with aggressive riffage and blast beats.
O2 Academy, May 13
Who’d have thought we’d ever see portly Allman Brothers Band guitarist and Grateful Dead offshoot collaborator Warren Haynes play a gig in Bristol? Famed for their exceptionally lengthy shows (though they’re up against a 10pm curfew tonight), Gov’t Mule are one of the great American jam bands who never play the same set twice. You could get metal, southern rock, reggae, funk, prog, any combination of the above, or something else entirely. They frequently perform with guests, ranging from Slash to Toots Hibbert, and have been known to cover entire albums (Dark Side of the Moon, Who’s Next, etc). So predicting what we’ll get at the Academy is something of a mug’s game. As with the Dead, however, you can be sure they’ll bring an awful lot of travelling fans with them for this second night on a rare three-date UK tour.
Fleece, May 15
Promising and hard-working local prog/alternative-metallers White Noise Radio headline this warm-up show for the Underdog ethical (i.e. no pay-to-play bullshit) battle of the bands contest. Check out our interview with the band here. The video above is from their EP launch at Crofters Rights last month.
Fleece, May 25
What’s not to adore about a modern prog band who cite the great Gentle Giant as one of their primary influences? Actually, as the decidedly retro computer interface promo for the London prog-metallers’ fourth album Affinity signifies, there’s more of an early ’80s influence – specifically King Crimson’s Three of a Perfect Pair and Yes’s 90125 – on their latest material. “…dextrous next-generation prog-metal juxtaposed with some retro pizzazz, hooky refrains and rolloercoster riffs,” enthused Prog magazine of the album’s 15-minute centrepiece, The Architect. This is the first date on an epic tour that winds up in Israel at the end of June.
Academy, May 29
Dunno what they’ve been popping in Tony Clarkin’s cocoa, but Magnum’s chief (oh, OK, only) songwriter has been on fire creatively for the last few years. This lot are so ancient that they’re practically contemporaries of Led Zep and Black Sabbath on the Brummie music scene and were once signed to Sharon Osbourne’s notorious dad Don’s Jet Records. Their creative breakthrough came with the classic On a Storyteller’s Night in 1985. The big time followed with a Polydor deal and expensive videos, which elevated Magnum to arena headlining status. But disgruntlement with record company expectations led to a split followed by a tentative comeback in 2002 with Breath of Life. Ever since 2007’s Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow, they’ve been whacking out albums of a uniformly high quality on their own terms at the rate of nearly one a year, each of which has charted more highly than the last. Latest collection Sacred Blood “Divine” Lies ranks as their biggest hit in 24 years and sees Magnum return to the hard-rockin’ style of their earliest recordings. That’s especially impressive given that Clarkin and vocalist Bob Catley are both pushing 70. These days, you can almost set your watch by their annual May gig at the Academy.
Fleece, May 29
Anyone remember Mortiis’s show at the Bierkeller ten years ago when his ears fell off? Apparently, that was the Norwegian troll’s deliberate casting off of his prosthetics. Although he started out as a member of Emperor, black metal has never been Havard Ellefsen’s (for that is his real name) thing. His solo work is in the industrial metal arena, with detours into ambient music and even electro-pop. He’s been mysteriously absent for the last five years or so, but has now returned with The Great Deceiver – his first album since 2010’s Perfectly Defect. Musically, it’s a familiar mix of heavy guitars and electronica with angry lyrics. He’s got a nice new mask too.
Further Ahead
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Temples Festival, Motion, June 2-5
Steve Vai, Academy, June 7
The Pretty Things, Bierkeller, June 10
Panic Room, Fleece, June 23
Joe Bonamassa, Colston Hall, July 5
Ginger Wildheart, Exchange, July 12
Frost*, Thekla, July 29
Honky, Exchange, Aug 1
Nik Turner’s Inner City Unit, Louisiana, Aug 25
Akercocke, Fleece, Oct 2
Stream of Passion, Bierkeller, Oct 14
Steve Howe, The Lantern, Oct 18
Focus, Tunnels, Oct 19
John Carpenter, Colston Hall, Oct 23
The Skull/Witch Mountain, Fleece, Nov 4
Y&T, Academy, Nov 6
Blues Pills, Marble Factory, Nov 8
Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash, Tunnels, Nov 10
Phil Campbell’s All Starr Band, Bierkeller, Nov 10
Mono/Alcest, Marble Factory, Nov 16
Onslaught, Fleece, Nov 18
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