Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: May 2023
Steel Panther are back to tickle our ribs – and possibly some other parts too – this month. But before that, there are shows at smaller venues that are well worth your attention, including Heriot at Strange Brew and Nordic Giants at the Loco Klub. Further ahead, that ArcTanGent line up just gets better and better with the addition of Devin Townsend. Ace Dutch prog yodellers Focus have also announced their annual gig at the Fleece, a week before the welcome return of crazy old Arthur Brown.
SWX, May 3
is needed now More than ever
Yep, it sounds like a death metal double bill, but the uninitiated may wish to note that both bands are more in the proto-metal/hard rock vein, with a dash of psychedelia. Playing their first Bristol gig in five years, Sweden’s Graveyard have spent nearly two decades ploughing their own unique furrow that’s heavy on the intricate twin lead guitar and light on anticipated powerchords. They haven’t released anything since 2018’s Peace album, but their return is a very welcome one. Hairy/beardy Berlin trio Kadavar are a great live act who were last in town playing a headline show at the Marble Factory back in 2015. Their sixth album, The Isolation Tapes, is out not now on Robotor Records.
SWX, May 9
American instrumentalists who’ve ditched much of their early metal sound in favour of a distinctive melodic prog approach, Polyphia must be doing something right as their latest album, Remember That You Will Die, was a big chart hit in the US last year. Little wonder that this show is already sold out.
Fleece, May 11
Brit blues-rockers who rock hard enough to ensure crossover appeal to those of us who prefer the heavier stuff, husband and wife duo Aaron and Grace Bond have won shitloads of blues awards and released three studio albums since they started in 2016. The latest one, Saving Grace, bagged the UK Blues Album of the Year gong last year. If you like Blues Pills, dive right in.
Strange Brew, May 12
Last seen supporting Zeal & Ardor at the Trinity, Heriot have been described by Kerrang! as “probably the best new metal band in Britain” and achieved the distinction of becoming the first band on at the first proper post-Covid Download festival. Musically, they tend towards the extreme end of the spectrum with a rare female guitar hero in the form of Debbie Gough.
Loco Klub, May 16
A rare intimate (only 200 tickets) show by the masked and anonymous duo who are neither Nordic nor giants and were last seen bringing their immersive multimedia show to the Fleece back in February 2022. This is the first of just a handful of UK dates on their 2023 tour.
Exchange, May 20
Downsizing once again following the acrimonious split with Spike, the current version of The Quireboys sees previously unassuming guitarist Guy Griffin taking over on vocals. They’ve released a new album, aptly titled The Band Rolls On. As is so often the way with these things, Spike has launched his own rival version of the band with a bunch of other former Quireboys members.
O2 Academy, May 21
Let’s be frank: Heavy Metal Rules was an absolute stinker of an album. In fact, it was lazy, tired and reeking of ‘will this do?’ desperation. For once, you had to concede that Steel Panther’s detractors may have had a point when they insist the joke isn’t funny anymore or is no longer appropriate in the age of sour wokey disapproval. But the departure of preening bassist Lexxi Foxx (allegedly to go to ‘sex rehab’), and his replacement by a fella known only as Spyder, seems to have reinvigorated the great hair metal parodists for their new album On the Prowl. 1987 (“Back then the friends we had were real/And we saw them every day”) is a name-checking nostalgic anthem to stand alongside Bowling For Soup’s 1985, while elsewhere they continue to address male sexual insecurity in their own unique way (One Pump Chump, Is My Dick Enough?). Tour support this time is original 80s metallers Winger, who were supposed to be here with Skid Row last year. Frontman Kip Winger was best known to the tabloids as the fella who squired supermodel Rachel Hunter before Rod Stewart whisked her away to become the second Mrs. Stewart. The rest of us remember him as a member of Alice Cooper’s band and for such Winger hits as Seventeen. Incidentally, the current Winger line up still includes Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach. They’ve just released their seventh album, imaginatively entitled Seven, and this will be their first Bristol show in nearly a decade.
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Carcass, Fleece, June 7
The Hu, O2 Academy, June 14
The Aristocrats, Fleece, June 15
Vended, Fleece, June 20
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
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
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