Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: November 2018
It’s another packed and diverse month with everything from big American rock to tiddly French and Australian prog, via avant-garde metal. Oh, and Hawkwind and Saxon playing in a church. Speaking of the Bath Forum, Steve Hackett and Marillion have just announced shows there next November. And Thunder are there in February. Suddenly, Bath appears to be rockin’…
O2 Academy, Nov 6
is needed now More than ever
These multi-million selling Jacksonville rockers’ first Bristol gig in six years sold out in a flash. Rather like N*ck*l*ack, Shinedown managed to “happen without permission”, as the saying goes, attracting a large and loyal fanbase without being championed by self-appointed trendsetters, getting played on the radio, or forming part of any discernible subculture (they resist every genre label that’s been pinned on them). They specialise in big, slick, powerful, muscular, euphoric rock songs, driven by crunching riffage and Brent Smith’s lung-bursting vocals, with choruses so huge that they positively defy you not to punch the air and bellow along. Newly released sixth album Attention Attention is – ulp! – a concept piece that went top ten in the UK and top five in the US. It’s also arguably their heaviest collection, with only a couple of lightweight fillers.
The Lanes, Nov 6
It’s an absolute crying shame that this show by Brisbane prog-metal boffins (guitarist Sam Vallen did a PhD on “the codification of progressive rock music”) clashes with Shinedown, because they encapsulate all that’s great about prog, combining ambitious concepts with great musicianship. Current album In Contact is nothing less than “an immense conceptual work discussing the nature of art and creativity, a celebration of what connects us as human beings – the shared space across our many differences”. And now, having honed their craft on tours with the likes of Opeth, Anathema and Pain Of Salvation, they’re bringing it to, er, The Lanes.
The Forum, Bath, Nov 8
Bath’s lovely Art Deco Forum really has been making hay this autumn, snaffling many of the shows that might otherwise have gone to the Colston Hall. This is without doubt the heaviest gig the church (no, really: it’s run by Bath City Church) has staged to date, though the godly folk were presumably reassured to learn that Saxon are a metal band who prefer steam trains and motorbikes to the Horned One. Indeed, they’re the only band ever to have written a song about being busted for not taking drugs (Strong Arm of the Law). Having bounced back from a pretty catastrophic career decline after EMI foolishly tried to pretty up these lags for the US hair metal market in the late 1980s, Saxon are reaping the benefits of subtly updating their sound for the Bloodstock audience (that’s Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth in the vid for Predator), bringing in younger punters as they enjoy a creative purple patch. Indeed current album Thunderbolt saw them back in the UK top 30. This is their first show in Bath and their first performance round these parts since that O2 Academy show with the late Fast Eddie Clarke two years ago. Two great support acts makes it well worth getting there early. There’s much to admire about Doro (aka Dorothee Pesch) – Germany’s seemingly ageless Metal Queen – from inspiring a generation of women to participate in the noble art of metal to her support for PETA and women’s rights groups. Opening the show are Toby Jepson’s rather excellent new band, Wayward Sons. Toby is, of course, great mates with Saxon, having produced their Call To Arms album.
O2 Academy, Nov 9
Kick out the jams, grandmotherfuckers! The month’s most intriguing gig sees the return of Wayne Kramer to the stage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MC5’s (d’ya see what he did there?) Kick Out the Jams live album. Alas, King’s X bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, who was originally announced as part of the touring party, pulled out after a few shows saying “I was just not the right guy for the job.” He’s been replaced by Faith No More’s Billy Gould, who joins Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, and Rob Tyner-alike Zen Guerrilla singer Marcus Durant. Should you be wondering, the only other surviving member of the original MC5 is drummer Dennis Thompson, who’s decided not to take part in the tour. Apparently we can expect to hear all of Kick Out the Jams, plus songs from Back in the USA and High Times. Give the band’s original White Panther affiliation, there will probably be some politicking too. Don’t expect Mr. Kramer to be kind about his president.
O2 Academy, Nov 11
Go here for our interview with Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr and here for our review of the band’s previous show at this very venue. Support comes from Junkyard. Yeah, that Junkyard. Who knew they were still going? A history lesson for the uninitiated: having failed to anticipate the rise of Guns N’ Roses back in the late 1980s, the world’s clueless record companies went on a signing frenzy, picking up any vaguely sleazy hard rock band they could find. Junkyard were one of the beneficiaries, along with the likes of Love/Hate, Rock City Angels and the Sea Hags. Their southern rock-tinged debut was actually pretty good, but the band were dropped after its follow-up, then disbanded and seemingly disappeared. Curious fact: guitarist Brian Baker’s background wasn’t in rock but hardcore punk as a member of Minor Threat and Bad Religion. Opening the show are the Quaker City Night Hawks from Texas, who describe their sound as “southern rock right out of ’75, played with the fervour of a sermon crackling out of the radio in a ’68 Lincoln”. Enticing, no? (Hey – is that Sam Elliott’s long-lost twin brother introducing them in the video above?)
Louisiana, Nov 11
We very much liked the little we managed to catch of London/Belfast duo Rews when they opened Halestorm’s show at the Academy back in September – especially when they joined in gamely with Avatar’s headbanging. So if you haven’t managed to snare a ticket for Blackberry Smoke, they’re well worth checking out.
Exchange, Nov 14
Many of the bands from Iceland who make it to the UK are desperately dull, and consequently very hip. But the chilly land of volcanoes and glaciers also has a thriving underground metal and – if you must – ‘post-rock’ scene (the splendid Solstafir play the Fleece next month). Last seen here supporting Blues Pills back in 2014, The Vintage Caravan are a youthful (guitarist Óskar Logi Ágústsson was just 12 years old when he formed the band) riff-heavy psychedelic/proto-metal hard rock trio in the Cream mould. Their fourth album, Gateways, is out now on Nuclear Blast.
Fleece, Nov 18
Yay – Dalai Lama botherer Dan and his band are back, having turned in a hugely impressive performance supporting Extreme at their sold-out Academy show last December. Positioned somewhere between Prince and Bon Jovi, the multi-racial Network were poised to become huge back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, especially after the excellent, Nile Rodgers-produced Slam album, which led to support slots with David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. But Dan then had a spiritual meltdown, shaved off his waist-length hair, travelled to India to live in a Buddhist monastery and communed with the Mr. Lama, whom he interviewed for SPIN magazine. A slow return to live music culminated in the Network finally reforming, with aptly the titled album Fight Another Day on Frontiers. This has now been followed by Origins, which is a kind of ‘live in the studio’ affair performed in front of fans, setting new songs alongside reworkings of old classics such as Ritual, Forgot to Make Her Mine and the Grateful Dead-inspired Rainbow Child.
The Forum, Bath, Nov 21
No, Grumpy Old Rick hasn’t played here twice in as many months. Last month’s show was postponed because of illness. All tickets remain valid.
The Forum, Bath, Nov 24
Every few years, a new generation discovers Hawkwind and clutches the veteran psychedelic warlords to their collective bosom, which occasionally baffles 77-year-old founder Dave Brock (see interview above). Currently, it’s the doom/stoner scene that reveres them most, which is why they ended up headlining Camden’s ultra-cool Desertfest earlier this year. And one thing they cannot be accused of is a refusal to take risks and experiment. Having recruited our very own Haz Wheaton, who makes no secret of his desire to put the rock back into Hawkwind, they took an abrupt left turn with this year’s Road to Utopia album. This saw them join forces with orchestrator/Wombles instigator Mike Batt and none other than Eric Clapton (who contributes guitar to Lemmy’s The Watcher) for a collection of orchestral reworkings of selections from their back catalogue. It’s fair to say this has divided fans, most of whom never expected to hear horns on Quark, Strangeness and Charm. That said, there appears to be a real hunger to see Hawkwind perform this stuff live. Their show with an orchestra at the London Palladium sold out ten months in advance, so a bunch of regional dates were swiftly added, including this show at the Forum.
Louisiana, Nov 27
They sound very American indeed, with an obvious southern rock influence in the mix, but The New Roses actually hail from Germany’s scenic Rheingau region (y’know – where they make the wines). The Scorpions might have something to say about the inflated PR claim that they’re “Germany’s most successful hard rock band”, but this hard working quartet certainly know their way round a catchy tune and you probably know at least one of their songs already, as Without a Trace was included on the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack. New album One More for the Road hit the German top 20 last year and this is the band’s first UK headlining tour.
SWX, Nov 27
Finally enjoying a settled line-up with Daniel Tomkins on his second stint as vocalist, accomplished Brit prog-metallers TesseracT have successfully dodged the pitfalls of being labelled a djent or math-rock act as they sail off into proggier territory on their fourth album (and second for Kscope – home of Anathema, Steven Wilson and Amplifier), Sonder. It’s a concept piece with a choir and everything. Reassuringly, the ever-wretched NME hated it. We last saw them turning in a very impressive performance supporting Devin Townsend at the Colston Hall.
Exchange, Nov 28
We’re not going to stop banging on about how great these French proggers are, so you might as well get used to it. The Leonetti brothers and chums have plenty of crossover appeal to our more adventurous World Music-loving pals, being hugely talented multi-instrumentalists whose musical arsenal includes the horn, marimba, chapman stick and a stringed instrument called the leode. Never heard of it? That’s because they invented it themselves. Last seen here supporting Fish at his sold-out Academy show back in December, they’ve since had time to release Saison 8, their follow-up to the excellent Nos Âmes Saoules album (yup, all the lyrics are in French too, which may help to explain why they’re struggling to make headway over here).
O2 Academy, Nov 28
Hang on a minute – didn’t these Texans play a Farewell Tour back in 2013? They certainly did. Since then, Bowling for Soup have carried on touring as though nothing had happened and even released a new album, Drunk Dynasty, back in 2016. Oh, and Jaret did an entertaining solo acoustic show at the Thekla last September. Still, Bowling for Soup remain the only pop-punk band you need in your life, and here’s why: superficially, they come across as yet another cookie cutter act in the Blink-182/Alien Ant Farm vein. But peer under the bonnet and you’ll find their sturdy singalong songwriting has more in common with classy ’80s AOR than that of their forgettable peers. Add an infectious sense of fun and an exceedingly corpulent guitarist and they’ve carved out a nice big niche for themselves. It’s not perfect. All the on-stage banter can get a bit trying at times, as can the endless pop culture references in the lyrics. Still, you can never listen to 1985 often enough, so here it is again.
Fleece, Nov 30
Avant-garde metal, anyone? You’ve come to the right place. Nominated as best new band at last year’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, Zeal & Ardour are the brainchild of Swiss-American songwriter/soundscaper Manuel Gagneux, their 2016 debut Devil Is Fine challenging critics, PR folks and punters alike to outdo one another with ever more convoluted and ornate descriptions of its music, such as “. . . a meld of black metal, field recordings, Delta blues, jazz, ring shouts, music box melodies, glitchy hip-hop beats, soul and gospel, brought together in the service of The One With Horns.” That was followed by this year’s Billie Holiday-referencing, Aleister Crowley-sampling Stranger Fruit, which received ecstatic reviews from those who bothered to notice it. Should be an intriguing show and well worth enduring the company of the hipster brigade.
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
The Magpie Salute, Fiddlers, Dec 1
Tremonti, O2 Academy, Dec 2
Von Hertzen Brothers, Thekla, Dec 4
Graveyard, Thekla, Dec 12
Toby Jepson, Louisiana, Dec 13 &14
Rick Wakeman, St. George’s, Dec 16
Solstafir, Fleece, Dec 17
Clutch, O2 Academy, Dec 18
Myrkur, Fleece, Dec 19
The Quireboys unplugged/Sons of Liberty, Fleece, Dec 23
Damian Wilson & Adam Wakeman, Chapel Arts Centre, Bath, Jan 10
Avatar, Anson Rooms, Jan 19
Powerwolf/Amaranthe, SWX, Jan 21
Skid Row, O2 Academy, Jan 25
Mastodon, O2 Academy, Jan 26
Inglorious, O2 Academy, Jan 29
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
Blue Oyster Cult/The Temperance Movement, St. Philips Gate, Feb 28
UFO, O2 Academy, March 7
Hayseed Dixie, Fleece, March 11
Windhand, Exchange, March 12
The Pineapple Thief, Fleece, March 24
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Exchange, March 28
Massive Wagons, Thekla, April 6
Astral Festival, SWX/The Lanes/Rough Trade, July 6
Marillion, Bath Forum, Nov 9
Steve Hackett, Bath Forum, Nov 20
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