Music / Metal
Metal & Prog Picks: October 2017
Oh gods of rock promotion, why do you mock us so? November is jam-packed with great gigs on an almost daily basis, including loads of annoying clashes. Would it really have been so hard to put some of them on in October instead? Never mind: there’s still much to look forward to. Plenty of great stuff in the coming soons for next year too, the most recent additions being Marillion at the Colston Hall, death metallers Cannibal Corpse and ace operatic metallers Therion at the Bierkeller, and Machine Fucking Head at the O2 Academy.
https://youtu.be/fnsjhcVHZg0
is needed now More than ever
Exchange, Oct 5
It’s the grandfathers of doom! Last seen in Bristol supporting Orange Goblin at the Fleece three years ago, gnarly doomsters Saint Vitus have a history going way back to the late 1970s. But they’ve never succeeded in dragging themselves out of the clubs. That’s probably because – whisper it! – they’re not actually much cop. Still, you’re assured of a good night out, especially if they stick to the Born Too Late album from 1986, which is generally agreed to represent their creative peak. And they certainly walk it like they talk it. Shortly after that Fleece show, vocalist Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich was arrested and deported from Norway for being found in possession of enough methamphetamine to fell an elephant.
Bierkeller, Oct 7
“Tame Impala meets Black Sabbath,” was one hack’s description of these Nashville psychedelic stoner blues rockers, which alerts us to the fact that they – or at least their publicists – are aiming at that lucrative crossover demographic where old-school hard rock is repurposed to appeal to the young alternative rock/hipster brigade. Cynicism aside, All Them Witches’ hypnotic, genre-defying sound is mightily impressive and new album Sleeping Through the War has received almost universal acclaim.
Fleece, Oct 10
Loved by Lemmy and Eddie Vedder alike, the oft-troubled, self-styled “greatest rock’n’roll band in the world” (hey – isn’t that someone else’s slogan?) trade in a winning blend of outlaw country and hard rock. This most atypical of Seattle acts started out on the uber-hip Sub Pop label back in the grunge era, with cover art on their debut album, The Smoke of Hell, supplied by Ghost World creator Daniel Clowes. The fashion caravan may have moved on, but Eddie Spaghetti, ‘Metal’ Marty Chandler and Captain von Streicher continue to kick bottoms around the world. Latest release Holdin’ the Bag does so a little less forcefully, however, as the trio take the opportunity to explore their country side more deeply, which makes for plenty of crossover appeal to fans of Blackberry Smoke and the Cadillac Three.
Exchange, Oct 13
A doom double bill on Friday the 13th? Bring it on! Regular touring partners Windhand and Satan’s Satyrs promise a splendid evening of gut-rumbling fun wrapped in a (metaphorical, m’lud) weed smoke haze. As so often in the genre, Richmond’s Windhand build on ye olde Sabbath template, but have something of a trump card in that rarest of doom personnel – a lady vocalist (Dorthia Cottrell). Recent-ish album Grief’s Infernal Flower proved to be their highest charting release to date, thanks in part to the classy production by Jack Endino, of Nirvana and Soundgarden fame. Satan’s Satyrs are a bunch of degenerate reprobates who specialise in biker/horror movie-inspired fuzzed-up proto-metal.
Fleece, Oct 17
The problem with this ‘math rock’ that our earnest young beardy friends enjoy is that too much of it sounds cold and technical. Not so San Diego instrumentalists CHON, whose warm, upbeat, occasionally jazzy and invariably melodic music has one foot planted firmly in progressive rock/metal. Former touring partners of Animals As Leaders and Periphery, they’re an absolute treat for anyone who believes that there can never be too many notes.
Tunnels, Oct 17
Thijs Van Leer wheels that battered old Hammond into Temple Meads for what has become a more-or-less annual visit by the shit-hot current line-up (still including drummer Pierre Van Der Linden) of these veteran Dutch proggers. They’ve acquired a new bassist since their last appearance and, perhaps more significantly, Hocus Pocus was used by Edgar Wright to soundtrack that great chase sequence in Baby Driver, which might just conceivably bring in a new audience. “I found out about Focus from this music show that ran in England for ages called The Old Grey Whistle Test – they did a performance of that song on there that blew my mind,” Wright told Rolling Stone. “I’m not a big prog rock fan, but I do love fast prog – the sheer musicianship you need to play that kind of stuff that fast is impressive… The studio wanted to cut it. I had to use my own money to pay for two extra days of shooting so we could get it – and it’s my favourite bit in the film . . . People have asked how I picked the tracks for Baby Driver, and this is a good example. If you had a dance track or a rock track that had a similar tempo all the way through, it’s actually not that helpful. Whereas the reason that something like Hocus Pocus ends up becoming a key track in the film is because you can hear that, OK, this is part of a running scene – it’s like your best cardio track ever. But it also has these stop-start intervals in it, so you can let a scene dictate itself according to the track: OK, here are the fast guitars, he’s running. Wait, there’s yodelling breakdown here, so this is where he’s hiding behind a tree, catching his breath. Wait a second, we’re gearing up for another guitar part – so here’s where he starts running again, and in the next breakdown, he’s hiding in a mall. Hold on, there’s an accordion breakdown – so now he’s breaking into a car. You’re able to take a 1970 song like that and write a complete action sequence in 2017. ”
Tunnels, Oct 18
‘Supergroup’ is probably pushing it as a description of this hard-working Nashville-based southern/country-rock combo, but they do have an impressive pedigree. They were co-founded by the late Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet and several members have passed through the ranks of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackfoot. Bassist Luke Bradshaw is a Grand Ole Opry stalwart who’s backed the likes of George Hamilton IV, which means they could have some crossover appeal to Americana enthusiasts who don’t mind a bit of grit.
https://youtu.be/EvBVKis9bwc
O2 Academy, Oct 25
Anyone else recall seeing WASP playing the Colston Hall back in 1986, with Warlock supporting and Blackie Lawless doing the whole potentially emasculating exploding codpiece thing? What fun, eh? Blackie, who started his career by replacing Johnny Thunders in the New York Dolls, is now the sole original member of these PMRC-baiting shock rockers. And if you haven’t been paying attention, you may be alarmed to learn that the bloke who used to drink blood from a skull, chew on raw meat and tie naked ladies to torture racks on stage has now come over all god-bothery. So don’t go expecting to hear Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) because it apparently conflicts with his faith. He also has a great deal of fence-mending to do here in Bristol, given the absurdly brief, decidedly unspectacular show WASP played at the Academy back in 2012, which left punters booing and jeering. This gig is being advertised as part of a 25th anniversary tour of The Crimson Idol concept album. But be warned that Blackie now self-censors the lyrics of that album’s high point, Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue), so don’t sing that “I’m a cock-sucking asshole” line back at him, or he’ll get cross. Random bizarre Blackie fact: when he was pursuing an acting career, he was turned down for the role of the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day because he was too tall. But he can be seen in an uncredited cameo in the Village People movie Can’t Stop the Music.
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Dying Fetus, Fleece, Nov 3
The Hawklords, Bierkeller, Nov 7
Decapitated/Venom Prison/King Parrot, Thekla, Nov 10
Cradle of Filth, Bierkeller, Nov 11
Airbourne, O2 Academy, Nov 11
Von Hertzen Brothers, Fleece, Nov 12
Venom Inc, Fleece, Nov 13
Bad Touch/Mollie Marriott, Tunnels, Nov 16
Morbid Angel, Bierkeller, Nov 16
Robert Plant, Colston Hall, Nov 17
Caravan, Komedia, Bath, Nov 19
Opeth/Enslaved, O2 Academy, Nov 21
Wolves in the Throne Room, Fleece, Dec 6
Fish, O2 Academy, Dec 13
The Darkness, Colston Hall, Dec 14
Extreme/Dan Reed Network, O2 Academy, Dec 18
Nazareth, Marble Factory, Jan 27
Therion, Bierkeller, Feb 13
Arch Enemy, O2 Academy, Feb 14
Apocalyptica, Colston Hall, Feb 28
Cannibal Corpse, Bierkeller, March 16
Skid Row, O2 Academy, March 20
Epica, O2 Academy April 8
Jethro Tull, Colston Hall, April 9
Marillion, Colston Hall, April 17
Machine Head, O2 Academy, May 15
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