Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: October 2019
Hooray – it’s Rocktober! Uh, sorry. I will never use that phrase again. But the Autumn gig season is certainly in full swing, with something for everyone. Everyone, that is, who enjoys screamingly loud guitars. We’ve got power metal, extreme metal, southern rock, classic rock, drone, blues rock, stoner metal and just about every other sub-category you could mention. Not a lot of prog, mind. But there’s plenty of that next month. What’s more, the Bath Forum has just added a couple of very eagerly anticipated gigs for next May: Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets and Van Der Graaf Generator. Check the coming soons at the end for dates.
SWX, Oct 6
is needed now More than ever
We last saw reliably shirtless Matt Pike on this stage with his other band High On Fire when they played here with Enslaved a year ago. Originally known, rather brilliantly, as Asbestosdeath, his stoner trio Sleep are a much slower, doomier proposition. Their 1992 Holy Mountain album remains one of the key recordings of the genre and even attracted the attention of the hipster brigade, leading to the band performing it in its entirety at All Tomorrows Parties. This, in turn, led to a megabucks deal with London Records. Even more brilliantly, Sleep then delivered the Jerusalem album, which comprised one track lasting 52 minutes. The major label berks had a tizzy and refused to release it, prompting the question: who exactly did they think they’d signed? When it eventually emerged under the Dopesmoker title, this was acclaimed as an instant classic (94/100 on Metacritic) and found an unlikely champion in the form of arthouse film director Jim Jarmusch, who used excerpts in Broken Flowers. After a 15 year break, they finally returned with the very heavily Sabbath-influenced The Sciences album last year.
Fleece, Oct 8
Veteran bluesman Walter Trout once turned the kneejerk criticism levelled at him by scowling members of the Blues Purist Sad Sack community into a T-shirt slogan: Too Many Notes Played Way Too Loud. If you’re reading this page, that will seem more like a recommendation than a condemnation. So we’re bending the rules slightly to welcome Walter into our very broad church, especially as he’s back in the saddle and ready to rock after his recent liver transplant. Support comes from young South African blues guitar hotshot Dan Patlansky, whom we last saw supporting Joe Satriani at the Colston Hall back in 2015.
Black Star Riders/Stone Broken/Wayward Sons
O2 Academy, Oct 10
Black Star Riders still get quite a lot of grief for sounding like Thin Lizzy. But the only reason they’re not actually called Thin Lizzy is because of a legal ruling that prevents Scott Gorham releasing new material under that name – though the same band can hit the nostalgia circuit as Lizzy if they stick to the catalogue. And they don’t really help matters with such song titles as Tonight the Moonlight Let Me Down (“…the result of a half-cut afternoon playing Thin Lizzy Word Bingo,” suggested Classic Rock) on their fourth album, Another State of Grace. On the other hand, Mr. Gorham was responsible for at least 50% of that distinctive Lizzy twin-guitar sound so he’s perfectly entitled to continue with his trademark style. And former Almighty frontman Ricky Warwick is the best possible Phil Lynott replacement – being cut from the same cloth without being a slavish copyist. The band are also taking the opportunity to move on into new territory with songs like the overtly political gun control anthem Why Do You Love Your Guns?, which is the standout track on Another State of Grace. Support comes from Stone Broken – aka “Walsall’s answer to Nickelback” – whom we last saw at this venue supporting Cheap Trick. Make sure you get there early for impressive, hard working openers Wayward Sons, fronted by Bristol’s very own Toby Jepson. If there’s a heavy rock bill that this lot haven’t managed to blag their way onto over the last couple of years then we must have missed it. Their second album, The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be, is out this month. As the title suggests, it’s billed as a much more political record than its predecessor.
Roadstars Tour: Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin’ Stones/Piston/Gorilla Riot
Exchange, Oct 10
Three rising young heavy blues-rock outfits for around a fiver each (advance ticket price)? Bargain! This third big-value Roadstars tour is one of those rotating headliner affairs, but here’s what we know about the trio of acts in no particular order. Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones are fronted by talented 21-year-old Nashville songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Hannah, who formed the band when she was eight (no kidding) and has 2,000 shows under her belt. Mancunian quintet Gorilla Riot were put together by frontman Arjun Bhishma and benefit from a three-guitar attack. Cannock’s Piston (not to be confused with New York metallers Pist.On) do the unpretentious rock’n’roll thing and have just released their eponymous debut album. Note the early 6:30pm start: there’s a lot of rockin’ to be done before the curfew.
Cinema de Lux, Oct 11
If you thought Susan Kay Quatro never achieved the recognition she so richly deserved for being the first woman bassist/songwriter/lead singer/band leader to break into the mainstream (55 million records sold from 1973 onwards), you’re not alone. Filmmaker Liam Firmager has spent four-and-a-half years working on Suzi Q: a labour-of-love intimate documentary about the veteran Detroit rocker. Among those paying tribute are Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Deborah Harry, Cherie Currie, KT Tunstall, Tina Weymouth and, er, The Fonz himself – Henry Winkler. Generally, these event cinema screenings include satellite broadcast Q&As, but Suzi Quatro is taking part in a series of in-person Q&A and signing sessions to accompany this run of previews, which conclude at the Bristol Showcase Cinema De Lux, kicking off at 7pm
Komedia, Bath, Oct 16
The seven-legged rock’n’roll machine is back, just five months after that great show at SWX. Mind you, we reckon – and we’re happy to be corrected here – this is the first time they’ve ever invaded the genteel Georgian city of Bath. Let’s celebrate by singing along with a song from new album Renaissance Men, namely Let ‘Em Go – Ginger’s catchy and inspiring ode to ridding your life of tosspots. All together: “Let ’em go, let ’em go/Let the wankers find their own/If they’re not there to share your troubles/You’ll be better off on your own…”
Gloryhammer/Beast in Black/Wind Rose
SWX, Oct 20
Pop quiz! Who’s the most successful Bristol musician that most Bristolians have never heard of? That’ll be Christopher Bowes, who did the ‘running away to join the circus’ thing by throwing in a masters degree in mathematics at Bristol University to pursue a career in pirate metal. Following his dream has certainly paid off for Mr. Bowes, as his band Alestorm swiftly rose from playing the Fleece to balancing their giant rubber duck on Sabaton’s tank at the Academy and eventually selling out Motion, where they headlined their own Piratefest. But the silliness doesn’t end there, as he enjoys a parallel career as the mastermind behind Anglo-Swiss symphonic power metallers (or “interdimensional space metallers” – take yer pick) Gloryhammer. Expect preposterous costumes, a daft story (drawn from new album Legends from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex) and all manner of additional silliness. To help make this central Bristol nightclub feel like Saturday night at Bloodstock/Wacken for one evening only, the support act are Helsinki’s Beast in Black – purveyors of proper-job Priest-style metal with synchronised headbanging. Get there nice’n’early for Italian dwarven marauders Wind Rose, who open the show with their distinctive brand of splendid folky melodic power metal. You may wish to note that they’re possibly the sole members of that subset of Tolkien-inspired metallers who write songs exclusively about the dwarves. Honestly – metal doesn’t get any more fun than this.
SWX, Oct 24
Two years on from their previous show here, ear-splitting robed Seattle droners Sunn O)))’s (it’s pronounced ‘sun’, kids) return to rattle your ribcage and dislodge the occasional tooth. They’re certainly an acquired taste, but this is an experience every metalhead should have at least once. Founders Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson are still at the band’s core and their eighth studio album, the unusually upbeat, Steve Albini-produced Life Metal, is out now. As an added bonus, Anna von Hausswolff is along as support.
Sons of Liberty/Black Whiskey/Trouble County
Louisiana, Oct 26
Southern rock has certainly been having a moment of late, with Blackberry Smoke, The Cadillac Three and, most recently, The Kentucky Headhunters all playing the O2 Academy. The UK’s practitioners may lack a certain authenticity and a genuine southern drawl, but they have a good sense of humour about that fact and can yee-haw with the best of ’em. Bristol’s very own hard-working Sons of Liberty headline this big-value triple bill. They’ve been going for five years and have now completely ditched the covers in favour of original material from their …Shinola and Aged in Oak EPs. Musically, there’s some metal in the mix, which makes them more Molly Hatchet than the Allman Brothers. We last saw ’em doing the unplugged thing, not especially successfully, with the Quireboys at the Fleece. But we’re promised the full plugged-in experience at this show, which is the release party for their debut album, Animism, from which we can expect to hear a great deal. Support comes from musical fellow travellers Black Whiskey, who have two albums under their belt, and Trouble County from Portsmouth, who trade in groove-driven southern stoner rock and have toured with the likes of The Amorettes and Von Hertzen Brothers.
O2 Academy, Oct 28
It’s the 30th anniversary of Sonic Temple, which is a polite way of signalling that Messrs. Astbury, Duffy and, um, the other ones will be concentrating on the ROCK tonight, rather than that insipid early goth stuff or their more recent material of varying quality. Little wonder it’s sold out. Expect Native American imagery.
Ecstatic Vision/Lacertilia/Cybernetic Witch Cult/Moon Goose
The Lanes, Oct 28
Hawkwind. That’s all you need to know. You want more? Oh, OK. Philadelphia’s Ecstatic Vision bring the pummelling sounds of 1972 Hawkwind to the occasionally rather twee psych table – not unlike Monster Magnet, who failed to show up for their last UK tour. Lacertilia are from Wales and sound like every free festival band you’ve every seen. Especially Hawkwind. Cornwall’s fabulously named Cybernetic Witch Cult sound only tangentially like Hawkwind, being a bunch of horror-obsessed doomsters (not in the Boris Johnson sense). Bringing up the rear, Moon Goose are, it says here, “the sound of a dragon colliding with an asteroid”. Hawkwind, then.
Fleece, Oct 28
Yes, they’re jolly cross but these San Diego extreme metallers are also environmentally conscious chaps. Initially all vegetarians (though a couple of band members have jumped ship over the last 20 years or so), the band name came about because of their opposition to animal cruelty in general and factory farming in particular. Cattle Decapitation are about to release their ninth album, Death Atlas, on Metal Blade and pitch up at the Fleece on their amusingly named Global Warmup tour.
Fleece, Oct 31
They can’t keep away, can they? Just ten months on from their Christmas show at the Fleece, Spike, Guy, Keith and Paul are back to do it all again in unplugged form for what is being billed as a Halloween show. Will they dress up? We’ll just have to wait and see…
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
Fever 333, SWX, Nov 1
Opeth/The Vintage Caravan, O2 Academy, Nov 3
Michael Monroe, Fleece, Nov 7
Rival Sons, O2 Academy, Nov 7
Marillion, Bath Forum, Nov 9
Evil Scarecrow, Fleece, Nov 9
Periphery, O2 Academy, Nov 11
Lacuna Coil/Eluveitie, SWX, Nov 15
Hawkwind, Anson Rooms, Nov 19
Steve Hillage/Gong, O2 Academy, Nov 20
Steve Hackett, Bath Forum, Nov 20
Airbourne/Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, O2 Academy, Nov 25
Jinjer/The Agonist, Thekla, Dec 4
Last in Line, Fleece, Dec 4
The Darkness/Rews, Bath Pavilion, Dec 7
Dan Reed Network/Gun/FM, O2 Academy, Dec 9
Slade, O2 Academy, Dec 15
Boris, Fleece, Dec 19
Heather Findlay, Thekla, Jan 11
Steel Panther, O2 Academy, Feb 5
Delain, Anson Rooms, Feb 8
The Hu, O2 Academy, Feb 10
Testament/Exodus/Death Angel, O2 Academy, March 3
Grand Magus, Fleece, March 5
Anvil, Exchange, March 18
Lamb of God/Kreator/Power Trip, O2 Academy, April 21
Chon, Fleece, April 24
Van Der Graaf Generator, Bath Forum, May 7
Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, Bath Forum, May 12
Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate, Fleece, Sept 5
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