Metal & Prog picks: September 2021

We’re back almost to full strength this month. But one of the post-lockdown oddities is that until some kind of government edict is handed down, local venues are adopting very different mask/social distancing/proof of vaccination policies. Here’s Ian Anderson on the situation.

Locally, the O2 Academy seems to be the strictest when it comes to excluding that peculiar ‘wellness’ yoga mum/far-right conspiracy theorist loony anti-vaxx alliance. You’ll need to prove your covid status to get in. The best advice is to check the websites of individual venues before setting out to any gig.

Green Lung

Exchange, Sept 5

They had us at “pagan folk horror metal”. Actually, they also had us when they mentioned Sabbath and NWOBHM. Mightily impressive Brits Green Lung might be an underground act signed to Finnish indie label Svart, but they’re not so underground as to avoid the admiring attention of The Guardian, who recently noted that they “offer an occultish vision of Britain that fits neatly into the alternate England also inhabited by director Ben Wheatley’s rural eccentrics, fanzine Weird Walk’s doomy pagan ramblings and Cornwall’s eerie Museum of Witchcraft.” Black Harvest, the follow-up to 2019’s well-received Woodland Rites, is out now.

Hands Off Gretel

Thekla, Sept 5

Spirited punk-o-metal from Barnsley and, er, Bristol. Yep, that’s right: their bassist is Becky Baldwin of this parish, who plays in a bewildering number of bands in a bewildering variety of styles, from prog-metal to melodic rock. How does she find the time? Anyhoo, Hands Off Gretel do the high-energy rock thing with an overt feminist twist. The title track of self-released second album I Want the World was described by Classic Rock as a “skater punk mashup of No Doubt, Lady Gaga and [Well Hung Heart’s] Greta Valenti.” Support comes from another mostly female Bristol band: Flowerpot, who’ve now ditched the covers in favour of their own compositions. We last saw them supporting Inglorious at the O2 Academy

A.A. Williams

Trinity, Sept 5

“Post-rock and post-classical” is the official description of A.A. Williams’s music, which is another way of saying: “No, we don’t know which pigeonhole to stuff her in either.” She certainly doesn’t play metal, though she also dodges the twee blandness slurry pit into which the UK’s vast female singer-songwriter national surplus tends to tumble. Williams has said the Deftones changed her life, has collaborated with Swedish sludgers Cult of Luna, and adventurous metalheads love her – which is why we’re including her here. Her lockdown project Songs from Isolation has included covers of everything from Gordon Lightfoot’s If You Could Read My Mind to Nick Cave’s Into Your Arms.

Black Stone Cherry/Kris Barras Band

O2 Academy, Sept 9

And then there were three. Since they last played here, selling out the Colston Hall back in 2016, Black Stone Cherry have shed bassist Jon Lawhon (who’s technically on “an indefinite hiatus from music and touring”). Lockdown has also given us plenty of time to familiarise ourselves with the Kentucky quartet’s latest album The Human Condition, which hit number 11 in the UK album charts last November. This doesn’t deviate too far from their winning formula of metal-tinged, riff-driven southern rock with soulful vocals from Chris Robertson. But it does have a splendid, unexpected, hard rockin’ cover of ELO’s Don’t Bring Me Down. If you haven’t heard Human Condition yet, Mascot have just released an expanded edition with six extra tracks, including another cover: Tracy Chapman’s Give Me One Reason. Support comes from labelmates The Kris Barras Band, Mr. Barras being a former cage fighter from Torquay (no kidding) who also plays alongside ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons in Supersonic Blues Machine. Current album Light It Up is out now.

Mason Hill

Fleece, Sept 16

Back in March, Glaswegian rockers Mason Hill scored a top 20 hit with their debut album Against the Wall and are now finally getting to tour it. They headline a big-value three band package of new-ish British acts that also includes Hollowstar and Empyre.

Jethro Tull: The Prog Years

The Forum, Bath, Sept 17

He’s a canny fellow, that Ian Anderson. Having observed that the term ‘prog rock’ has long since lost the taint imposed upon it by our punky friends, and is now even drawing curious youngsters, he’s decided to make a virtue of it with this ‘Prog Years’ Tull tour. The setlist is a closely guarded secret, but we can presumably expect plenty of Aqualung, Thick as a Brick and perhaps even A Passion Play (go on, Ian: do The Story of the Hare Who Lost his Spectacles). Interestingly, the current Tull line-up has plenty of Bristol connections. Drummer Scott Hammond lives in the city and has his own jazz quartet, while keyboard player and orchestral conductor John O’Hara is the former Musical Director for the Bristol Old Vic and now has teaching positions at Bath and Bristol Universities.

Steve’n’Seagulls

Thekla, Sept 20

We’ll try to resist referring to this lot as the Finnish Hayseed Dixie. But, er, that’s what they are, being a bluegrass act playing covers of metal classics on banjo, spoons, upright, bass, accordion, and guitar. Actually, there is a difference. Hayseed Dixie have lately branched out to cover crappy pop and hip-hop songs, but for Steve’n’Seagulls it’s all about the rock. Their name is a corruption of ‘Steven Seagal’ (for no obvious reason), they all dress in authentic redneck garb, and their jolly videos have proven hugely popular on YouTube. At the time of writing, for example, Steve’n’Seagulls’s cover of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck has notched up an astonishing 128 million views. The official term for this stuff, by the way, is Hillbilly Metal.

Inglorious

Fleece, Sept 21

This marks a bit of a step down for Britrockers Inglorious, who headlined the O2 Academy last time they came to town. They’ve also taken the rather bizarre decision to release Heroine –  a covers album of songs by female artists. Which is, you know, fine and all, but with the best will in the world one can hardly see their version of Miley Cyrus’s Midnight Sky giving them the career boost they need right now. Still, at least Inglorious still boast the best-named drummer in rock: Somerset’s very own Phil Beaver.

COMING SOON

Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.

Skindred, O2 Academy, Oct 8

Evergrey, Fleece, Oct 11

The Wildhearts, Fleece, Oct 17

Venom Prison, Fleece, Oct 21

Caravan, Fleece, Oct 27

The Dead Daisies/Quireboys, O2 Academy, Nov 3

The Pineapple Thief, O2 Academy, Nov 5

Evil Scarecrow, Thekla, Nov 6

Wayward Sons, Thekla, Nov 15

Fish, SWX, Nov 15

Conan, Exchange, Nov 16

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Thekla, Nov 18

Boss Keloid, Exchange, Nov 20

Monolord, Exchange, Nov 22

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Marble Factory, Nov 24

Marillion, The Forum, Bath, Nov 24

Focus, Fleece, Nov 25

Black Spiders, Thekla, Dec 1

Hayseed Dixie, Fleece, Dec 1

Myles Kennedy, O2 Academy, Dec 3

The Darkness/British Lion, O2 Academy, Dec 7

Igorrr, Fleece, Dec 9

Alestorm/Gloryhammer, O2 Academy, Dec 10

Lamb of God/Kreator/Power Trip, O2 Academy, Dec 14

Svalbard, Exchange, Dec 18

Avatar, SWX, Jan 13

The Black Dahlia Murder, Fleece, Jan 30

Cheap Trick, O2 Academy, Feb 6

Decapitated, Fleece, Feb 8

Tony MacAlpine, Exchange, Feb 11

Katatonia/Solstafir, SWX, Feb 13

Paradise Lost, Marble Factory, Feb 17

Evile, Exchange, Feb 19

Kvelertak, SWX, Feb 20

The Zombies, Fleece, Feb 24

Van Der Graaf Generator, The Forum, Bath, March 1

The Sheepdogs, Thekla, March 6

Epica/Apocalyptica, O2 Academy, March 12

Kris Barras Band, Marble Factory, March 14

Tangerine Dream, Trinity, March 16

Status Quo, The Forum, Bath, March 18

Big Big Train, The Forum, Bath, March 19

Gong, Thekla, March 23

Eric Gales/Danny Bryant, Fleece, March 27

Therapy?, SWX, March 31

Redd Kross, Exchange, April 3

Skunk Anansie, O2 Academy, April 12

Deicide, Fleece, April 16

The Picturebooks, Exchange, April 24

Stoner, Thekla, May 4

Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, The Forum, Bath, May 7

Karnivool, O2 Academy, May 19

OM, Fleece, May 26

Meshuggah/Zeal & Ardor, O2 Academy, May 29

The Quireboys, Thekla, June 17

High On Fire, Fleece, June 26

Mushroomhead, Thekla, June 27

Rammstein, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, June 22

Anthrax/Municipal Waste, O2 Academy, Oct 6

Pitchshifter, Thekla, Nov 30