Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: September 2023
Something of a curtain raiser to an exceedingly busy autumn, September brings a rich mix of styles from revived proggers Karnataka to Eurovision losers Lord of the Lost and celebrated doomsters Pigs x 7.
Fleece, Sept 3
is needed now More than ever
Well, here’s something unexpected. Welsh proggers Karnataka return with their first album in eight years, Requiem for a Dream, and a completely revamped line-up. Founder and band leader Ian Jones is now joined by guitarist Luke Machin, mononymous vocalist Sertari, keyboard player Rob Wilshire and drummer Chris Allen. The album also features a guest appearance by Nightwish’s Troy Donockley. Prog magazine’s review noted that it springs no surprises, going “big on symphonic rock with grand, sweeping arrangements married to a melodic sensibility that draws on musical theatre dramatics and AOR”.
O2 Academy, Sept 4
From Metallica riff recyclers to landfill metalcore, Florida’s Trivium have taken a lot of criticism over the years, not all of it undeserved. Still, there’s no denying the band’s popularity. Tenth album In the Court of the Dragon (Roadrunner) was widely acclaimed in the metal press and became a UK top 20 hit.
Fleece, Sept 12
Back for their annual show at the Fleece, ‘Rockgrass’ pioneers Hayseed Dixie are still led by John Wheeler and seem to enjoy a fairly settled line-up. They’ve diluted their appeal with the inclusion of bluegrass versions of crappy pop songs in their repertoire, but when they stick to the core hard rock, notably AC/DC, they remain great fun.
Chapel Arts Centre, Bath, Sept 13
A swift return to Chapel Arts Centre for the hugely talented Rosie, who really deserves to be playing to much bigger crowds. She’s still touring her excellent second solo album, Two Piece Puzzle, and was on magnificent form at the Thekla last October. All she needs is a bit of radio play or a big tour support and she’ll find her huge potential audience.
Bath Forum, Sept 18
Okay, so he doesn’t really fit in this section, but everybody loves him and as the British quarter of CSNY, Graham knows how to rock. There’s unlikely to be much of that tonight, mind, as he’s now 81 and is enjoying a victory lap of the English regional theatre circuit. Expect a tribute to his late frenemy David Crosby, with whom he harmonised so beautifully, plus a career-spanning selection of songs, hopefully including stuff from those great early solo albums Songs For Beginners and Wild Tales. There’s also a new album, Now, to promote, which he’s described as the most personal record he’s ever made.
Thekla, Sept 22
A treat for fans of comedy metal from Evil Scarecrow to Alestorm and Okilly Dokilly (whaddya mean you’ve never heard of the Ned Flanders-fixated metallers?), LA’s Nekrogoblikon’s amusing videos have achieved zillions of YouTube views, although this hasn’t translated into huge album sales. As the name suggests, they’re entirely goblin-oriented. They also earn extra kudos for releasing an album entitled Heavy Meta. New one, The Fundamental Slimes and Humours, is out now.
Chapel Arts Centre, Bath, Sept 22
Yep, there are still two rival Wishbone Ashes. The official one, led by Andy Powell, comes to St. George’s next month. Co-founder Martin Turner also leads his own creditable band, who were last seen in Bristol at the Exchange in 2019. Both acts are currently touring to mark the 50th anniversary of the great Live Dates album. Check out the duo together in happier times (with Laurie Wisefield, who wound up in Tina Turner’s touring band for many years) in this live recording from 1976.
Thekla, Sept 24
The Eurovision Song Contest was excellent for Australia’s rather wonderful Voyager, who did better than anyone expected and will surely inspire more nations to put forward established prog-metal acts next time. Germany’s Lord of the Lost fared rather less well, winding up in 26th place, out of 26 finalists. But that experience, alongside their recent tour support with Iron Maiden, has certainly succeeded in raising their profile, which is why they now have a sold-out UK tour. Expect to hear the genre-fluid Hamburgers’ losing entry Blood and Glitter, plus plenty more from the album of the same title.
Oli Brown & the Dead Collective
Louisiana, Sept 25
Following the dissolution of the promising RavenEye, award-winning British blues guitarist and vocalist Oli Brown licked his mental health wounds for a while, but has now re-emerged with the hard-edged proggy sounds of his new Dead Collective. He’s described their debut EP, Prologue, as Pink Floyd-meets-Soundgarden, which gives some idea of where his head’s at right now.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
SWX, Sept 29
It’s a swift return to Bristol for Pigsx7, who went down a storm at last month’s ArcTanGent festival. Remarkably, the Geordie stoner/doomsters have achieved a certain amount of mainstream crossover and can often be found on more boring festival bills. The Guardian gave their recent fourth album Land of Sleeper a four-star review, remarking that “it refines the sound of Pigs x7 and highlights the band’s strengths – presenting an unsparing induction into their mind-bending sonic vortex.”
Main image of Lord of the Lost: Napalm Records
COMING SOON
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
This Will Destroy You/The Ocean, Fleece, Oct 2
Wishbone Ash, St. George’s, Oct 3
The Obsessed, Exchange, Oct 5
Black Stone Cherry, Fleece, Oct 5
Municipal Waste, Marble Factory, Oct 6
The Winery Dogs, Marble Factory, Oct 7
Jared James Nichols/DeWolff, Fleece, Oct 16
Alcest, SWX, Oct 16
Rival Sons, O2 Academy, Oct 21
The Dust Coda, Fleece, Oct 26
Skindred, O2 Academy, Oct 28
Employed to Serve, Exchange, Nov 1
Fear Factory, SWX, Nov 4
Steve N Seagulls, Thekla, Nov 6
Elder, Fleece, Nov 7
The Raven Age, Exchange Nov 15
Focus, Fleece, Nov 16
Atreyu, SWX, Nov 20
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Fleece, Nov 21
Gong/Ozric Tentacles, O2 Academy, Nov 24
Battle Beast, Fleece, Nov 26
Green Lung, Thekla, Nov 26
Decapitated, Fleece, Nov 29
Extreme/Living Colour, O2 Academy, Dec 3
Danko Jones, Thekla, Dec 12
The Darkness, Bristol Beacon, Dec 14
Urne, Exchange, Dec 15
Evil Scarecrow, Thekla, Feb 2
TesseracT, O2 Academy, Feb 22 2024
Rick Wakeman, Bristol Beacon, Feb 28 2024
10cc, Bristol Beacon, March 7 2024
Jethro Tull, Bristol Beacon, April 17 2024
Yes, Bristol Beacon, May 31 2024
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