Music / Metal
Review: Phillip H Anselmo and the Illegals, The Fleece
Raging Speedhorn have been back for a while now, new(ish) recordings on the racks (and in the virtual world too of course); festival appearances; anniversary shows; headline tours, and they bagged the support slot on this hotly anticipated tour too. Long story short they hit the stage like a ton of breezeblocks and delivered a killer support set. But then would you expect anything less from a “12-legged, beer fuelled hate machine”? In fact, on any other night, they would have blown a lesser headline act off the stage, but not tonight: the crowd loved the Speedhorn but they worshipped the headliner.
The band were afforded (almost) full use of the lighting rig, the sound was pin sharp (pitched a notch below sphincter loosening volume) and we got nigh on a dozen tunes. Opening with a remorseless How Much More Can a Man Take, the set skipped between older material and cuts from their most recent release, 2016’s Lost Ritual. Of those tunes Bring Out Your Dead battered but Godshit Blues probably edged it. But then Thumper got heads banging whilst Hate Song probably generated a lot of business for the region’s chiropractors.
is needed now More than ever
Specialising in monstrously heavy riffs (Messrs Palmer & Leese), powered by drums that were battered mercilessly (courtesy of Gordon Morison), the band also had a groove that belied the heaviosity. They adeptly worked a spiteful punk aggression seamlessly into the mix; the riffs were never ponderous; Andy Gilmour’s bass was supple yet forceful, but the tunes always kept that groove. That grinding, all powerful, relentless, menacing groove. Think Lamb of God but with a British edge and twin vocals.
Those twin vocals truly set the band apart from their peers: swapping leads, swapping styles and occasionally doubling up, Frank Regan and Dan Cook (depping for John Loughlin) owned the stage. This was an intense, eyeball swivelling performance packed with energy – both pinballing around the stage and orchestrating the audience responses. And disingenuously introducing well-loved tunes as covers: Sepultura are fellow travellers; the Speedhorn are certainly as intense as Rammstein but Fallout Boy? My arse. Oddly enough they also played a frantic Motörhead, but no, an original that is fully deserving of its tribute-paying title.
The crowd were encouraged to join in from the off, and the half full room filled up as the set progressed, the audience engaged and involved from the opening blast. There may not have been any pits, but the crowd were constantly moving, singing and roaring their approval, and more than happy to support (literally) crowd surfing from Regan.
There’s undeniably a degree of mediocrity and repetitiveness behind the volume, blast beats, shredding and extreme vocals on the modern metal scene. Raging Speedhorn sounded fresh and exciting during their first stab at domination and, if anything, they’re even more powerful now. The self-proclaimed Saviours of British Metal certainly delivered on stage and they’ve got the tunes too (cunningly hidden in cranium crunching riffs). They deserve your attention and support, after all, who in their right mind could resist a band whose manifesto is “Sniff glue, worship Satan”?
If you’re familiar with Phillip H Anselmo then feel free to jump to the next paragraph, otherwise read on. Philip first came to our attention as part of the (truly) seminal Pantera. The much loved-band seeded a stepped change in metal and then imploded in acrimony and bitterness, but alas tragedy later scuppered any hopes of a reunion. After the implosion Phillip embarked on a rather prolific career fronting at least eight outfits and making numerous guest appearances. He has also been at the centre of several controversies relating to onstage comments and his underlying beliefs. That aside he remains a much revered metal singer and band leader, selling out the Fleece with his current band Phillip H Anselmo and the Illegals.
Thanks to the wide world of the web we all knew we were likely to get a set of Illegals tunes and then a set of Pantera material, and the room was thick with excitement, anticipation and emotion as the band took to the stage. Stephen Taylor, axe; Joey Gonzalez, drumbeat beast; Mike DeLeon, lead axe; and Walter Howard, bass axe (all sic) whipped up a mighty, massive, metallic crescendo as the crowd roared for Phillip. He took to the stage as the crescendo exploded in to…a lengthy (surprisingly groovy) jam because his in-ear monitors were fucked. The fix failed so monitors discarded the band blasted their way through the Illegals set.
Opening with Little Fucking Heroes, the unyielding rendition ripped up the crowd as pits opened and heads banged, constant surges as people pushed to get within arm’s reach of the stage. And in fairness Phillip spent the entire night attempting to high five, fist bump and shake the hands of the entire crowd. He was a commanding presence on stage (nowhere near as active as previously) but he gave a physical performance and shredded the vocals. Plenty of self-deprecating humour, mostly around his age (the monitor situation clearly “a prank on the old man”, constant requests to help “the old man” with the vocals etc).
He also confusingly dissed his own songs: The Ignorant Point merely “a fuckin’ disgrace” but Photo Taunts “an absolute fuckin’ disgrace”. He also informed us that the former perfectly illustrated the difference between the Illegals and what was to come. And in truth, it did that very well. The Illegals eschew a lot of the groove of Pantera and replace it with an amalgam of styles that shouldn’t really work…but do. So, songs with multiple time changes á la Sabbath, but rather than a slow riff and a fast riff, the fast riff sections were replaced with blast beat driven riff frenzies somewhere between Napalm Death and Discharge. Well he was wearing the t-shirt. Minimal, off kilter (but thrilling) solos, repentenless riffing and bass set to stun – this was precise, technically adept, extreme metal that would fuck up any metal tourists in the surrounding post codes.
Phillip only has one vocal style: full on, and he never once let the music overwhelm him, riding the incessant riffs, living the lyrics. The crowd revelled in Bedridden, delighted in Photo Taunts and greeted Walk Through Exits Only with rapture. Then the anticipation reached fever pitch as Phillip once again battled with his in-ear monitors for the Pantera set, and lo, the fuckers started working.
Mouth for War caused bedlam, the crowd beyond delighted, fists punching, heads banging and pits reopening as crowd surfers went back and forth, (all those reaching the stage offered the mic for a chorus). In fact, such was the emotion in the room that tears were shed as the tune climaxed. Becoming kept up the momentum whilst Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit afforded Phillip the opportunity to make an (admittedly oblique) reference to his troubles, warning that not everything you read on the internet is true (hmmmm).
Announcing a “fake encore” (the band squatted down out of view to avoid leaving the stage as we called for more) Phillip introduced A New Level as a tune that clarified his world view better than any webpage or internet liars. It tore the roof off, a beast of a rendition, the two-guitar line up really giving heft to this tune, the band easily finding that Pantera groove. In fact, the whole Pantera set felt and sounded right and was completely respectful. Phillip finally led the world’s worst acapella rendition of the climax of Stairway to Heaven and was gone. A bit over the hour and yet not a disappointed punter in the place.
Phillip H Anselmo is a complex fella with several yards of baggage and some questionable opinions, but then he’s also a captivating singer, the orchestrator of thrilling, challenging visceral music and a revered metal icon. Tonight, he showed us plenty of the latter and very little of the former, and for those able to separate the art from the artist, this was a never-to-be forgotten night of passion and emotions. And headbanging.
Phillip H. Anselmo : The Fleece: Thursday, 27 June 2019
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