Music / Previews
Metal & Prog Picks: November 2015
Marble Factory, Nov 4
is needed now More than ever
Fortunately, there’s more to these Norwegian-German symphonic metallers than arguably the silliest name in rock. Last seen round these parts at the 2007 ProgPower festival in Cheltenham, they pioneered the whole ‘beauty and the beast’ thing, Liv Kristine’s clear soprano contrasting with her hairy hubby Alexander Krull’s growlier style. Norse mythology inspires just about everything they’ve released – perhaps most successfully on 2005’s Vinland Saga, with its rather magnificent single, Elegy. Newie King of Kings is a concept album based on the sagas of Norway’s first king, Harald Fairhair. Don’t say metal never learns you nothing. Support is from Spanish symphonic metallers Diabulus in Musica. But get there early if you can to check out Bristol’s own contribution to the genre, Control the Storm.
Colston Hall, Nov 8
Joe Satriani packed out the Colston back in June 2013. Since he now ranks as the world’s most commercially successful solo guitar performer, he’s certain to do so again this time round, leaving the assembled musos with their jaws on the floor. The chap who served as Kirk Hammett’s guitar teacher is touring his 15th album, the rather excellent, typically cosmically fixated Shockwave Supernova. He’s bringing the same shit-hot band as before, including bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann, whose own rather incredible trio with Guthrie Govan, The Aristocrats, play the Bierkeller next month. Make sure you get there early to check out supporting young South African guitarist Dan Patlansky. Yes, he’s a blues player, but don’t flee screaming to the bar just yet. Patlansky isn’t one of those dreary blues purist bores and will be highlighting the rockin’ side of his repertoire, as showcased on his new Dear Silent Thieves album. This certainly impressed our reviewer when he played the Thunderbolt back in May.
Exchange, Nov 8
If you’re not going to see Satch, why not nip down to the Exchange to check out splendidly named Portishead/Bristol extreme industrial metallers Mortishead? Formed in 2014, this bunch of “six brutal bastards” (their term) won the Bristol/Gloucester regional final of the Metal to the Masses contest to bag a place at the Bloodstock Festival. This show launches a new local metal night under the Day of Destruction banner and will be Mortishead’s last gig of the year before they scurry away to record their debut album.
Academy, Nov 11
The Autumn symphonic metal overload continues with Dutch sextet Epica’s first visit to Bristol. Fronted by Simone Simons, who somehow finds time to run her own fashion and make-up blog, they’ve been known to push the pomposity boat out by performing with a full choir and orchestra back home. But taking such a vast entourage on the road is what bankrupted ELP back in the 1970s, so we can expect a rather more stripped back show at the Academy. They’ll have to work hard to avoid being upstaged by their Swiss folk-metal chums Eluveite, who put on a brilliant headlining show at the Bierkeller this time last year.
Academy, Nov 12
Those of us who’ve followed Newport’s very own Benji Webbe’s career since the Dub War days (anyone remember them playing the Fleece?) know that his belated commercial success is thoroughly well-deserved. If the world wasn’t quite ready for a metal-punk-ragga mash-up – as I believe ver kidz might describe it – back in the early ’90s, it certainly is now. The adventurous metal crowd are Skindred’s most enthusiastic followers, and they’re being rewarded with the band’s heaviest album to date, Volume, the limited edition of which comes with a frank documentary, Rude Boys for Life.
Marble Factory, Nov 12
Freakishly tall Berlin beardies – and what magnificent beards they are – Kadavar have saddled themselves with a name that might lead the unwary to expect death metal. In fact, the trio sup deep from the well of Sabbath. Mind you, they’re not above quoting Simon & Garfunkel on Come Back Life, and wallow in fuzz-drenched psychedelic sixties sounds too. They were last in town two years ago with a hugely impressive show at the Exchange and now move up to the Marble Factory as they tour their third album, Berlin – presumably so titled to remind them where home is after an extended period on the road. Oddly, this includes a cover of Nico’s Reich Der Traume.
Exchange, Nov 15
Last seen in Bristol back in February supporting Black Label Society at the Academy, Pennsylvania’s self-styled dirty groove rockers Crobot certainly put on an entertaining show – not least thanks to bassist Jake Figueroa’s Cliff Burton-style flare-flapping dance moves. Support comes from SXSW-approved Texan metallers Scorpion Child, whose crazy-eyed, microphone-swinging frontman Aryn Jonathan Black rocks the young Dave Wyndorf look. Get there early for Swansea’s answer to Led Zeppelin – no, really – Buffalo Summer, who never disappoint.
Bierkeller, Nov 16
Jailbait girl rockers The Runaways famously caused a riot when they played the Granary back in 1976. History is unlikely to repeat itself as now middle-aged singer-turned-chainsaw carver (I’m not making this shit up) Cherie Currie returns nearly 30 years on to headline the Bierkeller. In the intervening period, she’s struggled with drug addiction, published an autobiography (Neon Angel) and married and divorced Airplane! star Robert Hays. Sure, Joan Jett and Lita Ford have had more successful solo careers. And there were better female bands in the 70s, notably Fanny and Girlschool. But none of them were played by Dakota Fanning in a major motion picture. Will she do Cherry Bomb? Of course she bloody well will. Chances are she won’t be wearing those pants on stage this time, though.
Fleece, Nov 18
Splendidly named Cambridge doomsters Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are signed to Lee Dorrian’s Rise Above label, which is virtually a guarantee that they’ll trade in late-sixties proto-metal. And that’s exactly what they do – so effectively, in fact, that they bagged a Black Sabbath support slot. The name alone has attracted some of our ghastly hipster friends and inspired a few of those pseudy reviews that inevitably result when they latch on to a metal band. But don’t let that put you off. The avuncular heavy pychedelicists’ excellent fourth album, Mind Control, is an old-school concept piece about a Manson-esque cult leader. Groovy!
Marble Factory, Nov 19
Poor old Derrick Green, huh? He’s been fronting Brazil’s biggest metal export quite brilliantly for nearly two decades, but still has to put up with speculation about when his predecessor Max Cavalera will return. That’s not helped, of course, by the fact that they’ve struggled to match their early commercial success. Still, Sepultura remain a formidable live act and for this 30th anniversary tour they’re promising plenty of stuff they don’t normally play.
Academy, Nov 25
Gig of the month? Don’t bet against it. Clutch proved to be the band of the weekend when they closed the inaugural Temples Festival and certainly have plenty of crossover appeal to those who’ve tired of the dull MOR that’s so frequently pedalled as ‘Americana’ these days. Looking like he’s just stepped off the cover of the Band’s eponymous 1969 album, Neil Fallon and his crew recently followed up the fabulous Earth Rocker (Metal Hammer’s 2013 Album of the Year, fact fans) with the Philip K. Dick influenced concept album Psychic Warfare, which scored them their biggest chart hit to date. If I may be so bold as to quote from my own review of that Temples show: “Unpick Clutch’s sound and you’ll find there’s not actually much metal in their heady blend of muscular hard rock and Americana, delivered with a ferocity that betrays their punk roots. Despite drawing upon critically approved influences, this is all too exciting and insufficiently beige for the Jools Holland demographic, though the extraordinary acoustic Gone Cold, showcasing Fallon’s rich baritone and evocative lyrics, might just lure in the more adventurous Mojo reader.”
Academy, Nov 29
Apocalyptica’s USP – Metallica for four cellos – screamed “short-lived novelty act!” But more than 20 years and eight albums on, the metal-loving Sibelius Institute graduates are still here. They’ve broadened their sound over they years, adding drums and vocals, with original material slowly easing out the covers of the likes of Slayer, Sepultura, Rammstein, Pantera and, um, Edvard Grieg, proving that there’s more to their appeal than the undeniable joy of watching hairy Finns headbang while playing the cello.
Louisiana, Nov 30
If you’ve been to a rock gig round these parts at any point over that last couple of years, it’s likely that you’ll have seen the increasingly impressive, distinctively suited and booted Tax the Heat as a support act. The hardest working band in Bristol’s slog has now paid off in the form of a deal with the Nuclear Blast label (home to the likes of Blues Pills and Black Star Riders). They’re currently finishing off their debut album, Fed to the Lions, for release next March, and cap a successful year with a celebratory, Planet Rock-sponsored tour which includes this hometown date.
Further Ahead
Here’s our essential diary of upcoming gigs that should be of interest to anyone of a rockin’ disposition.
The Zombies, Fleece, Dec 3
Fish, Academy, Dec 3
Orange Goblin, Bierkeller, Dec 4
BlackWolf, Exchange, Dec 5
Fear Factory, Bierkeller, Dec 7
The Darkness, Academy, Dec 13
The Aristocrats, Bierkeller, Dec 17
Stackridge, Fiddlers, Dec 19
Ghost/Dead Soul, Academy, Dec 20
Steven Wilson, Colston Hall, Jan 26
The Winery Dogs, Academy, Feb 2
Bowling For Soup, Academy, Feb 15
Thunder/Terrorvision/King King, Colston Hall, Feb 16
Ensiferum, Marble Factory, Feb 18
Symphony X, Bierkeller, Feb 18
Therapy?, Thekla, Feb 18
Graham Bonnet, Bierkeller, Feb 19
Stiff Little Fingers/Ricky Warwick, Academy, March 6
Sabaton/Alestorm, Marble Factory, March 8
Exodus, Fleece, March 9
The Enid, Redgrave Theatre, March 18
Overkill, Fleece, April 12
Chris Cornell, Colston Hall, April 30
Yes, Colston Hall, May 4
Temples Festival, Motion, June 2-5
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