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The Embodiment Of All That Is Metal

Diddy Wishingwell figure in top of Weebles Bar... — This photo will make some kind of sense if you read the blog post (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I mentioned in the recent Shinedown review that some comments at the gig had got my head ticking. I also said that it would result in another blog post.

This is that blog post. The events posted within don’t occur at any point near the California Presidential Primary.

Shinedown’s singer Brent took a pause between songs to “converse” with the crowd. By which I mean he asked some questions and imagined he heard the responses he wanted. Most likely unbeknownst to him, a rather light-headed person at the back of the room (horrificÂ diarrhoea, no food in 24 hours then 1/4 pint of cider will do this to a man) actually engaged in the conversation. It went like this:

Brent: What’s one thing that’s certain in life?

Me: Taxes

Brent: Rock and roll! There is nothing in life that can’t be made simpler with drums, guitars, a bass and some kick-ass vocals. Rock and roll has been there for each and every one of you. How many times has rock and roll been there for you in your life?

Me: Three. Maybe four. No. Three.

And then I actually started thinking. Which is dangerous territory when your blood sugar only exists because of rehydration salts and 150ml of Strongbow.

Rock and rollÂ had been there for me a few times. Seriously. It had. During some severe downtimes, I’ve turned to the likes of Hatebreed whose lyrics basically tell you (OK yell, loudly) that you shouldn’t be weak, that nobody can get you down but yourself and that you should fight back. I’m actually going to come back to that line of thought in yet another post shortly.

That would have been a sensible place to stop. But no. My mind meandered further down the wibbly-wobbly barely-focussed road it could barely see and the words “Weebles Wobble But They Never Fall Down” erupted from my lips. Much to the amusement, annoyance and/or bemusement of my lovely wife and our friend Wendi who had joined us for the gig.

Why? Because Lawnmower Deth have a song by that name. And it’s silly. And because when I’m upset or want to take my mind off stuff, I think of silly things. It cheers me up. It also cheers up my baby daughter as I sing some of their songs to her. Mainly because I’m a bit strange, but also because I know all the words. After all, it’s not difficult to remember the words to “Thermonuclear War Is Good For Your Complexion” when they’re:

Thermonuclear war… is good for your complexion,

Thermonuclear war… is good for your complexion,

Thermonuclear war… is good for your complexion,

Thermonuclear war… is good for your complexion.

I doÂ not have a great memory.

Anyway, this got me thinking further. The lyrics for “Weebles…” are as follows and are lifted from the TV commercial for the little toys from way back when I was a kid. I think you can still get them these days, but they won’t be as good. Oh, no.

Weebles wobble, but they never fall down,

Weebles wobble, but they never fall down,

Weebles are round!

Don’t fall down!

Weebles are round!

Don’t fall down!

Weeblewobbleweeblewobbleweeblewobbleweeblewobbleweeblewobbleweeblewobbledon’tfalldown!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the embodiment of rock and metal. It’s been pushed off the airwaves, banned by religious movements, used as a prosecution tool by useless parents when their kids go tonto, vilified in the press… but it keeps coming back. Simply, you cannot keep a good thing down. Not unless you keep your finger pressed on it permanently. And every kid eventually got fed up doing that and the Weeble just popped right back up again.

We are the people of rock! And we are Weebles!

Don’t worry. I’m off to get some sleep now.

Metal Hammer Razor Tour II, Glasgow Cathouse

[Pics of three of the bands on Flickr via these links: Devil Sold His Soul / Heights / Heart of a Coward]

Four bands, eight quid, beer for Â£2 a pint and t-shirts at a tenner. Can’t turn that kind of an offer down. Especially when one of them is Heights.

As ever, I managed to miss the opening band (Steak Number Eight). I guess they hit the stage very shortly after the doors opened as I got there at around 7:45. A teething baby is a little more important, though!

The first band I saw were Heart of a Coward, who I’d never heard of before. Their t-shirts made them look like a US hardcore band, but they’re very definitely from the south of England and very definitely a (very) heavy metal act. With a lead singer who looks like he could punch you through a brick wall (ex-Sylosis front man Jamie Graham), the only South Asian I can recall ever seeing in a metal band (Vishal Ketia) and synchronised from-the-waist headbanging, they’re an incredibly powerful live act.

With maybe half an hour to fill, they pummelled through a good number of tracks whilst trying their best to get the small crowd to join in the fun. Despite only a couple of dozen people bothering to hover near the stage, they performed as if they were in front of a full house.

A great performance from a band I would happily go and see again.

Next up were the band I had paid my money to see – Heights. I first saw them when they supported Biohazard earlier this yearÂ and they seriously impressed me.

Well, you know how you come away from a gig telling people how good it was and then when you see the band again, they’re a shadow of that one night? Not the case with Heights. They’ve got better. My apologies for the lack of decent photographs, but they wouldn’t stay still long enough for me to focus. I swear they must have been raised on e-numbers.

Within a minute of the opening track, the singer (sorry, no idea of the guys’ names) was up on the barrier passing the microphone to fans who knew the words. Not to be bested, one of the guitarists joined him – somehow balancing on the metalwork while banging out riffs.

Barely stopping between tracks, they battered the living hell out of the crowd. Facing the same problem as HOAC in that a large portion of the growing crowd preferred to stay near the bar, our intrepid vocalist clambered off the stage and onto the dancefloor. Shoving people around while singing (microphone cable trailing back onto the stage), he managed to start a small but violent pit before the end of the final track.

Guitars were thrown around, mikes dropped and cheers erupted as the most energetic band I’ve seen in years stomped off to cries of “one more tune!” – which we didn’t get. Boo.

Heights are an angry bunch. Loud and aggressive, you get the feeling that if they weren’t battering out ear-crushing riffs on their instruments they’d be using them to commit genocide. Watching them must be like watching the Sex Pistols back in the day before they made it big. They’re a breath of fresh air, a wake-up call. Hugely entertaining and seemingly constantly on tour. I’m hoping I have the chance to see them in February again when they tour with Your Demise.

Last band of the night were Devil Sold His Soul, I think the only act who could lay claim to having more than one album available. They seemed to have brought half of Blackpool Illuminations with them, along with their own lighting guy who was on stage tapping buttons so that everything was in sync.

All very impressive visually, but musically… well, I guess I was in the minority as they certainly seemed to be the band the crowd were waiting for. They weren’t bad, but they just didn’t grab me the way that Heights of HOAC had done. They weren’t helped by the fact that someone decided that the headliners should be louder than everyone else to the point where half of one song sounded to me like Rolf Harris playing the world’s largest stylophone with the bass and reverb turned up full. In a wind tunnel.

Still, can’t complain for Â£10 (including booking fees). It’s definitely worth keeping an eye out for tours like these. Back to grass roots, bands manning their own merchandise stalls and carrying their own kit – and with the cash they raise going into their own pockets.

Roll on Metal Hammer Razor Tour III!

EP review – Seed of Sadness

I received a random email through my blog a few weeks ago from Mike G, who’s bassist with Greek metal band Seed of Sadness. He offered me a digital copy of their first professionally-recorded 5-track EP in exchange for a review. I’ve not had an offer like this inÂ years, since the old “Mosher’s Music Page” which is mothballed somewhere. So, obviously I replied in the positive.

Then found myself working a 70-hour week, away for a fortnight for our wedding/honeymoon and buried in work once again upon my return. Whoops.

I spotted his email again earlier today and promised myself I’d get it done before I went out this evening – to see a handful of other unsigned bands, as it happens.

I’ve only had a chance to listen to the tracks three or four times each and overall I am very impressed. Not just at the quality (song-writing, musicianship and production), but as they’re also very much my kind of thing. The sound could be classed as “melodic rock”, but that seems to be a general term for any metal with a keyboard in it for some reason. The lead vocalist is female and has the awesome name Stellaria. As far as I can tell, this is actually her name and not some stage identity. I have decided that Greek people have cool names.

She also has a hell of a voice, easily as good as anyone involved with the bigger female-fronted bands such as Nightwish, Evanescense and Within Temptation. I know there are many other bands out there, such as Lacuna Coil and Arch Enemy, but Seed of Sadness are definitely more in tune with the first three.

The other three chaps in the band, along with Stellaria, are pretty well trained musicians and their bio lists the people who taught them and the music schools they went to. Nowhere I’ve heard of, but it does tell you that this quartet are serious about what they’re doing.

OK, the songs. There are five on the EP and the quality is high. There’s good variety in the songs, while the band still manage to keep a sound of their own in there. No pandering to genres in the hopes of covering their bases. Opener “Remnant of a Dying Smile” is probably the best insofar as being quite catchy. If I have an issue with it, it’s the keyboards. The melody is fine, but I find the actual sound of them quite distracting in places. I’m not sure how to describe this as a non-musician, but you know you can make a keyboard play different types of sounds when you press a key? The notes in this song are a sound which hits, goes down in volume and then comes up again. It really messes with my ears.

Anyway, this little issue aside it’s a great song. I genuinely heard myself saying “This… is pretty ******* good” to myself during the first listen.

The other tracks, especially number 2 (“King of Loss”), took a little longer to grow on me. But four/five listens down the line (I’m listening through the EP again as I write this) and I’m suitably impressed.

Their bio mentions that they have ten songs written, with these first five the only ones recorded so far. On the strength of what I’ve heard, I wish them all the luck they deserve and hope to see them popping up in support slots in coming months.

Thanks to Mike for spotting my blog and giving me the chance to find out about the band. More info can be found on their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/SeedofSadness

And, even better than that, the EP is available for download at the cracking cost ofÂ nothing at all from:

http://seedofsadness.bandcamp.com

If you prefer to pay them for a copy (â‚¬4 or more), then you get pre-order advance notices for the forthcoming album, discounts on merchandise and so on.

Motorhead / Anthrax – Glasgow O2 Academy

[Full sets of pics on Flickr: Anthrax / Motorhead]

Another year, another Motorhead gig. They seem to play on a regular basis like Status Quo and Bowling For Soup, but this time they brought one of my favourite bands with them – New York thrash-masters Anthrax.

Oh, and openers Diaries of a Hero. We caught about five minutes of them due to Gillian’s requirement for sustenance, but what little we saw seemed OK. Nothing special, but worth a listen.

Always seeming to be the little cousin in relation to the remainder of the “Big 4” thrash bands (Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica), Anthrax have always topped my list especially when it comes to live performances. While the others are brutal (Slayer), technically impressive (Megadeth, back in the day) or overblown (Metallica), Anthrax have always just been plain good fun.

Judging from the size of the crowd crammed in for their 8:15-ish start, a fair number had made the effort to catch them and they weren’t to be disappointed. Well, except for the fact that they weren’t headlining so only had the chance to play a handful of songs.Â With around 45 minutes to fill in the support slot (it may have been longer, but the time simplyÂ flew), they managed to cover a fair amount of their history from the likes ofÂ “Madhouse” to “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” from current albumÂ Worship Music.

“Antisocial” had the crowd punching the air, “Indians” kicked the pit off into the traditional war dance, “Got The Time” rattled by at a rate of knots and the short set was tied up with classic Judge Dredd ballad “I Am The Law”.

Frankly, I’m getting too old for this **** so a short set was probably the best thing for my physically. I was near collapse by the time the last shouts of “I… Am… The… LAAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!” petered out, but I would have happily run myself into the ground for another eight songs. A brilliant set from a brilliant band whose only issue seems to be an unwillingness to commit to a full UK headlining tour.

Headliners tonight, though, were the long-running Motorhead. Lemmy and co wandered onto the stage calm as you like and unleashed an impressive set with seemingly no effort at all. I’m not a huge fan and, in all honesty, if Anthrax hadn’t been on the bill I’d not have bothered with tickets but there’s nothing wrong with ninety minutes of classic heavy rock’n’roll.

We ended up moving right to the back of the venue near the doors. Partly for easy access to the bar and partly because the sound in the Academy is ****. The songs were actually almost audible near the exits. A shame for such a popular music venue when the key reason for its being is one of its weakest points.

Nevertheless, with a set encompassing the liked of “The One To Sing The Blues“, “Killed By Death“, “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill” I don’t think any of the die-hards left unsatisfied.

Now, Anthrax – about that headlining tour… GET IT SORTED!

Sabaton / Eluvetie / Wisdom – Glasgow Garage

[Links to pictures on Flickr: Sabaton / Eluvetie / Wisdom]

It’s a bit of a surprise when you go to the pinboard in the office to get your ticket for a gig then realise that there areÂ two stuck up there. Annoyingly, Gillian had a shedload of work to do that she couldn’t put by. One quick phone call to a local dinosaur meant that the ticket would not be wasted, however, and Dean and I headed into the city just in time to get parked and join the horrifically long queue outside the Garage.

Fifteen minutes later, we managed to get in (just as they decided to only search people with bags otherwise those at the tail end would have barely caught the encore at the close of the evening) and saw around four minutes of opening band Wisdom. A crying shame as they sounded pretty good, much like (and I credit Mike for this description) Manowar with Bruce Dickinson on vocals. Maybe I’ll catch them again at another gig when I can actually get into a venue in reasonable time.

A short set change later saw an impressive sight for the small-ish Garage stage Â – eight-piece Swiss folk metal bandÂ Eluvetie. All the more impressive given that they only had half the stage to work with as Sabaton‘s kit was already set up behind theirs. Say what you like about folk metal, I’ve all the time in the world for anyone who can play about a dozen instruments and it seems that being multi-talented is aÂ prerequisiteÂ for joining this ensemble.

I may miss some out here, or get names wrong, but do please bear with me. I spotted a hurdy gurdy, violin, two vocalists, bagpipe, flute, recorder, two guitars, bass, drums, piccolo, harp, lute, and two instruments I couldn’t even think of naming including one with a horned skull embedded in it. If there was an obvious problem with this orchestra it was that there was no hope for the poor sound tech to ensure that all the instruments were mixed as well as they would be in a studio, but he did his best.

Not my cup of extinct Gaulish tea, but they got a rousing reception (deservedly do) and will undoubtedly appeal to fans of the likes of Ensiferum. My taste in folk metal leans more heavily towards early Skyclad which is a bit more rock and less death metal.

Sabaton themselves took to the stage at a worryingly late hour as I assumed there would be a 10pm curfew. Thankfully this wasn’t the case as they chose to play theÂ entire of Europe’s “The Final Countdown” as their introduction. Guys, the opening minute would have been perfect! And have given you time for another song! Anyway, that was the only whinge of the evening.

Their first Scottish appearance since they opened for Dragonforce in 2006 has seen them rise from “who?” to venue-fillers and deservedly so. Their performance is energetic, varied, humorous and fast-paced. Their music, with its lyrical grounding in many historical events, panders to the prides of many nations and it was no surprise to see the Polish flags and scarves going mental when “40:1” was pounded out near the start of the set.

Indeed, the band pandered to the home crowd with Saltire-backprinted t-shirts on sale downstairs and Braveheart-esque blue face and body paint well applied. And kilts. Which were worn in the traditional manner as evidenced at the end of their set!

The three new members were introduced to the crowd late in the concert to a lot of well-deserved cheering. For a band to lose four of six members in one go and then continue is pretty impressive and the replacements certainly fit in very well.

They went through a few tracks from the new albumÂ Carolus Rex including one track (“The Carolean’s Prayer”) in Swedish. Joakim thought he would get away with any lyrical mistakes until he spotted a sizeable group of Swedes near the front of the stage… very much an international evening at the Garage! The set-list was not set in stone, with the band twice pausing to give the audience a choice of two or three songs to pick from. I can attest that on both occasions the band went with the title that gained the loudest cheer.

As I’m sure the photos will prove, the band battered their way through the set with big cheesy grins plastered on their faces which mirrored those of the crowd. Joakim is a great front man, quite happy to rattle off a quick story without taking up too much time and without pandering too much to the stereotypical bits of speech used by pretty much every rock band in the world ever.

He also showed himself to be quite the musician as well, taking to the keyboard briefly (playing some Van Halen and Abba). The whole band performed as if they’d been together for years, not just months and they left the crowd, as the manual states they should, begging for more. My only complaint was a lack ofÂ “Screaming Eagles”. Oh, and “The Price of a Mile”. OK, and about four or five others. It’s not my fault their back-catalogue is filled with so many good songs.

An absolutely superb set from a great band who I can’t wait to see again.

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