I will be uploading my review of the new Buzzard album, Valium Gorillas tomorrow morning, a good read even if I say so myself!
Don’t miss it!
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Tag Archives: Deb Gardner
Still to come….
I will be publishing my review of Buzzard’s album, Valium Gorillas in the next couple of days.
Don’t miss it!
Bigfoot, Piston, Theia and Kikamora
The Station was kicked into life with first performance of the night from the fabulous Kikamora. This was my first time seeing them, and they certainly lived up to expectations and then some. I was lucky enough to catch them for a quick photo before the gig. Kikamora are a 5 piece Hard Rock band from the southwest of the UK. Jimi Bessant on lead guitar, Wilf Kite on vocals, Daniel Marshall on rhythm guitar, Rob Ives on Bass and Andy Page on drums. Andy is the newest member of the band, having only done two shows with Kikamora, but as you will clearly see from the video footage, he has nailed both shows, and is a natural fit to the band.
The performance overall was energetic, and the tracks played were excellent choices for the night. Although the lighting in the station, is as always, lacking when it comes to photos and videos, the feel of the band comes across well on the footage I caught. Please take a look, and if you like what you see from Kikamora, why not head over to their facebook page to give it a like/follow, or twitter if you prefer. Click here to visit their website.
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Next up were the mighty Theia, a band that has a firm place in my heart. As always, a strong performance, with frontman Kyle Lamley pleasing the crowd, encouraging people to participate, not to mention performing the signature songs, Whoop de fuckin do, and Ride On.
It seemed that their set was a little short compared to the other bands, but where Theia are concerned, quality is much more important than quantity. Paul Edwards was more engaging with the audience which certainly went down well, and not to forget the powerful performance from Jake Dalton who was on fire for this gig. Even from the back of stage, he engaged well with fans and got everyone singing and joining in. These guys just continue to get stronger and stronger each time I see them, their fan base must be quite substantial by now too.
Again, I have caught some pretty good footage, which I’m sure you will enjoy.
If you enjoyed the footage from Theia, why not visit their facebook or twitter page, or go to their website to stay up to date with news from these guys, as I’m sure they will be going places.
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A band called Piston followed, another strong band, and again one that I’ve never seen before, and thoroughly enjoyed. This 5 piece band certainly put on a great show, and I would be keen to see them perform live again. Rob Angelico, Jack Edwards, Luke Allatt, Brad Newlands and Stuart Egan were on form throughout their performance.
Sadly I didn’t get any photos for this band, which I will speak about later in the review, but I did get video footage. Please enjoy these guys, and if you like them why not give their facebook or twitter page a like/follow.
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The time came for the headline act, Bigfoot to take the stage. I had been looking forward to this for some time, as I had been given the opportunity by Midlands Metalheads Radio, to review the album pre-release, and had thoroughly enjoyed it. If you would like to read my review I have my own page on their website, please click here.
Unfortunately due to an issue I will speak about later, my evening was cut short, and the opportunity for photos/videos was forfeited.
Bigfoot are a 5 piece hard rock band from Wigan, which was formed in 2014. They consist of Antony Ellis (vocals), dual lead guitars from Sam Millar and Mick McCullagh, Matt Avery (bass) and Tom Aspinall (drums).The band are currently celebrating the release of their debut self titled album with Frontiers Records. If you would like to know more, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
A high voltage start to their set was enjoyed by all, and I’m sure that the songs that followed would have been top quality too. Below is the only footage I got of the performance, which lucky for me includes one of my favourite songs of the album.
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So I just want to quickly cover what happened to cut my night out short.
It seemed that the majority of fans of certain bands were competing for pole position at the front of stage, and for some reason, two ‘ladies’ (believe me I use that term very loosely indeed) decided to constantly barge, verbally abuse, and try to intimidate me throughout the night, in the hope that I would move out of their way.
I did make the security staff aware of the situation quite early on in the evening, however, nothing seemed to get done. Sadly, their behaviour escalated throughout the course of the evening, which is why eventually, I decided that I should leave rather than be caught up in anything more serious.
I would like to say that we are all music lovers, and we all like to get a good position, in order to see the bands we support, however, the majority of us do not resort to this immature and unacceptable behaviour. It saddens me that these people have to let the side down. The message I would like to give is…..IF YOU WANT TO BE AT THE FRONT, GET THERE EARLY! It’s quite simple really isn’t it?
Anyway, I’m not going to let them use up any more of my time.
I would however, like to apologise to Piston and Bigfoot for the lack of material, and if ever I should be able to meet up with these guys in the future, I will endeavour to put things right.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
Kikamora kindly posed for a pre show photo
All photos on this feature are courtesy of Dave Briggs. You can follow him on facebook here.
Album Review – Jon Hartz Wild
Jon Hartz Wild is a talented singer/songwriter, guitarist and pianist based in London. He takes inspiration for his music from a variety of styles from which he creates his own alternative hard rock sound. He describes his music as alternative/modern rock and has been performing over the past year in London clubs. He was previously signed with Fiction records in a Rock band called Romance as lead guitarist. Romance were together for 6 years before eventually going their separate ways in September 2016.
Over recent months Jon has been committed to working on his self titled debut solo album which will be released on 3rd November 2017. Here’s what he has said about his work. ‘Over the years I have developed my own singing style and aim to keep creating music as a solo artist along with collaborating with other artists. I like to try new things and am always searching for new inspiration. I think it is most important as a musician to be yourself and hope your art and music connects with others. I find music is the best way for me to express myself and share my view with the world’.
So without further ado let’s take a look at this promising new album in more detail. This 12 track album is a solid testament to the hard work of Jon Hartz Wild. To think that all of recording was done by Jon himself this must have been no walk in the park to achieve. The album kicks off with Social Discord which certainly gets the adrenaline going. I felt that this was quite a mixture of old school and alternative rock which worked very well. Then comes my favourite track of the album, When You Came Around, which has a full on rock feel to it, and when teamed with the earthiness of Jon’s voice as well as other effects, it delivers a large chunk of pleasure to the ears. Wings Defy The Truth is a slower tempo track with powerful lyrics and a pulsing beat throughout. I enjoyed the amazing guitar-work half way through the song which increases its appeal. Kissed A Dream has quite dramatic lyrics and continues in the theme of classic rock, including some intricate guitar patterns. Fall has a haunting feel to it, and lyrics to match. Overdrive starts with a catchy guitar riff and soon meets with Jon’s gritty, powerful vocals which make for a formidable experience. Asphyxia , See This Through, Fade, Now I’m Alive, Is This The Way add variety to the album, with an assortment of moods and textures that bring out the best of Jon’s many talents. Who Are We is a beautiful track with stunning acoustic guitar. The touching lyrics and striking vocals from Jon shine throughout this emotive track.
Here’s a clip of Jon singing a cover, 14 Years
The Jon Hartz Wild album is diverse, with so many different qualities to it, it certainly keeps you intrigued as to what will come next, and where the song is going to take you. Jon has mixed it up well, showcasing his talents in many different ways throughout the album.
I would definitely recommend all lovers of rock/alternative rock music to take time to listen to Jon Hartz Wild, as his talents are sublime. He has pulled out all the stops to produce this very personalised album and he must be so proud and eager to show it off.
Follow Jon on Facebook
Find out more about Jon here
The album is available on Spotify, iTunes, Deezer, Bandcamp, Tidal and Napster as of 3rd November 2017.
Rating: 4/5
Highlight: ‘many different textures, stunning vocals’
Reviewed by Deb Gardner
Gig Review – Papa Shango, Anonymous and Dead Happy
On Saturday 28th October I was at The Giffard Arms Wolverhampton to see Papa Shango and supporting bands, Dead Happy and Anonymous.
I’ve heard that The Giffard is the place to be on Halloween, and for a mere £2 to get in, this was promising to be a great night, especially knowing that Anonymous were in the line up.
A Halloween themed band called Dead Happy certainly kicked the evening off in style, demonstrating a completely abstract performance of rock/alternative music.
It was then time for one of my top 5 upcoming bands to rock the house. Anonymous put on an electrical performance as always, these guys have all the ingredients needed to become a successful rock band, looks, talent, charisma and determination.
Even though the frontman/vocalist Rob Baynes had been unwell, he put on a great show for the crowd. These guys have come a long way since I first saw them on a Facebook live feed, playing a pub in Burton-on-Trent.
They will be supporting Ryder’s Creed at the 02 Academy 3 Birmingham on 9th December 2017 which I’m sure will be a great night, and I have no doubt that Anonymous will help to kick the night off appropriately. Hayden Kirk (guitar), Steven (Herbie) Herbert (drums), Luke Lawley (bass) and Rob Baynes (vocals/guitar) certainly get the job done when it comes to putting on a show.
So, having rocked out with Anonymous, it was time for the widely talked about Papa Shango to make an appearance. To be perfectly honest, I had mixed feelings about this ‘act’, but kept an open mind as I’d never seen them before. They describe themselves as a circus rock act with mayhem and madness guaranteed to leave jaws dropped.
Unfortunately, the only video footage I took of these guys will not upload, so apologies to anyone who wanted to see them. Well I can only describe the Papa Shango experience as unusual. I thought for a moment I’d had my drink spiked when I saw girls in sequinned hotpants humping hobby horses to the rhythm of the music. It was all a bit tongue in cheek, and I watched them perform a couple more of their tracks before leaving to the sound of ‘pissing on your wife’ being belted out. The room was full of people in full Halloween costume though, and I’m sure the night went well. Not sure if they came into watch Papa Shango, or whether it was just because the disco downstairs was packed out, but either way, a great night celebrated with major weirdness and rock music, you couldn’t ask for more. (Especially not for £2 entry)
For those of you who are now more curious than ever, here’s a link
Gig Rating: 4/5
Coming this week
This week I will be publishing the review of bands I’ve seen during the Halloween weekender. Anonymous, Naked Sunday and Buzzard to name just a few of them. There will be some awesome photos and videos to go with the feature of course, courtesy of Dave Briggs.
Also I’m currently reviewing a self titled album by a very talented guy called Jon Hartz Wild, which will be up over the next couple of days.
Later in the week I’ll be publishing my review of the newly released Buzzard album ‘Valium Gorillas’.
I’m still looking for bands to engage with and feature on The Rock Asylum, so if anything you see on my blog tickles your fancy, get in touch with me by filling out the contact page and I’ll be in touch.
Many thanks for supporting The Rock Asylum!
Gig Review – Fahran, Mallen, Witch Tripper and Quiet The Thief
So first off, I needed to purchase tickets for the show. I had contact from one of the bands offering early entry, meet and greet with the band concerned, including photo opportunities etc, so naturally I jumped at the chance, and went directly to the website to purchase tickets. And then the time came to travel over to Cannock, which is quite local to me. Access and parking is always painless in Cannock, as there is a massive car park literally a stones throw away from the venue. So all was going well.
On arrival at the venue, the early entry was questioned by the door staff, but this was soon ironed out. The meet and greet with the band unfortunately did not happen as promised, which was a little disappointing, but hey ho, things like this happen all the time, so no hard feelings. We didn’t get to meet any of the bands pre show, so we settled for a drink at the bar. The friendly bar staff soon made us feel glad to be there and I have to say, there’s not many bars you can go into, pay £5 for 3 bottles of Stella, and have a whole night of live music for £7 per ticket, so the evening was looking up!
First on were Quiet The Thief, a 4 piece band from Stoke on Trent. Stig Chell on guitar and vocals, Neil Bailey on lead guitar and backing vocals, Robert Hussey on drums, and Gareth Harding on bass. This band soon got the place warmed up, demonstrating some great original material and engaging with the audience well. I warmed to these guys instantly, and I’m hopeful that they will hit me up to do an interview for The Rock Asylum soon. Take a look at them in action.
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Witch Tripper followed, a fantastic 3 piece from Mansfield. Jimmy Collins on drums, Richie Barlow on lead guitar and vocals, and Chris Stoff Daughton on bass. These guys were friendly, full of confidence, great performers and most importantly, they rocked! Witch Tripper epitomised what rock and roll is all about. I will hopefully be featuring this band on my blog in the not too distant future.
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Next up were Mallen, whom I’ve seen a number of times over the last year. Kelly-Jane on vocals, Dann and Rhys on guitar, Joe on bass and Tom on drums and backing vocals. These guys always put on a solid performance. I noticed that vocalist Kelly-Jane has improved immensely, and she worked hard to get the audience involved throughout the set. Her relationship with the other band members shone through during the performance.
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Then it was time for the headliners, Fahran. Matt Black on vocals, Jake Graham on lead guitar, Joshua Ballantyne on bass, JR Fahran on drums, and Chris Byrne also on lead guitar. I have to say that after watching footage of them in action, I was excited to see what these guys could do. In my opinion, they lived up to expectations, in particular with their style of performing. The audience certainly got what they came for, a full on, in your face, ballistic performance. I’m sure that the future will be bright for these guys, hopefully they will be headlining some bigger shows soon enough.
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In summary, despite a few minor issues at the beginning of the night, the evening was above standard and thoroughly enjoyable. There were obvious technical issues with most of the bands at some point during the performances, but this in no way detracted from the quality of the bands and their material.
In my opinion, I would of been happy to pay to watch any of these bands in a headlining position, such was the quality throughout.
I sincerely hope that I get the opportunity to feature these bands in more detail in the near future, and I’m intrigued to find out more of their stories, including any new material they may be working on right now. A big thank you to those who did engage with me and I would welcome some contact from them.
I’d also like to thank Dave Briggs for providing photography for the night. You can check out his facebook page here. Below are just some of the images from the gig.
Music Review – Questions of Angels
Questions of Angels constists of Ant Hoult (Vocals) Ben Bakhsh (Guitar) Andy Perry (Bass) Chris Jennings (Drums) Ant Winsper (Guitar). They are a band with their roots centred round the Walsall Borough area, and if you ask anyone who has seen them, Q of A certainly have something special going on. When song writing began, it was prolific, and by April 2012 they performed their début show. A fantastic success spurred the band on to what is fast becoming the live performance to see. Recording sessions are now regular and the band are already generating a catalogue of releases, and released their début album ‘From Within’ in September 2014. Writing of their second album is well under way and the band hope to release it in early 2018.
Questions of Angels take their influences from the entire spectrum of rock. Pearl Jam, Rush, Alice in Chains, Motley Crue, Metallica, U2 and Drowning Pool to name but a few. What comes of this concoction is pretty special indeed. Powerful vocals, often compared to James Hetfield, and unforgettable melodies, which, when mixed with a wall of guitars, shredding solos, driving bass lines and drums to frighten the faint hearted, results in a pretty awesome unique sound.
I first saw Q of A performing at The Giffard Arms in September this year, where they were one of the bands supporting These Wicked Rivers. These guys are genuinely nice hardworking people from the West Midlands, who are pulling out all the stops in order to establish themselves in the music industry. After seeing their strong, lively performance that night, I kept contact with them in the hope that I may get to interview them or review any upcoming music prior to it’s release. Which brings me to the present day, where I find myself listening to their tracks, some old tracks which I have enjoyed immensely, but also two very special tracks that have not even been finished as yet. I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to hear them this early on in the process.
Firstly looking at music that this band already has out there. My favourite track hands down is The Scarecrow. With its dark, eerie opening to the track, and the sinister feel, your attention is grabbed from the beginning. The lyrics ‘when all the cows are sleeping and the sun has gone to bed, up jumps the scarecrow and this is what he said’, made me automatically think of a nursery song I fondly remember from my children’s nursery days, but then the song deflects from the lyrics I remember, into a powerful ranting of the scarecrow, which is not only menacing and heavy, but it also brought a smile to my face. The guitar work in this song is intricate, and with the great bass line and incessant drums, it makes for a damn good listen! Policy of Flies is another formidable track. It opens with some beautiful guitar technique which slowly increases in strength as the drums and vocals are introduced. There is a dark side to the lyrics which makes for interesting listening, and when combined with the chunky riffs, Q of A will have you rocking with them in no time. The demanding drum beat orders you to listen. Another robust addition to this band’s material. Other tracks such as Shit You Put Me Through, Hope You’re Happy, Long Way Down, The Glow, Take a Breath, and Worthy of You continue to showcase the many talents of this band, with their signature sound becoming strongly evident throughout. You can listen to these tracks on their facebook page by clicking here
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New Music
Feel So Alive is a deep and powerful track full of dramatic vocals from frontman Ant Hoult, with a crippling bassline and hefty guitar riffs, coupled with that perfect drum beat keeping it all together. I am excited to have heard this track as I feel its one of the best pieces they have written. A dramatic track full of lively guitar expertise and a sturdy drum showcase throughout. Once again captivating, intense vocals create the mood for the track. One More Day is packed with touching lyrics, and has a sad ambiance which is portrayed by the heartfelt vocals of Ant. A gorgeous song that everyone can relate to at some event in their lives. ‘The back story of one more day is realising that someone close to you has drifted away and that feeling of thinking maybe those they drifted to are more important than you are and just needing on more day together free from all the other shit the world throws at you’ Ben Bakhsh told me.
The sound that Questions of Angels produce is a perfect combination of meaty guitar riffs, strong bass lines, intense vocals, backed up with an unswerving drum beat that will get the pulse racing. So in a nutshell, this group of talented musicians have not only already produced some great material, they have perfected their signature sound, grungy, gritty and sleazy rock music with a bit of a cheeky smirk on its face.
If you haven’t experienced Q of A performing live, then I strongly recommend that you check them out. They have a gig coming up on Friday 26th October at The Giffard Arms, Wolverhampton, where they will be supporting My Brother The Wolf. I’m sure that this will be a blast, so go on, get yourselves down there! At £5 entry for a whole night of entertainment, you can’t go wrong!
In the meantime, check out Questions of Angels on Twitter and Facebook
Anonymous
I was so happy to be invited over to sunny Uttoxeter, to meet the 4 guys, better known as Anonymous. Rob Baynes, Hayden Kirk, Luke Lawley, and Steven (Herbie) Herbert. These guys were everything I expected them to be, great fun, confident, extremely talented, driven, and enthusiastic to have me visit them.
First things first, a look at where they practice. A great little place in picturesque surroundings which was ideal for a few photographs. Cue Dave Briggs photography…… a tour of the grounds found quite a few great little backdrops for some cool photos.
Once the photo shoot was over, it was time to see the Anonymous guys in action. What a privilege it was to get to see these guys perform. Even when practising they were awesome, and to make it even more special, you could see it written all over them that they absolutely love what they do!
If anyone reading this is wondering whether they should bother going to see these guys in action, I would most definitely recommend it. Not only do they all look great, but they sound great and they are so much fun! Definitely worth buying a ticket to see.
Then after watching these guys performing like pros, it was time for me to totally destroy their credibility by joining in! I was so bad I’m not even going to share most of the footage, but here’s a couple of the most successful bits. I have to say though, I totally enjoyed it. Poor Herbie had to have so much patience with me, bless him, as I have absolutely no rhythm at all! And well, Hayden and Rob were awesome teachers, apart from when Hayden told me off for having a lazy little finger LOL.
Q & A Session with Rob Baynes
So, because I had used up so much of these guys’ time, I unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to interview them. However, I DID manage to get Mr Rob Baynes to answer a few questions for me on behalf of the band, and it made for pretty interesting reading I have to say!
Who came up with the band name Anonymous and why?
It just kind of stuck really! Originally we started as a covers band playing pubs and small festivals, for our first show we didn’t actually have a name yet so when we were asked by the promoter what to write on the poster, we lazily said “just write ‘Anonymous'”, the rest is history. Understandably people mistake us for having affiliations with the online hacker group “Anonymous” This was completely unintentional, but it’s also quite nice when people come to our Facebook page looking for hackers and end up liking our music!
You guys are so young, but your performances are so polished. What’s your secret to reaching such a high standard so quickly?
The secret is a shared, burning hatred for each other. In all seriousness though we’ve known each other since school, we have nearly murdered each other multiple times but before we were bandmates we were friends anyway. Practice is key really, individually or all together, it doesn’t matter as long as you know where your parts sit in conjunction with everyone else.
Whose idea was it to form a band, and how did you guys find each other?
Again, school. I’m pretty sure it was Luke’s idea to form a band initially, we all just went along with it at the time because we thought It’d be a laugh, we had no idea it’d lead to recording and touring and all that jazz.
What musical influences do you guys have?
It’s a weird little mesh of influences really, Hayden and Luke are very much into their classic Rock, Guns n’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, etc. and I think these are the shared influences for all of us. Herbie likes Nu-Metal and slightly heavier stuff, Breaking Benjamin for example. Personally I’m really into modern metal, the proper heavy stuff. It’s interesting to see how it all melds together when we write music, in the past it’s lead to toss-ups between a super-heavy breakdown or a three minute atmospheric ‘November Rain’ style guitar solo.
What day jobs do you do?
I work in retail, I have two jobs in two different clothes shops, which makes me an easy target for banter, but then again I don’t work in Card Factory like Hayden does so it could be worse. Luke lifts heavy things and tells people where to park at an auctioneers, and Herbie currently has the most credible job out of all of us working for JCB.
Will you be releasing an album any time soon?
Hmmm. The idea of an album is floating around in the future, we’re working on a little something at the moment, we figure after we’ve worked as hard as we can on this we will hopefully be able to get the groundworks in for a larger release.
Dish the dirt on each other……do you have any nicknames you can share with me? Also any annoying/bad habits?
We have several nicknames for each other, but our individual names in our band group chat are the best examples; Bender boy, Volatile, Pecker and Salty Baynes, obviously I’m Salty Baynes but I’ll leave you to figure out the rest, the names are best left with the stories behind them untold!
You guys must have quite a large ‘fan-girl’ base………….. How does this affect you with your private lives? Are you in relationships? If so it must be quite hard?
Do we? Where?! We’re all currently in relationships so it doesn’t really occur to us I guess!
What is your greatest achievement to date as a band?
To date, probably opening Keele University’s Karnage rock festival ahead of Mallory Knox. Words can’t describe the atmosphere in the room, it was like we were on another planet, so much energy and enthusiasm, and with that size stage we were able to jump around like a bunch of crazies.
So, if you had to nominate one band member to come to the Rock Asylum for an ‘in-the-chair’ interview………….who would it be and why?
If it were up to me I’d nominate either Hayden or Luke. Hayden just for sheer sarcastic brilliance, and Luke in the hope that he’d make a tit of himself. I don’t know if they’d nominate me or Herbie, rampant cynicsm and lack of common sense doesn’t usually make for a good face-to-face interview.
If you could choose any famous musician, who would you add as your fifth member of Anonymous? (choose one person each)
Hayden would go for Jimmy Page without a doubt, when he’s not playing the guitar he’s usually drooling and getting excited over Led Zeppelin in some form or other. Luke would probably go for Billy Sheehan of the Winery Dogs, that man crush is a big one, Luke even bought his signature bass overdrive! I’d most likely go for Sam Carter of Architects, or some other really heavy screaming vocalist, just to annoy the others to be honest. Herbie’s honest answer to this question is “I quite like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I don’t know, Will Smith rapping or something?”
Gig Review – The Giffard Arms 26th August 2017 (photography by Dave Briggs)
So I turned up at The Giffard Arms a tad late and could hear the first band King Corpse playing as I approached. These guys were energetic and it was clear they were working very hard to put on a good show. I’m not a fan of doom metal myself, but there were a lot of people in the room who were enjoying their sound.
It’s always a difficult task to open a show, and I think all things considered, these guys did a fairly good job of it. One has to acknowledge that these guys are just setting out on their journey compared to other more established bands, and whilst their performance wasn’t perfect, the potential is certainly there.
Well done to Jack Cradock, James Pearson and Toby Sambidge for a cracking opening to the show.
Their set list was; Black Goat, Bleed for me, Sleepless, Godzilla, The Count and Swamp Thing.
My favourite track from King Corpse was Godzilla.
I’m sure that the guys from King Corpse won’t mind, but below is an up tempo version of Godzilla, you never know, next time I see them they might be playing it this speed! Now that I would love to see!
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Next up were Unhinged. These guys recently had their upcoming album Life Can Wait reviewed by The Rock Asylum, so I was intrigued to see how a live performance would compare, and they most certainly did not disappoint. Highlights of their set were Cigarette, The Bitter Blues and Life Can Wait.
Michael Hodges once again played a blinder with his egotistic performance, during which he took every opportunity that arose to get involved with the audience and delivered tons of swagger as he strutted his stuff on stage.
Having seen a live performance from Unhinged a while back, in comparison their performance was more polished, more fun, both for the audience and for the guys on stage. It was very clear that every member of the band was enjoying being there.
Dan Hipkiss once again delivered his trademark animated performance, but this time with far more confidence than before, enticing the audience into anticipation. He also stepped up his limitations by ripping off his vest at the end.
Ben Armstrong came into the forefront of the performance too, also having an in your face style, and showing off his guitar playing and singing skills he certainly proved that he’s a strong member of this band. Both guitar players complimented each other, however, if I was being picky, I would have liked to see more interaction between the two during their performance.
Dave Kitely, a very talented drummer, who if I’m brutally honest I haven’t paid much attention to in the past, did a fantastic job, and I personally think he could add more flavour to the set by doing a bit of a drum solo, I’m sure he would find something ‘Unhinged’ style to do. All of these guys have humungous personalities and skill, and it would be such a shame not to get him as equally involved in the set. I feel that something such as that would take them to the next level as far as performance goes.
Their set list for the evening was; Stay OK, Steal your lover, Single, Bitter Blues, Band Wagon, Breakout, FU, Cigarette, and Life can wait.
Unhinged are right up there in my top 5 local bands, and to anyone who doesn’t think its for them, I say don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! Their album release kicks off with celebrations at the Clap Trap Venue, Stourbridge on 29th September 2017, doors open at 8pm. Click here to find out more.
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Following Unhinged were the very lovely guys (and girl) from Naked Sunday. The husband and wife team on guitars were definitely on the same wavelength during the whole performance. I absolutely loved Martin’s voice when he sang the more gritty songs, he came into his own. This band have a fantastic mixture of sweetness, darkness and pure gritty rock n roll, I cant compare them to another band on what I’ve seen of them during this gig.
Drummer Craig seemed happy to be in the background, however as with other bands, I would pay to see this guy being given the limelight even if only a few minutes doing his own thing, I’m sure that there is more to him than first impressions lead you to believe. He is a talented drummer, and me being a fan of drummers who ‘show off’ I think he could definitely pull this off…. So come on Craig, show us what you’re made of!
All in all a solid performance by Naked Sunday, Diamonds and Pearls being my favourite track, closely followed by Reaper.
Look out for these guys appearing on The Rock Asylum again in the near future……. I have a couple of things in the pipeline with them!
The set list for Naked Sunday was; Sunflowers in the rain, Sobering Kiss, What kind of love are you on, Closure, Diamonds and Pearls, Unbreakable, and Reaper.
Naked Sunday will be performing at The Station, Cannock on 23rd September, prior to the launch of their second album.
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Next up were the headliners, Buzzard. Jimmy Croutear on lead guitar / lead vocals,
Andy Vernon on bass / vocals, Justin James on drums / vocals.
The Giffard soon filled with their supporters as the set began. These guys put on a full on heavy rock performance with quite a hefty dose of punk undertones. Their heart and souls went into the performance tonight, which was most definitely appreciated by all.
The relationship between band members was tight and this came through with their banter during the set. Welcoming other people to get up and join in with Born to be Wild was rather brave of them as most people had downed their fair share by then, but it was all in good fun and made for a pleasant night’s entertainment.
They also showed their versatility by swapping roles at one point, something I haven’t seen before!
I particularly enjoyed their covers, my favourite being Pretty Vacant, which was performed as an encore. I also enjoyed their performance of Step it Up.
Set list for the performance; Kamikaze, Frustration, Step it up, Breed, Another Chain, Saturday Night TV, Hair of the Dog, Rat Race, Ace of Spades, The Line, Shoe String Band, Covered by the Blood.
The Rock Asylum 