Wednesday 21 November 2012

Orange Goblin, Seaven Deadly and Wretched Soul - Westcoast Bar - Margate - 17th November

Well, this was one that couldn't be missed. Just a short trip down the road from university in Canterbury to Margate and the Westcoast Bar. Having got a lift there from a friend coming down for it and forgotten completely to book transport, after the gig the night was spent sleeping in the front of his car in the freezing cold on Margate seafront. Rock 'n' Roll if ever I've seen it. It was horrifically cold, but totally worth it.

Walking down the hill towards the Westcoast Bar equipped with a few cans of the cheapest non-urine flavoured lager Asda do (Bavaria, from Holland, acceptable) I was struck around the face with the smell of something rotten. As in, literally rotten. I suspect it was those wooden bits that you see on beaches that run into the sea. I forget their name, but I suspect it was those, sodden from high tide and by then rotting away. Either that or Margate is just a very, very smelly place.

Finally we got to the venue, and found that rather a lot of people had got there before us. I'm not sure what the capacity of the place is, but it's not a small place. When you consider that they have had Decapitated and Aborted play there, it's perhaps not surprising. We still have 20 minutes until Wretched Soul take to the stage, so time for a drink. £3.90 for a pint of Kronenbourg!? Grudgingly, I paid the money, and went downstairs, as it was just about Wretched o'clock.

I've seen Wretched Soul an awful lot, and God knows I go on about them on here a fair bit, but this time it seems like a milestone, with them providing support to Orange Goblin. They did, of course, already support Vreid earlier in the month, but as I didn't make it to that one, this really strikes home how far this band has come over the past year or so. Wretched, as usual, absolutely slay it. Those of the band who have the freedom to move around gallop around the stage with colossal energy, and Andy, the drummer, throws the horns to the crowd, which is fair enough, drumming doesn't really lend itself to running around the stage like a maniac. Moshpits galore through the set, and even some attention for the guys from a female audience member, who gets as close as she possibly can to the chaps, and even attempts to play the bass, before being escorted away by who I can only assume was the boyfriend. The Westcoast Bar is also possibly the best sound I've ever heard Wretched Soul have, and it really shows throughout the set. A killer start to a brilliant night.

Up next are Seven Deadly. Featuring ex-Panic Cell members, Seven Deadly are probably great if you like Killswitch Engage. I personally think Killswitch Engage are a big pile of cack, so the less said about that, the better.

To round off the night, Orange Goblin come out with one of the best shows I've seen for a long, long time. I forgot just how much I like these guys, having last seen them in around 2009 on the 'Healing Through Fire' tour and having missed them at Bloodstock this year, it surprised me how much of their stuff I knew. I can't find the entire setlist online, and my memory of the evening by this point is a little hazy, but bear with me. They came onto the stage with the mighty new single 'Red Tide Rising' from the latest album 'A Eulogy For The Damned', put simply, it's a cracker, and gets the entire place (which by this point is absolutely packed) banging their heads and moving their bodies. Moshpits all over the place. Goblin frontman Ben Ward does that thing singers do when they come to the front of the stage and shakes hands with fans whilst leaning over them. Fantastic, what a top guy. Except, I was right in the front row, and only very narrowly avoided getting a faceful of sweaty crotch on the numerous times he came to the front. It was tense, as I didn't want to cop a penis in the face, and he presumably wasn't going to be keen on being headbanged in the balls. Fortunately for both of us, no contact was made. Anyway, back to the set. My personal favourite song 'The Ballad of Solomon Eagle' came up early on, and goodness me, it's been a long time since I've lost myself quite like that. It's a similar story for 'The Filthy and The Few', 'The Fog', 'They Come Back' and 'Quincy The Pigboy'. One of the songs I seem to have missed hearing before is 'Scorpionica', but the room almost literally explodes are Orange Goblin plough their way through that one. Having been on the front row, I was knocked onto the stage, which was only about knee high, by a pit behind me. No room to get back to where I was, so only one way off the stage. Stagedive. Unfortunately the pit was very close to the stage, so I got turned upside-down fairly quickly and fell to the floor. But it was bloody glorious.

After that, it's onto more booze and an incredibly uncomfortable night in the front seat of a car on Margate seafront. I'd do it again for another night like this one.

Find Wretched Soul, and download their free single 'Veronica' from here
Seven Deadly can be found here
Check out the mighty Orange Goblin right here!

Also, I'm on Twitter! Follow @BigMetalBastard.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Best of Bandcamp

Something a bit different for you all this week, and something that I suspect will become a regular feature. For those who don't know, Bandcamp is a website that allows bands to publish their music online for people to stream or download - sometimes for free, sometimes charging money. I'm a student, and a bit of a tight bastard, so have only streamed these free ones. Anyway, here are my top three artists discovered this week.

Seprevation - Ritual Abuse E.P


From the South West of England, Seprevation seem to be turning heads since their performance at Bloodstock this year, and it's easy to see why their debut E.P entitled 'Ritual Abuse' - it's a killer record. Their brand of thrash is lined with death metal and the combination makes this release a really strong piece of work. Ritual Abuse is full of galloping guitar lines, blistering solos with vocals reminiscent of the likes of Sodom, and is every bit as good. Their intensity and brutality doesn't wane for a single second of the 15 minute record. It may be short, but it's certainly sweet. Keep an eye on these guys, they're going places.


Click here for Seprevation at Bandcamp - Ritual Abuse available for download for £2.50
'Like' Seprevation on Facebook here

Xul - Malignance

 In the far off land of Canada there sleeps an absolute monolith of blackened death metal. A bit of research tells me that this lot have shared the stage with Exhumed, Macabre, Cephalic Carnage and Vreid amongst others. These aren't just some small fry band from the middle of nowhere, they mean business, and honestly, I can see them blowing some of those bands off the stage. The perfect combination of black and death metal, even with a particularly thrashy sounding guitar line in places on 'Mastication of Putrescent Empyrean Remains' really comes together on this album. And perhaps best of all, it's currently available for free. (However, if you can afford to pay money for it, please do, these chaps deserve it).

Click here for Xul at Bandcamp - Malignance available for free download
'Like' Xul on Facebook here



More bloggery coming soon for you fine chaps! Until then, keep supporting underground metal!

I'm also on Twitter! Come along and follow @BigMetalBastard 

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Gravesend - November 3rd - Rezinwolf, Kthon, The Furious Horde, Wretched Soul and The Iron Knights!

Kthon almost seem a little left out on this lineup, which attracted my attention personally for it's link to Beermageddon, which I have written about before. With The Iron Knights confirmed for the 2013 festival and The Furious Horde, Wretched Soul and Rezinwolf having been favourites of mine from this year's edition. Still, who knows, Kthon could well show up there next time. I'd certainly welcome it.

It was my first time at the Red Lion, or indeed in Gravesend at all, but the lineup certainly looked promising. The organisers - The Pandemonium Club - have been putting on gigs for a while now and this is the first one I've managed to get to. Unfortunately, presumably through a combination of it being Bonfire night weekend and a bitterly cold night, people stayed away on this occasion, whilst not taking away from the event itself, there is a bit of disappointment from the organisers that more people didn't show up. I know I'm just some idiot on the internet, but guys, if you have a local metal promoter near you who puts on shows, get along to them. These people put blood, sweat and tears into putting on the bands we love to play for us.

Anyway, bitching aside, I pay my £8 to get in for a lineup I'd happily have paid double that to see, escape from the freezing cold of the outside world and grab myself a drink. £3 for a Desperados isn't too shabby I suppose. After a while of soundchecking, Rezinwolf take the stage. These guys seriously impressed me at Beermageddon and absolutely did the same tonight. Whilst I maintain that their drummer looks like Jay from the Inbetweeners and their guitarist is a younger Corpsegrinder with a nice voice and good at guitar, Rezinwolf are exactly what you would want from a thrash metal band, they're full of energy and confidence and tighter than a very, very tight thing. Oh, and they threw in a cover of Pantera's 'Fucking Hostile'. Which was brilliant.

Rezinwolf over, time for another beer or two. It's at this point that I ended up chatting to some of the regulars of the pub, as opposed to the Pandemonium Club, about how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Since they only just met me, they decide that I'd have to be killed first if they had to resort to cannibalism, or if they needed to sacrifice someone to escape. Thanks guys.

Next are Kthon. I had seen them before a year or two ago as part of the Bloodstock 'Metal To The Masses' battle of the bands, where I was very impressed with them. It's slightly odd seeing them on a bill filled with very fast paced bands, but their crushing, chugging doom riffs complement the other bands very well. They're the kind of thing you want to listen to if you're in need of punching a wall, at a very slow pace. They are, by their own admission, a little sloppy, but their songs just have that massive feel to them. Plenty of headbanging, plenty of Lee Dorian-esque doom dancing.

Beer time.

The Furious Horde are up next, a band that I thoroughly enjoyed at Beermageddon and who I raved about on here and  have been yammering on about to my friends for the entire time since then. I was very excited to be seeing them again. This time, the keyboard player and his pink shiny onesie is missing, but accompanied by a keyboard backing track the Horde absolutely slay it. Seeing them again now that I know their songs really makes the experience quite pleasantly different, still just as intense, but with that unrelenting urge to scream the lyrics back at them. For my shame, I held back, as nobody else was singing and I didn't want to look like a bit of a wally, not even for 'Possession', my favourite track. Next time I'll be the irritating guy screaming in your ears so you can't hear their music properly. Good lord though, I'm very glad I discovered these chaps.

Alcohol pit stop.
Thrash o'clock again next as Wretched Soul take to the stage for five tracks of limitless energy. With their debut album due to be released early next year, it's well worth looking out for these chaps. One of my favourite bands on the underground circuit, there are exciting times ahead once the album hits. Despite vocalist Chris's throat giving him a bit of grief, it doesn't show and Wretched Soul once again bring their best to the stage with them.
Beer.

Next is a little confusing. I had arrived expecting to see Stuka Squadron, but instead am watching the first ever Iron Knights gig, due to complicated issues between the band and an ex-member. They smash through their set with full force, showing that they are just as strong and good as the Iron Knights as they were as Stuka Squadron. A fantastic way to close a brilliant night.



The night is only slightly dampened a day or so later, when the Pandemonium Club release a statement saying that due to lack of numbers coming through the doors, they can not afford to put on any more events for the forseeable future. Please guys, support your local promoters, we can't let these excellent groups of people fall away due to lack of support.


New blog coming up soon. Cheers for reading!


Monday 22 October 2012

Snailking - Samsara - Swedish Doom/Sludge

Things have really kicked off over the past few months for Sweden's Snailking. Without doing down the bands own hard work in the process, a post by one of the members on the website Reddit a few months ago was picked up by users of the site and the band gained real interest very quickly. Within a few days of the original post, a follow-up was posted saying that Snailking had been approached by a record label. This week, their album - Samsara - was released by ConSouling Sounds.

With influences from the likes of Ufomammut and Sleep, this album is an absolute stormer. From the first atmospheric notes of the 14 minute opener 'Shelter', to the dying end of 'Samsara', the record has a feel that is rare in debuts. Every part of the album compliments the next, from the spoken opening lines and spacey guitar work through the introduction to the crushing, chugging monolith of the rest of the track. Vocally, the track leaves nothing out, gutteral death growls compliment the clean vocals which in places feel like David Bowie and Maynard James Keenan serenading one another.

This band is very exciting to me personally, and early feedback on the record is overwhelmingly positive.

Samsara is available for download at Snailking's Bandcamp, whilst physical CD copies can be ordered from the ConSouling Sounds page.


More bloggery to come soon, including a feature on five new and rising British metal bands.

Bastard out.

Wednesday 3 October 2012

The Big Metal Band Feature - Disfracture



Hailing from the same city as the Kaiser Chiefs, The Pigeon Detectives and Chumbawumba, Disfracture are sorting Leeds out good and proper. This is a band that can't quite be put into one genre or another, with a huge array of influences and songs containing elements of death metal, groove, symphonic and progressive sounds. They kindly spoke to Big Metal Bastard through the medium of electronic mail.

Formed in early 2011, the band has developed in terms of both style and influence. What started as a performance module project at university quickly became independent of that and became an entity in it's own right. The band have overcome the problems of balancing music and jobs, ground through the recording process and are now well on their way to establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

With each band member being influenced by a huge variety of music, to go for one particular standout influence is difficult, Meshuggah are mentioned, but it is clear when listening to their stuff that the intention was never to become a copy of them or any other band, instead developing their own sound that is not limited to one school of heavy metal thought.

Gigs for Disfracture are listed on their Facebook page under tour dates, although priority is at the moment on getting a new EP out (hopefully, they say) around December of this year, to be released via their Bandcamp site, where a free 3 track sampler is available to download (It is also available from their Soundcloud page here, if you prefer) featuring my personal favourite track - False Prophecy (which has an insane growl right at the start, check it out), Scarred Remains, and Commander to the Throne of Jeopardy. Three intensely heavy tracks for no cost, can't argue with that!

When asked who they would most like to open for, the response is a little odd - Lady Gaga, "to watch the faces of 50,000 unsuspecting victims experience the brutality that is Disfracture". When you put it like that, they may well have a point. Terrifying an O2 packed full of children would be quite the sight.


Disfracture are one of the most exciting bands around at the moment, combining brutality and raw aggression with complex musicianship and a hell of a lot of hard work, it can only be a matter of time before Disfracture are given the attention they deserve, they're certainly going to be a name to look out for in 2013.

Friday 14 September 2012

Finally! Days Two and Three of Beermageddon

Firstly, my apologies for taking so long to follow up day one of this incredible festival.


I've managed to forget the order of the bands, so bear with me here.

The day started with a set from Exeter's Sanguine. A pretty decent crowd for the first band of the day, they whack through a fantastic set, including a new song which has a pre-chorus with a striking resemblance to that god-awful Adele song 'Rolling in the Deep'. Though that is not to say that this Sanguine track is bad, it is in fact very good indeed, as I can tell from the reaction of the audience. Their female fronted setup deliver a set that you are never quite sure if you should be headbanging or dancing to.

Diementia have travelled all the way from Scotland for this show, and make it worth their while by crushing everything in their path, their death metal has every neck snapping and every head banging, powering through a cracking set combining new and old tracks, prompting myself to go and buy both of their albums immediately after their set. Well, an album and an EP anyway. I'd highly recommend their Forgotten Dead EP, some fantastic work on that CD.

Twilight's Embrace are the first of two bands I missed on the Saturday, the other being Bloodshot Dawn, which I was very angry with myself about. Having seen them destroy the Sophie stage at Bloodstock a couple of weeks before, I had been really looking forward to them at Beermageddon. Unfortunately I thought they started at 8.20, when in fact that was their finishing time. Words can not describe my guttedness.

BUT. The day was made for me personally by The Furious Horde. Seriously good symphonic black metal, think Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant album but with a harsher edge. It was my first time seeing the Horde so I was a little confused when in amongst the corpse painted band members was a keyboard player in a shiny pink onesie. Which is more than welcome, you don't have to be grim and kvlt to be in a black metal band.

Next, Warlord UK. They put on an impressive display of thrash metal, with an air of absolute confidence in themselves and their music, but not forgetting to have some fun whilst they are doing it. Excellent stuff from them, they're certainly deserving of wider recognition.

After Warlord, comes the disappointment of missing Bloodshot Dawn. I'm a big metal pillock for missing them, and got all sulky at myself for the rest of the night, meaning I miss out on Imperial Vengance altogether and don't enjoy Fallen Fate nearly as much as I should have done until I get home and listen to them. Saying that, they're bloody good.




Sunday on the other hand, the final day of the festival starts in unconventional style. A wedding. The festival organiser, Jim Beerman got himself specially ordained to marry the couple in the main room of the pub, and a decent amount of people turn out for it. There is something surreal about seeing a wedding without all the pompous crap that goes with it, but this is truly heartwarming. Jim, a man that normally pisses confidence is shaking like a leaf as he reads out his part in the ceremony, which is concluded with a huge round of applause for the bride and groom. It is something I will probably never see again at a festival, but something I was happy to be there for and I feel everyone else was too. A great start to the day which put everyone in a very good mood.

So, onto the bands! First up are Kent based thrashers and personal highlight of the weekend, Wretched Soul. Working hard on their debut album with Chris Tsangarides, the guy who produced Painkiller for Judas Priest, these guys get better every time you see them. They pound through Undying War, Dash To Destruction, When Shadows Ride, Wounded Illusion and Veronica in a mindblowing performance, despite singer Chris Simmons splitting his jeans early on in the set and attempting to keep his balls from falling through the hole. Fantastic stuff from a band that are definitely going places very soon.

Next are Karhu, the band are young, relatively unknown and only started playing live in the previous couple of weeks. You wouldn't know it. They have all the confidence of a band with years of experience, and their growls. Well they are just terrifying. Think Lamb of God, but think heavy Lamb of God. These guys are probably categorized as melodic death metal, but in reality they are death metal, with bits of melodic metal thrown in. Listen to them and you'll see what I mean. I've grown to love this band, it will be interesting to see them progress.

Allerjen unfortunately have to be missed as I haven't had a chance to eat anything yet, but I'm back in the room for Rezinwolf. I hadn't heard of these guys before the weekend, but went along to see what they were all about. SWEET JESUS. LISTEN TO THIS BAND. Technically gifted, vocally brilliant, these guys have everything a thrash metal band should have. Apparantly their singer had been throwing up beforehand with stagefright, but again, you wouldn't have thought it. There are a lot of very exciting bands at Beermageddon 2012, these are right up there with the best of the bunch though. The only downside is that they didn't bring any merch with them, so I couldn't buy a shirt at the end of their set.

Seregon bring the thrash back, but Rezinwolf were a tough act to follow. Big Metal Bastard went to the bar half way through, and stayed until most of Illflower's set was done. In hindsight, I regret not seeing all of both of those bands, but it can't be helped now.

Talking of stealing the show, Worcester's Fury bring their blend of thrash and power metal to the party in spectacular fashion. They play pretty much every song from their two E.P's, and throw in a cover of Pantera's Fucking Hostile to finish things off. An astounding set that left me wanting more of Fury. If you don't know them, check them out. (They aren't to be confused with Fury UK or Fury On)

Fury's show is fantastic and by the end of it I am far too tired to stick around for all of  Def Con One. They are very good indeed, but the heat of the hall and the ache of the neck gets to be too much. I catch most of their set from the back of the room, but Fury absolutely stole the show tonight.


Beermageddon really has that community feel to it. All for one and one for all. And all for underground heavy metal. The work of the organisers is fantastic and has been recognised by everyone there this year, most of whom will be returning next year for the second festival, albeit at a different site, but there is a real feeling that this could become the next Bloodstock. See you there next year.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Beermageddon - Day One



In the village of Somercotes in Derbyshire over this last weekend, a new metal festival was born. Just a fortnight since the mighty Bloodstock festival, Beermageddon steps foward, out of the shadow of it's neighbour, for its first, mighty roar.

On the Friday, four bands mark the start of Britain's newest heavy metal festival. First up, to open proceedings is Haerken, who unleash a huge sounding set of folklore-filled death metal, and an equally mighty arsenal of inflatable weapons for the audience to have some fun with - moshpit swordfights a-plenty, Haerken kick off the festival with the perfect atmosphere, you really get the feeling that everyone is here to have a good time and listen to some fantastic music.

Check out Haerken here

Between bands tonight is a burlesque act, doing three separate shows, but Big Metal Bastard chooses to go and sample the delights of the bar at the Black Horse, the pub in which the festival is being held. Fair play to the Black Horse, they had good beer, catered for all tastes, the staff were friendly and the music was good. Not a lot more could be asked, really!

And so after a quick beer or two, BMB heads back in to see A Fable For The Curious. Unfortunately, I have a confession to make. I didn't like them when I saw them, but have since listened to them via their Facebook player and now don't know what was wrong with me. They really are a very good band.

A Fable For The Curious

After another burlesque show, Fell On Black Days take the stage, and blow it to pieces. These guys are fantastic and really make the stage their own with their skull-pounding riffs that leave no head un-banged. The track 'Days of Ruin' will remain stuck in the head of BMB until the next morning. Certainly one to look out for in the future, this band from South Wales threaten to upstage Evil Scarecrow - the headliners of the night.

Check out Fell On Black Days here

Evil Scarecrow themselves are incredibly well received by the fans, playing through the likes of 'Robototron' (causing many, many robots on the dancefloor) and 'Blacken the Everything'. Setting the bar for silliness closing their set with a cover of Europe's 'The Final Countdown' having challenged the crowd to can-can for the duration of the song. The crowd succeed in doing so, and so bring the set to a close.

Evil Scarecrow

Welcome to the Big Metal Bastard blog!

Hello my headbanging friends! Big Metal Bastard here, letting you know what the deal is with this blog.

The Big Metal Bastard is committed to spreading the word of the finest upcoming metal bands the UK and beyond has to offer. Raising awareness of underground bands, concerts and festivals to give some real support to hardworking and kickass bands trying to break through to the big time.

You can expect reviews of shows and releases new and old, you can expect some of the best new music around at the moment and you can expect to bang your head into oblivion.


See you soon, my friends!

Big Metal Bastard.