INMORIA, Intense @The Roadhouse 30/10/11

There’s room in the world for all sorts of Rock and Metal music, but if RTM had to be pinned down on its absolute favourite then the quintessentially British two lead guitar sound would probably win out.

Good news then that Intense are tonight’s chief support, because no frills metal is exactly what they deliver. Four years have elapsed since their “As Our Army Grows” album hit our stereos and that era is well thumbed this evening with “Our Last Hope” and “Anger of the Ancients,” both seeing the band in top form. But this is no exercise in naval contemplating nostalgia, because new opus “The Shape of Rage” came out last week and the band are eager to showcase it.

Thankfully there has been no massive change in sound in the near half-decade gap if “The Elemental” is representative of its charms and some increased touring through the next year could yet see the largely unheralded Londoners make a bigger splash.

This date is the final one of a short UK tour and Inmoria are in convivial mood. It is the Swede’s first visit to these shores and they have evidently enjoyed the trip. It is also clear that the two bands have got on famously and the atmosphere is cordial in the extreme. Indeed bass man Tommi Karppanen and guitarist Christer Andersson both spend more time off stage than on as they race round the venue at every opportunity.

All of which is rather at odds with the Inmoria’s sound. Mining a similar area to Dream Theater, they are here to plug their new “A Farewell to Nothing” album –  Perhaps because of this, much of the material is from that CD, with  ”The Mirror” and ”My Last Farewell” instantly hitting home, which considereing vocalist Ronny Hemlin  was a last minute replacement for this tour, is no mean feat.

                                                                  

                                                                The closing jam session

A couple of songs from debut ”Invisible Wounds,” are aired, ”Come Insanity” and ”Fantasy” and during the latter – the last song of the tour, Intense return to the stage and the evening ends with a jam session (”this is where we entertain ourselves” says Andersson.)

Thankfully the tiny crowd didnt seem to bother them too much with the gregarious Kappanen explaining to RTM at the end they were glad to be in England, at the birthplace of metal. And with bands like this keeping the flag flying, the genre is in safe hands too.

ALICE COOPER, New York Dolls @NIA BIRMINGHAM 27/10/11

When a show starts with a 63 year-old man up a 10-foot scaffold. When flames come out of his arms during the first solo, it can only mean one thing: It means Alice Cooper is back in the UK.

 Before that though, we get the return of another band. The New York Dolls. The Dolls have undergone some line up changes since RTM last clapped eyes on them two and a half years back – with a couple of them flitting off to join Michael Monroe’s band, leaving just mainstays David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain to steer the ship. Things weren’t helped by the fact they have also released the dreadful “Dancing Backwards In High Heels” album earlier this year.

                                                           New York Dolls

 From the off tonight they are fighting a losing battle. The crowd is there to see Alice Cooper and although there is plenty of enthusiasm from the stage early on “Looking For A Kiss” displaying all their trademark New York chic, it soon dissipates. Most of the band look bored by the half hour mark and where Johansen used to be the epitome of Mick Jagger prototype, hip shaking cool, tonight he is a disinterested old bloke reading the lyrics. They play an hour, “Cuz I Sez So” the title track from their last album, is still awesome and they do an encore of the swaggering “Personality Crisis.” Guitarist Sylvain tries to get the crowd to start a chant of their name. No one does. They leave to polite applause.

                                                         A rather understated entrance for Mr Furnier

For tonight, ladies and gentleman is part rock and roll, part circus. The stage show is different to last time (there is no Nurse Rozetta to chase lay down the law) the setlist is different to last time, but tonight is unmistakably Alice Cooper.

And it’s unmistakably brilliant.

The first half is low on gimmickry. After the aforementioned scaffold/flames cavalcade of “Black Widow”, it settles back into almost a regular gig. The vastly underrated Brutal Planet gives way to “I’m Eighteen”, “Billion Dollar Babies”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and “Hey Stoopid.” Frankly if this was any normal rock band in jeans and t shirts it would still have been incredible, but Alice isn’t really your jeans and t-shirts type of bloke.

So snakes come out, crutches are used, costume changes are had, swords are played with – and he hasn’t even got going yet!

After a some soloing from his talented band – guitarist Orianthi and Drummer Glen Sobel particularly impressive - the stand out track from the new Welcome 2 My Nightmare” record – “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” is aired (Alice wearing a jacket that says “new song” on the back) but things kick up a notch with the ever-brilliant Cold Ethyl as Cooper does all kinds of unspeakable things.

This being Halloween “Feed My Frankenstein” ends with a huge great monster on stage, after which it’s a white-knuckle ride to the finish, “Poison” is followed by “Wicked Young Man” during which Alice kills a photographer who has been his nemesis all night. But students of these things know the star of this show always pays for his crimes and he is beheaded in time-honored fashion.

Then he’s back, this time cast as the ringmaster of a giant rock n roll party that sees balloons appear for “Schools Out” and cannons full of streamers during the encore of “Elected.”

During the latter he says: “I know there’s problems all across England, but you know what? I don’t care!” And for tonight neither do we, because Alice Cooper and his band have done what they always do – and delivered one of the gigs of the year.

The Trews @ Birmingham Institute Library 22/10/11

The Trews had been to the football in the Afternoon before this gig. Watching Aston Villa play West Bromwich Albion and guitarist John Angus McDonald seems pretty vexed at the difference between the 30 odd thousand at Villa park and they 70 odd here. “Why aren’t you guys more like the soccer crowd,” he admonishes. “They were so angry and loud.”

Perhaps an explanation – certainly as fat as RTM is concerned – for the somewhat  melancholy atmosphere are the dreadful indie support bands, Little Wing and The Sharp Darts. It wouldn’t be right, or indeed fair, for me to review either band as neither are remotely the sort of music I enjoy, but I have included some links for you to check them out if you so desire.

By contrast I have been a fan of the Trews since discovering their “No Time For Later” album online a couple of years ago. The Nova Scotia band have no pretensions to be anything other than a classic rock band and more power to them for that.

They also have a frankly, fantastic new album in the bag, in “Hope and Ruin” and they kick of a track from that this evening, the phenomenally catchy “World I Know.”

All is going swimmingly at this point, but guitarist McDonald still doesn’t seem to be in the best of moods. “Show me some love or we might as well go home,” he says at one point. The simmering undercurrent isn’t helped by an amp blowing – and as his brother, singer Colin explains, its one of a series of mishaps that have befallen the band since they arrived on these shores.

With a new amp borrowed from one of the supports its all systems go again but even after a rousing rendition of “Poor Broken Hearted Me” something still seems to be missing.

Until, that is, the encore, when all of a sudden the Trews cut loose and become the bar band you always suspected they were. Colin McDonald duetting with a member of the crowd on a Canadian folk song and fair ripping in to stand out cut on the new LP, “Misery Loves Company.”

There was nothing inherently wrong with The Trews tonight but their booking agent did them no favours. This gig belonged in a small room, packed with people with sweat running off the walls, not 70 odd in a medium sized room on a cold night in Birmingham.

Sometimes, Rock N Roll is about setting.

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THE ANSWER, Gentlemans Pistols @ Birmingham Academy 2 19/10/2011

Surely this bill is the least complicated around right now?

You wont find any “scene” here. No metalcore, deathcore, or djent, instead what you will find is two bands who are rooted in a 70s sound. As The Answer singer Cormac Neeson will put it: “Good evening Birmingham, our business with you is rock n roll.” And what is wrong with that?

So it is perfect then, that Gentlemans Pistols are the openers. The Leeds’ band stunning new album “At Her Majesties Pleasure” is the perfect realization of their vision and with guitarist Bill Steer – ex of Carcass and Napalm Death – added to their ranks it marks a giant leap forward from their debut.

Kicking off tonight with the one, two punch from that new record of “Living in Sin Again” and “Comfortably Crazy” they show their new material off with aplomb. Singer/Guitarist James Atkinson, who is apparently wearing the same awful vest he was when they were last in these parts six months ago, preens and struts and Bass loon Douglas McLaughlin is his perfect foil, their half an hour is a triumph.

                                                            The Pistols Boys

It is something approaching make-or-break time for The Answer. The Northern Ireland boys have rather hit the wall, arguably losing the early buzz they created. Having spent two years on the road with AC/DC, they changed record labels and are more or less back where it all started.  Not for nothing, you suspect, is their new album called “Revival.”

Certainly they begin like a band with something to prove. Launching straight into “Under The Sky” from debut album “Rise,” which still remains their tour-de-force. But they are justifiably proud of their new opus, playing six songs from it during the course of their 90-minute set. Current single “Vida (I Want You) swaggers in a funky, almost Aerosmith-esque type way and “Piece By Piece” (which appears on the deluxe version) is just damn catchy.

                                         The Answer (I was sat in the upstairs bit - sorry!)

The aforementioned Neeson is in an energetic mood, singing part of “Preachin’ from in the crowd. He looks every inch the shadow of Robert Plant and performs with real conviction and what appears to be genuine humility.

Indeed, if there is a criticism of The Answer tonight it is that those obvious Zeppelin references morph into two or three over-long jam sessions, which detract from the flow a little.

But that’s a minor quibble. Because on the evidence tonight, The Answer are not only back, they are better – and hungrier - than ever.

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SOIL, Puddle Of Mudd, Dear Superstar @Coventry Kasbah 15/10/11

RTM first came across Dear Superstar around two years ago when they supported Buckcherry in Wolverhampton. Initial impressions were pretty unfavourable. Skip forward and they have improved slightly. Singer Mickey Satiar remains their trump card, but with new album “Damned Religion” all set for release, they have matured a little and moved to a more muscular Skid Row type sound. Destined still, one suspects to be also-rans in the Brit Rock pack, they have nonetheless got more of a coherent vision this time around.

                                                     Soil in action

Casualties of the early 2000s nu-metal scene – which they were unfairly linked to due to their association if Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst (who had signed them) - Puddle of Mudd burst onto the scene with a couple of hit singles – notably the Stone Temple Pilotsesque “Control” and the awful “She Hates Me.” The crowd’s reaction to both shows they still have friends in these parts – and if American radio metal is your thing then there is much to enjoy here. However, the years have not been kind and it says much for the bands confidence in their own slightly dated material that they choose to pad out their set with two rather pointless covers, AC/DC’s “TNT” and The Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”

Chicago’s Soil are making their first visit to UK shores in a while and their first in a very long time with original lead singer Ryan McCombs. The vocalist apparently had a difficult relationship with the rest of the band before they spilt. He alludes to this, saying: “It’s the second night of the tour and we are still speaking to each other.” It is a strange performance, though. The volatile frontman by turns racing round the stage, sitting on the drum riser and passing out drinks to the crowd. It is during the latter hiatus that bass man Tim King gets irritated, asking: “Are we gonna play a fucking song?”

Soil’s other issue is a rather more prosaic one and it is this: Whilst their debut album, “Scars” – from which most of tonight’s set is drawn - is a very decent slice of Pantera meets Corrosion of Conformity metal, the fact remains that it contains 12 good and one magnificent song. And when that song, the faultless “Halo” is delivered (with McCombs in the crowd) the gig takes on a whole different dynamic.

It is, arguably, a good problem to have. And they may yet write a better track, as McCombs hinted a new album might be on the way. Whether the band stays together, or they can ever find a way to top their signature tune both remain to be seen.

WHILE SHE SLEEPS, Bury Tomorrow, Feed The Rhino @ Birmingham Academy 3 13/10/11

This part of Birmingham is the place to be tonight. And the second city’s live scene appears to be in rude health.

There’s some indie nonsense next door selling out the main room, while the well informed are crammed into the Academy 3 – which is also sold out – to watch three of the hottest of the new breed of British Metal battle for supremacy.

It falls to Medway’s Feed The Rhino to get things going. The band are fast becoming something of a fixture on the British concert scene – indeed they headlined Wolverhampton last month -  and the self styled “Noise and Roll” merchants do not disappoint, with some impressive circle pit action as they run through half an hour of well honed hardcore punk.

By contrast Southampton’s Bury Tomorrow have been away for a while and seem absolutely intent on making up for lost time. They go down like heroes – but in truth selling their brand of metalcore to this crowd isn’t a tough task.

Frontman Dani Winter-Bates screams, growls and jumps and James Cameron sings the choruses. You already know the drill, but just because something is familiar doesn’t lessen its entertainment and BT might just be ones to watch in 2012.

The same can be said for While She Sleeps. After a couple of years supporting anybody and everybody the Sheffield band seem ready to take on the world. Stunning mini album “The North Stands For Nothing” is well represented here – the title track in particular delivered with aplomb.

Selling out your first headline tour of the UK is an impressive feat in anyone’s book and, with high profile touring slots on the Kerrang tour next year, you get the feeling this will be the last time they are in anywhere with the number three in its name for a while. Its not often you get to see a band that’s about to break big. But we did tonight. While She Sleeps might just be the next big British Metal act.

THE ELECTRIC BOYS, Miss Behaviour @ Rescue Rooms, Nottingham 8/10/11

The Rescue Rooms has had a spruce up recently.

It looks modern, clean and very much fit for purpose as a venue for the 21^st century.

Unfortunately, that not a century to which Miss Behaviour belong. Their brand of lumpen AOR is so dreadfully dated that they would have sounded awful in the 80s.

But while they struggle to win over large swathes of the audience, to be frank the promoters could have put Jedward on tonight and it wouldn’t have mattered.

Tonight, you see, is all about the glorious return of the Electric Boys. The Swedes have been infrequent visitors to the UK over the years and have been fairly inactive since the mid 90s.

But they have jumped back onto the scene this year with killer new album “…And Them Boys Done Swang” and a series of headline dates.

And, listening to them tear into opening pair “Psychedelic Eyes” and “Groovus Maximus” it is tempting to feel bitter that we have missed them for so long. In the end though, it’s best to grin and clap along as the classics keep coming. Quite honestly, no one has ever done this type of funky hard rock as well as The Electric Boys.

Although the set is heavy on late 80s classics, the new album is well represented too with a couple of numbers, including a jolly “Angel in the Armoured Suit.”

Singer/Lead Guitarist Conny Bloom is still the epitome of cool, and bar the odd quibble – no "Reeferlord", the standout track from the new opus, for example – the evening is a triumph. The hour in the company of an old friend ends, the only way it could, with an encore of “All Lips And Hips.” 

“Thanks Nottingham, we’ll see you soon.” Says Conny. Hopefully, this time, he means it.

ROGUE MALE, I.C.O.N @ Birmingham Roadhouse 6/10/11

Blimey.

That’s the only word for this.

Blimey.

When openers I.C.O.N hit the stage there are a grand total of three – that’s right three – people watching.

There is a brief Spinal Tap moment when they ask for “a big round of applause” for the headliners, but still they are worth watching. Mini album “New Born Day” is a decent effort at muscular British hard rock and most of it gets an airing.

Line-up changes have dogged the band throughout their brief history but now with a settled roster and some more gigs in the remainder of 2011 they might see their profile increase.

Belfast’s Rogue Male have been around long enough to see this kind of night before. Eight paying punters (the crowd has been more than doubled at least), however probably wasn’t they had in mind when they reformed in 2009 but they take it in good humour. “We’ll get your names at the end,” says guitarist John Fraser Binnie.

To their credit they play the 75 minute set they planned and vocalist/ lead guitarist Jim Lyttle is in good form, dedicating the track “Unemployment” to David Cameron.

In truth their brand of hard-rock-as-social-commentary is as relevant today as it was in the 1980s and new tracks like “Cold Blooded Man” mix well with stuff from their 80s heyday. It is the Motorhead-esque growl of “Crazy Motorcycle” that really gets the crowd going – well two blokes jump up and down, but you get the picture.

A slightly uncomfortable night is completed by Lyttle jumping off stage to thank the crowd for coming. He shakes hands with everyone as they leave. A decent and noble gesture. But it didn’t take him long.

SYLOSIS, Malefice, Anterior, Chapters @ HMV Institute Temple 30 Sept 2011

There are many problems with the gig tonight.

First it’s in the hottest place on the planet, the upstairs room The Temple. Second the mighty Evile are just up the road playing the opening night of the UK tour – a fact that Sylosis frontman Josh Middleton acknowledges in his bands set. And last but not least, there is a ridiculously early curfew time.

Which makes it even more baffling therefore that come 6.30 (the scheduled start time) opening act Chapters still haven’t appeared. When they are finally allowed on the young Berkshire band show some promise. They are very much a work in progress and their attempted Prog/Thrash epics don’t quite work yet, but if they had the confidence to pull off their vision they might have something to offer.

Confidence is something Welsh metallers Anterior don’t lack. New album “Echoes of the Fallen” has finally seen them at the top of their game and they seem to be on the verge of a breakthrough of sorts. Singer Luke Davies is a charismatic presence, and drummer James Cook looks to settled their problems behind the kit. The only way – at last – is up.

Malefice aren’t hanging around either. Singer Dale Butler explains that the last time they were here their van was broken into and, after apologising for being late (a fact blames on some unexplained “issues tonight”) they race through a 25 minute set as if eager not to be parted form their valuables again. New album “Awaken the Tides” is a masterclass in modern thrash and its title track is rapturously received.

Yet more delays – the soundmen are clearly arguing – mean Sylosis are half an hour late on stage, which is a tremendous shame. This is their second headlining trek of 2011, having been the star turn on the Metal Hammer Razor tour, and with second album “Edge of the Earth” attracting rave reviews they know this is very much their time. Gargantuan riffs abound, with the unexpectedly catchy “Sands of Time” an obvious highlight, but just 40 minutes in and it’s all over. The plug is pulled and its time for the ravers waiting for the club downstairs to come in.

We have free tickets for that, so we are informed. We don’t take them up on the offer. Reflecting instead that what could have been an almost perfect night was flawed through no fault of the bands themselves.

I’ll bet Evile didn’t have this problem.