BASEMENTFEST Day 1: Point Blank Fury, A Thousand Enemies, Salvation @Roadhouse Birmingham 25/8/12

RTM has never found itself at Basementfest before, but the chance to see a pretty decent line-up of unsigned metal is enough to tempt us from a Saturday night by the tele. Even if the Saturday night does contain the Gypsy Pistoleros as the headliners – but we have no intention of hanging around to watch them this time.

We also have little time for the compare for proceedings either. And if we may offer a word of advice to the organisers for next year it would be simple: The last thing a metal festival needs, or metal fans want, is a fella in a suit talking about the raffle and making crap jokes before the bands come on.

What we do want is new metal bands to have a look at. And thankfully Basementfest has these in abundance. Indeed part two of day one has a band who are playing their very first gig. Despite their inexperience Salvation are actually pretty good and showed great potential. Sort of a retro groove metal band – think Pantera covering a Rival Sons song – they race through 25 minutes of their stuff. “Pray For Me” is a highlight, but they are worth keeping an eye on.

A Thousand Enemies have been going for a little longer than that and the Nottinghamshire mob are beginning to make some waves for themselves. RTM saw them support the execrable The Morning After earlier in the year and by all accounts they were their usual selves during a storming set in the New Blood tent at Bloodstock the other week. Even the loss of their usual drummer tonight can’t dampen their ebullient frontman Bane, who has evidently got himself as annoyed with the “comedian” as RTM: “Where’s him in the suit,” he says, as the band are ready to start. “Come on pal, aren’t you ready to talk shite before we play. “ There followed some rather painful banter before ATE get down to business. And what business it is. Enemies attack their set with gusto. Ok we have seen it before, even down to Bane making his joke about them playing a song called “Fucking Ages” (It is actually called “Forever And Day”) but by closing number “Valve” even the people who have never heard them previously must surely have been won over.  Bane then wins extra points for telling the compare to “fuck off” to rapturous cheers.

So to Point Blank Fury. As far as RTM is concerned the Fury boys are the headline act tonight – possessing considerably more talent and songs than the aforementioned band of Gypsies. The last time we saw them, back in June, they were breaking in a new bass man following the defection of their old one to Absolva, Chris Appleton’s post Fury UK venture, tonight they sound even better than they did that night. 

Essentially they play the same set as they have been since reforming, and you know the drill, “Ashes,” “Change Tomorrow” “Love Ain’t Always Easy” and more. This is their last gig of the year, according to Dale Jones, the guitarist, who promises they will return with a new album in 2013. They have already reclaimed their crown as the Midlands most promising band this year, so you hope he’s as good as his word.

So they last song they play of 2012 is signature tune “Night Skies” which sounds as superb as ever, before bidding us farewell.

And with that its time for RTM to disappear too, partly because the compare is back. With raffle tickets. And also the Gypsy Pistoleros are setting up behind him.

THE MORNING AFTER, Neonfly, A Thousand Enemies @The Roadhouse 20/3/12

We have never come across A Thousand Enemies before, but the Midlands Mob certainly get things going with a bang.

Formed in summer 2011, they have been gigging since, and ploughing a similar furrow to bands like Soil they are an entertaining way to spend half an hour. Man mountain singer Bane has a nice line in jokey patter. He tells the crowd their new video will be “shit” and says they are playing a song called “Forever and a Day” and adds “or fucking ages as we like to call it.” He then tells audience members off for talking when he is.

A band, you surmise, that just wants to play metal because they like it, they are back in Brum this July. Try and give them your support.

Neonfly are positive veterans in these parts, having made their way here three times in the last 10 months or so. And you can only say that the group just gets better and better each time.

Singer Willy Norton is a charismatic and energetic presence and he his ably backed up by twin guitar men Pat Harrington and Frederick Thunder and the five piece have added confidence to their obvious talents and great songs.

Higher up the bill this time, they are afforded a longer stage time and they use it superbly, despite Norton batting tonsillitis and microphone issues. Nearly every song is from debut album “Outshine The Sun” (Norton helpfully points out “they have to be, we only have one.”) but with the road-testing they have undergone over the years, the tracks sound even better than they did just a few short months ago.

“The Messenger” for example sounds even more epic, while “The Enemy” is perhaps their most metal moment. And while “The Ship With No Sails” rattles along like Maiden at their proggiest, they are all eclipsed by superb set closer “Morning Star” – a song which is designed with venues far more epic than The Roadhouse in mind.

By rights, Neonfly should be headlining. But instead that honour falls to The Morning After.” The young Londoners are trying to invigorate the AOR scene of the 1980s, all harmony vocals and posing. Opener “Into The Fire” isn’t bad, but for RTM’s money (and we aren’t great fans of this particular) its downhill from there.

There’s a cover of “Get Your Hands Of My Woman” by The Darkness, which perhaps best sums up TMA’s ethos. This is party music, and as they invite the whole audience onstage to headbang to “Bohemian Rhapsody” it is clear that most enjoy it.

Good luck to them, but we won’t be rushing back to see what they do in the future. This night belonged to Neonfly, who continue to deserve much better than this.