LAMB OF GOD, Sylosis @Wulfrun, Wolverhampton 13/8/13

Regular readers might have spotted a pattern or two in the couple of years I have been reviewing gigs as Rock The Midlands.

One is that I go to a lot of gigs and watch a lot of genres (although I hate dance and pop if you are asking…) another is I rarely write in the first person unless I am attempting to make a point (believe me there is one coming!) and  a third is that the certain bands that watch a lot and champion the cause of. Malefice are one of these, as are melodic power metallers Neonfly and most definitely Sylosis too.

The very first review I ever wrote on this blog (using horrible blue font for which I apologise!) was one of their show at the Institute Library on a blisteringly hot Friday in September 2011.

It is therefore gratifying to watch the band confidently stride out as the support to Lamb of God tonight, the sold out crowd is chanting “Sylosis, Sylosis” and knows their songs off by heart. Here is a band that not only has a stunning amount of talent for creating heavy, dense thrash metal with a proggy twist, but has done it on their own terms by playing live almost constantly and building a following the old fashioned – and for our money right - way.

Given 45 minutes tonight, they play songs from each of their albums, starting with “Fear The World” from the most recent “Monlith.” Other highlights include “Conclusion of An Age” and “Empyreal” and if anyone doesn’t know them before, they surely will after this.

The technical problems that led to Lamb of God’s disjointed performance at Bloodstock were not their fault, but either way, you always felt that this might be the show to see them in anyway. The chance to play a small venue for their only UK show of 2013 evidently appeals to Randy Blythe too. “We are like you,” he tells the crowd. “We aren’t from a big town, so this is cool.”

Blythe and rest of the God squad look happier tonight than two days before too, ploughing through the same set – an 80 minute romp that starts with “Desolation” and ends with “Black Label” but somehow looking invigorated.

As everyone knows, Blythe could have been in prison instead of in Wolverhampton tonight, had he been found guilty of the manslaughter of a fan in the Czech Republic. He mentions the incident just once tonight, calling it a “tragedy” that the young man lost his life, instead the group concentrate on the music.

From their beginnings as an almost death metal band, LOG have morphed into just a fine metal band. “Set To Fail” is an incredible song and “Redneck” remains an enticing proposition, just as it was when we first saw the five piece support Slayer a few years ago.

They are back in 2014, and if you missed it this time, make sure you are there then. And, that, as the band might say themselves, is an invitation.

Moreover, what tonight proves is that however good a festival is, there is no substitute for watching great bands in a great, but small venue.

SYLOSIS, Fated Elegy @Slade Rooms 2/5/12

It has been both interesting and – for a fan – exciting to see the rise and rise of Sylosis. For the third time in 15 months they are out on a UK tour. First they topped the bill at the Metal Hammer Club tour last Feb, before bringing a really fine bill out with them last September (and becoming the first review on RTM in the process). And this constant touring has paid off for them.

From the promising thrash band they were with debut album Conclusion of an Age, they had to overcome line up problems before unleashing the astonishingly good “Edge of the Earth” album last year. A thumping, sprawling almost prog/thrash masterpiece it put them into the magazines and filled venues.

In this context this particular trek can almost be seen as a kind of victory lap. The gigs are bigger than before, and there is a vey decent crowd there for this, the last night, in Wolverhampton.

There is both good news and bad news pre show. The good news is that rhythm guitarist Alex Bailey is back stage right after his broken wrist caused him to miss the bands inaugural tour of the US late last year, while the bad sees the planned supports (Hang The Bastard, Xerath and Chapters) not performing despite being slated to. This is a shame as RTM had been looking forward to catching the Bastard’s (so to speak) and had wondered if Chapters had fulfilled the potential they had shown in September at the bottom of the Sylosis bill.

In their place were three local bands and we catch Metal merchants Fated Elegy. The Wolves mob are competing in Metal To The Masses at The Roadhouse on 13^th May to compete for a place at Bloodstock. The boys stand a chance as they are tight and know what they are doing – and evidently have a reasonable following. Their sound is built on fine riffing from Mike Pritchard and powerful drumming. They are an immediate cut above most modern metalcore.

Sylosis too, are another band who always had that little something extra. And since lead guitarist Josh Middleton added vocalist to his repertoire after the departure of Jamie Graham, they have got even better.

It is with their most recent song, digital only single “Snakes and Arrows” they begin before settling into playing much material from “….Age.” rather than its successor – although of the recent tracks “Sands of Time” crushes and “Dystopia” is a welcome addition for this tour.

The Reading band has managed to garner itself a fairly rabid fan base, and Middleton’s call for a circle pit during “Teras” is met with enthusiasm. The set concludes with a stunning rendition of “Empyreal.” They are back for an unusual – and apparently unplanned - encore of oldie “The Blackest Skyline.”

The band has since tweeted that it was “the best night of the tour” and whilst we haven’t seen the others we are not ones to disagree. Here is a band that just keeps getting and better. They apparently have another album in the works and you suspect it could just be a masterpiece.

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.