MORBID ANGEL, Necrophobic, Benighted,Nervecell @Slade Rooms Wolverhampton 20/11/11

Nervecell’s name might bring to mind some horrible nu-metal band from the late 90s, but their sound is anything but. The four-piece from – of all places – Dubai, deal in brutal, in your face, Death Metal. And boy, are they tight. New album “Psychogenocide” is about to get a UK release and it is very much worth checking out. The only downside is the show time, they get a mere 20 minutes to impress everybody and they are gone,

Next up are France’s Benighted, and they fare less well. Their sound is more derivative, and although they are onto the sixth album of their career they actually seem less assured than Nervecell, singer Julian Truchan has an impressive range, from guttural growls to King Diamond-type screaming, but they do less in their short set than you might have hoped.

Which leaves Sweden’s Necrophobic to take up the baton. Look past the corpse paint and they are the most “metal” band on the bill. And with emphasis less on death and more on black metal they are reminiscent of Iron Maiden in places, their songs tick all the usual boxes – there is one for example called “Revolution 666” – but a large part of the crowd remains indifferent to them throughout. Not their bill perhaps, but on another day they might shine.

And so it comes to pass that Morbid Angel are here to complete festivities. As singer Dave Vincent puts it, “if you aren’t ready for some brutal death metal you are in the wrong place.”

The Florida death metal legends are here for two reasons, first to plug new CD, the fantastic, “Illud Divinum Insanus” and second the twentieth anniversary of the masterpiece that is “Blessed are the Sick.” And they do both, amply, with the likes of newbies “Existo Vulgore” and “Nevermore” sitting side-by side with the old classics like “Fall From Grace” with ease.

But this isn’t about just two albums. This trawl through history. “Sworn to the Black” from “Covenant” (reputedly the biggest selling Black Metal album of all time) is menacing and crushing, while “Maze of Torment” from their debut album is arguably the song of the night.

There are a couple of problems. 70 minutes isn’t a long enough set, and the sound at the Slade Rooms is rather drenched in feedback, which means that Trey Azagthoth’s solos aren’t as clear as they might be, but overall the night is a fine one.

There’s no encore, no histrionics, just brutal metal. Blessed are the sick indeed.

Smashing Pumpkins @Birmingham Academy 19/11/2011

There are 20,000 songs on my ipod. I own roughly 8000 CD’s.

But not one of those songs or CD’s is a Smashing Pumpkins one –which rather begs the question of how I found myself to be at a Smashing Pumpkins gig.

The answer is a simple one. At the start of the year I decided to try and go to a gig a week. Largely I have done this. There have been only five weeks this year where I haven’t seen a band (it would have been four, but Eddie Spaghetti was called off after the riots).

When this gig went on sale I didn’t have any other gigs at the time and my brother was a Pumpkins fan a few years ago so we decided to go.

Whilst I wasn’t a fan as such, I did have some knowledge of the Pumpkins. I liked “Siamese Dream”, I liked “Mellon Collie….”So a glance at the setlist for tonight’s show meant I was a little unprepared – there were around 20 songs played and I knew about four.

This wasn’t a help.

The second thing that put an immediate dampener things is the Academy itself. We decide to give the first band a miss (my love of avant garde pop isn’t too big and that what they are billed as) meaning that by the time we get to the balcony we can’t see a thing.

There is a third problem. The crowd. The audience isn’t my usual gig-going brethren. For a start there is almost no one wearing a gig T-shirt for the Pumpkins. For a second thing the only two shirts for other bands I can see (apart from my AC/DC 09 shirt and my Brother’s Wildhearts hoodie) are a Dandy Wahols shirt and one of those Zeppelin shirts they sell in Top Shop. Frankly we are a million miles from the metal I understand.

But what of the show itself. Well, to be honest it was ok. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed it – it is difficult to enjoy something you just don’t know. The band play well, although Billy Corgan is an odd frontman – he never speaks to the crowd apart from in the encore but as always when you go and see a band on spec there are two possible outcomes: one is that feel like you are at a party somewhere you don’t belong and the second is that you get into it and have a great time. “Tonight, Tonight” – to borrow one of the songs I do know - is definitely the former.

There is a brilliant encore of “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”  during which the Pumpkins sound great, then, after two hours 15 very long minutes its over.

Not an experience I will repeat too quickly.

EXIT TEN, Fei Comodo @Birmingham Institute Temple 14/11/2011

A freezing cold Monday night in a rather rough part of Birmingham doesn’t sound the most enticing gig in the world. Especially not when only around 100 punters have decided to leave their living rooms and attend.

But that is the situation that Essex metalcore merchants Fei Comodo find themselves in when they hit the stage. And how they try; you certainly can’t fault their effort and commitment. The trouble is, call it post-hardcore, call it metalcore, call it what you like, whatever it is you have heard it all before.

There is nothing wrong with them, but you can’t help felling that there are plenty of other bands out there that do this stuff just a little bit better at this stage in their fledgling career. Set closer “No Way Out” is a catchy attempt at rabble-rousing, but the jury is out as to whether they can find their own niche in a rather crowded genre.

Exit Ten have always had rather loftier ambitions than being part of a restrictive scene. In their minds their sound is designed to fill way bigger venues than this. They rock, they prog, they display an almost pop sensibility in places. The title of their new album “Give Me Infinity” tells you all you need to know about where they want to be.

It has also showcased a massive leap in delivery. This is aptly demonstrated by opening two numbers from “Life” and “Curtain Call,” both have big choruses and enough riffs to last most young bands an entire album and are almost casually tossed out with an air of confidence that only a group who truly believes in its new material can muster.

This is by far Exit Ten’s biggest headline tour. Taking in most of the small venues in the UK and lasting nearly the whole of November and singer Ryan Redman seems determined to make it count, attacking the songs with real conviction.

Debut LP “Remember The Day” isn’t ignored either and the likes of “Technically Alive” and “Resume Ignore” sit comfortably shoulder to shoulder with the new stuff.

“….Infinity’s” end track “Lion” also rounds things off here – a big ballad, which although a fine song, probably isn’t the best choice of set closer, but this is a band to keep an eye on.

Whether they get to infinity and beyond remains to be seen, but you can bet that Exit Ten are going to give it a really good go.

OPETH, Pain of Salvation@ Birmingham Academy 12/11/11

“We wanna mosh,” screams a bloke a few rows back.

“Mosh?” says Mikael Akerfledt, main man of Opeth, “Yeah, I used to do that when I was younger.”

And there, in a nutshell, is the microcosm of the evening. Opeth have metamorphosised from Death Metal band, to Metal Band, to Prog Metal band, to where they are currently, with new album “Heritage” more of less dispensing with any metal pretence at all.

Which makes fellow Swedes Pain of Salvation the perfect opening act. They too are from the Proggier end of the Rock Market. The trouble is they are a little to rock for the Prog fans, and not rock enough for the rockers. Rather like their new album “Road Salt Two” they are a pleasant diversion. “No Way” opening song from previous record “Road Salt One” is their catchiest and probably best song, but too much like “1979” sounded quite good on the cd but never really translates to live excitement.

Which brings us to Opeth. There is nothing wrong with “Heritage,” it has superbly crafted songs that are well played  but it never approaches thrilling – and as a tagline for tonight's entertainment that is just about perfect.

“Devils Orchard” the song that begins the new opus, starts us off here, with the band bathed in dark lighting. Tonight is evidently going to be about mood. Opeth have decided that this tour is going to showcase the lighter moments of their back catalogue too, “Porcelain Heart” from the brilliant “Watershed” gives way to an acoustic section, complete with the band sitting on stools. We are a long way from the moshpit here.

With the band back on its feet, “Slither” is aired. A straight ahead rocker, it is the simplest track played this evening and is all the better for it – but rather than building things to a crescendo the whole evening just carries on in rather one-paced fashion to the close.

Opeth seem happy. Akerfledt is a convivial frontman, joking with the crowd and leading an impromptu version of Napalm Death’s “You Suffer” and you have to credit the band for having the vision to do exactly what they want. The trouble is that even musical perfection and great songs aren't always enjoyable when played live.

And it’s a conundrum Opeth will have to solve as they carry on their journey.

RIVAL SONS, Liberty Lies @Slade Rooms Wolverhampton 07/11/11

It’s busy in the Slade Rooms tonight. As busy as RTM has ever seen it, with the exception of Sabaton last year.

It is, as Rival Sons singer Jay Buchanan later notes, the fourth show on their UK tour “and the fourth sold out show” – whilst we beg to differ on the “sold out” point this evening, it is clear that Rival Sons star is in the ascendancy right now.

All of which means that second band on - Stourbridge hard rockers Liberty Lies - are playing to a far bigger crowd than they are used to. They are not helped by two things, first of all a dreadful sound that drenches the whole thing in feedback, and the second is the lack of a stand out song. Set closer “The Wire” is decent stab, but its not quite there. They do have talent, but unless they find a killer punch they are always destined to be on the pub circuit.

The sound issues apparently dogged openers fast rising Midlands mob My Great Affliction too. RTM aren’t there in time to watch them, but the problems, which Buchanan apologises for, have disappeared by the time Rival Sons hit the stage.

The LA four piece have recently been on these shores supporting Judas Priest (“they only gave us 25 minutes – by the time you get it up, you gotta put it away” says the frontman) in truth, that is a rather unlikely pairing anyway. There is no heavy metal in the Sons groove, they are a blues rock band – and a rather fine one at that.

Their second full length album “Pressure and Time” (which must rank of the more melodic to come out on Earache Records) has attracted rave reviews. However, you always suspected these songs were made to be played live and “Burn Down Los Angeles” and “All Over The Road” sound so much better in packed club than on an Ipod.

Towards the end of the 75 minute set the band really cuts lose. “Soul” from their "Rival Sons EP" earlier in the year takes on a life of its own thanks to some fine guitar work from Scott Holliday and the tight rhythms of bass man Robin Everett and drummer Mike Miley.

A gig like this, though, was always going to end in a jam session and what starts off as album track “Save Me” becomes a medley of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” and blues standard “Baby Please Don’t Go.” Good choices considering that everything about this band screams retro – and sometimes that’s not a bad thing.

Rival Sons are not here to change the world, or "save rock n roll"  but they are the natural heirs to the Black Crowes crown. And what is wrong with that?

ICED EARTH, White Wizzard, Fury UK @ Birmingham Academy 5/11/11

The early curfew for this show seems to have got on Iced Earth’s collective tits.

“I’m sure you are all going to the discothèque after us,” says new vocalist Stu Block. “Can you believe they are kicking us out for a disco?” He asks. “Pretty fuckin’ gay!” sneers main man and founder member Jon Schaffer.

What else did you expect from a band who is selling a t-shirt that says “Fuck Posers” and a poster that says,  “Don’t be a pussy” over a picture the aforementioned Schaffer angrily playing his axe?  Y’see tonight isn’t a night for club anthems. Tonight is a night for horns-up-fist-in-the-air-denim-and-leather-heavy metal.

First up are Fury UK. Most of the near sell-out crowd are in place to see them strut their stuff. RTM has a long history with this band, championing them long before RTM came into being. We have seen them many times since we first clapped eyes on them opening for Blaze Bayley at the Roadhouse; They are nice guys too, allowing one of our mates has bored singer/guitarist Chris Appleton with chat about football last year. But more than anything else they are a damn fine metal band – and they deserve to succeed.

Opening act on the entire Iced Earth European tour, this is another big chance for the Mancunian three piece, following on from their shows with Saxon earlier in the year. Essentially playing the same set as with Biff and the boys, their well honed opener “I See Red,” and “Alien Skies” from last years “A Way Of Life” opus sounding as good as ever, but as always it is “Death By Lightning” complete with jaw-dropping solo from Appleton that leaves you wondering just when the breakthrough will come.

White Wizzard have to follow that, and they do a manful job. A much different proposition than when they last hit these shores 12 months ago. Singer Wyatt Anderson is back behind the mic and they have a superb new record Flying Tigers in the bag. Perhaps as a result they seem much more confident with their sound.

“…Tigers” marks something of a progression for the Los Angeles troupe, with a much more progressive style added to the Trad Metal. Sure, it still sounds like early Maiden, but stand out song “Starchild” for example, is a massive leap forward from previous album “Over The Top”. Anderson bellows and screams, and band leader Jon Leon is formidable axeman. They end, as last year, with signature song “High Speed GTO,” but literally and metaphorically they aren’t the same band this time around.

Iced Earth too have undergone a change of frontman. Gone is the popular Matt Barlow, and in his place is former Into Eternity man Stu Block. If he’s nervous it doesn’t show as he attacks title track of new album “Dystopia” by way of a hello.

What follows is nothing short of a triumph. The band is evidently – and rightly – proud of “Dystopia” and showcases much of it, “Anthem” especially impressive. However it’s a career spanning 90 minutes, going right back to the first album for “When The Night Falls” and the second for “Angels Holocaust.”

“Declaration Day” is delivered with intent, but it is perhaps “Dante’s Inferno, “ that steals the show. An epic song in every sense, clocking in nearly 17 minutes, it allows not only Block to show his formidable range, but also Lead Guitarist Troy Steele, Bass Man Freddie Vidales and Drummer Troy Smedley  to join Schaffer in producing technical brilliance to back him up.

Ending as always with “Iced Earth” the band of the same name have delivered the goods in no small measure tonight. One of the shows of the year and yet its relegated effectively to a warm up act for a club night. Sometimes you have to despair at the world we live in, you really do.

The word magnificent would just about sum things up.

MOTORHEAD, Anti Nowhere League @Wolverhampton Civic Hall 2/11/11

Like Christmas adverts starting on the tele, the dark nights coming in and the clocks going back there are a number of certainties at this time of the year.

One is that Motorhead will be on tour. In fact, they tour with such regularity at this time of the year, that for a while, I thought the Movember charity was in praise of them.

And so it is that RTM finds itself at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall for the fourth year running for a date with Lemmy and the lads.

Motorhead crowds are always a fairly weird mix. There’s the old rockers, the people who go because they think Lemmy is “cool,” the kids who got into the band recently, and the punks. Motorhead were always the rock band it was ok for the Punks to like, and the mohawks are out in force this evening, largely because of the support acts this year.

After the UK Subs start things off (we miss most of their set thanks to traffic chaos) before Anti Nowhere League take over.

Not being the greatest aficionado of punk rock it’s hard for me to judge them, but “So What” gets a moshpit pogo-ing, “Woman” is spat out by lead singer Animal, and “The Streets of London” does posses a certain charm. If horrible, sneering, 3 minute punk songs are your thing then no doubt there was much to enjoy, and the forty minute set, which ends with “We Are The League” was rapturously received by around half of the audience.

Like re-runs of Only Fools and Horses, the thing with Motorhead is that even though you know what’s coming it still enjoyable. And really any set that starts with “Bomber” ends with “Overkill” and contains “Killed By Death” in between is better than your average evening.

Lemmy is the focal point, of course, but drummer Mickkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell are both superb foils, and as always the musicianship can’t be faulted. This is the most settled Motorhead line up ever and it really shows.

The band’s recent renaissance (tonight is packed out yet again) is mirrored by the last three albums they have released being uniformly superb. It is a pity that they only play a handful of songs from them, because tracks like “Get Back In Line” from last years “The World is Yours,” “One Night Stand” from 2006’s “Kiss of Death” and “Rock Out” from 2008’s “Motorizer” stand up with anything from the past. But the crowd wants to hear “Ace Of Spades” – and seeing how many left after it, it really is a good job they played it second from the end.

And that really is all you can say. Motorhead are a fantastic band, unique in many ways, and they do exactly what they are expected to. You can’t argue with them. They are Motorhead, and they, as Lemmy always says, play rock and roll.

Same time next year, boys?

.