NIGHTBLADE, Pyrodual, Rising Struggle @The Roadhouse 28/3/12

It’s a tricky thing when you watch a young band that is trying its best but they don't offer anything. Especially when it’s a free gig.

That, unfortunately is the position we find ourselves in this evening with Rising Struggle. You certainly can’t accuse them of being conventional. Two guitarists, two vocalists, and no bassist, does at least in theory create an interesting proposition.

In practice it, however, it doesn’t sound too great. One singer screams, the other growls, sometimes they both growl and then top it off with a simply dreadful cover of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” – RTM has written before that pop covers and metal should be kept as far apart as possible and so it is again here. When will bands ever learn?!

Next up are Brummie hard rock trio Pyrodual. They offer a more straight ahead sound than the openers, but – despite their name - precious few fireworks. Tracks like “Otherside” and set closer “Need Me” do hint at some talent, and lead singer/guitarist Adam is engaging enough but right now they don’t quite have the killer song to rise above the pub circuit.

They do however win bonus points from RTM for sticking around to watch the headliners.

And those headliners, Nightblade, have been trying to make waves in the Brummie rock scene since they formed a couple of years ago. Recently they supported Iron Butterfly and this is their first major UK tour. The trek support is in support of debut album “Servant To Your Lair” which they have backed up with advertising in Metal Hammer (which is where RTM heard of them).

Their logo tells you exactly what they are. It is an Eddie-like creature brandishing a massive sword. As such its not really a surprise that they play a rather trad brand of NWOBHM. Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course and they do it pretty well.

Beginning with “Jekyll and Hyde” and taking in most of the tracks from their debut album including the stand out “Helloween,” they are playing music for the love of it and good luck to them.

Guitar man Dave Parrish ( once of the long forgotten Scarab) is their star turn and rather carries the performance with his fine playing and solos. Whether he, or the other three members of Nightblade can ever escape the back room of a pub type gigs on this tour remains to be seen, but they are at least keeping their sense of humour.

They are a band of, shall we say, advancing years and at the end of the gig singer Mark Crosby attempts to jump off stage however, upon landing wishes he hadn’t: “I think Ill need a hip replacement now” he says. Sometimes, it truly is a long way to the top if you wanna rock n roll.

GRAVEYARD, Horisont, Signfy @Slade Rooms 25/3/12

A few weeks ago RTM spent an extremely interesting night in Wolverhampton with some of the cream of Scandinavian metal. “ However they keep churning out such fine bands over there,” we wrote about Amon Amarth, Grand Magus and In Solitude, “you can only hope that it continues for years.”

Barely 10 days later and we are back in the same city in the company of a couple more bands from Sweden, although this time there isn't a thrash or melodic death band in sight However,  before that we get to sample the undoubted talents of a band from a little closer to home.

Brummies Signify have been cropping up on the Midlands Rock scene for a number of years and they always deliver a fine show. Albeit, a show with a difference tonight. Deprived of their usual singer they are being fronted by Captain Horizon man Whitty,  who adds his undeniable presence and vocal skills to tracks like the well honed “Sonic Boom.” Signify are a band who deserves, at this point in their evolution, a bigger stage.

Local talent – we got there too late to check out trash punks Dante’s Revenge – out of the way, it is on with the Scando retro rock, and not without good reason, you feel have Horisont been picked to open proceedings. Friends of the headliners, they are also kindred spirits. With a sound – and image -  rooted in the 70s, they are perhaps less overtly heavy rock than Graveyard, with a sound which owes much to pysch rock.

They can let rip when they need too though, such as on the title track to new album “Second Assault” (out recently) and “Nightrider” from their debut. They are an intriguing and rather beguiling proposition.

Its fair to say that RTM has had rather a soft spot for Graveyard since first hearing last years “Hisingen Blues” album. The classic retro sound of the 1970s is back in vogue right now, thanks to the success of bands like Gentlemen’s Pistols and Rival Sons, and in “….Blues” Graveyard have constructed an album that matches those two groups.

This sort of music is made to be listened to live, however, and a new life is injected into tracks like “Aint Fit To Live Here” and “Uncomfortably Numb” when they are played before tonight’s reasonable crowd.

Coming on rather like a cross between Sabbath and Led Zep, they do have a conventional hard rock sound, and while Joakim Nilsson is not perhaps the most hypnotic frontman – standing stage right behind his guitar and mic – that does little to detract from a fine performance. The 70 minute set is split reasonably equally between both their albums and it is “Satans Finest” from the self titled debut that really shines.

Called back for an encore, the four piece seem genuinely pleased with their reception and they respond with an exquisite jam of “Evil Ways.”Graveyard deserve the adulation and the critical acclaim, and bell bottoms have never quite been so cool.

At this point you can't help but reflect on the sentiments expressed in the opening paragraph Musically. Sweden is where its at, right now. Although Abba are still the second worst band of all time behind Simply Red.

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.

SAVAGE MESSIAH, Diamond Plate @Scruffy Murphys 19/3/12

Early portents are not good.

The gig has been moved from The Ballroom up the road to Scruffy Murphy’s – which is, shall we say, a little bit more on the snug side. It leads you to believe that the attendance for this isn’t going to be massive.

And, unfortunately those fears are right. As a paltry Monday night crowd greets up and coming Chicago Thrashers Diamond Plate, RTM saw them support Anthrax last week and this is world away from that.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that the five-piece are superb.

They take their cue from the Big Four of thrash, of course they do – although more Metallica than Slayer and there are hints of the mighty Overkill – but then all thrash metal has its roots in the early 1980s scene. They also offer something to set them apart from a mere retro retread.

Kicking off with the title track from 2011’s “Generation Why” album they treat us to a rollicking half hour of heads-down-windmill-headbanging stuff, including “Tomb With A View” and current single “At The Mountains Of Madness” and riff-heavy set closer “Empire Tomorrow.” Ones to watch.

Savage Messiah were ones to watch a few years ago, and with this years tour-de-force that is “Plague of Conscience” they have truly delivered. So you can understand the disappointment in singer/guitarist Dave Silver’s voice when he looks out at the crowd and says “I was from here, we played some great gigs here a few years ago, then you desert us. It’s the birthplace of the genre….”

However Metal, not that you would know it looking out at fewer than 10 paying punters, is still alive and well in its home city, and will remain so as long as bands like Messiah are flying the flag.

“…Conscience” is a stunning record and most of tonight’s 45 minutes comes from it. The title track, “All Seeing I” and “Shadowbound” mix with “Insurrection Rising” from 2007’s album and you can only wish this fine group the best in the future.

The staggering thing is that both these bands have record deals, so quite what Earache Record’s PR Department is doing, who knows? Whatever it is, in terms of this gig, it isn’t enough.

Not a night that either band will relish, you suspect, but it really was superb.

AMON AMARTH, Grand Magus, In Solitude

We know In Solitude are young, but surely they don’t need to go to bed so early that their set starts at 7.15? It is not an early curfew show and is something that venue as a whole (not just this one) need to look at. As a result RTM only manages to catch the last four songs of their set. A tremendous shame because their “The World, The Flesh The Devil” album has much to commend it (and was one of RTM’s top 20 of last year.)

A thrilling mix of the occult of Ghost and the twin guitar attack of Maiden, it is to be hoped we see the Swedes back on these shores soon.

Fellow Swedes Grand Magus follow, formerly on the mark of quality that is Lee Dorian’s Rise Above Label (home to the aforementioned Ghost and Gentleman’s Pistols amongst many, many others) before moving to Roadrunner to put out the phenomenal “Hammer of the North” in 2010, they have long been a name to drop.

Despite being a fan for years, this is RTM’s first time seeing the three-piece live. And they are a revelation. Simply put, if you have any metal in your veins then Grand Magus are a band you need in your life. “The Oar Strikes The Water” tips its hat to Priest and the Irons, while “Hammer of the North” has echoes of Saxon. Front man Janne "JB" Christoffersson shreds and and sings and is more than ably backed up by drummer Fox and bassist Seb Sippola. Their 45 minutes flies by and is right up there with any set we have seen this year.

The question is therefore, how can Amon Amarth follow that? The answer, of course, is by being Amon Amarth. The band have been taking their melodic death metal songs about Vikings and Odin around the world for years, and they know what they are doing and how to do it for perfection.

The first time we clapped eyes on them was three and a half years ago when they opened for Slayer at the Civic Hall next door and they are just the same tonight as they were then. Songs built around a combination of thunderous riffs and singer Johan Hegg’s frankly gargantuan stage presence.

This tour is on the back of the “Sutur Rising” album which was released last year and “destroyer of the Universe” – an oddly catchy track with a fabulous chorus – is perhaps the best song they play, but this is a band you just know is doing exactly what it wants to. There was an interview with Hegg last year where he said he would rather go back to his former job of a carpenter than play songs he didn’t believe in. It is perhaps this attitude that allows him extol the crowd for a sing-song with the words “it doesn’t matter if you know the words, its metal – no one will know the difference!”

After 80 punishing, brutal, yet strangely tuneful minutes, they are back for an encore of the exemplary “Twighlight of the Thunder God” and “Guardian of Asgaard” before, with horns and fists raised its over.

A fine night, showcasing all that’s best in Scandinavian metal. However they keep churning out such fine bands over there, you can only hope that it continues for years.

ANTHRAX, Diamond Plate @Oxford Acdemy 14/3/12

The Oxford Academy is heaving by the time Chicago thrashers Diamond Plate hit the stage at 7.20. The early curfew show has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for the UK debut of a band who unleashed their debut album “Generation Why” last year.

And the young foursome (“in America we aren’t old enough to drink, but we are here” says the extremely impressively-coiffured frontman Jon Macak) do not disappoint. The title track from the album and “Relativity” in particular showcase the bands talents amply. So much so that they are invited back for an encore, but some bright spark has done something to the amps by this point and it sounds dreadful in the house PA.

Not the first mishap of the evening either, given that their attempts to have the crowd run at each other, Exodus style, are thwarted by security who threaten stop their set if it happens. Sound and health and safety aside, though, Diamond Plate are worth seeing in Birmingham on Monday when they open for Savage Messiah.

That said it really doesn’t matter who opens tonight, because tonight Anthrax are in town. One of the venerable godfathers of thrash, and fully paid up members of the Big 4, The New Yorkers are playing their first British club date in years tonight.

They have had a rather odd recent history, which has seen a revolving door approach to singers. Thankfully though, that’s over with it seems and perhaps their most iconic one,  Joey Belladonna is back. They are riding the crest of a creative wide too, as last year they put out the astonishingly good “Worship Music” album, a record which mixes thrash with the sort of stuff that 'Thrax six -stringer Scott Ian’s phenomenal The Damned Things did in 2010.

It is with the opening track on “”Worship….” “Earth on Hell” that Anthrax begin tonight. Another newbie “Fight em till You Can’t” soon follows, and although the album’s highlight amongst highlights “The Devil You Know” is played early, the rest of the set reads like a “Great Thrash Songs” playlist.

“Caught In A Mosh,” “Indians” and “Got The Time” are all here, as is “Medusa” as well as the first track on their very first album “Deathrider” which is an unexpected and welcome addition. “Among The Living” closes the set and, frankly, it would have been good enough if the band had walked off then and not come bothered with an encore. But they don’t. Instead they come back and play a five-song curtain call, which includes “Metal Moshing Mad,” “Madhouse” and “I Am The Law.”

Sometimes there is a danger of over-using superlatives and hyperbole, but equally sometimes it’s a privilege to be at a gig, and tonight is one of those evenings. One of metal’s greatest bands is in great form. Apparently they will be back in the autumn to do it all again. Just make sure that, whatever you do, you are there.

Zico Chain @The Flapper, Bimingham 13/3/12

In the mid-2000s a band called Zico Chain came to our attention. They released a thoroughly promising self titled EP, which they followed up with a full length CD in 2007 called “Food.” Then they opened for Velvet Revolver and kicked off the main stage at download, while generally being touted as ones to watch.

After which they promptly disappeared, bar an EP that is mentioned from 2009 (but I have not heard).

Well RTM is happy to report that the London based three-piece is back, back, back, and next month will unleash a rather fine second album in the shape of “Devil in Your Heart” (not out until April 16^th, but there are… ahem…….ways to hear it right now if you so desire….)

It’s the impending release of said opus that brings them to The Flapper on a Tuesday night. Supported by two Indie-ish bands that we give a wide berth to, there is a decent smattering of fans to watch as vocalist/bassist Chris Glithero, guitarist Paul Frost and Drummer Ollie Middleton stroll and stage and kick off proceedings with the opening track from “Devil….” Evasion – and judging by the amount of people that know the words, there are a lot of folks in Birmingham that have a Rapidshare account.

They follow this up with perhaps the best two tracks from “Food,” “Junk” and “Pretty Pictures” and it is clear just why this band were so highly rated in the mid to late years of the last decade.

Lets cut to the chase here: We are dealing with a three-piece, with a blonde singer, who deal in “angsty” type songs with massive choruses. Obviously as trio’s go they owe more to Nirvana than they do to Rush or Motorhead, but calling them “post grunge” or whatever trendy label they will get foisted on them does them a disservice.

In there somewhere beats the heart of a damn fine hard rock band, while songs like the superb “New Romantic” take them into areas that the early material never did. These are songs of huge scope, the sort that would have been called “Arena Rock” if any band of this type had a hope of getting there these X Factor saturated days.

After playing most of “Devil….” (and why, oh why they weren’t selling it at the shows is beyond me) they return to their early days with the punky "Rohypnol" and “Where Would You Rather Be,” which bring a brisk 50 minute set to a close.

This is a band who already has a decent past, but one also, you hope, with much to look forward to in the future.

Welcome back!