Tyr - By The Light of The Northern Star album review

 This is a very old review that I wrote back in early 2010. This was my first ever effort at writing a review and actually got me a few writing gigs in the months after!

From the first chords of ‘By The Light Of The Northern Star’, you know this is going to be a great album. The haunting, yet powerful intro to ‘Hold The Heathen Hammer High’ sets this album up perfectly and the chorus is a true sing-along that will make you want to raise your drinking horn and roar into the northern skies.

Taking a huge influence from traditional Scandinavian songs yet again, Tyr show they have what it takes to stand out from the rest of the Viking/folk metal bands that are around today. The a cappella intro to Faroese masterpiece ‘Turid Torkilsdóttir’ gives the listener a short break from the faster more sword wielding ‘Northern Gate’ and ‘By The Sword In My Hand’ (the latter having a chorus so epic and powerful that even the sceptics of Viking metal would find it hard not to grab a sword-like implement and wave it in the air).

The vocals of Heri Joensen are at their best throughout this album, with the use of group-style layering on some of the more epic choruses and a brutal singing voice, the vocals glide over the progressive grooves and catchy melodies of the guitars. The drums once again finish the ensemble off brilliantly.

Overall, I think this album has just about everything needed to be a masterpiece of modern metal. From the heavy start to a hard-riding finish (with the exception of the ‘epic’ of the album, ‘Turid Torkilsdóttir’) ‘By The Light Of The Northern Star’ is a must-hear for any metal or progressive fan out there.

The Big Four of Thrash, Sonisphere Knebworth 8/7/11

The Big Four in the UK for the very first time

After a long drive to sunny (yes, sunny) Knebworth, it was amazing to be in the intense, excitable atmosphere of a crowd that know something good is about to happen. And there WAS something good about to happen: The Big Four of thrash – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax playing together in the UK for the very first time!

What better way to start the day than with British NWOBHM band Diamond Head? This is one of the bands that started it all and gave the likes of Metallica and Megadeth a massive influence. The waiting crowd went wild (though not as much as I would have expected for such a band) as Diamond Head took to the stage with classic metal tune It’s Electric. They then sped through a sterling set through to the song made famous by Metallica Am I Evil? Which closed an amazing, tight show.

After a short switchover, the band announced as the ‘Masters of Mosh’ Anthrax thundered their way onto the stage to the crowd-moving Caught in a Mosh. On this occasion, these thrash masters were without regular axeman Scott Ian but, in his place stood Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser who sang on a bone-crunching snippet of his band’s Refuse/Resist. Joey Belladonna was on top form as always, especially on new song Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t. The crowd went wild under the heat of the July sun throughout this set and, when it came to shouting the words to I Am The Law at the end of the set, everybody happily obliged.

As the black clouds loomed over the Apollo stage, Megadeth kicked into an insane rendition of Trust that was quickly followed by In My Darkest Hour. Dave Mustaine was commanding the stage as he chugged riff after riff into the arena. The growing crowd was a little quieter during Megadeth’s set, but the announcement of new album name (TH1RT3EN, if you’re asking) along with new song Public Enemy No.1 got pulses racing. An amazing play of classic songs Peace Sells and Holy Wars... The Punishment Due brought an absolutely watertight set to an end.

Just to make sure temperatures were raised to a socially-acceptable standard, Californian thrash gods Slayer blew the crowd away with opening song Disciple. Every drum hit, guitar riff and yell of “WAAAAR!” was in time as these guys showed none of their age with the bone crushing delivery of fan favourites South of Heaven, Raining Blood and Angel Of Death. The precision of the whole set was made all the more impressive considering Gary Holt of Exodus was playing in place of the absent Jeff Hanneman.

After a short while, the familiar opening notes of The Ecstasy Of Gold rolled out over the waiting crowd and undisputed heavyweight champions of heavy metal Metallica arrived on stage to the classic Hit The Lights. James Hetfield and co. were on fine form for this special performance and a blistering version of the technical, thrashing epic Master Of Puppets showed just this. This, for me, seemed like an odd set – there were some songs in there that I had never expected to see played live. Ride The Lightning was one of these songs and it was played flawlessly but the real surprise was the chilling, powerful Call Of Ktulu which provided an amazing ambience. More stock classics followed with For Whom The Bell Tolls and Enter Sandman but the real special moment came during the encore when, as everyone had hoped, members of Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and the man who wrote the song – Brian Tatler of Diamond Head joined the headliner onstage to play a massive version of Am I Evil?. This totally brought the atmosphere to its peak and gave everyone involved band and fans alike a final burst of energy for the intense set-closers Battery and Creeping Death, the latter having 50,000 metalheads shouting “DIE” to provide backing vocals. This outstanding, ground-breaking day could not have ended in any other way.

Carnage at the Keep (The Gryphon, Bristol 30th April 2011)

From the first look at the line up of Carnage at the Keep and you could tell it was going to be a good night of fast, heavy metal. This night saw bands from all over the South West (including Bristol’s very own Darkening Suns, End is Nigh from Bath, Inimisus hailing from Trowbridge and, travelling from Exeter, Red Mist) supporting the mighty Brutai from THAT London.

Using the smallish venue The Gryphon in Bristol, you could see that this was by no means going to be a massive event but kicking the night off were End is Nigh with a nice blend of their very own apocalyptic metal. These guys are a fairly new band having only played one or two shows before but they didn’t let that stop them as they got the capacity crowd moving with a good set.

The next band to squeeze into the small ‘stage’ area in the corner of the humid, sweaty room was Trowbridge warriors Inimisus. This metalcore five-piece really had the room shaking with their thundering grooves and heavy guitar riffs. The audience warmed to this punishing set a lot more than the first bands’, but this may be mainly due to Inimisus being a more established band.

Darkening Suns tear up the stage...

By now, the walls were dripping with the sweat of 70 frenzied metal heads and the floor was soaked with spilled beer. The mainly male crowd kept the cheers coming as local boys (and girl) Darkening Suns stepped up for their first ever gig. For a band who had never played before they had a remarkable fan base and the room stayed at capacity. It took Darkening Suns a short while to get into the groove of things and unfortunately the first half of their set was a little misfired. This changed as if by magic at the halfway point and these new faces stepped it up a gear to blast out their melodic death metal riffs and screams to the initially sceptical audience.

Featuring on the Gryphon’s predominately rock & metal programme before, Red Mist felt right at home when they took to the stage. This Exeter band played to a slightly smaller crowd as the room emptied a little as the audience went in search of fresh air and strong ale. Despite this, they blew away the 40-odd people who had stayed to watch.

London's Brutai pound their way through a great set

The final band, coming all the way from London was metal ear-abusers Brutai. This band took the unfamiliar atmosphere in their stride and produced an astonishingly good set which had the (by now slightly merry crowd) banging their fists and singing along.

This band was the perfect way to end a strong, heavy night of metal and, as people gradually hit the road, you could still feel the foundations of the Gryphon trembling.

Review: Terrorizer Grindhouse w/Carcer City & Monuments at The Scream Lounge, Croydon 17/06/10

First to grace the stage are melodic metallers Silent Disguise who, with their powerful vocal harmonies and thumping double bass, get the night off to an impressive start. Singer Alex Marshall ensures that all eyes are on him with an energetic performance that carries on to the very end of the final song ‘My Shadow'.

Next on stage are Sheffield-based hardcore quintet While She Sleeps with an aggressive dose of metal. From the word go, the growing crowd moved to every command of energetic front man Lawrence Taylor whose infectious roaring vocals jump out at the faces of those in his vicinity. Along with the tight, chugging guitars and well-structured songs, this band show they are more than ready for their Sonisphere appearance this summer. A hard act to follow.

With the previous band setting the bar high, the task of matching that comes to the heavy progressive hardcore of Silhouette Of A Ghost. Playing to an equally large crowd, SOAG do not quite match the aggression of the band before them. However, despite technical difficulties, the heavy as fuck breakdowns and progressive riffs end a punishing set well.

Next up are alt/prog groovy metal mongrels Monuments. Definitely the most different act of the night, this band create a slight gap in the crushing heaviness of the night, but still have the crowd breaking necks with some hard-hitting riffs.

After such a heavy night, final band Carcer City show why they are headlining a show packed so full of talent. Making up for a smaller crowd, the presence of this band forces the opening songs down the throats of those willing to stay to the end and they make sure mosh pits stay open throughout. Singer Patrick Pinions powerful hardcore vocals command a tight set with short songs keeping the maelstrom of bodies on their toes. After the massive ‘Staring Into The Sun' this band bring the night to a head banging close.

Alive at Brixton Academy

Welcome to this blog of mine...

In the last week or so, I, and my colleagues have been discussing venues and the like. Many people would agree that the smaller, more intimate the venue, the better but I feel slightly different when it comes to music venues - when I am at a show I like to feel the crowd around me, to feel the crush of ecstatic bodies and the surge of mutual adrenalin when the band (or artist) takes to the stage. 

It is for this reason that I choose the O2 Academy, Brixton Brixton Academy as my favourite venue.

Some of you may know this venue, some of you may not but, I tell you now - if the opportunity ever arises to experience a show there, take it. The venue is considered one of London's leading venues (as well as nightclub and theatre). Mainly used as a rock and pop venue, Brixton Academy has a capacity of around 5,000 (4,000 standing, 1,000 seated). This makes for the perfect experience when going to see your favourite act - there are enough people around to enhance the atmosphere, without having to use a telescope to see whats on the stage. Another nice little point is the sloping floor which means you can get a good view from just about anywhere.

Getting to the venue has never been a problem, but what I will say is that the town of Brixton isn't the greatest place on earth although I'm sure most of the downward spiral that has taken part in South London has taken place long after the venue was built in 1929.

picture taken from www.dontstayin.com

The architecture of the building is one of the things that I love. The stage still has the 'proscenium arch' and all around the arena area is the brilliant original architecture complete with balconies and ledges from it's earlier days as a cinema and theatre. I find looking up at this decor during a concert, with all the lights bouncing from the different angles of the walls very appealing.

Overall, I see Brixton Academy as a great venue that perfectly ties in the old architecture with the modern music of today to create a maelstrom of culture and joy and if you haven't already experienced it, go to something there - it'll be fun.

http://www.o2academybrixton.co.uk/

 image taken from blogspot.com