#337: MAX RICHTER - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

Performing this evening at The Royal Northern College of Music was German born, England raised Modern Classical and Ambient composer Max Richter. In tonight's sold out performance, he played with a string ensemble and soprano vocalist. The performance was divided into two sets, opening with his 2004 album "The Blue Notebooks", and closing with his most recent epic "from SLEEP".

THE BLUE NOTEBOOKS

Before launching into tonight's performance, Max Richter spoke to the crowd explaining that "The Blue Notebooks" features readings from Kafka's "The Blue Octavo Notebooks", and when he originally recorded the album it was a musical response to seeing media coverage of the Iraq War. On the original album, actress Tilda Swinton narrated, though another woman sat in a chair on stage and occassionally narrated in time to the music tonight. Compared to "from SLEEP", "The Blue Notebooks" leans further towards traditional orchestral music. Richter began the performance with his trademark minimalist piano arpeggios, drawing equally from Eno, Glass and Part. His ear for melody evokes a natural, and stirring beauty. He was backed up by his string ensemble who in some respects, stole the visual focus of the show. The strings would build in layers, coming in one by one adding swirling crescendos to the music, lead by Richter's wandering piano. "On the Nature of Daylight" in particular was incredibly moving highlight of this performance. Richter also added subtle electronics into the mix, with field recordings of wind and thunder as well as small atmospheric touches. Unfortunately there was a small technical issue in this performance, where a second synthesiser player could not produce any sound. Although the sound engineer ran on stage trying to fix it, the others carried on performing regardless, leading to only a small loss in the sound. Fortunately it did not impact very heavily on the performance, which managed to combine electronics and orchestral ambient music in a sublime way.

from SLEEP

In 2015, Max Richter released the epic 8 and a half hour long album "SLEEP", after studying the human body's psychological processes during sleep and composing music to compliment the human shutdown sequence. To coincide with this 8 disc behemoth, was a singular disc 70 minute journey, condensing the main melodic phrases down into new variations that also featured the string ensemble, as well as a female soprano vocalist.

Though tonight's performance only featured 3 unique compositions, hearing the subtle variations of "Dream", "Path" and "Sleep" was very exciting. Richter opened with the beautiful piano driven "Dream 3". The lengthy compositions of "from SLEEP" are far more minimalist and ambient than anything on the performance of "The Blue Notebooks" beforehand. However I found these compositions to be far more moving and beautiful. The compositions of "SLEEP" are written in cycles, made up of slow moving arpeggios. Though it is about 5 minutes into "Dream 3" before a violin even makes its presence, Richter's grand piano playing is so soothing and richly melodic that it is impossible to get bored. Of course when the strings did gently start to come in, the sheer emotion of the performance ratcheted up as a full body of sound began to envelop the RNCM concert hall.

With the second movement, "Path 5 (delta)", female soprano vocals were added, giving a very gothic and haunting tone. Through only a couple of repeated vocal phrases, the magnitude and emotion of the performance increased tenfold in what was the most stunning piece of the evening. "Space 11" saw Richter retreat into true ambient territory, with an extremely minimalist atmospheric hum that escalated in density through the use of subtle electronics. The ensemble then ran through the 3 pieces of music once again, adding subtle variations. Most notably, "Path 19" added a more stripped down piano melody to the mix, with the soprano vocals once again stunning the sold out crowd. The finale of "Dream 8" reprised the opening motif of "from SLEEP", but with much more involvment of the strings. This climaxed in a loud and epic crescendo that sent chills down my spine. The sheer richness of the music was overwhelming and intense. Though at times I tried closing my eyes during this music to take in the feels of the music, it would have been near impossible for anyone to feel sleepy through such a stunning performance. I left the concert feeling more awake than I had felt all day! 9/10.

May 21st 2016 @ RNCM, Manchester.

#336: TEN FOOT WIZARD / NOMAD + SUPPORT - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

Two of Manchester's finest Metal bands Ten Foot Wizard and Nomad decided to embark on a mini UK tour together, kicking off the heaviness in their hometown Manchester. The two managed to pack out Manchester's new home of Metal, Rebellion, on a Tuesday evening of all days!

REGULUS

Opening a fine evening of Metal was Sheffield based quartet Regulus, in what was their first ever show in Manchester. Their Stoner Rock sound was definitely more than welcome to Manchester, but with Stoner, Doom and Sludge having such a resurgence in the North West, it can be difficult for other bands to come visit and make an impact. Regulus certainly had no shortage of belting Stoner riffs laced with gravelly vocals and touches of psyche guitar and wah. Regulus are more than happy to launch into Psychedelic Blues guitar soloing sections that show their finesse as performers with a fun chemistry on stage. A brand new song raised the energy of the crowd with fist pumping riffs and "Last Die Young" (I think that was the title?) had a strong Queens of the Stone Age feel to it. The band closed with a new single "Big Business", hinting towards a forthcoming album. Regulus played with very strong enthusiasm and have some great riffs to their name. I felt like they covered all the basics of the genre very well, but I didn't quite hear that extra special something to make me lose my shit like the other bands provided tonight. 7/10.

WORT

Fresh off a split EP with joint headliners Nomad, Wort made for a perfect choice of support. It's a shame we don't get to see Wort play too often, but frontman Mike Collins is also commited to playing bass in PIST. It's also a shame because Wort happen to be one of the heaviest and most brutal bands in Manchester right now! From the moment they kick off a show I'm blown away by just how vile and disgustingly heavy this trio's sound is! Every crushing wall of sludge felt like ugly spots oozing with pus on the haggard face of a rotting corpse! Wort punish you with a raw punch to the face of guttural ear splitting vocals and a barrage of pulsing low end Sludge riffs, punctuated with battering drums and clattering cymbals, with pinches of double bass thrown in to up the intensity. Mike's bass playing is fantastic, and he performs with so much anger and hatred in his vocals. You can see so much genuine passion in Wort's performance, but Mike especially seems to lose himself and transforms into something truly frightening! A lovely highlight near the end of the set saw Wort traverse from slow as hell Sludge straight into a lightning fast Grindcore section with blastbeats, reminding me of Goatsblood's cult classic "Drull". Once their performance was over I was left overwhelmed, like I'd had the wind knocked out of me. Wort truly hacked my balls off harder than that scene from Cannibal Holocaust! 9/10.

NOMAD

Manchester's riff abusers Nomad are always a great band to catch live because they know how to put on a high energy performance and they always invite the crowd to share that blistering energy. Tonight was no exception, and with a packed out Rebellion crowd before them, the atmosphere in the room was sensational. After a wall of feedbacking guitars, Nomad kicked into the NOLA Sludge worship of "Slaves of Mourning", one of their best songs. Guitarist Lewis Atkinson has really crafted a special sound that always delivers a full course banquet of meaty tones. Lewis and drummer Hayley tend to lose themselves in their performance, concentrating hard and delivering precision based performances. On the other hand, bassist John Carberry and vocalist Drian Nash move all over the stage and interact heavily with the audience. This balance seems to work well for the band. Nomad tried out a couple of new songs tonight that went down really well and I am excited to see where this band take us next. 

Nomad's signature is their love for lengthy songs. They only need 2 or 3 riffs per song to play with, but they are always mighty fine riffs that are drawn out and churn away, beating the audience into submission. Though Nomad's writing isn't as technical as some of their peers such as Boss Keloid and Barbarian Hermit, there is still something admiral about their style, always bringing a DIY kind of rawness to their music, that has a real nostalgia making you think of the earliest recordings of EyeHateGod and Down. Nomad closed the show brilliantly with a true epic behemoth that is "Corpse Dragger", with it's teasing stop/start riff, and another new song "Feral" left us on a more up tempo and accessible note to go out on. This was one of the finest performance's I've seen from Nomad yet and in particular Drian's throat shredding vocals were on top form tonight. This is how you kick off a tour! 8/10.

TEN FOOT WIZARD

Manchester's Ten Foot Wizard are one of those bands that I seem to enjoy more and more every time I see them play! They never fail to put a huge cheesy grin on my face. At their core, Ten Foot Wizard are a fun Stoner Rock quartet with funny lyrics in their songs. But dig a little deeper and you will find that this band are much more eclectic than you'd think!

The Wizard kicked off with some immensely fun Stoner riffs with plenty of groove. They have such a fun way of twisting and turning the rhythms of their songs that it would make Josh Homme proud! Their Metal is one that a crowd is more likely to dance to than mosh to, but when they want to they can certainly send a crowd headbanging with some crunchy Doom riffs that seem to come out of nowhere! Ten Foot Wizard frequently tug at the threads of other genres, whether it is Thrash Metal, Surf Rock or the cowbell stomp of "Through This World". Flourishes of Reggae tinged bounces and even "6 Feet Rising"'s Country hoedowns are no strangers to a Ten Foot Wizard show, and it is these little pinches that make them such an exciting and unpredictable live band. Stacking up such versatile sounds could make their sound too cluttered, but the result is far from it. Their music is delivered with such a big passion and confidence that they are able to lead the audience down any rabbithole they choose!

More highlights tonight were a brand new song ("Get Out of Your Mind"?) that was a real sexy bastard of a tune! But with the hilariously titled "King Shit of Fuck Mountain" the Wizard really proved just how good they are at composing. This epic Doomy song closes in a finale of finely tuned dual harmonised guitars that created beautiful tones and soundscapes. And of course no Ten Foot Wizard show would be complete without a finale of their legendary anthem "Covered In Tits". This is when the show turns into a full on party, and everyone in the crowd loses their shit and goes mad, just like the band on stage. It is impossible not to smile during this deranged song that invites megaphones, a theramin solo, and a mighty singalong chorus!

When you first hear Ten Foot Wizard they come across as a kind of goofy, comedy rock outfit. But the more I hear them the more impressed I get. They show a true love of all kinds of music and are able to draw seamlessly from other genres and implement them into their sound. They also happen to be some of the finest performers and a breath of fresh air in Manchester's Metal and Rock scene. In particular, vocalist and guitarist Gary Harkin has an exquisite vocal tone and such a warm charm and sense of humour, always chatting away with the crowd between songs. The whole band emit such a warm and lovely radiance on stage. Simply unmissable! 9/10.

May 17th 2016 @ Rebellion Manchester

#335: RIFF CONSPIRACY III - MARS RED SKY + SUPPORT - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

  Manchester's Metal scene has taken over the city this year, and on this beautiful Sunday, instead of watching the finale of the Premier League, I found myself attending this all day behemoth of Metal Mayhem, at Rebellion. Manchester sure does love it's all day shows, and at £13 on the door (£10 for early birds), this was an absolute bargain that saw some of the most talented Metal bands from the UK perform with French Psychedelic Metallers Mars Red Sky headlining the show!

BAD EARTH

Opening today's mammoth Metal feast was Bad Earth, a quartet representing Denbigh, North Wales. They kicked off the show with a powerful sound and meaty riffs that sat perfectly between Hard Rock and Stoner Metal. The gravelly vocals of Steve Coxon also added a Grunge influence in there. The resulting sound had equal nods towards Kyuss and Clutch as it did to the classic Zepp and Sabbath sound. Bad Earth was a good way to ease in the show and matched the vibes of the pleasant sunny weather. They had a mixture of slow, Doomy paced songs, and a few faster tempo ones with a hard hitting bass sound. In particular Bad Earth had a tight drummer with a great snare sound and some cool fills, whilst the guitars would sometimes add in psychedelic touches and wah solos. Vocalist Steve really gave it welly and the whole band poured passion into their craft. This was especially evident in their set highlight "Tough Luck", which their frontman said was about a breakdown of a relationship. Though their sound is one I've heard many times, Bad Earth performed really well and hit the sweet spot, kicking off today's epic show on a high. 8/10.
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SILVERCHILD

Following on nicely from openers Bad Earth, was Silverchild, a Hard Rock quartet from Stoke On Trent. The group had to come on earlier than scheduled after 1968 arrived late, but didn't let it phase them. Silverchild are fantastic entertainers who are known for their high energy shows and they certainly didn't disappoint today. They have expertly crafted a retro classic Rock sound, full of punchy and catchy Zeppelin influenced Bluesy riffs. Though Rebellion wasn't too well attended at this point, people started to gradually pour in to witness the storm that Silverchild were brewing. Songs such as "Black Cat" and "Red Desert" had a real stomp and swagger to them. In particular guitarist Vic Jepson is incredibly talented on her guitar, showing great restraint with her love for stop/start swaggering riffs. She also has the ability to rip into lengthy solos as the bassist and drummer jam away to her side. Silverchild's bassist and frontwoman are always moving about the stage and bring a constant unstoppable energy that always invited the crowd to get involved. Frontwoman Alex Hiley commands a special hold on the audience, Though her Bluesy wails and screeches aren't always pitch perfect, she delivers a huge passion and really loses herself in the music, which is really what matters. It's always good when a band plays a new song "The Dictator" and it turns out to be the best in their set. Though Silverchild aren't Metal per se, they are more than capable of mixing it up with the big heavy guns and they managed to bring a lot of fun and excitement to the show today. 8/10.
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1968

Cheshire based rockers 1968 arrived a little late to Manchester today, but I think they can be excused considering their clock is running 48 years too slow! These recent signings to Conan's Black Bow Records label delivered slow swampy riffs with a raw power. Their vocalist Jimi Ray has a Grungey, gravelley wailing tone that reminded me a lot of Chris Cornell. 1968 ripped right into it and carried on the high pacing set by Silverchild before them. My favourite song of theirs this afternoon was "King's Ashes" which knocked me sideways with a massive riff that hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut! The band performed a new song towards the end of their set that was a calmer toned instrumental jam that saw their vocalist leave the stage. I think it was perhaps the wrong gig to be trying out a work in progress song as the energy fell a little flat. Thankfully once their frontman came back they rebuilt the energy with a heavy Blues sound reminiscent of "BadMotorFinger" era Soundgarden. They closed a fantastic set with a brilliant cover of Sabbath's immortal "Into the Void", making them 1971. This confirmed the Soundgarden influence for me, since Cornell and crew did a great similar sounding version of this song. Regardless, they knocked it out of the park and the crowd were singing and headbanging along. 8/10.
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CORINTH

The show was already off to a fine start, but when Leeds Sludge merchants Corinth took the stage they noticeably took the heaviness up a gear! This quartet have just released a fantastic self-titled EP and are riding high off that momentum. They opened with a powerful escalating instrumental that gradually grew in weight, hitting us with thunderous riffs with so much bottom end. I completely lost my shit when they performed the leading track of their new EP, "Solar Blaze". This is one of their fastest tempo songs that opens with lightning harmonised guitars and a Thrashy backbone. Corinth absolutely delievered the brown (that's the local lingo) with their colossal barrage of slumberous sludge riffs and trade off growls from their bassist and guitarist. As heavy as they were though, their speciality for harmonised guitar parts added a real beauty and majestic scope to their sound. I always love it when Corinth visit Manchester and they are becoming serious contenders in the UK Metal scene. 9/10.
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SHRYKULL

Nottingham based duo Shrykull were one of my favourite surprises of the day. They began their set with a disgustingly nasty Sludge onslaught, belted out with just drums and a downtuned 7 string guitar. Both guys would provide huge guttural throat shredding vocals that clawed at the walls, usually trading off against each other. It would have been cool if they had found more times where their vocals came together in unison, but it was still powerful stuff nonetheless. Their drummer Kez absolutely battered his kit and they delivered a bowel churningly heavy opening track. To the surprise of everyone in the Rebellion crowd, after a couple of supreme slow numbers, they completely switched it up with a 10 second long killer PowerViolence song, complete with schizoid blastbeats and hyperspeed barking vocals [NOTE: Manchester needs more PowerViolence!] From here on, Shrykull played at a much faster pace, adding in elements of Thrash and most notably some Black Metal influences. They left us on an incredible finale that summoned the raw Black Metal of Darkthrone. They sent us out with an incredibly raw and fast song full of icy cold tremolo riffs and Kez's primal shrieks. For just 2 band members, Shrykull delivered a surprisingly diverse set taking in different Extreme Metal subgenres. The duo had a distinct lack of finesse in their playing, with a few slip-ups and sloppy moments, but this actually gave them a real charm. They had some funny banter with the crowd and looked like they were really enjoying themselves. True DIY Metal mayhem! 8/10.
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UNDER

Stockport's Under are a true breath of fresh air in the UK Metal scene that often leave even me lost for words! By now Rebellion had filled out nicely and the drinks were flowing. Under kicked straight into one of their trademark jagged and off centre riffs. They tease the audience with odd time signatures that can easily send headbangers in the crowd to slam their head at the wrong moment and make fools of themselves! Their unpredictability and sinister playfulness always takes me off guard. One of Under's great trademarks is the way the unholy trinity will all perform harmonised vocals, as if the Beach Boys were trying to cover Swans! Matt Franklin has a wonderful scream to him and abstract lyricism, yet they can just switch into these lovely singing harmonies at any moment. Under premiered a short new song "Soup" that was actually surprisingly "normal" for them, with a bit of a Melvins-esque vibe. They left us with an epic one two punch of "Suicide By Cop", with the completely deranged chant of "Guns at the finish line" that sends shivers down my spine. They finished on a slightly lighter note with another new song that focused even deeper on harmonies, sounding like The Beatles' "White Album" had been dragged through mud and then played at the wrong speed. Their chant of "Hell is as good a place as anywhere" rang memorably across the Manchester crowd. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but this review is almost meaningless. Under are such an interesting and unique band that words practically fail to describe them accurately, so you simply MUST SEE THEM as soon as possible and have your mind blown away. They always deliver this creepy circus acid trip sound that leaves me feeling like I have been buried alive, with my slowly rotting flesh crawling with beetles and cockroaches as the evil Gnome lords etch out my name on the tombstone whilst I slowly drown in dirt! 9/10.
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OLD MAN LIZARD

Under are not an easy act to follow, but Old Man Lizard rose to the occassion, kicking straight in with a ballsy sound and frantic energy. This Suffolk trio delivered intriguing psyched out Stoner Metal with eerie chords and scatty off kilter rhythms. They managed to deliver a lot of groove and Stoner Metal aesthetics, but have a fun way of mixing it up by chucking in odd chords and jagged riffs to throw the audience off. One of their best tracks of the night began softly with a sweet swaying melody of clean guitars. This lengthy beast gradually grew in density and dynamics, slowly evolving into headbanging gold. But it was their final song "Sea of Witches" that really blew me away. To put it vaguely, it had one of THOSE riffs. You know the kind of belting riff that sounded like it had been hand-crafted by Lord Satan himself, and the infernal one doesn't just hand those riffs out to anyone! "Sea of Witches" was indeed one of the very best moments of the entire day and it was probably the one that caused me to pull a muscle in my neck! 8/10.
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SPACE WITCH

It's been a while since I've seen Space Witch live, but speaking to their vocalist and Electronic wizard Peter Callaghan, they've been keeping a low profile over the past year in order to record their forthcoming new album. Judging by what I saw tonight, this promises to be very exciting indeed. If I'm not mistaken, today was the first time I have seen them perform live vocals, beginning their set with eerie droning dissonance and haunting chanted wails. They soon kicked into a mental slow as fuck riff. The chanting bellow vocals gave a cavernous feel to their sound. One of Space Witch's signatures is their use of electronics (if you know me I am a big fan of Metal bands that merge electronics into their sound). Vocalist Peter has the ominous "drone box" by his side, with an array of pedals and a beautiful analogue synthesiser. In place of traditional vocals, he delivers piercing runs of Carpenter-esque spooky synths that add new dimensions to their sound. Behind this is an assault of some of the most crushing Neurosis-esque riffage that leaves you feeling pulverised into the ground. Space Witch were easily the heaviest band of the day, with their techy droning riffs punching away with mountains of bottom end sublevel bass, which definitely culminated in my splitting headache! When Space Witch performed I got so lost in their utter chaos that I actually forgot I was supposed to be reviewing their show. I probably drooled all over the floor as I couldn't take my eyes away from the sheer magnitude of what I was seeing! Space Witch are simply another one of those bands where I cannot find the right words to truly convey just how special and utterly brilliant they are. But if you are looking for one of the truest and heaviest bands in Britain today, this is it! Mind... Broken... 10/10.
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BOSS KELOID

If you have followed Frenchie's Reviews regularly or you are one of Manchester's Metal regulars, you'll know that I've already covered Boss Keloid many times now. But I promise I am not writing with bias! These guys really are just that good! Tonight Boss Keloid channelled the mentality of Leicester City, because this whole year they have been on an unstoppable high, with the release of their sophomore album "Herb Your Enthusiasm" gaining overwhelmingly positive reviews across the entire Metal media. After a hilarious warm up jam of Cypress Hill's "Ain't Going Out Like That" (complete with Alex Hurst's fine rapping vocals), Boss Keloid kicked into their highly anticipated set that saw every Metalhead in the building drop what they were doing for 30 blissful minutes. The Kellogs Factory noticeably mixed up their set today, opening with the song that usually closes their shows, "Axis of Green". This song is a rugged Metal banger full of jagged Tech riffs that recall Meshuggah. Alex's powerful and versatile "captain caveman" vocals sing of mountains with throat juggling that paints colours across their sound. Switching up their setlist payed dividends tonight, that noticeably allowed the band to deliver what I think was their highest energy set yet. In particular bassist Adam Swarbrick played all over the stage and had a massive presence, delivering crushing low end boulders of Sludge. The crowd helped the band harness that energy because the atmosphere inside Rebellion was absolutely electric. This was the only band on the bill that had a big chunk of the crowd mouthing along every lyric from every song, showing just how much "Herb Your Enthusiasm" has touched the Metal community. Their knockout anthem "Lung Mountain" delivered new realms of heaviness, with Paul "Uncle Crow" Swarbrick's winding guitar arpeggios blowing minds. Boss Keloid finished on their very first performance of the album's epic closing song "Hot Priest", beginning with wonderful jazzy drums from Ste Arands. This beautiful song added new found textures, recalling the spacey textures of Isis (no, not THAT Isis, GOD! What do you take me for!?). Guitarist Paul Swarbrick requested that I give them a 5/10 review for this show... But I just can't bring myself to do it! In fact I have to say that this was their very best performance to date and I think the band felt it too! Boss Keloid and the Rebellion stage are truly a match made in heaven! 10/10 mate!
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MARS RED SKY

Today's very special headliners were French Psychedelic Metallers Mars Red Sky! They may have took a long time to set up, but after Boss Keloid's triumphant set, we all needed some time to recover! Interestingly the band used a projector screen to create backing visuals (which I've never seen at Rebellion before, but unfortunately the lights were too bright so it didn't quite work). The Mars Red Sky trio opened with soft chanting vocals before launching into psyched out swampy riffage. All 3 band members perform lovely vocal harmonies that add a real touch of beauty and wonder to their music. This contrasted well with the elephantine riffs that this band were producing. Perhaps it was because I had a headache that could slay a walrus, but it sounded to me like someone had turned the fuzzy bass amp all the way up to 11, because every bass hit was seriously loud. I could feel the entire floor rumbling as the bass grooves pulsed through my body. In some ways this added to the trippiness of their sound. Mars Red Sky's songs envelop incredibly slowly and it takes some patience to see each song through to the end. Their songs are incredibly slow and teasingly build at a glacial pace. They do add in some psychedelic noodling and spacey ambience to help flesh out the mood of their songs. New song "Mindreader" was a true display of colossal heaviness, but it was one of their other new songs that I loved most, which had this sweet gentle sweeping melody and more of an Indie Rock kind of vibe. Mars Red Sky received an incredible response from the Rebellion crowd, and as thoroughly impressive as they were, at times it was almost too much for me to take! 8/10.
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ELEPHANT TREE

Elephant Tree are usually a Stoner Metal quartet from London, however one of their guitarists was unable to make the tour. I wouldn't have noticed either way though, because the trio played a knockout show. It was noticeable that Mars Red Sky's ridiculous bass heavy sound crept into their set, with so much low end that it threatened to dominate EVERYTHING! Elephant Tree's guitarist had a wail to his vocals that had a bit of a Layne Staley vibe that I really enjoyed. With every song they played they seemed to get heavier and heavier 'til it felt like my brain was going to shatter into pieces! Like a few bands ahead of them today, Elephant Tree's bassist and guitarist performed sweet harmonised vocals. I'm definitely enjoying the use of vocal harmonies in Metal these days! The band had some really funny banter with the crowd and truly slayed the Rebellion stage tonight. I definitely know where their strange name comes from now as their riffs were so heavy, it made me picture Elephants stepping on fallen trees and crushing them into the mud! They ended their set with a mighty cover of "Wild Thing" that usherd in the inevitable Rebellion stage invasion as most of the crowd joined them on stage! 9/10.
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SILVERCHILD - ENCORE

...Just when you thought it was over, promoter and Noiz puppet master Eytan organised for rockers Silverchild to play an impromptu closing set by popular demand from the crowd! This was one of those beautiful touches of magic that Eytan so often pulls out of the bag at his shows. Despite admittedly being really drunk, Silverchild humbly agreed to play to us once more, with an even bigger crowd than when they played earlier in the afternoon. They certainly gave it welly! Somehow they raised the energy even higher than their first show and the atmosphere in the room could not be contained. It only took one song before practically the entire Rebellion crowd bum rushed the stage and got up there with them. Huge props to Silverchild because I don't know how they managed to play so well with about 20 or more people all drunkenly rocking out around them. Even I was invited on stage myself and the view from the Rebellion stage is truly something wonderful! I'm just amazed they could even get through their whole set, but they did it with true grace and style. Silverchild really are one of the most fun live acts that have ever graced the Rebellion stage and I am so glad they got this opportunity to close the show. In an emotional finale, vocalist Alex Hiley shouted that it was the best day of her life, and for everyone who was there in that moment, life looked pretty damn awesome! 10/10.
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...And so closes another legendary chapter of Manchester's bludgeoning Metal scene, proving that this is THE city for live music! A huge thank you to Eytan and the Noiz crew. Their vision is taking constructing gigs into an art form in itself. The sound crew did a fantastic job at molesting my ears and the Rebellion staff are absolute troopers! I think this lineup and the quality of the bands has been the best that Rebellion has seen yet, and that is no easy task! Well done everyone!

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May 15th 2016 @ Rebellion Manchester

#334: CROWHURST & CAINA + SUPPORT - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

This evening I was drawn to Fuel Cafe in Withington, Manchester, for a free show of Industrial Noise and Dark Ambient, tugging on the very furtherest threads of the leftfield Metal spectrum. The double headliners Caina showcased their new direction from their forthcoming album "Christ Clad In White Phosphorus". Crowhurst has come all the way from Los Angeles, California on a self funded world tour to perform his dense Harsh Noise. Plus there were 3 excellent support acts to open the show.

First up, apologies to HEXAGON TRAIL as I missed his performance, which I hear was only his 3rd ever live show. Though I arrived to the show on time, before he took the stage I had some kind of outer body cross dimensional shape shifting experience, where every atom in my body fragmented into the spectral ether, leaving me a ghost trapped in a alternate universe for about 20 minutes whilst he performed... (it happens!) This experience left me unable to catch his set. But I can at least tell you that there was a strong crowd upstairs in Fuel cafe from the start. The lights were dimmed and this one man entity from the decaying abyss of Salford (you know, the one across from Islington Mill on the Crescent, easily my favourite decaying abyss in the UK!) opened up the show. His face was covered with a black hoodie and he had a table in front of him with a laptop, a switchboard and an MPC. Hexagon Trail's music covers many genres, mixing Dark Ambient, Harsh Noise, IDM, Experimental Hip Hop and even a Black Metal finale with screaming vocals. Apologies again for missing more of this mysterious musician, but please check out his debut EP "A Beginning (Descent)", released by Legs Akimbo Records.

Fortunately my physical body managed to escape from the black hole in which I was kept prisoner to catch the second support act of the night, ROASES. This one man act is one of the band members of Manchester based Punk band band Sump. He had an array of pedals set up on a table, and what looked like 2 old laptops facing each other. His speciality was a large metal chain that he would scrape and clang around violently. His choice of microphone placements strategically added to the sound, using amp feedback and different pedal effects to build a cacophony of noise. He also added raw screaming vocals here and there to add menace to the chaos he created. Roases was hindered briefly when the sound cut out, probably because he was hitting his equipment with his chain (or was it the curse of Friday the 13th?), but he carried on in silence without losing his nerve and eventually the sound kicked back in, causing some confusion in the crowd. His set ended with him whacking all his equipment off the table and onto the floor! Roases successfully created a piercing and unsettling set of sounds.

Sandwiched exactly in the middle of the show was RITUAL OBJECT in his debut live performance. Ritual Object is a new project by Caina's Andy Curtis Brignell (unless he has a spot on lookalike) favouring a calmer sound that draws from Electronics, Ambient and Modern Classical. From here on the acts performed in almost total darkness as night fell on Withington, meaning it wasn't possible for me to get any coherent photos any further. Ritual Object performed with just a laptop and he used the keys to trigger different layers, sounds and transitions. Though there wasn't much in an actual performance, thankfully the patient crowd all got involved and kept quiet during his set as you should at any Ambient/Classical performance, so it was lovely to see such respect from the audience. His music began with drawn out sorrowful synths and a hum of choral sounds drifted in and out of his music. Over about 20 minutes, his music grew in intensity ever so slightly, but without tipping into the extreme noise zones of the other acts. One of my favourite parts near the end was when more synthetic Electronic whirls and buzzes came into effect. His sounds were like a merging of Max Richter or Eno's "Music For Airports" kind of  sounds, but eventually grew into something more akin to Tim Hecker or Helm. There were a few glitches in sound and some of the transitions didn't quite hit, but nothing to majorly detract from the experience. In deep contrast to Andy's main act Caina, Ritual Object delivered something genuinely beautiful, relaxing and moving. The kind of music that allows you to close your eyes and relax, enterring a deep state of inner concentration. This could have easily been scoffed at by fans in the crowd wanting something more extreme and noisy, but thankfully it went down really well.

Our first of tonight's double headliners was Salford based CAINA. Though the band have performed as a 4 piece Black Metal band in the past, this tour has seen them reduced to the core duo of Andy Curtis Brignell on electronics and Laurence Taylor on vocals. If you caught my review of them supporting The Body at The Ruby Lounge last month, you'll know they put on a very awesome and intense show. Whilst their sound at The Ruby Lounge was incoherently vague, tonight's performance sounded fantastic and I could hear every part of their dense, layered sound. Andy had a whole table of various pedals, allowing him to manipulate waves of extremely harsh layers of fuzz, noise and blips and beats, backed up with Industrial synths from his laptop. Vocalist Laurence Taylor emerged from the darkness wearing a balaclava and black face paint, bare-chested with cuts on his body. Like Roases before, he grasped at chains, swirling them in a bowl to add eerie dungeon-like sounds to the mix. He then got right in the faces of the crowd, screaming like a mad man, with his microphone wrapped around his neck like a noose. There were times when he was flat on the floor screaming, and he even was hitting the microphone into his head in a display of utter rage and inner torment. His lyrics from what I could decipher sounded very abstract, political and thought provoking. What I love about Laurence is that in person he is a really calm and nice guy, but when he takes the stage he takes on a complete transformation into a disturbed and confrontational mad man, like he has just escaped from the asylum.

The highlight of Caina's set for me was a cover song (I'm told it was a Ministry cover). Above the pulsing Industrial chaos, both Andy and Laurence came together, adding blackened rasps and growls. The way the pair's vocals bounced off each other and traded off was magnificent and for me this was something that took their performance to the next level over their Ruby Lounge show. Caina is genuinely one of the most intense and extreme live performances I have ever witnessed in my life. Laurence especially is the ultimate physical performance, pouring everything into his craft. The way he gets right up into the faces of people in the crowd is genuinely terrifying. When you see Caina live it is more than just an experience of live music, but also something that verges on watching a Horror show unfold before your very eyes. Approach these maniacs with extreme caution!

Finishing a fantastic night of violent noise was CROWHURST (aka Jay Gambit), one of the modern masters of the craft. This extremely prolific Noise artist has already built up a vast discography over the last 10 years or so and is flying the flag set by artists such as Merzbow and Lustmord before him. Armed with just a microphone and a laptop, he sat before us, shrouded in darkness, building dense layers of buzzing noise and swirling layers of piercing static that seemed to grab at every corner of the room. Like most of the acts before him, he added in blackened shrieks over his music as well as ethereal tribal chanting. Just as I was really getting into it and zoning out into a hypnotic trance it ended way too briefly with a set that felt about 10-15 minutes long. This lovely dude from LA certainly left me wanting more and I hope that next time I get to hear more sides to his sound as my ears and my brain weren't quite molested enough!

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Big thanks to promoter Brandon Smith, plus an excellent sound engineer and Fuel Cafe for putting on this show. There was a great turn out and the best part was that people left this show having their expectations shattered by noises and sounds far into the leftfield of modern music. Tonight I saw some of the most extreme acts in modern music.
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May 13th 2016 @ Fuel Cafe, Withington.

#333: Corinth - Corinth

2016
Sludge Metal, Psychedelic Rock
Self-Released

Corinth are a Sludge Metal band with some Progressive tendancies. Since 2013, the quartet have already put out 2 fantastic EPs, with this self titled effort being their 3rd. Though their sound certainly contains some Sludge Riffs and Hardcore vocals, Corinth have proven themselves to think further afield, adding varying tempos and reaching out to different subgenres of Metal to take influence, making for an eclectic and varying sound.

One of the Corinth's most notable trademarks is their superb ear for harmonised guitar leads, provided by the guitars of Ben and Vanessa. Right from the opening of "Solar Blaze" the harmonised tapping guitars are in full effect in what may be their fastest track yet. This EP opener kicks in with a fast and furious Thrash pace, occassionally submitting into groove laden mid-tempo riffs. This is a seriously fun and impressive opening track.

Things take a much darker and slower turn on second track "Those With No Eyes". Instead of the warm harmonies, here the guitars create a much more sinister mood, playing with discordance. It's almost as if the friendly harmonised guitars had a falling out and are now playing against each other! This track is also splendid, offering ferocious doses of meaty Sludge and psyched out vocals. Certainly a bad trip into Surreal Horror film atmospheres!

The EP closes with an epic behemoth just shy of 10 minutes, "Ironclad". The track builds and builds with a swampy bass and guitar sound, and vocals that escalate from trippy to full on roaring. The "return to the sea" motif delivers a hypnotic grip on the listener as the the psychedelic guitars cycle over, weaving in and out of the stereo mix.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed their 2 previous EPs, I think this 3rd one is their best yet. Corinth continue to find diverse influences to add to their sound, and in particular the switch between the fast Thrashy opener, and the slower tracks after works really well. This EP just grabs you from the start and will have you wanting to hit play again by its conclusion. Corinth also sound at their best, with a fantastic sound mix throughout. I think the Leeds quartet are ready to deliver their first full length now! 8/10.

#332: GHOSTFACE KILLAH - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

I've seen Wu Tang Clan's legendary Ghostface Killah a few times in the past at big venues such as the Manchester Ritz and London's Roundhouse, but tonight was something even more special. Promoters Glasswerk have managed to get one of Hip Hop's greatest artists to perform at the tiny, intimate FAC251 nightclub!

The night began with various DJ's and local emcees, including Jamie Ernesto Groovement and Paris Harding spinning on the decks. playing a great mixture of Hip Hop classics (mostly from the 80s and 90s golden era), plus a few slightly more obscure classics, my pick of the bunch being the incredible "Time's Up" by O.C.

The first MC of the night was Red Venom, who brought back the golden sound of Boom Bap to the increasingly packed club. He gave it great gusto with his husky voice and raised the energy of the crowd, with his tight rhymes and interaction with the audience. This cemented the stage for the Manchester trio who were voted to be support act by popular demand, Illerstate. They had a larger than life attitude and energy, getting the crowd to scream WU TANG loud enough for Ghostface to hear in the back room. The trio all switched lead rapping roles in their songs and came together as one for the choruses. Their beats were hard hitting, promoting their new "Evilution" EP. They definitely went down well with the crowd which was now filled to the back of the room. They left the stage by throwing CDs of their album into the crowd!

After about a half hour delay, Ghostface Killah hit the stage at about 10:15 with his buddy and long time Wu-Tang affiliate Killah Priest by his side, whose rhymes were equally on point. The two blitzed through Wu Tang classics, not just from Ghostface's solo albums, but Wu-Tang joints and other Wu Tang solo classics such as GZA's "4th Chamber", Raekwon's "Ice Cream" and ODB's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"! Ghost's vocals and energy were completely on point as usual, and being right at the front of the crowd, I was in awe to be within reaching distance of a legend. One of the best highlights for me was his cover of "Eye For An Eye" by Mobb Deep (which Ghost doesn't actually feature on, but his sparring partner Raekwon did). 

There were a few shortcomings to the show. Many of the songs only featured a verse or two, before aprubtly cutting into the next one. This ensured that many great classics were covered, and the selection was great, but it would have been awesome to hear them in full. "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing to Fuck Wit" in particular is a song that should never be cut short! If Ghost had came on at the scheduled time, he would have been able to play the songs in full. Also Ghostface and Killah Priest were clearly frustrated about the frequent sound issues that plagued their set. It sounded like a dodgy connection was causing the DJ's turntables to cut in and out. Though because they kept asking the sound engineers to turn it up, it got to such silly loud levels that an equipment breakdown seemed inevitable! The biggest flaw in tonight's show though was that out of nowhere, Ghost invited an unannounced duo of rappers from London to take the stage for a couple of songs. They weren't even introduced, and nobody seemed to know who they were. After witnessing such an out of this world atmosphere in the intimate space, when the two unknown Londoner's came on, I've never seen the energy of a show die so quickly. The crowd were completely uninterested, and their music didn't at all match the sound and style of those Wu Tang bangers. Very bad move indeed! It would have been better if he had asked for them to take a support slot instead.

Luckily Ghostface Killah came back on stage for a few more, climaxing with his solo hit "Cherchez La Ghost". Though his performance was a little topsy turvy, with a couple of low points, and some massive highs, the overall experience was a positive one. The Factory nightclub had a booming atmosphere within. Booking Ghostface to play such a small venue was an inspired move. Even Killah Priest said on stage that it felt like going back to the early days, where Wu Tang would play small club shows with DJ's playing half broken decks! 

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May 10th 2016 @ FAC251, Manchester

#331: SQUAREPUSHER PRESENTS... SHOBALEADER ONE + LAFAWNDAH - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

LAFAWNDAH

Iranian born Paris resident and Warp Records affiliate Lafawndah opened up tonight's preceedings at Manchester Gorilla. It was a minimalist set, with just her on vocals to a backing track. The backing track played bass heavy grooves with an occasional funky twang, but mostly the sound was UK R&B inspired, with a slight pinch of that signature Warp Electronica.

Lafawndah came out to a quiet crowd with muted lighting and launched into her first song, sounding like French lyrics. Throughout the set it sounded like she would swap between English and French lyrics. She had a sway to her and a sensuality in her husky vocals. She weaved in and out of the sometimes wonky beats with a jazz influenced flow. After the second song the lights kicked in properly and pounding, shuffling bass hit the Gorilla stage. Lafwandah's energy increased throughout the show. There were definite Bjork vibes, not only in the choice of beats that had a "Human Nature" style, but the tone of her voice and the way she used her voice showed definite comparison. 

Whilst I enjoyed the first couple of songs, as the set went on there wasn't a whole lot of variation in the sounds. With just a backing beat and vocals, not only was it a little too minimalist to hold up for 40 minutes, but it left very few surprises in store. For a live show, more was needed to flesh out the performance and mix things up. A live DJ or Electronic musician at the helm could have added more of a live feel. Lafawndah felt detatched from the music in a way, with no major effects used or different styles and tempos covered to mix things up. Also other than being on the same label as Squarepusher & Shobaleader One, there was next to nothing in common with the headliner's sound, making her not a fitting choice of support. Whilst at first the crowd seemed enthusiastic, the interest noteably waned as her set went on and some people in the crowd turned away and started chatting. 6/10.

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SHOBALEADER ONE

After a teasing drone intro, a quartet of ninjas appeared from the shadows and took their instruments. For those who don't know yet, Shobaleader One is a live band formed by Tom "Squarepusher" Jenkinson in 2009. They all dress up in black cloaks, wearing masks that bare constant flashing lights that change to the mood of each song. Squarepusher himself performed on stage, being an accomplished virtuso bass player. Shobaleader One played a mixture of their own material, and threw in some Squarepusher classics, re-arranged for instruments.

Shobaleader One opened their visually spectacular show with a dub influenced bass heavy grooving track. They then launched into a lively rendition of Squarepusher's "Cooper's World", with the track reinvented beautifully as a Jazz-Funk 70s Blaxsploitation cop chase scene rendition! Throughout the show they played very Jazz-Funk orientated grooves. Their keyboardist added Electronic sounds, but it was much more natural sounding than Squarepusher's signature output. In particular it leaned far less towards his wild Drum N Bass/IDM sound and closer towards his Fusion sounds of the "Music Is Rotted One Note" and "Ultravisitor" albums.

Shobaleader One played a diverse set with a sound reminiscent of Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" Funk-Fusion period, and Miles Davis' Psychedelic Funk Jazz of the early 70s. Squarepusher and his insanely talented friends successfully showcased the crazy erraticness of Squarepusher's solo work, combined with rich, down to earth virtuoso playing that for the musicians in the crowd must have been absolutely mindblowing. Rarely have I seen such unbelievably talented musicianship before my very eyes. Shobaleader One are incredibly tight. Squarepusher was even doing insane tapping solos and slap bass, making me wonder why he isn't regarded as one of the world's finest bass players more often (keep an eye out Les Claypool!) The drummer also was an absolute beast, with lightning fills, constantly shifting time signatures and tempos and so much energy. Their drummer successfully managed to take IDM electronic beats and bring them to a live kit.

The greatest impression that Shobaleader One left tonight, was that they proved themselves to be one of the tightest, most insanely talented and well organised bands on the planet... And yet they were constantly exciting and played with a real freedom and groove. The fact that these 4 men are able to perform for nearly two hours, some of the most technically demanded playing, whilst dressed in black robes, and wearing masks that had multicoloured flashing lights right in front of their very eyes is next to impossible! But they did it flawlessly, and it looked like the entire crowd was blown away and left gobsmacked. Squarepusher has a very good and vast discrography behind him, but I think when this man performs live he takes it to a whole other level. Warp Records is still a hotspot of true innovation in music, and this will surely go down as one of the best live shows of the year in Manchester! 10/10.

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May 6th 2016 @ Gorilla, Manchester.