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!
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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...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
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