The community of heavy metal - where's that then?

Those of you who have seen Sam Dunn’s docu-film “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey” will know he set out to study the music we love as a culture as much as for the art form – as he’s an anthropologist.

Culture would, however, denote a sense of a shared passion and of community, something Mr Dunn focuses on. But there’s a flaw in his reasoning.

You do see this sense of community forming at the big festivals like Download and Bloodstock. These festivals have the infectious spirit of a huge group of like-minded people uniting to have fun and enjoy the music we all love. The fact the world outside the festival’s bubble doesn’t understand? We just don’t care.

Moshers, metalheads, Goths – call us what you like – we’re heavy metal fans and we are proud of it!

So why do we not get this same spirit found at the festivals in the local scene here in the Steel City (Sheffield, UK)?

Something that’s become very apparent is the idea of “true metal” – only metal which falls into this category, usually the most extreme forms of black, death and doom, is considered to be the real thing – everything else is “poser” or “fake”. So apparently, if you can’t growl like Nergal of Behemoth or you don’t have the scream of Mortuus from Marduk, you just aren’t metal?

To me, metal is an art form that has to be reckoned with. In the late 70’s and early 80’s it was actually one of the most popular forms of music, despite the efforts of many in authority in America and elsewhere. Despite a drop in popularity from those dizzying heights, it maintains a vast and loyal fan base who are enduringly passionate for the music. In the words of Rob Zombie – “I’ve never heard “Yeah, I was in to Slayer, one summer!” I’ve never met that guy!”

And whether the metal in question is black, death, power, symphonic, progressive, battle or any other of the prefixes it acquires, on a basic level it has the same elements as all the rest – it’s metal, pure and simple. And metal is a force all of its own.

Heavy Metal is the kind of music that speaks to the outsiders and the loners, the people who never fitted in to the model society had laid out for them for any number of reasons. We all know we are set apart by being fans of metal music – we’re considered society’s outcasts as a whole because we dare to follow the music that doesn’t confirm to the prescribed format, and doesn’t set out to please the masses. Metal is as it is, you take it or you leave it, and if you don’t like the message it gives out, well then, don’t listen. And that is the attitude of a united front.

So why are we splitting ourselves up even further into silly factions of what’s “true” and what isn’t? Surely all the music which falls under the bracket of “metal”, like it or not, is speaking on the same level?

What a lot of people don’t accept is that metal, by its nature as a type of music, is also an art form. Art and music both have to change, they have to grow and evolve with time. Those that don’t frankly just don’t last long. Moving with the times can sometimes mean commercial success on a given level. But wait! That’s not metal, that’s selling out!

I hate to break this to the True Metal Elitists out there, but if metal didn’t have any viable commercial success at all, there would be no albums, no metal club nights, no live gigs and definitely no festivals. And what, pray tell, would be the point of that? Yes, the message would still be there loud and clear – but a message is there to be shouted from the rooftops and heard by anyone who will listen, not to be hidden away to die unheard?

If heavy metal had no commercial success at all, if it had died on its feet back in the days of the mighty Black Sabbath, then think of what we would be missing from our lives, and think of the unspoken numbers of people that metal reached out to and helped, who wouldn’t ever have received that comfort because there was no success and therefore, frankly, no music. For example, what’s wrong with a Grammy for Best Metal Performance? The bands we love are artists at the end of the day, and they deserve some kind of recognition by the masses for their dedication and brilliance.

Put in that context, is commercial viability really so “not metal?”

All these silly things are splitting the metal fan base apart for no good reason – society by its very nature would do that job quite happily for us, so why are we doing it for them?

If we’re a community of outcasts, as Mr Dunn suggests in his film, isn’t it about time we banded together again and acted like a one?

The Berzerker Aussie Tour

Tasmanian industrial brutality, otherwise known as The Berzerker, have now are set to embark on an all new Australian/New Zealand tour. The band will be taking The Amenta along with them for the ride, and also having local supports at each show.
More information can be found at www.myspace.com/theberzerker or in the flier below.

Metaholic End of year Poll

Greetings metalheads! It's been a short while, but now that we have left 2008 in it's wake and are heading for a whole new year of metal, it's time for our first ever Metaholic End of year Poll. We're asking you, the fans, to tell us what you thought were the best and worst of 2008.
To do just that, simply send in your reply to metaholic.mat@gmail.com by Feb 15th and the results will be put together, and posted shortly after.

So here are all the appropriate bests and worsts of Metal in 2008. Time for you to have your say.

Best Album
Worst Album
Best Live Act
Worst Live Act
Best Guitarist
Best Drummer
Best Bassist
Best Vocalist
Worst Vocalist
Best New Band
Worst New Band
Best Festival
Best Album Art
Worst Album Art
Most looking forward to in 2009

Send your answers to me at metaholic.mat@gmail.com by Feb 15th. And please, tell your friends to take part aswell. But remember, there's only one submission per email address.

Stay brutal!

SOULFLY ANNOUNCE TOUR EP

SOULFLY are to release a digital EP to coincide with their February tour. The ‘Blood Fire War Hate’ tour EP will hit stores on 9th February 2009 and will feature the following tracks, which were all recorded live in Poland in 2005:

1. Blood Fire War Hate (Album version)
2. Prophecy (live)
3. Downstroy (live)
4. The Frontlines (live)
5. Living Sacrifice (live)
6. Mars (live)

This will Cooincide with the upcoming tour.

Jan. 28, 2009 - Stuttgart, Germany @ LKA
Jan. 29, 2009 - Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
Jan. 30, 2009 - Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Effenar
Jan. 31, 2009 - Lille, France @ Splendid
Feb. 1, 2009 - Portsmouth, UK @ Pyramid Centre
Feb. 2, 2009 - Oxford, UK @ Zodiac at Academy
Feb. 3, 2009 - Bristol, UK @ Academy
Feb. 4, 2009 - Dublin, Ireland @ Academy
Feb. 5, 2009 - Belfast, Ireland @ Spring & Airbrake
Feb. 6, 2009 - Glasgow, Scotland @ ABC
Feb. 7, 2009 - Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
Feb. 8, 2009 - Leeds, UK @ The Cockpit
Feb. 9, 2009 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Feb. 10, 2009 - Wolverhamton, UK @ Wulfren Hall
Feb. 11, 2009 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
Feb. 12, 2009 - Paris, France @ Bataclan
Feb. 13, 2009 - Cler. Ferrand, France @ Coop. de Mai
Feb. 14, 2009 - Bilbao, Spain @ Kafe Antzokia
Feb. 15, 2009 - Madrid, Spain @ Sala Heineken
Feb. 16, 2009 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Coliseum
Feb. 17, 2009 - Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Apolo
Feb. 18, 2009 - Toulouse, France @ Bikini
Feb. 19, 2009 - Fribourg, Switzerland @ Fri-Son
Feb. 20, 2009 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Xtra
Feb. 21, 2009 - Milan, Italy @ Rolling Stone
Feb. 22, 2009 - Rome, Italy @ Alpheus
Feb. 23, 2009 - Treviso, Italy @ New Age
Feb. 24, 2009 - Graz, Austria @ Orpheum
Feb. 25, 2009 - Saarbrucken, Germany @ Garage
Feb. 26, 2009 - Salzburg, Austria @ Rockhouse
Feb. 27, 2009 - Linz, Austria @ Posthof
Feb. 28, 2009 - Worgl, Austria @ Komma
Mar. 1, 2009 - Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
Mar. 2, 2009 - Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof
Mar. 3, 2009 - Wuerzburg, Germany @ Soundpark Ost.
Mar. 4, 2009 - Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
Mar. 5, 2009 - Chemnitz, Germany @ Sudbahnhof
Mar. 6, 2009 - Czech Republic @ Metalmania Festival
Mar. 7, 2009 - Poland @ Metalmania Festival
Mar. 9, 2009 - Budapest, Hungary @ Diesel Park
Mar. 10, 2009 - Ljubljana, Slovenia @ Media Par
Mar. 11, 2009 - Zagreb, Croatia @ Tvonica Club
Mar. 12, 2009 - Belgrade, Serbia @ SKC
Mar. 13, 2009 - Athens, Greece @ Gagarin
Mar. 14, 2009 - Thessaloniki, Greece @ Milos Apothiki Stage
Mar. 15, 2009 - Sofia, Bulgaria @ Universiada Hall
Mar. 16, 2009 - Bucharest, Romania @ Sala Polivalenta
Mar. 17, 2009 - Kiev, Ukraine @ Club Bingo
Mar. 18, 2009 - Vilnius, Lithuania @ Forum Palace Galaxy
Mar. 19, 2009 - Riga, Latvia @ Dream Factory
Mar. 20, 2009 - Tallin, Estonia @ Rock Cafe
Mar. 21, 2009 - Helsinki, Finland @ Nosturi
Mar. 23, 2009 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Tyrol
Mar. 24, 2009 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Tradgarn
Mar. 25, 2009 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
Mar. 26, 2009 - Malmo, Sweden @ KB
Mar. 27, 2009 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Rock

Support for these dates comes from Phoenix, AZ based outfit, Incite, who are fronted by Max’s stepson, Ritchie Cavalera!

Check out www.soulfly.com for further touring and release information.

Graspop Metal Meeting first bands announced

The names of the first 25 acts to play in Dessell, Belgium this year have been announced on the festivals official website.

Heaven & Hell, Disturbed, Volbeat, Papa Roach, Blind Guardian, Anthrax, Trivium, Sacred Reich, W.A.S.P., Devil Driver, Epica, Legion Of The Damned, Parkway Drive, God Forbid, Kataklysm, Firewind, Laaz Rockit', Keep Of Kalessin, Scar Symmetry, Samael, Dagoba, Negura Bunget, Taake, Eths and olves In The Throne Room

Note that none of these bands are headliners. So we should be in for another good one this year.

The festival will take place between June 26th and 28th, 2009.

gODGRINDER's Best Metal Albums of 2008

Let's face it: 2008 has probably been one of the crappiest years in recent memory for, well, everyone. Unless you're a metalhead; then this year was fan-freakin-tastic. Here is a list of my top picks for 2008 in alphabetical order:



Aborted – Strychnine.213

Released a little more than a year after “Slaughter and Apparatus,” this album sees the Belgian bruisers dishing out another infectious and groovy slab of gore-grind debauchery. Two albums in less than two years, a seemingly endless touring schedule, and their own TV channel on the web make Aborted one of the hardest-working bands in modern metal.




Abysmal Dawn - Programmed to Consume

This album is a high-energy affair which strikes a refreshing balance between modern technicality and old-school crunch. Not a reinvention of the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but they have the chops to hold their own with any of the more prolific acts out there. Plus, the fact that they opened for Emperor helps their street cred just a touch.



All Shall Perish – Awaken the Dreamers

2008’s follow up to “The Price of Existence” finds the boys in ASP sharpening their claws with an melodic, yet incisive deathcore opus. While they might have pulled back the throttle a bit, the album still has teeth as Eddie Hermida belts forth venomous diatribes against the government and corporations. The source material isn’t original in the least, but its execution is nearly flawless.



Arsis – We Are the Nightmare

The word “technical” gets thrown out a lot in death metal circles, yet bands whose proficiency barely extends beyond sweep picking get lumped in with truly extraordinary guitarists like Arsis’ James Malone. Make no mistake; this is technical (yet melodic) metal at its cleanest and most brilliant. All non-believers are instructed to catch Arsis live and then report back.



Bleeding Through – Declaration

“Declaration” represents the culmination of a musical evolution which saw Bleeding Through shift from a throwaway metalcore act to a more credible, symphonic black metal direction. This album is their best yet, and one of the few out there today where haunting keyboards add to the proceedings instead of detracting from them (Here’s looking at you, Winds of Plague). This is a GREAT album.



Burning Skies – Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption

This album stands out as one of the fastest, most chaotic slabs of aural aggression to be released this year. Is it the most technical or even the most original sound? Not by a long shot. But one must admire the balls-to-the-wall manner in which the proceedings are carried out. This is an exhausting, but satisfying listening experience.



Daylight Dies – Lost to the Living

Doom metal seems to be making something of a comeback, and Daylight Dies are leading the charge. “Lost to the Living” is a powerful, dense, and melodic effort. Few bands can plumb the darkest corners of human emotion as adeptly as these gentlemen, and present a work which is truly introspective and avoids the cliché of hopeless whining (My Dying Bride comes to mind) that often permeates this genre.



The Faceless – Planetary Duality

The Faceless’ sophomore effort is a jaw-dropping display of technical might, with a rhythm section and lead guitarist who both play as if possessed by some otherworldly force. True to what has become the “Sumerian Sound,” every instrument comes through clean as a whistle, allowing the listener to absorb every nuance of every perfectly-played note. No studio tricks, no distortion, and no effects to cover up any blemishes in the playing; these guys lay it all out there to show the world just how f**king good they really are.



Heaven Shall Burn – Iconoclast

If one can make a single statement about Heaven Shall Burn, it is that they sure know how to open an album. Just like 2004’s “Antigone,” “Iconoclast” opens with “Awoken,” a soft, sorrowful string arrangement which simultaneously lulls and builds tension in the listener just before “Endzeit” bludgeons us upside the head. The album doesn’t let up the entire way and serves as a prime example of how to do melodic DM right. If this album doesn’t get your heart racing, you’re probably dead.



Hollow Corp – Cloister of Radiance

The progressive-post-hardcore crowd had a good year in 2008 with solid releases from bands like Gojira and Mouth of the Architect. However, “Cloister of Radiance” is arguably the most solid of them all. When bands make music this good, it makes life as a metalhead worth living.



Ishahn – Angl

The sophomore solo effort from the former Emperor frontman is just as varied, but more accessible, than 2006’s “The Adversary.” This album is a dark, harsh progressive black metal beast which proves to the world that, despite Emperor’s infamy and notoriety across the globe, Isahn’s music career has not even peaked yet. In fact, he’s probably well into his stride and there’s very little stopping him from making the shift from cult metal hero to out-and-out icon.



Illdisposed – The Prestige

Many a music snob would cry foul at this album’s inclusion on this list. Largely overlooked by the music press and fans at large, it is one of those rare gems that snuck in under the radar. Is the music the most technical or original? Not by a long shot. But somehow everything on this CD came together really well. Catchy guitar hooks, memorable melody lines, and awesome drumming make this one stand up to repeated listenings. In other words, it f’ing ROCKS.



Kataklysm – Prevail

Let’s get something out of the way now: “Serenity in Fire” sucked. Nearly all hope for this band was lost until they came back with 2006’s “In the Arms of Devastation,” which turned out to be one of the strongest and most satisfying releases of that year. “Prevail” continues that tradition with a solid batch of aggressive death metal completely devoid of pretense. They came to destroy and take no prisoners and that’s exactly what they did. Here’s hoping they can keep up this momentum because if they can, they will certainly become one of the more prolific metal acts in the world.



Meshuggah – ObZen

One of the more anticipated albums of the year, “ObZen” sees Meshuggah returning to “form” (I use the term loosely) after 2005’s experimental (and somewhat disappointing) “Catch Thirty Three.” The entire band plays more than competently on the CD, but the real highlight is Thomas Haake’s drumming. How he managed to lay down the rhythm patterns he did, especially on the album’s strongest track “Bleed,” is nothing short of awe-inspiring.



Misery Index – Traitors

In 2008, life for people all over the globe all but went to hell as the result of corporate greed and governmental corruption, and Misery Index have provided the soundtrack to the entire debacle. This album sees the group at their most pissed off as they level scathing indictments at the people who have benefited the most from the world’s misery. It will be interesting to see how many bank burnings get attributed to this disc.



Misery Signals – Controller

This album is nearly perfectly executed. Lush acoustic soundscapes interspersed with harsh metalcore dirges and heart-wrenching lyrics. The emotional and sonic depth of this album cannot be overstated. It is not only one of the best metal albums of 2008, but possibly of the last decade.



Plague Bringer – Life Songs in a Land of Death

This genre-defying effort comes to us courtesy of two very pissed off men and a drum machine. While the rawer nature of the disc has many music critics quick to slot Plague Bringer into the “grindcore” canon, the compositions on this album are too long and too epic to draw an accurate similarity with acts like Pig Destroyer or Agoraphobic Nosebleed. It is “machine metal” to be sure, but is so innovative that it escapes comparison with anything out there today.



Psycroptic – Ob (Servant)

Hailing from Australia, Psycroptic popped up on the radar with Willowtip’s 2007 re-issue of their “Symbols of Failure” album, which apparently also caught Nuclear Blast’s attention. “Ob (Servant)” is just as strong as “Symbols,” with a vocal and guitar attack which wouldn’t sound out of place on any of Decapitated’s better efforts. Are they a Decapitated copycat? Not in the least. But with Decapitated’s uncertain future, Psycroptic are well-suited to take up their mantle if called to it.



The Rotted – Get Dead or Die Trying

From the ashes of the UK’s Gorerotted comes an album with the same kind of tongue-in-cheek humor as their previous efforts but with much stronger songwriting. This album’s strength lies in its catchiness first and sonic intensity second.




Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe

This album strikes the ideal balance between melodic death metal and power-prog, with crunching guitars and guttural growls paired beautifully with verdant synthscapes and soaring clean vocals. The energy of this album is undeniable and it will be interesting to see where their career takes them with the departure of the original vocalist and introduction of two new vocalists. One of the best this year by far.

So there you have it. While 2008 has been an awesome year for metal, pending releases from Deadlock, Antigama, Satryricon and more promise to make 2009 even better.

Deicide Australian Tour April 2009

After issues with promoters earlier this year, and a canceled Australian tour for 2008, Florida-based death metal veterans DEICIDE have scheduled the following dates in Australia and New Zealand for 2009!

April 04 - Transmission Room - Auckland, NZ
April 05 - QUT Guild Bar - Brisbane, AUS
April 06 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, AUS
April 07 - The Manning Bar - Sydney, AUS
April 08 - Capitol - Perth, AUS

Make sure you get out to one of the following shows!

Live Review - Slipknot at Sheffield Arena - 12/12/08

Children of Bodom:

With an unfortunately limited 35-minute set tonight, we’re only treated to small fraction of the Children of Bodom live experience which is a shame because their mix of thrash, power and extreme metal is pretty unparalleled in the music world at the moment. Alexi Laiho and co. are particularly unique and songs like ‘Angel’s Don’t Kill’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ are certified head-bangers and although they have their work cut out getting a crowd moving at 7pm, for the most part, they manage just fine. The only minor gripe however is Alexi’s frontman skills. Hopefully, he will eventually drop the excessive use of the f-word as it begins to lose its intended effect when used 10 times in one sentence.

Setlist:

Hellhounds On My Trail

In Your Face

Blooddrunk

Angels Don’t Kill

Hate Me

Hate Crew Deathroll

Downfall

Machine Head:

Once the houselights descend for the second time tonight, a deafening chant of ‘Machine F-In Head’ roars through the arena and the band open with ‘Clenching The Fist Of Dissent’ from last year’s much hailed ‘The Blackening’. While the album was no doubt Machine Head’s finest hour to date musically, live the songs tend to drag on a little too long for those of us who became used to Machine Head rocking us with anthems like ‘Take My Scars’, ‘Ten Ton Hammer’, ‘From This Day’ and ‘Blood, Sweat, Tears’. Sadly, songs such as these are dropped tonight in favour of the newer material that allow Rob Flynn and co. to show off their instrumental wizadry, despite the fact that since the album came out, the set has been pretty much the same. With fifteen minutes more allotted to Machine Head than Children Of Bodom, they still only manage to fit in the same amount of songs which gives you an idea of how long some of these behemoths drag on for. And in much the same vein as Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho, Robb Flynn really is too old to be using the f-word quite so excessively as, just like with Alexi, it becomes devoid of any intended effect (oh and Robb, you like circle pits, we get it). With only around 50 minutes allotted to them at last year’s Download Festival, the Black Crusade tour, this tour and no doubt the same amount of time in February when they return to support Metallica, there’s something unappealing about having to sit through the same setlist, again, for the fourth time in two years. Don’t get me wrong, Machine Head never put on a bad show and they certainly have more about them than 99% of what passes for metal these days, and I can imagine that those seeing Machine Head for the first time tonight would not have left disappointed but I hope they soon take their own advice and “bite the bullet” by playing full shows in smaller venues. Unfortunately, Machine Head’s set had to be cut short by one song tonight as guitarist Phil Demmel collapsed during ‘Halo’ and had to be carried off stage by his bandmates – thankfully, the crowd was later informed by Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor that Demmel was ok and would be fine.
Setlist:

Clenching The Fist Of Dissent

Imperium

Beautiful Morning

Aesthetics Of Hate

Old

Halo

Slipknot:

Unlike Machine Head, the headliners tonight never had to worry about treating us to a familiar setlist, or about an over-saturated presence in the UK in the last few years as the anticipation of the crowd tonight is at fever pitch. Slipknot have not played on these shores since the 2005 Download Festival and their cancelled appearances at Reading and Leeds this year only served to heighten the anticipation of tonight’s crowd. The band start as they mean to go on, opening with ‘Surfacing’ which tonight comes across a statement of intent – that Slipknot are back to claim their throne and lay all the young pretenders to waste. Frontman Corey Taylor confesses that the band are tired after such a long tour which can only mean that tonight’s furious performance is the result of a band running on adrenaline because you seriously can’t tell, with everyone in the band giving their all to a crowd that have been waiting far too long for their heroes to return.

Despite sporting a new mask that makes him look slightly like the Hitcher from the Mighty Boosh, Taylor is attired not in a boiler suit but in a Slipknot jacket, jeans and converse trainers – this is not the Slipknot of old and the band know that re-invention is the key to a successful career and the contrast in their musical extremes is evident in what can only be described as a surprising setlist. Instead of ‘Wait and Bleed’ and ‘Left Behind’, we are treated to oldies that some (the band including) may have thought were buried forever such as ‘Prosthetics’ and a ferocious run-through of ‘Get This’. But there are still plenty of anthems to get the crowd jumping and tracks like ‘Before I Forget’, ‘Duality’ and ‘The Heretic Anthem’ nearly take the roof off the place, not to mention the ever popular JTFU moment in ‘Spit It Out’ and dance-floor friendly number ‘Psychosocial’ both of which make the crowd go truly mental. And if anyone ever doubted Slipknot’s heaviness, they encore not with the songs most people expect, but with the brutal ‘People = Shit’ and ‘(sic)’, the latter complete with a revolving, almost upside-down drum solo from Joey Jordison that would make Tommy Lee wet his pants.

Slipknot will always have their naysayers that dismiss them for the masks, or their popularity, or for the fact that Corey occasionally likes to broaden the band’s musical horizons by actually singing, but tonight, naysayers be damned. Just witness Mick Thompson’s piercing solos, Joey Jordison’s blistering drumbeats or Corey Taylor’s call-to-arms style of whipping up a crowd and tell me this isn’t metal. In fact, never mind that, there are times when Slipknot are more of an extreme metal band than any of the one-dimensional Terrorizor crowd you care to name. But they’re popular, loved by kids and adults alike and are playing in an arena with pyrotechnics so of course that will never be metal to some. To the rest of us that don’t live by some self-imposed imaginary rulebook, Slipknot are one of the best live acts around and to miss them when they’re sure to come back next year would be to miss out.
Setlist:

Surfacing

The Blister Exists

Get This

Before I Forget

Liberate

Disasterpiece

Dead Memories

Psychosocial

The Heretic Anthem

Prosthetics

Spit It Out

Duality

Only One

Encore:

People=Shit

(Sic)

Live Review - The Wildhearts at Manchester Academy 2 - 7/12/08

Tragedy

There are some things you never think you’re going to see. And I bet that a glam-metal, Bee-Gees tribute band is probably on most people’s list. However, assumptions be damned because this is exactly the band that is chosen to open for The Wildhearts on this UK tour and Tragedy are the perfect example of Ginger’s quirky sense of humour. Put their awesomely titled debut ‘We Rock Sweet Balls And Can Do No Wrong’ onto your iTunes and you’ll see that the songs are categorised as ‘unclassifiable’ which is probably the best description one could give a band like this. On paper, this shouldn’t work but with a little suspension of disbelief, it’s impossible not to come away from Tragedy’s performance without a huge grin on your face. While it’s certainly doubtful that this current gimmick will lend itself to a long-term career, Tragedy are funny as hell and they put a much-needed smile on everyone’s face and that’s perfectly fine for now.

The Wildhearts

Fresh from playing their fantastic debut album ‘Earth VS…’ in its entirety at a special 15th anniversary show in London (why wasn’t the show up north?), The Wildhearts seem like a band reborn tonight. From the moment they hit the stage and burst into ‘Vanilla Radio’, the entire place is jumping to one feel-good, pop-rock anthem after another as the best British band to emerge in the last 15 years rips it up old-school style. The show has a real stripped-down feel to it – gone is the sparkly, fairy-light backdrop that accompanied their show in this very same venue almost one year ago and what we’re left with tonight is four guys playing some damn fine rock n roll that the guys can bang their heads to and that the girls can shake their asses to – what more could you want? (Apart from sequin costumes and glam-metal Bee-Gees covers of course).

Although airing just one track from their recent covers album ‘Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before’, it’s a special occasion as Ian McNabb comes on to provide guest vocals on ‘Understanding Jane’ and it becomes obvious why Ginger calls it ‘one his favourite songs of all time’ as it could easily have been written by the man himself – the sort of great, self-deprecating story about the mysterious wonders of the fairer sex that Ginger often does so well. After that we’re hit with several of the more short, sharp and fast Wildhearts songs such as ‘Suckerpunch’, ‘Caffeine Bomb’, the brilliant ‘My Baby Is A Headfuck’ and the rarely heard gem ‘Red Light/Green Light’ (preceded by a hilarious rendition of ‘Lonely This Xmas’ by Ginger). All of these go down a storm of course but it’s the seemingly extra amount of intensity that these songs (and indeed the whole set to be honest) are played with that really grabs your attention – there’s no hint of routine here, Ginger’s off-the-cuff humour is as entertaining as ever and the band seem to be enjoying it so much that its impossible to tell which night of the tour this actually is as they give nothing but 100% for the whole 90 minutes.

It seems like after their triumphant set at the Download Festival and their life-affirming 15th anniversary show in London that The Wildhearts have found a new lease of life and after a short break, the band return to the stage to play other seldom-heard greats such as ‘Caprice’ alongside fan-favourites like ‘Top Of The World’ and of course the rousing set-closer ‘I Wanna Go…’. But it’s after the unprompted mass sing-along that accompanies ‘Geordie In Wonderland’ that Ginger sums it up best by declaring that he wouldn’t want to be in any other band because he wouldn’t want any other audience. The crowd certainly let him know that the feeling is more than mutual and while The Wildhearts may never get the props they really deserve, it doesn’t matter because neither the band nor the fans care when the shows are this good.

Setlist:

Vanilla Radio

Someone That Won’t Let Me Go

Everlone

Understanding Jane (feat. Ian McNabb)

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Suckerpunch

Sick Of Drugs

Caffeine Bomb

My Baby Is A Headfuck

Lonely This Xmas/Red Light, Green Light

Encore1:

Geordie In Wonderland

Nothing Ever Changes

Top Of The World

Caprice

Rooting For The Bad Guy

Gettin’ It

Encore2:

I Wanna Go Where The People Go.

Satyricon Australian Tour 2009

Norway's Satyricon officially announce their triumphant return to Australia in March 2009! With one of the most infamous and beguiling shows on offer, these shows will sell fast. Don't miss your chance to see Norway's most notorious metal export.

Catch Satyricon at one of these venues in March.
Friday 20th - The Arena, Brisbane www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849 & www.oztix.com

Saturday 21st - Manning Bar, Sydney www.ticketek.com.au or ph 132 849 www.moshtix.com.au & www.custommade.com.au

Sunday 22nd - Billboard The Venue, Melbourne www.ticketek.com.au or ph 132 849 or www.moshtix.com.au and www.billboardthevenue.com.au

Monday 24th - The Capitol, Perth www.heatseeker.com.au & www.moshtix.com.au or Mills, Star Surf