Hellfire – Stein Bar Walsall
- Saturday 22nd November 2008.
How often do you see three brothers performing
in the same band? Rhetorical question I know! The mighty Hellfire
return proving the old adage that you can't keep a good band down
(more later). A delayed start to the evening meant that at 10.30pm
the first band on were...
Days Of Ruin. The bass player
Dan had sent me an EP to review recently (see CD section). Let's
just say it didn't prepare me for this performance! “Awakening”
from the EP started the set in boisterous classic rock style.
Couple of things became clear early on. Tight as the band were
they desperately needed a second guitarist. Secondly the vocalist
was struggling, mainly due to the lack of monitors. That said
they played an entertaining set of entirely original material.
“Falling Back Under” and “Broken
Beliefs” continued the theme. The second half of the
set was an improvement as the vocalist seemed to find his feet
and the band attacked the material more. “Only Human”
contained the best riff of the night so far, “New Beginning”
was new to their set but worked well, and closer “Burden
Of Truth” was very Maiden-esque but a good way to finish.
Dan put in an absolutely staggering display on his 5 string ESP
– haven't seen a better bassist for a long time! Days
Of Ruin genuinely surprised me tonight and I await news of
upcoming gigs – I need to see them again in a larger venue
with monitors to really give a definitive judgement!!
Godsize have been putting in
some truly awesome performances lately yet they managed to produce
the best set I've ever seen them play. At this level there are
very few bands out there who can match their consistency and provide
such entertainment. Kris is an engaging frontman and tonight his
addresses between songs were bordering on a stand up routine.
The events manager (that's promoter to you and me!) was his main
target (fair play he took it well) as his hysterically funny onslaught
continued throughout their set. “Love Glove”
is a newer song but it sounded like they've been playing it forever
such was their confidence. “Beer Slag” was
a real statement of intent and delivered brutally. A new untitled
song followed which again was aggressive and polished. “Scumblood”,
“For You” and “Screams” (another
new one – working title) preceded the closing double whammy
of “Hate Fuelled Abuse” (dedicated to Hellfire)
and “Start Her Up”. Again I would urge anyone
who hasn't seen them yet to check them out; they are a band in
fine form, ferocious yet stylish, polished and hugely professional.
Go on, get on their MySpace site and find out when they are next
playing!
And so at well past midnight Hellfire
emerged to bludgeon their way through a tried and trusted set.
Great to see Roy back on stage and apparently fully recovered
from his accident over the Summer. The three brothers I referred
to earlier are Roy on guitar, Jay on vocals, and new addition
Greg on guitar, to take the band up to a five piece with (another)
Greg on bass (also looking in good form recovering from serious
back trouble) and Big Al on drums. Hellfire were always
ferocious as a four piece, but the additional guitarist has beefed
up their sound to a truly horrifying level of viciousness. This
was a punishing set of quality hardcore, I dread to think how
they are going to sound after they've been playing as a five piece
for a while. Guitars linked well, basslines were effortlessly
delivered, Jay screamed like a banshee and encouraged the crowd's
involvement (and movement!) and Big Al was his usual mad self
behind the kit. If you like no frills, in your face aggression,
then these guys are probably for you! For the sake of completeness
tonight's setlist was; “Evil Prevails”, “Hell
On Earth”, “Deceiver Of The Damned”, “Forced
To Kill”, “Bleed For The Cause”, “Eye
Of The Storm”, “Suffer In Silence” and
“Betrayal Of Trust”.
And now the summation. First the venue; new one
to the Chopmeister, it's compact and the sound is good (although
the bands need monitors!!). Good level of equipment too –
dry ice, lasers and strobes are not normally associated with places
this size. My next comment is aimed at our friendly neighbourhood
events manager. This gig didn't finish until after 1am. If I'd
been on public transport, my last options by bus or train were
11.26 and 11.31 respectively – yes I was sad enough to phone
the Travel-line! - meaning that I would have only seen the first
band. I understand that you are trying to attract the nightclub
crowd (which incidentally didn't work) but for those who don't
drive a start time needs to be clearly stated on flyers and/or
posters. If this gig had been on in the week, or gig buddy and
all-round good egg Bill hadn't been driving, I wouldn't have been
able to attend. There could be a major falling out if fans travel
and are unable to see the bands they came to watch. Hopefully
not prophetic words...
That's the whinge out of the way. Days
Of Ruin are one to keep an eye on and I will certainly
go and see them again. Godsize were superb once
more and deserve to be playing on bigger stages to far larger
crowds. Hellfire worked frighteningly well as
a five piece and it was good to see them back on stage again after
their recent adversities. Nights like this need to be supported
and I again urge the horde of armchair rock fans to make the effort
and attend smaller gigs like this. Being this close to bands unleashing
this level of ferocity is a wonderful feeling and a great way
to spend a night out. Yes I'm biased, but please make the effort!!
