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Reviews

Graspop Metal Meeting 2024: the Big Bad Review – Day 2

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The Friday started off with… well… rain. And I guess Dynasty were also there! That’s right, Nils Molin squeezed in his second set of the weekend, playing to a sadly fairly small, drenched crowd to open up the North stage. The band took it in their stride, however, playing their hearts out as if they were in front of a stadium crowd. And, being a big fan of their music, I loved it. Every song was awesome, and the crowd that were there hung on every single note. Hopefully they come over to the UK for a tour soon, because I’d LOVE a full set from them!

After that, we, like many other Graspoppers, seeked shelter in the tent, meaning that it was packed for Brand of Sacrifice. They deserved it too, as they were awesome! Their crushing brand of tech deathcore went down a treat in the darker, heavier environment, and the band face the crowd everything they had. I wasn’t too familiar with their individual songs, just knew roughly what they sounded like but came out definitely as a new fan of the band!

The rain subsided just long enough for us to catch most of Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous. Being a big Thin Lizzy fan, I couldn’t not love hearing those songs live again, and every member of the band played their parts in them perfectly. It was maybe an odd choice for a metal festival, but hearing the likes of ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Boys are Back in Town’ live is never something I can hate. It was a nice, chilled out set to ease us into more heaviness later.

Speaking of heaviness, as the rain started back up we headed back into the tent to check out a band I wasn’t familiar with, Borknagar. However, to say I left a fan is an understatement. The proggy folk/black metal sound was amazing, especially in an environment like the marquee, and is the exact sort of sound that I am learning to love from New Music Mondays. The 45-minute set went by in a flash of great riffs, impressive cleans and harsh growls, and I loved every second. The band managed to put on a show without having much to work with, and were simply entertaining to watch and listen to. I’ve had them on a fair bit since getting home, and they’re another band that have won me over with ease!

Hammerfall were an interesting one for me. I enjoy their music and thought they were pretty good live. However, they also felt just a tad off, for some reason. Maybe it’s a case of how dated their stageshow and crowd work is, or the fact that Joacim Cans struggled to shut the hell up between songs, but something just felt a touch off. It kinda just came across like they figured everyone was there just for them which, while the crowd was big, is a crazy attitude to have at 4pm on a festival bill. They were enjoyable and I’d see them again at a festival, but at the same time would happily cross them off my list and wouldn’t be upset if I couldn’t wiggle them into my schedule again.

Shockingly, Fear Factory were one of my surprise highlights of the Friday. I’ve never quite ‘got’ them on track, but it translated pretty damn well into a live setting. It was heavy in all the best ways, and new frontman Milo Silvestro did an awesome job both on vocals and performing. They still don’t really do much for me on track, but I’d love to see them live again now that I am at least a little more familiar with their songs. They were a band we saw just because no one else was on, and I’m so glad we did!

Another interesting set followed them, coming from Iron Maiden legend Bruce Dickinson. Honestly, I came away pretty disappointed, though I feel like it was my fault. As someone who got into heavy music in the mid 2000s, I knew Bruce almost exclusively for his Maiden work, aside for maybe a song or two of solo stuff. And more, for him to come back to his solo stuff after so many years and put out such a kickass album, I was excited to hear it. Then he came out, played a bunch of his old stuff and tucked just one new album track in the middle. So, I was stood around plenty of people who were enjoying it but damn, it wasn’t my sort of thing at all. Still, the band were entertaining to watch, and Bruce held the crowd in the palm of his hand just as well as ever!

Next, we had my (and I think a lot of other people’s too) band of the weekend. Electric Callboy blew the roof off the place, and easily should have headlined. They had the busiest, loudest crowd of the weekend, without exception. We were out by the sound stage and still ended up in a pit, and it was a damn right squeeze. Almost as a result, the band gave it their all to put on one hell of a show. From the opening ‘Tekkno Train’, through crowd favourites old and new, their incredible cover of ‘Every time we Touch’ to the insane closer ‘We Got the Moves’, it was a masterclass in live music. Both Nico and Kevin had fun with the crowd and performed their asses off throughout, as did the rest of the band. We got awesome video parts, and PLENTY of confetti. The only issue, ‘Ratatata’ solo again. But still, it’s a great song and I wasn’t exactly opposed to hearing it twice! This band should be one of the biggest in the world right now, and they are certainly headed that way, in large part to shows like this.

We checked out Turnstile from afar, and I really don’t get the hype. To put them on after Callboy was insane, and felt like suicide for them in front of the crowd. The thing was too is that when they were actually playing, they were quite entertaining. I enjoyed the aggressive punk sound and the energy they had while playing it was great. My issue is that there was so much dead air between that. Whether it was between songs or even in the middle of them, there’d just be silence. Maybe they’re used to crowds chanting their name constantly? But again it comes back to the same point as Hammerfall; not everyone is there to see you. Save that shit for your own gig. It wasn’t bad, but certainly wasn’t my sort of thing and I got bored quick.

Next up were the mighty Priest. Somehow, it has taken me all my life to see the metal gods, even though they really don’t live that far from me (Sneap’s studio is down the road). Part of me feels like it was worth the wait. Are they are good as they were in the prime? Obviously not. But Rob still sounds pretty decent live and is a fantastic frontman, while all the rest of the band kill it on their respective instruments. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like at this point Priest have such a sprawling discography that every time I saw them, I’d miss songs I’d want to see. However, finally seeing ‘Electric Eye’, ‘Hellbent for Leather’ and ‘Painkiller’ live was awesome. We even got Rob coming out on his bike for ‘…Leather’, which was awesome. I would have liked to have had even one more song off the latter album, though. Hopefully next time! But yeah, a great set, and a worthy headline one.

I’ve seen Five Finger Death Punch a few times now, my last being not long before Ivan’s breakdown and rehab stint. Somehow, they were better back then. This felt like your average, run-of-the-mill afternoon set; very little style or substance or show, just the band coming out, playing the songs, and fucking off again. That could pass if a) they weren’t headlining over Priest/Callboy and b) their songs weren’t so goddamn basic and repetitive too. Heck, the fact that they have a song with Rob Halford, he’d just done a set and they DIDN’T BRING HIM OUT FOR THE SONG, is honestly insane. The band played in practically darkness, which was weird, and while hearing some of the old Way of the Fist stuff was nice, I’ve heard them do it better in years past. Ivan was his usual obnoxious self, but less appealing, and the rest of the band were just sort of there. This set proved that the band are not headline material, and it left a real bitter taste in my mouth, to be honest.

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Day 3 ->

Reviews

Graspop Metal Meeting 2024: The Big Bad Review

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For the second year in a row, we attended one of Europe’s biggest metal festivals, and we just had to let you know what we thought. From good bands to rain to incredible weather, we really experienced it all, too!

Firstly, I’d just like to give an absolutely massive shoutout to the organisers of the festival. They got dealt a real shitty hand with the torrential rain the day before the site opened, and made the insane decision to keep the car parks shut all weekend. As a result, myself and plenty of other confused foreigners had to park in Dessel, a couple of kilometres walk away, and lug our stuff to the site. It was hard work, especially on the way back in the heat, and I saw how much shit the organisers took for it online. However, it was still one hell of an awesome weekend, and they did what they had to do. It was still far better organised than most other festivals I’ve been to!

The festival opened the main stages on the Thursday with a one-two-punch of incredible new bands. First up were the Swedish electro-metal band, Solence. While it has been half a decade since their debut album, they have been gathering a lot of steam recently for following up the feeling of their breakout hit ‘Good Fucking Music’ with similar party tracks like ‘Fuck the Bad Vibes’ and, most recently, ‘A Banger a Day’. The fact that they opened their set with all three, back-to-back-to-back, was not only awesome, but showed the direction of the band moving forward. They are here to party and show the crowd a good time, and I am more than here for it. Yes, they played some of their older, slightly more serious stuff, but they were still a fantastically energetic, fun live band. No matter what they played, they played their hearts out, and I think they gained a lot of new fans in the process. I love this band, and can’t wait to see them again and hear where they go from here.

Next up were a band that really surprised me, Dominum. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the album when I reviewed it, but I’d seen a couple of live videos from the band that didn’t fill me with excitement. How wrong I was. Felix Heldt and his zombies sounded amazing and honestly, have made me barely stop listening to their debut album since. Right from powerful opener ‘Imortalis Dominum’ through covers of Billie Eilish and even a risky Scorpions one, to the anthemic ‘We All Taste the Same’, it was a 40-minute masterclass of power metal and showmanship. Felix sounded amazing, and not only had the crowd in the palm of his hand, but looked like he was having a great time up on the stage. Meanwhile, the guitarist, bassist and drummer all played their hearts out to back him. I love the concept behind the band, and it made for a really fun live show. They are definitely ones to watch, as they are going to continue to get bigger and bigger in a short space of time!

Next, we headed over to the Jupiler stage for semi-local lads, Bleed from Within. Now, I loved them when they supported Trivium last year, and I loved their last album too. But sadly, I didn’t get anywhere near the same vibes here. I’m not sure if it’s a case of the crowd not being as familiar with them as they were in Sheffield, or that it was still raining a bit, but it didn’t feel kind like many around us were getting into it that much, and it kinda dragged down the experience for us a little. They sounded excellent still, and had a surprising amount of pyro for a smaller stage band, but yeah, maybe it just wasn’t their day. I’d love to see them at their own gig to see if I get a better sense of the band again!

Sadly, the tent was packed to the rafters for Alien Weaponry, so we headed over to North to see Amaranthe. Again, they were another one that I loved on track but couldn’t quite get into live too much. The three singers dynamic is a novel idea that works amazing on track, but live I only really found myself impressed by Nils Molin (more on him later). Again, the weather may have played a factor, but the band played the songs well, but just didn’t seem to put on a show the crowd got into, in my opinion. Still, I enjoyed hearing stuff off the new album, as I did really like it in my review!

We had a bit of a break after that, wandering around and getting some food and drinks, checking out the stalls that had now opened. We caught a bit of Michael Poulsen’s death metal band, Asinhell, in the tent, and they sounded awesome. We also saw a few tracks from the metal queen herself, Doro, who proves she very much still has it and had the crowd in the palm of her hand throughout. We also caught the last few songs of Slayer legend Kerry King. I’m a thrash fan but my partner is not, so I couldn’t convince her to see the whole set. However, they sounded as great as they do on track, and if I’d have known the incredible Phil Demmel was playing with him I may have fought harder! It was a set of amazing riffs, some blistering solos, and great thrash drumming, with Paul Bostaph holding everything down perfectly on the drums.

The next band we saw fully were Babymetal. Somehow, despite them being around for a decade now, I’d never seen them live. I’d heard how good they are though, and they certainly did not disappoint. Opening on the ever-fun ‘BABYMETAL DEATH’ before rolling into personal favourite ‘Distortion’, it started out with a bang. The girls are born entertainers, and put on one hell of a show from the moment they step on the stage. It’s nice to see them back up to three vocalists again with the edition of momometal last year, they all work so well together and it fits perfectly with three of them. As expected, the Kami band backing them are phenomenal too, proving why they are some of the most underrated musicians in the game currently. We even got some guests up on stage, though perhaps not the ones most wanted. Tim Henson and Scott LePage of Polyphia joined them for their latest single, blowing the crowd away with their insane guitar skills. But, scheduling conflicts meant that the band did ‘Ratatata’ sadly on their own. Still, it was a fantastic set that made them feel like a MASSIVE band, which they are these days. Loved them, and want to see them live again immediately!

Next up were thrash legends Megadeth. I was very much in two minds with the set. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to hear some lesser-played tracks like ‘Dread and the Fugitive Mind’ and even ‘Take No Prisoners’, and the band played their songs to perfection as always. However, Dave didn’t seem to into during the set, not interacting with the audience too much, and outside of their backdrop they didn’t put on much of a show at all. It was enjoyable, but when I’ve seen the band multiple times before, and they had to follow Babymetal, it felt just a touch lacklustre.

The first headliners of the weekend, Alice Cooper, were up next. Returning a year after his impressive set with Hollywood Vampires, it felt like Alice had something to prove by headlining. It may seem hypocritical given what I just complained about Megadeth for, but Alice rattled through his entire set before speaking to the crowd. He just rattled through hir after hit after hit, and put on one awesome stageshow while doing so. I’d somehow never seen him before though, so seeing the snake and the beheading and the straight jacket was all awesome, like a childhood dream coming true! And he still sounds fantastic too, helpfully and excellently backed by Hurricane Nita, and Beasto Blanco and the rest of the great band. And, just like Dominum earlier, they looked like they were having fun, it infectiously rubbing off on the audience. The guy is the master of the stageshow and rock music, and didn’t disappoint at all here. Decades later, he is still one of the best live acts around.

The place was packed out by the time Tool took to the stage. They were very much the band everyone was excited to see beforehand, and judging by the reaction of the crowd during and after, they lived up to the hype. Opening on the incredible ‘Jambi’, the band took us through an hour and a half’s masterclass in musicianship. It’s rather well known by now that the band don’t show the videos of them, instead having all the screens dedicated to their stageshow and music videos. It adds so much to the atmosphere, and also made everyone not only much more into it, but closer to the stage too, creating an awesome crowd. I saw them the last time they played Download and loved them then, but getting to see both ‘Rosetta Stoned’ and ‘The Grudge’ live was honestly mind blowing. They were easily a highlight of the weekend for me, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, I cannot recommend enough!

Day 2 ->

Reviews

Nickelback and Lottery Winners Rock Birmingham!

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Hate all you want, Nickelback are amazing. Now that that is out of the way, yes, we had the absolute pleasure of heading down to Birmingham’s Utilita arena the other night to see the powerhouse Canadians on their Get Rollin’ world tour. Considering I’ve been a fan of them since I was a child, for as long as I can remember, I had somehow never seen them live until this point. However, despite the hate, I’d heard how much they deliver live, and I was more than hyped to finally be seeing them. And they were joined by recent indie superstars Lottery Winners, another band I’d heard are good live. So, it all looked to be great night, but was it?

I have to admit, after checking out a bit of the Lottery Winners’ stuff prior to the show, I wasn’t all too fussed heading in. However, they completely won me over, and barely two songs into their set at that. The sheer charisma of frontman Thom Rylance is magnetic to watch and was enjoyable from the very first minute he stepped on stage, having the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout. However, that certainly didn’t take away from the rest of the band. Both Robert Lally and Katie Lloyd work their asses off on stage, having awesome stage presence, playing some awesome guitar and bass lines (respectively), and both proving some incredible backing vocals.

And as a band, they were so tight, too. The professionalism was off the charts, only adding to the amazingness of the show they put on. And, what’s more, they actually looked like they were enjoying themselves. They were having a blast, constantly smiling, and showed and said just how appreciative of the crowd they were. Any band that looks to be enjoying themselves is instantly more enjoyable to watch. And, to my surprise, I got into their songs quite a lot live too. I felt like they translated over better into a live setting, especially one where the sound was surprisingly good for such a big venue. It’s honestly made me go away and listen to some of the songs I heard since, making me a new fan. They did their jobs as a support band to perfection!

Then we reached the headliners, the main event, the mighty Nickelback. What is there to even say about this band any more. Of course it was amazing, they’re fucking NICKELBACK. Opening on their heavy newer single, ‘San Quentin’, the band rattled through an hour and a half of hit after hit after hit. Whether it was other up-beat tracks like ‘Figured You Out’ and crowd favourite ‘Animals’, or more ballad stuff like ‘When we Stand Together’ or ‘Gotta Be Somebody’ or ‘Far Away’, it was varied, amazing set list. Heck, we even got deep cuts like ‘Where Do I Hide’ and even going as far back as 1999’s The State with the Tool-like ‘Worthy to Say’. And closing on the incredible ‘Burn it To the Ground’ was also an amazing choice. Every track was performed to perfection too, sounding just as good as they do on track, amazingly. It was loud too, one of the loudest sets I’ve heard at an indoor venue, making it sound pretty heavy at times for a generally softer rock band.

And, just like Lottery Winners, the performance was awesome. I was kinda shocked we didn’t get any pyro, but honestly they didn’t need it. They had big screens as a backdrop, either showing them or videos that enhanced the tracks, it working so well. And once again, they all looked like they were having huge amounts of fun up on stage. They were laughing and joking and interacting with the crowd and each other plenty between songs. It’s easy to see why they have such a good live reputation. And both Chad and Ryan’s vocals more than held up live, as did all four of their playing. I hate that it’s taken me so long to see them, it my god was it worth the wait!

So, overall, what a fantastic night. Two of the best live bands around today coming together for one hell of a show. Both bands blew it out of the park and, while I went in thinking just one support wasn’t enough, I enjoyed both sets and it felt like they were over far too quickly, despite them being pretty long. I cannot recommend either band enough, and would jump at the chance to see both of them again as soon as I can. And, as a musician myself both are honestly pretty inspirational as to how to perform. I’d happily tell anyone reading this to go see the bands next time they are near you, you certainly will not regret it!

Reviews

Asomvel, Gorilla Riot, Red Wine Ride and Eddie & The Wolves Rock the Hairy Dog!

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A stacked lineup defended onto our local venue last night. The rock powerhouses Asomvel are getting more and more momentum with each passing day it seems, and this tour has helped no end. Joining them on said tour have been grungy blues rockers Gorillia Riot and foot-stomping partiers Red Wine Ride. And, to add to the awesomeness, local stars Eddie & the Wolves joined them to open things up with a bang for just this stop. It was a massive lineup, and drew a pretty impressive crowd for a cold, windy Tuesday night.

So yes, to get the formality out of the way, I am the bassist for Eddie & the Wolves. And while I usually do the whole “this is the greatest band in the world, especially that bassist” shtick as a joke, I wanna speak honestly for this one. I want to personally thank every single person for coming out and supporting not only us, but every single band on the bill last night; for supporting local live music in general. Especially, as I mentioned, given the weather. And to see a que at the door as soon as they opened was amazing, given that we were on shortly after. Derby, you showed up. And another massive thank you to Ralph of Asomvel for getting us on the gig. Every single band member of all three bands were the nicest people, and it was a fantastic night.

And, not to toot our own horn, but I think we sounded pretty good! Considering my in-ear monitors cut out immediately (making it hard to play at times), I heard a lot of what the crowd did and I think it sounded good. And the crowd seemed to have a good time and enjoy it, even the ones that weren’t our friends and family who weren’t already familiar with our music. And, more importantly of course, we all had a blast. It was the first time we played any of the songs off the upcoming album, and outside of a couple of kinks, it went well! And, of course, Eddie & The Wolves are the best…!

Next up were the amazing Red Wine Ride. I wasn’t familiar with them before last night, but they’ve gained a big new fan in me! Their talent was off the charts, as was their energy and stage presence. They were a hell of a lot of fun to watch, and got the crowd into it in a big way. Their sound closely resembles that of AC/DC or Airborne, which is amazing to hear in the UK underground scene, and they pull it off to perfection. I’ve been checking out their music a lot today while I’ve been writing this review, and it holds up just as well on track as it does live. All four of these guys are insanely talented at playing and songwriting and they’re gonna be a massive name in the scene sooner rather than later!

Next up were the always amazing Gorilla Riot. We’ve seen them a couple of times before (see here and here) but it’s been a while, so I was pretty excited! They didn’t disappoint in the slightest, offering their incredible brand of swaggering hard rock to the adoring crowd. Even with a few technical issues, the band sounded on top form. Their stage presence and energy is so full of attitude and just comes across as fucking cool. They had a shorter set than usual but still rattled off some of their hits and best songs. The band have been going for a decade at this point and are clearly not only polished, but thoroughly enjoying what they do. It was another awesome set!

Then, the headliners took to the stage, the mighty Asomvel. The band burst onto the stage in a flurry of energy, and the same chaotic energy continued throughout their entire set. The band were there to put on a show, and had a good time doing just that! And yet, having said that, the band are so ridiculously tight live, you’d honestly think you were listening to the track at times. They rattled through an amazing set of songs new and old, that flew by in a flash, not at all feeling like over an hour. There’s little wonder why the band are getting one hell of a reputation for their live sets, as this is easily one of the best I’ve seen so far this year. The band are on track to be a huge name in the scene, especially if their latest album is anything to go by, too! Ralph’s stage presence and vocals along were incredible, but add in the other three members of the band also working their asses off and it made for a set to remember, for sure. The band personify the old-school Motörhead/ACDC vibe not just in sound, but in presence and attitude too, and it really is a sight to behold. This was awesome.

And there we have it. Four incredible bands in an incredible venue. It was a fantastic night of music in which every band delivered. The crowd loved it and practically hung on every note from each band. I truly believe all four (sorry for the bigheadedness) bands could go far in the UK rock scene, and I think we could see a lot more of all of them in the coming year. If you were nearby and didn’t go to this show, you most certainly missed out. I can’t wait to see the other three bands again, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I look forward to seeing where they go after this tour!

Reviews

MIKA Rocks The Halls!

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So, I tossed around the idea of writing this review all weekend. Hell yeah, we headed down to see the legendary Mika, and had an excellent time. But the gig was just him and a DJ as a support, and he’s certainly not what we usually cover here at Overtone. However, he absolutely smashed it, so we felt it was only fair to give him the praise he deserves. We did Dadi Freya last year too, so it makes sense to cover this too! And it’s not like it’ll be a long one, anyway!

As we said, his opener was a DJ. I’m sure she was great at what she does, but it wasn’t for me and the crowd overall weren’t really into it. She was barely advertised anywhere though, so that may not have helped. Sorry no-speaking, no-named DJ, but we shall move swiftly on.

As I said before, MIKA absolutely killed it. I was expecting it to be good as I’ve seen live videos of him still sounding on point. However, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, honestly. Right from the opening notes from him and his incredible band, they took the packed out crowd on a journey through his extensive, impressive back catalogue. It’s easy to forget just how many massive hits the man has, too. From ‘Lolipop’ and ‘Grace Kelly’ to ‘Big Girl’ and ‘Happy Ending’ to set closer ‘We are Golden’ and the oft overlooked ‘Underwater’, the setlist was PACKED to the brim of incredible songs.

And, to top it all off, MIKA is an incredible showman. He held the packed crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he walked on stage until the very final note. Whether it was getting them all to sing along, telling stories between and even during songs, or even walking through the crowd and up to the balcony during ‘Big Girl’, the man is nothing if not a showman. I know he plays pop music, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t a rockstar.

A quick shout out to the venue, too. Originally Civic halls before it got a Covid-era referb, it is still in pretty amazing condition, the upkeep being of clear importance. The sound was amazing, it’s massive and easy to get into, and my only ever so slight gripe was the slowness of the bar-staff. But still, props to the venue!

Honestly, though this page is primarily a rock-centric audience, I’d recommend MIKA to anyone. It’s high energy, catchy pop-rock that is sure to keep a smile on your face throughout. A lot of it has a great message and is performed to the highest of standards. His vocals live are just as breathtaking as on track, and his performance is phenomenal. We have a lot of gigs and festivals lined up for the rest of the year, but this is truly going to be hard to top!

Interviews & Features

Shadows of a Silhouette: ‘We’re professional musicians, but we’re not necessarily professional beings!’

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We sat down with the amazing Shadows of a Silhouette at their sold out show in Derby the other night. (We also reviewed it, find that here). We chatted about their set that night, their plans for the future and the local scene. Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound?

Indie’s way too broad of a statement now. Some people include themselves in indie and they’re more like… there’s this shoegaze coming about now, and everything’s being branded as indie. We’re closer to rock. We have an indie lifestyle, to a certain degree. I’d say alternative rock. We’ve got a few songs that are heavier, we’re definitely not indie pop.

We do try to make each song a bit different from what we’ve done before. We’ve got a sound, but each song is different in its own way. Our motive is to keep making songs that we can’t play, practice them until we can play them, and then essentially we’ve made something we couldn’t come up with ourselves!

We are different to other indie bands as grunge does have more of an influence on us. We don’t follow what’s trendy, we just follow our own hearts and ears. We try to make something that sounds like our lives at the time.

What’s it like to be playing two back-to-back sold out hometown shows?

Brilliant! We spoke to the guy about putting gigs on here (Blessington Carriage, Derby) again. We came here and supported Public Eye with their two shows not long ago. I think it just shows that there’s an appetite for it. A lot of people may not have heard our music but heard about us and we present ourselves in almost a grungy way. We’re authentic, let’s put it that way. We focus on being ourselves, and the fact that we’ve sold these shows out while doing our own thing is a privilege. We just want to do more!

How would you guys say the scene is, currently?

It’s been driven underground, but it’s coming back. What goes underground will one day come back to the surface.

There’s a lot of great groups in Derby at the minute. And Derby’s never had that proper scene, but it’s always had the people. Derby’s always been a city of music listeners and lovers; people from Derby will go anywhere in the world to go and see music they love. It’s not a musical city like Manchester or Sheffield. But there’s something brewing, it’s definitely developing.

It’s good to see places like The Bless starting to get back into being a venue and taking gigs on. They took a bold move. Normally management in bars these days are a bit complicit and aren’t interested in the potential of the business that they’re in. I imagine it’s hard time for a lot of pubs and venues these days, but I have a remedy for that: get your fucking bands on!

We’re at an age now where bands are so caught up in streaming numbers, but I’d sooner sell out this place two nights in a row. I still think the best way to do it is to perform live.

It’s just so tough to break out. The people who know of us, I speak to them after gigs and everything. They love our music and are really passionate about it and it’s really inspiring. For me it’s more of a case of it being so impenetrable now to reach a wider audience. You’re having to deal with booking adverts for Tesla or vacuum cleaners, everything’s advertised at the same place: your phone. On the Internet. Everyone fights for that ad space and what it does is drowns everything out. When it was done face to face it almost felt less obstructed.

I heard you were working on new music, anything you can reveal?

We’re working on our debut album! We’re playing two songs tonight that are brand new. They’re pretty much studio ready so the next step after these live shows is to start getting back in the studio and getting these songs done. Getting some single campaigns and stuff.

We’re not not clued up and we don’t have the professional ability when it comes to selling out. That is a professional ability these days, believe it or not!

But now we do have management. It’s an outfit now. Exciting times ahead. Taking things to the next level professionally, from where we are. Social media wise obviously we still need to do our bit, but we can focus more on the music.

I think people will be surprised to hear that since 2019 we’ve already got 33 songs out. We recorded them off our own backs. There aren’t many bands at this level that have close to that. We’ve had to learn a lot of lessons from that. To try and save a bit of money the first time we went to the studio we recorded eight tracks in one day!

I assume it was a conscious decision to do a few singles and then an album?

Yeah! We’ve been thinking about it for a while. What I started to notice is… a lot of them may go unnoticed because we’re bringing out a lot of singles. When people will click on one of our artworks to go to the single it’ll have the one track there. They may assume that every one is like that, as they all come up in singles, while some are EPs with six tracks on them. So we thought did we have to go back and put it into a collection, so people know it’s there? People are in a rush when they’re on their phone so if it’s not right there, they won’t see it.

But then again it is hard to grab people’s attention for an album these days. But then again, who’s making decent albums? I think we’re ready for a debut album, that’s the next step. But you only do your debut album once, so we want to take our time with it!

And have you got a pretty busy rest of the year?

Festival season is coming up so we’re waiting to hear about some of that. We’ve been shortlisted for Truck Festival which is cool.

We want to see what we’re capable of at the minute with our live shows. There’s no use waiting for promoters to come to you. You’re better off building an audience. Now we have a professional involved and she’s gonna put it together for us. We know the places we want to play, we know what we’re capable of, but what we’ve neglected before is the social media side of it; getting the event known. But we’ve got s great photographer and all. And a great graphic designer. We’re building a team around us, and it’s what every band needs! It’s bringing our vision to life! We’re professional musicians, but we’re not necessarily professional beings!

Reviews

Shadows of a Silhouette and Friends Rock The bless!

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While we have a slight up-and-down relationship with indie music here at Overtone, local boys Shadows of a Silhouette have been making massive waves lately, playing huge gigs up and down the country. Plus, a few of them are good friends of ours and they lean a lot into their rock and grunge influences too, so we just had to pop down to one of their two SOLD OUT Derby shows. Add that to the fact that The Bless has only just started to dip their toes into live music again, and it had all the makings of an epic evening. This is what went down!

The show opened on a couple of acoustic acts, including the wonderful Mollie Ralph, who we arrived just in time to see. The vocals were incredible and they simply seemed like they were having a really good time up on stage. The venue was already pretty packed out which was nice to see; she had a great crowd! Sadly, our interview with the headliner caused me to miss parts of this set, so hopefully I can see Mollie again soon!

Next up were local lads, The Roster. They were awesome, and packed out the small space in front of the stage. And it was well deserved too, as they put on a great show. The band too have a slight grungy edge to them, but also wouldn’t sound out of place in the NWOCR movement at times. I can get over just how amazing his vocals were, and it fit with the instrumentation perfectly. They cranked out a fantastic set filled with amazing songs, too. This is the second time I’ve seen the band and neither time did they disappoint! I’d recommend them to anyone who is a rock or indie fan!

Check out more live reviews here.

Up next we had PASTE.. The heaviest band on the lineup, I loved them. We even had some screams in here, which sounded great and surprisingly fit with the music well. The music itself had much more of a doom metal feel and pace to it too, which was fucking awesome. Yet it still also had the hints of indie and even punk to it, being a really interesting blend of styles. It really had no right fitting on this bill as well as it did! It helped that the band played their asses off from start to finish, ripping through an awesome set. They certainly have a new fan in me, and I’m gonna have to see them live again soon!

We finally reached the headliners of the night then, the wonderful Shadows of a Silhouette. It’s honestly hard to find much more to say about this band that hasn’t already been said by so many other fans and writers. They are very clearly on the up and up, and there is no ceiling in sight for the guys. Their original music is incredible, playing crowd favourites like ‘Closing for Good’ and latest single ‘Abuse Me’. Plus, they even threw in a couple of covers for good measure, the highlight definitely being their incredible rendition of Nirvana’s ‘Heart Shaped Box’. And, on top of them sounding fantastic, they also totally looked the part. They played their asses off, opened the stage and has the crowd in the palm of their hand from start to the very finish. They are clearly set for huge things and much bigger stages than this, and with their big momentum currently and rumours of an album in the works, they’ll be there sooner rather than later!

And there we have it folks, an absolutely awesome night of rock music in a pretty great venue! I cannot recommend any of the bands on the bill enough, both live and on track. And it’s so great to see the Derby music scene kinda booming right now, especially with sold out events like this featuring local bands.as I’ve said already in this review, all of the artists have huge futures ahead of themselves, and I feel lucky we got to head down to this before they exploded into the mainstream!

Reviews

Planet Rock Winters End: The Big Bad Review – Day 3!

The final day of Winters End kicked off with the amazing Scruffy Bear. Bringing a mixture of both grunge and heavy blues to the typical rock sound of the weekend was awesome. And the band put on a good show too, especially front-woman Georgy, I don’t think I saw her stand still even for a second! They were a fantastic choice to open up the day and blow everyone’s cobwebs away ready for the rest of the bands. However, they were certainly excellent in their own right and a band I would massively suggest going to see the next time they’re nearby!

Afterwards was blues guitarist/vocalist virtuoso Ashley Sherlock and his band. His stuff comes across a bit heavier live, and I thought the vibe was generally more upbeat and fun than what I was expecting from his studio stuff. He’s a born entertainer and he had a really relaxed swagger about him that made him pretty endearing to watch. And he’s a phenomenal player, performer and writer, as are his bassist and drummer. I found myself getting lost in the set and simply enjoying watching, which is always a good sign. Hopefully we can see him again soon, as his live show was so good!

A more 80s inspired sound followed with Trucker Diablo. I’ve been into the band for a while and they never fail to disappoint. They very much wear their NWOBHM influences on their sleeve and play a modern version of the sound that is great to hear. Of course the crowd loved it too, and plenty were already very familiar with the band and their songs. Another solid band for the last afternoon!

Before the break our friends at The Howling Tides took to the stage. Being the last gig that we saw back in December, their set at The Bodga was still fresh in my mind. They did just as fantastically here as they did there. These four guys really have something special going on, and are going from strength to strength quickly. I can see them being a massive name in the scene sooner rather than later. And sets like this are why. They sounded amazing, put on a hell of a show and had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout. And it helps that their songs are grungy, heavy blues awesomeness. I get ‘Blue Moon’ stuck in my head rather regularly over the last few months! One of the best bands of the weekend for me, and already want to see them again!

After the break, we returned just in time to see Dead Man’s Whiskey. One of the highlights of Winter Rocks a couple of years ago, I was excited to see them again! Especially with how good their last album was. They were great here, too! The new tracks worked perfectly in their set, while fan favourites like the insanely emotional ‘Make You Proud’ or closer ‘Racing Bullet’ also go down a storm as always. The band are all insanely talented and born performers, playing to a packed out crowd. I’m really hoping they can continue to capitalise on the hype from their last album and grow massive like they deserve to!

We sadly only caught bits of Hillbilly Vegas as we were off eating. From what we saw though they seemed good fun! A more traditional rock n’ roll feel to them and the crowd seemed to be enjoying them. I’d never heard of them before they were announced but they clearly have quite the following, both here and in the US, so I’ll have to check more out from them!

Then, we reached the final headliner and a lot of people’s most anticipated band, Those Damn Crows. Much like Massive Wagons, the band have a phenomenal live reputation to live up to, and they did it effortlessly here. Potentially the biggest band int he NWOCR scene today, they played their incredible songs to a sold out crowd. They could just come out, play songs like ‘Who Did It’ and ‘See You Again’ and leave, and I would still love it. But the fact that the band put on a high energy, fun show to boot is incredible.

Shane is such an effortlessly entertaining and likeable frontman that it’s impossible not to route for the bands every success. And, of course, he found something to climb again, scaling the speakers at the side of the stage. And he counteracted it perfectly with their more slower, ballad tracks, being stuck behind the piano. It was yet another phenomenal set from the band. If you haven’t seen them before, or have still anyway, go and see them as soon as you can. You’ll experience one of the best live shows you’ll see.

<- Day 2

Reviews

Planet Rock Winters End: The Big Bad Review – Day 2!

Day two of Winters End started off with a bang thanks to the utterly fantastic CROWLEY. I’d not heard of the band before, but they gained a massive new fan in me. Their doom-soaked blues/hard rock sound is incredible, and made them one of the heaviest bands of the weekend. Their swaggering stage presence made it almost impossible to take your eyes off the band, too. Of course, Lidya Balaban’s powerful, incredible vocals were a clear highlight, but so were the riffs and the overall stageshow. The whole band are massively talented and I cannot wait to hear more from them. The three singles they have out aren’t enough! They’re gonna be huge, and I’m so glad I got to see them before they explode.

Next up were a local pop-pink-ish band, Ortario. Though they’re not typically the sort of band that would play this festival, they smashed it. I thought they were awesome. They brought a lot of energy to the stage and to the hungover crowd, and their charisma was off the charts. The band were clearly happy to be there as they looked to be having a blast. Every track they played was awesome, and the banter between tracks was a lot of fun. I’m gonna have to see more of the band so hopefully they tour the midlands soon enough!

Another band that we’re familiar with here at Overtone were up before the break; Doomsday Outlaw. We were huge fans of their last album, so to hear a lot of that finally in a live setting was amazing. Phil sounded just as amazing as always and his charisma and performance was amazing. The rest of the band matched his energy, putting on a great show and, more importantly, looking like they were having a blast! Their brand of sleazy southern/country rock is amazing. I’d have happily taken a full 90 minute set from them, but had to sadly settle for just half an hour. Whether it’s newer stuff like ‘Turn Me Loose’ or older classics like ‘One More Sip’, the crowd ate up every second. The band are incapable of having a bad set these days!

Next up was a bittersweet set. King Herd made it onto the bill due to the very unfortunate break taking of The Fallen State. However, they were a fantastic replacement found last minute! The more grungy, slower, moodier sound of the band fit perfectly with the band billed after them. The crowd were big into them, too. I’d never heard of the band before but have been checking them out a lot the last couple of days since I got back. Having only done one album so far, and it being just last year, these guys are gonna get big fast, and I’m certainly a big new fan!

We’ve seen Empyre a lot over the last few years. To say they’ve gotten better and better feels like an understatement. When I first saw them at Rockin’ the Bowl back in 2021 compared to now, they almost seem like a different band. I say almost as they have and always will be a dark, moody rock band. However, the professionalism and polish the band seem to have gained since the release of their latest album is nothing short of incredible. They feel like a band made (and now surely destined) for a huge arena stage. However, their show also so readily fits into a venue like this.

And the crowd were with it from start to end, too. I’d seen lots of their merch around that day, but it felt in the moment like almost everyone was there to see them. I still cannot get over quite how incredible Hendrik’s vocals are, blowing me away every time. Everyone else plays their parts to perfection too, though. There isn’t a doubt in my mind they’ll be headlining these sort of festivals the next time round, they are that good. Another of my bands of the weekend for sure!

Headliners of the Saturday were Stone Broken. The band had taken a little bit of time off after their last album. So, outside of a warmup gig in Blackpool this was their grand triumphant return. It was good fun! The band’s radio-rock sound worked well for the venue, the festival and the crowd as a whole! Rattling off plenty of fan-favourite tracks like ‘Let Me See it All’ and even debut single ‘Save Tomorrow’ alongside a smattering of their latest stuff, it was a great setlist. Being one of the OGs of the NWOCR movement too, the crowd were big into it. And the band put on a generally good show, even complete with some of that weird smoke-pyro substitute. I have to admit that something about it didn’t quite do it for me, but they were still a damn enjoyable watch and worth seeing if you can!

<- Day 1

Day 3 ->

Reviews

Planet Rock Winters End: The Big Bad Review

We thought we’d mix it up to start 2024 off with a bang and head down to the much praised Winters End festival. Hosted by the incredible Planet Rock and boasting one hell of a lineup of bands we are friends with and some new favourites, we couldn’t wait to tell you all about it!

We sadly didn’t quite make it in time for opener Loz Campbell. However, we know how good of a show she puts on so I’m sure she was excellent. Instead, our first band of the weekend were Hand of Dimes. It had been years since I’d seen them, them having played one of the early HRH’s I’d attended, but they were just as good as I remember. Forged from the brainchild and singer of Skin Nev MacDonald, they are a fantastic blues rock band. The crowd ate it up, too, loving every minute. They’re one of the older bands on a pretty young bill, but hold their own and play a short but damn enjoyable set!

Next up were not only a personal favourite band of mine, but one of the highlights of the weekend for me, South of Salem. The band are no strangers to the site. But, it had somehow been over a year since we had last seen them. Since then they have only grown bigger still, and are hot off the release of their second album. Honestly, they have somehow gotten even better.

Opening on their older stuff still was an interesting choice, but the crowd ate it up. And whenever they played their new stuff, it went over just as well. Heck, the crowd were even requesting tracks off the new album when asked what they wanted to hear. And the band play it all to perfection. They have evolved into some of the best, most polished showmen in the scene today. The band are going to be huge, and I would recommend anyone to go and see them ASAP!

Black Spiders were up next, and are an odd one for me. I was a big fan of the band in my teens, so was pretty hyped when they announced their return. We’ve seen them on a few occasions since then, and sadly the more I see them the less I’m into them. The first time at HRH was fun, but it’s felt a little like diminishing returns since then. They’re still good, incredibly talented players, but it’s a little like going through the motions. I don’t know if it’s more because they’ve been everywhere recently and I’ve seen them a lot, but even their new tracks didn’t land too hard for me. I know a lot of people there enjoyed them so that’s good at least!

Then we finally reached the first headliners of the weekend, the mighty Massive Wagons. What can I say that hasn’t already been said before? The band are energy and stage-presence personified, and Baz conducts his band and his full-orchestra of a crowd to perfection. And their songs really speak for themselves, at this point. They are one of the biggest bands not only in the NWOCR scene, but one of the biggest new hard rock bands in the UK currently. And seeing them live, there really is no doubt why. Rattling through new songs and classics alike, the crowd hung on every note. And, of course, the image of Baz crowd surfing in an inflatable boat will forever be seared into my mind now. In a good way, of course!

Day 2 ->