Review: Black Peaks & Heck // Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff // 15.09.16

There are a lot of people that would have told you earlier in the year that british hardcore and metal was dead with the scene relying on old, past their best bands to keep the genre going. However on the evidence of a sweaty night in Cardiff it may just have a future.

Black Peaks @ Clwb Ifor Bach

After This Be The Verse warmed up the crowd Black Peaks took the stage to a filling room. With an incredible energy, the band began to tear through their set of metal infused math rock which not only sounds excellent on record but translates brilliantly to a live show.

Black Peaks' debut album 'Statues' is possibly the breakout rock album of the year with the band getting great coverage across popular radio stations and magazines - something almost unheard of for a band that started life as a hardcore math rock band. 'Glass Built Castles', 'Saviour' and 'Hang Em High' are all truly epic on record, but live they go up another notch. However most impressive was the anthemic 'Say You Will' which carries a sound you can envisage blasting out of festival main stages and arenas. After such a storming set Heck had a tough act to follow.

Heck @ Clwb Ifor Bach

The first thing you will hear about Heck is the almost insane reputation of their live shows. Within the first song the lead singer was at the back of the room, guitarist in the centre of a mosh pit and mic stands strewn across the floor, and 50 minutes of similar carnage then ensued. At points there were people hanging off the ceiling and circle pits around tables in what seemed, at times, like a satanic ritual. The crowd almost seemed in awe at the energy of Heck and their manic presence with many having just stopping and staring for the first half of the set. However Heck's manic energy is infectious, drawing everyone slowly in to the experience.

Heck ended their set with their gruelling 16 minute epic 'I. See The Old Lady Decently II. Buried Although III. Amongst Those Left Are You' closing an incredibly sweaty and messy night for all involved. The venue looking like a bomb site, mic stands strewn everywhere and the satisfied crowd shuffled out in a haze of sweat and exhaustion after what had been a hectic night for all.

However this isnt the end of the story. What this tour and the critical acclaim of both bands' albums is doing is continuing a story which has been brewing for a couple of years now. Ever since Royal Blood  burst on the scene in 2014 the radio shows and magazines have been more inclined to cover heavier and heavier music. Between these 2 band, and others like Slaves and countless more, they're slowly laying the foundations of the future of punk & rock in the public eye. If you're a fan of the heavier genres - it's a very exciting time.

-Luke

Review: Butserfest 2016 // Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Petersfield // 10.09.16

A festival reaching 10 years old is a big occasion especially for a small festival, just this summer the critically acclaimed 2000Trees turned 10. Likewise Cardiff’s legendary Swn Festival turns 10 in October. However on a wet rainy Saturday in East Hampshire it was the turn of the UK’s largest alcohol and drug free music festival – Butserfest.

The One Hundred @ Butserfest

In 2006 Butserfest burst on to the scene preaching an alternative music festival for everyone - no drunk boisterousness and nutty youths with pupils so wide they don’t have an iris – but instead a community festival where everyone no matter age, gender or whatever can have a great time. It’s the festival where many 14 year olds have their first mosh pits, 10 year olds come to their first festival and now, with the festival in its 10th year, 20-somethings coming back to relive those glory days.

This year the festival, as usual, had a brilliant line up of up & coming bands in the alternative scene. Celebrating not just breakthrough acts but excellent local ones to. Flashfires – last year’s local introducing stage headliner – opened up the main stage with probably the most indie set of the whole day, bouncy and fun their sound translated brilliantly from the small stage to the large one. The other stand out local band - Our Hollow, Our Home – are almost festival regulars now having played the last 3 years on the trot, working their way further up the bill with each performance. Their hardcore style gracing the main stage for the second year running.

Creeper @ Butserfest

One of the best parts of Butserfest is that bands love it, they come back year after year to play a higher slot as their career progresses. For example last year’s headliners Don Broco first played after the release of their debut album over 3 years before they brought the festival to a close. Likewise with this year’s top two bands Mallory Knox & Young Guns. Both during their sets spoke extremely kindly of Butserfest and the impact it had on their careers. Both bands went on to play incredible sets and both hae albums on the way – certainly ones to look for in the near future.

Possibly the most interesting and anticipated set of the weekend was Creeper. In the midst of an elaborate publicity stunt with clues around the internet it is thought the band are sitting on an album. Not only that but the band are from half an hour down the road and they delivered a storming set to what seemed like a home festival crowd designed for them.

Despite a wet and cold day, the music and atmosphere of Butserfest brought a smile to everyone’s face and on it’s 10th birthday, it truly delivered as a festival.

-Luke

Mallory Knox @ Butserfest