Words and Pictures by Wayne Simmons
One weekend in late December, Rise Above
Records, fine purveyors of eclectic metal and rock, celebrated their 25th
year in business with an Anniversary party. Several hundred rock fans gathered
for a kickass line-up featuring some of the world’s best doom and occult rock
bands. And thanks to our good friends at Megabus and the London underground,
yours truly was there to experience it.
The Garage was our venue; a sizeable rock club
in Islington, London. Overpriced drinks in hand, Ms Wayne and I found ourselves
a perch and
got ready for some killer grooves.
Being the new baby of Cathedral’s Garry
Jennings, I was expecting a lot of doom and gloom from opening band,
Death Penalty. What I got was a raunchy mix of early Motley Crue and Dio.
Belgian lead vocalist, Michelle Nocon, strutted on stage like a modern-day Lita Ford, pouting and
slapping her hip to the beat of Frederik Cosemans and Raf Meukens’ driving rhythm section. Her vocals
were good, the tunes tight. But this isn’t a band at its best just yet.
Everything needs time to gel, especially that all-important live chemistry.
Watching second band, The Oath, set up, I
knew occult rock was afoot: the look of this lot; their whole vibe; had a late
70s/ early 80s feel, and yet the band themselves looked to be in their
twenties. For a band so early into their career, then, The Oath put on a
sterling live show, delivering some great tunes. Linnéa
Olsson’s riffs were solid, Johanna Sadonis’
vocals pitch-perfect. Sure, it’s what you might expect given their look; Sabbath
meets Doro meets NWOBH; but it all felt incredibly polished and I, for one,
will be lining up when their debut album drops later this year.
With a name like Admiral Sir Cloudesley
Shovell, you know you’re in for trouble. Sure enough, these likely lads from
Hastings blew the doors off Friday night. It was all very Tap meets That 70s
Show, their sound and vibe not unlike fellow Brits, Gentleman’s Pistols. And while
I wouldn’t say this is my cup of tea on record, Sir Cloudesley were certainly a
barrel of laughs to experience live, and tight as fuck to boot.
Eight thirty. Time, then, for a load of
bearded blokes in 70s gear to flood the stage. Turned out it was Horisont, our
fourth band of the evening. Alas, their Zepplin-esque grooves just weren’t
rubbing my lamp at all. Nothing wrong with them, per se, and definitely plenty of
people in the room feeling it. But I wasn’t.
Thank God, then, for Uncle Acid and the
Deadbeats, tonight masquerading as The Sharon Tate Experience. Now, this was my
first time hearing Uncle A and yet they had me from the first chord. Then came
those two-part harmonies and I was right over to the merch stand for everything
of theirs I could find. Think Ghost B.C. meets Selim Lemouchi & His
Enemies, or indeed, The Devil’s Blood, and you’re on the right track. Strong
melodies and heavy guitar made this set immediately engaging and Uncle Acid the
perfect way to close our first day partying with Rise Above.
Sadly, we arrived at the venue too late to
see Age of Taurus, so, for Saturday, Troubled Horse were our kick-off point and
probably the biggest surprise of the day. Now, these days, I’m not really a fan
of garage rock, but these kooky swedes certainly brought something new to the
table. Their sound was modern indie fused with occult rock tendencies (think The
Strokes meets Pentagram) and it really hit the mark for me. I was right over to
the merch stand again, walking away with a CD and tee on the strength of this
performance alone, so definitely a high recommend.
Despite an iffy start, struggling with sound-levels,
third band Purson soon found their mojo to deliver one of the best performances
of the whole weekend. It’s a peculiar vibe they’ve got going, reminding me of
90s throwback bands such as Jellyfish and Red Kross as well as contemporary
mainstreamers like Florence and The Machine, and yet somehow they manage to be one
of the brightest new stars on the occult rock circuit right now. Rosalie Cunningham’s vocals were to die for, not
to mention that storming lead guitar concluding the set. This was a great set
from a band that should be huge this time next year, if there’s any justice in
the world.
Iron Man were up next, their old-school
stomp rock proving a little dated for my own personal tastes. But you couldn’t
argue with the performance; before a sizeable moshpit of diehards, these guys
gave their all and some.
Save the best for last, they say, and Blood
Ceremony certainly delivered a performance worthy of their headlining status. For
the uninitiated, this is THE occult rock band of the moment; a frothy mead of
Sabbath, Uriah Heap and just about every 70s horror film you’ve seen. I’ve
followed their career pretty closely since catching them back in 2006 or so
when they toured with Electric Wizard and both their songs and live presence
have come on in leaps and bounds. Alia O'Brien is
the star of the show, her vocals and keys and flute and general witchiness the
central focus throughout the entire set. Being the UK debut for new album, The
Eldritch Dark, made this performance even more special and Blood Ceremony a
fitting way to close Saturday night.
I’m a huge fan of London’s
Desertfest and this felt like a prelude to that, if you like. Kudos to the Rise
Above crew for putting on such a great show at a reasonable price with some
wonderful acts in attendance. In five years, they’ll be celebrating thirty
years in the business and I hope to be with them again for that party.
Til then…
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