Monster Magnet – Puppy: Live at Electric, Brixton (UK)


A 500+ mile powertrip to see Monster Magnet for the first time might seem a touch much, but a sole UK date in London meant it was needs must time. The mighty Magnet are still touring in support of last year’s release, Mindfucker (Napalm Records), rolling back through the UK again, this time bringing along London-based trio Puppy, celebrating their debut release the previous week, as a bit of extra delight for the gig.

So, Puppy take to the stage, minus their intro music which messes up, though they try to cheerfully re-enact it between drums and vocals. The London three-piece have just released their debut full-length and it’s clear that a few in the venue, like myself, are already aware of the band, with more getting into it as the crowd continues to grow, with the vocals/guitarist Jock Norton introducing the first single, ‘Black Hole’ (Spinefarm), when they play it a few songs into the set.

There are very few breaks between tracks, as Puppy seek to maximise their stage and set time, proudly letting their music do the talking, which works well as many around me seem to be either nodding their head or shifting their feet. They keep more to the rockier end of their music, rather than some of the softer, more melodious side that I’ve previously seen live.

The messed-up intro apart, the band is tight and on their game, with their signature vocal harmonies on-point, Jock even breaking out some gratuitous shredding for the set closer. A worthy performance from a band that should have a very bright future, Puppy seem to pick up a number of new fans tonight, rightfully so after such a good forty-minute set.

Time for Monster Magnet then and, man, are they on form tonight! Their set has been shortened from their usual to an hour and twenty, missing out some of the more psychedelic numbers they often include, providing a more in your face, attitude-riddled ensemble for our collective aural delights. The busy crowd are up for it from the very start, showing plenty of energy and lung capacity as they scream relentlessly along to the sonic landscape driven into, and through us by Dave Wyndorf and co.

The band launch straight into ‘Dopes To Infinity’ before heading into the new territory of ‘Rocket Freak’, which garners as much zeal from the crowd as the previous song, dealing a true sonic attack into our eardrums. ‘Crop Circle’ and ‘Radiation Day’ follow just behind, whilst I seem to be dealing self-induced whiplash upon myself as I’m unable to resist the sheer ferocity of the set.

Magnet are playing at a breakneck pace, barely pausing between songs, if at all, at times, following the admirable lead Puppy had earlier given us, maximising the time spent on smashing our eardrums asunder.
The set continues as it started, with the psychedelic edge of Monster Magnet’s usual live shows being somewhat cast aside for the evening with a feeling of pure anger and malevolence pervading the atmosphere, in the best possible way, as the boisterous crowd continue to sing along at the tops of their voices to the Heavy Rock rantings.

Things continue with ‘Melt’ and ‘Ego The Living Planet’, amongst others, before approaching the end of the main body of their set. What two could they finish with but ‘Negasonic Teenage Warhead’ and ‘Spacelord’ – the finale being the only time we really get into Monster Magnet’s Psych Rockside on the night. They briefly leave the stage for Dave to have a brief rest, though he remains off while the rest of the band comes back on to start off the encores with ‘CNN War Theme’, which the guys perform with the utmost precision and feeling.  We have time for ‘Dinosaur Vacuum’ and ‘Powertrip’ to finish the set, with the crowd all but drowning out the band, leaving it a glorious way to finish an excellent evening of music.

A 21 hour day was worth it thanks to everything taken in tonight and a performance that will live on in my mind for a while yet.

DJ ASTROCREEP


Download Festival: Day One – Castle Donington, UK


Download lineup

Download Fest, with its roots in the Monsters of Rock festivals that ran from 1980 until people decided rock was dead in 1996 (and Kiss and Ozzy’s shambolic co-headliner of that year pretty much proved that point) is the Grand-Daddy of Euro festivals. It’s a behemoth that dominates the rock landscape in the UK (note “rock”. This is a rock festival, with some metal, not  a metal fest. Bloodstock, Temples, Damnation are metal fests). It suffered in the 90’s from bands putting on their own outdoor all-dayers (and nicking all the support bands, too), and from being a predominantly rock festival that suddenly seemed to lose all its headliners. However, since it’s rebirth and rebranding in 2003 it has seen off European juggernaut festival Sonisphere to stand as the UK fest of choice.

Having redesigned its layout a few times, and no longer held inside the iconic Donington Park racetrack but just to the south of it, Download seems to have settled into a format that, while works, is a little familiar and perhaps would benefit from a little spicing up next year. Enter the arena, and with the main stage resplendent in front of you, to your left the second stage, and in the far right corner lies the third stage, a huge blue marquee tent. With boobs on top. Tucked to the side of the “Maverick” third stage is the relatively quiet and chilled press and guest area.

History has seen the main stage opening slot at Castle Donington act as a kingmaker opportunity; Trivium for one owe their success to a scintillating opening set in 2005. It’s fair to say All That Remains will not be joining the list of legendary openers, particularly by including that dreadful wailing ballad halfway through a twenty-five minute set.

A pleasant stroll in the sun over to Krokodil in the tent results in seeing a band doing it right; great energy, big riffs and bludgeoning hooks winning over and gaining them plaudits, before hot-footing it via the bar (where the cashless system was working perfectly in pretty much eradicating queues) back over to the main stage for At The Gates, Lacuna Coil and Clutch, ATG and Clutch in particular delivering. If you’d have said twenty years that the main stage at a mainstream fest would be hosting those bands, going down to a slavering reaction, you’d have been laughed out-of-town. Instead, ATG and Clutch showed how diverse things are these days, and how influential they’ve both been on others over the years.

 

You’d have thought a choice of Corrosion of Conformity versus Five Finger Death Punch would have only had one winner (and spare a thought for Sylosis who were on #three at the same time), and you’d have been right. Five Finger Death Punch mauled, maimed, murdered and munched down on COC with a blinding headliner-worthy show full of big riffs, sing-a-longs and making a statement. Unfortunately, I was over at the second stage watching a rather tame COC limp through a set it didn’t seem they could really be bothered with themselves. Shame, cos they’ve got some great songs.

Judas Priest did exactly what you’d want of a main support, anthems to the left of me, anthems to the right and left you wanting more, with newer tracks ‘Valhalla’ standing toe to toe with ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, ‘Painkiller’ and a particularly joyous ‘Living After Midnight’.

A bite to eat, a quick dash round the corner to see the lacklustre continue over on stage two with Black Stone Cherry phoning it in, before heading back in time for Slipknot, whose 2009 show has gone down in Donington folklore alongside Iron Maiden in 1988 as one of the UK’s all-time best metal festival headline experiences.

Slipknot,  photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

Slipknot, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

I wasn’t there in 2009, but if it was better than 2015, then it must have been some set.

Opening with ‘Sarcastrophe’, what followed was an outpouring of whole-other-level excellence, as hit after bloody hit flew from the stage in an unbridled making of a fucking statement. That statement? There is no one better than Slipknot in metal right now. No one.

As all the hits followed, interspersed with a very cleverly chosen set including more reflective moments of darkness, such as ‘Killpop’ and ‘Vermillion’, their catalogue stood tall. And don’t even get me started on how fresh and violent ‘Eyeless’ was. As fellow GC scribe Mat Davies uttered “Shit the actual bed…”

With ‘Spit It Out’ seeing 80,000 people crouch in the mud, as the torrents of rain began to pour (rain that wouldn’t let up for 20 hours), before leaping to their feet to start one enormous mosh pit, Slipknot confirmed what we’re known for a while.

As I ran back to the tent, through the torrential downpour that marked the end of day one, as I dived into a tent, shedding sodden clothes (sorry for the image) and cursing the Peak Download of it chucking it down on the Friday night (after a sunny and hot day) I couldn’t help reflect that despite all that, I’d witnessed something above and beyond what most bands are capable of.

Surely, the list of standard bearers and true greats in metal now reads. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slipknot.

 

SLIPKNOT SETLIST

XIX 

Sarcastrophe 

The Heretic Anthem 

Psychosocial 

The Devil in I 

AOV 

Vermilion 

Wait and Bleed 

Killpop 

Before I Forget 

Duality 

Eyeless 

Spit It Out 

Custer 

 

Encore:

742617000027 

(sic) 

People = Shit 

Surfacing 

 

 

STEVE TOVEY