Tag Archives: Manchester

FESTIVAL REVIEW: Radar Festival 2024 – Part 2 Live at O2 Victoria Warehouse

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Sunday

The final day commences, and although there has been some hiccups in the form of bands dropping out (Oxymorrons and Siamese), this was fixed instantly with replacement acts Mike Dawese and Pintglass. Pintglass, who stepped up to the task having only performed the afterparty the night prior. Rock-influenced metalcore quintet, Ashen were first to take to the main stage. Displaying an eclectic mix of melodic metalcore tracks, with giant choruses. Whilst having only visited the UK once for their last tour, the French band were determined to leave a mark, performing a unique cover of Nirvana’s iconic single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” getting the early bird crowds to sing in unison, with Ashen’s frontman Clem Richard, who put on one of the best vocal performances of the weekend.Continue reading →


FESTIVAL REVIEW: Radar Festival 2024 – Part I Live at O2 Victoria Warehouse

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Back for its 4th iteration and 2nd time in Manchester’s own O2 Victoria Warehouse, Radar Festival has returned to provide a wide array of progressive rock and metal performances for the masses again. With no clashes between either of the 2 stages, this gave audiences the ability to see all of the acts on the bill.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Pijn – From Low Beams Of Hope

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Sincerity is difficult to fake – ask any politician in the build-up to an election – yet post-rock Manchester collective Pijn (pronounced “pine”) keep it real on their powerful, atmospheric, heartfelt new album, From Low Beams Of Hope (Floodlit Recordings).Continue reading →


FESTIVAL REVIEW: Bloodstock Festival 2023 Part 3 

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Friday:

A challenge of being a concert photographer is seldom experiencing a full set. Often, I dash between stages, trying to capture each band as if on a Pokémon quest – though “gotta shoot ’em all” has a different ring to it. Nonetheless, the silver lining is I often witness a good portion of every set over the weekend. Here are my top picks and suggestions from Bloodstock’s two smaller stages, showcasing their stellar support for the underground scene and nurturing emerging metal talent in the UK and beyond.Continue reading →


CONCERT REVIEW: Ice Nine Kills – SKYND – Lansdowne – Defying Decay Live at Manchester Academy 1

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Opening up the night was Bangkok’s Defying Decay, the seven-piece crammed to the very front of the stage at Academy 1 with masses of equipment behind them. Their sound was a heady cocktail of bludgeoning heaviness and melodic cadences, with frontman Jay Poom Euarchukiati poppy cleans and a liberal dose of groove rounding off the potent mix.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls – Pet Needs – Truckstop Honeymoon – Mash P. Live at  Manchester Academy 1

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Frank Turner – 2022 – Credit: Rich Price Photography

 

Entering Academy 1 just after doors and those of us early attendees were in for a surprise treat, added a few days ago on the tour was an extra support act in the form of Mash P. Introduced by Frank Turner himself who told the story of how he first met Mash in 2017 in Freetown, Sierra Leone where he was living on the street, and visiting the way out arts charity to find his art and his voice.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Behemoth – Arch Enemy – Carcass – Unto Others Live at  02 Apollo, Manchester 

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First time at the O2 Apollo, a lovely, antiquated venue, it has a very old-school theatre vibe to it, and as would become apparent for most sets tonight the sound and lighting were top-drawer.  Continue reading →


CONCERT REVIEW: VOLA – Voyager – Four Stroke Baron Live at Rebellion 

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VOLA playing at Rebellion Manchester Credit: Rich Price

Opening up tonight were Nevada three-piece Four Stroke Baron, a band who are difficult to classify. Heavy slabs of groove-laden prog smash funkily across a packed audience. The set is marred only by the fact that in a couple of songs the singer notably loses his voice and the band without missing a beat goes on to deliver their first instrumental set from the dark smoke-laden stage of Rebellion and its notoriously bad lighting. Handling an awkward situation very well indeed they still delivered a solid and enjoyable set that had the audience’s heads bobbing along in time. 

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CONCERT REVIEW: Wardruna – Jo Quail: Live at Manchester Albert Hall

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It’s a sight to behold the lengthy queue of hairy Viking looking metalheads snaking around Manchester Albert Hall, assuming of course the snake in question was quite hairy and dressed like a Viking, which I feel is probably stretching the metaphor a bit too far. You’d assume that said hairy, mead quaffing snake (alright, I’ll stop now) was going to be finding its way inside to some sort of very loud and very metal sort of gig. You’d be wrong, as indeed despite the roots of the headliners in Black Metal group Gorgoroth the queue is in fact for the mesmerizing solo cellist Jo Quail, and Nordic Folk legends Wardruna. 

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REVIEW: Manchester Metal 2 the Masses – Heats 1-7 – Rebellion Manchester 

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After the last few years of false starts and other covid related shenanigans the Manchester Metal 2 the Masses is once again underway. You probably know the drill, across the UK and slightly further afield, there are competitions held by Bloodstock festival. Unsigned bands compete in a battle of the bands format across the regions, and the winners get to play on the New Blood stage at the festival itself. 

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