Liberty Lies are a band that it is impossible to ignore, mostly because their manager Siobhan works her socks off to make sure that every webzine writer knows all about the Black Country 5-piece. First time CackBlabbath encountered them live was at Hard Rock Hell 4, where they won a slot the hard way, getting onto the bill via the Highway To Hell competition.
The thing is though, OK they were tight and could certainly play but they just seemed a little, well, familiar. Just a little bit safe.
It does seem slightly unfair that after having to go through the HTH process in 2010 the band had to do it all over again in 2011, but once more they made the trip up to Glasgow to compete for a slot at HRH 5, and once again they were successful. Siobhan cornered us the day before and made us promise that we would be sure to check them out team CB dragged themselves into the Queen Vic pub at what seemed like an unearthly hour in the morning….
Right, you remember what I said about them being a little “familiar” and “safe”, well fast forward 12 months and things are a whole lot different. You know when you see a band once, then when you see them again some time later it’s hard to believe that it’s the same guys ???
Judging by the crowd that had gathered in the Queen Vic, we were a bit behind the curve on this, but as soon as things kicked off with Blind See The Blind it was obvious that there was something fundamentally different about Liberty Lies in 2011, sharper, louder and with an possessing an amazing onstage energy that has transformed then from fairly typical blues rock to something harder, heavier and more than just a bit special without losing any of their melodic prowess.
The last single Confessions Of An Effigy kept the ball rolling as ever expanding numbers packed into the venue to see what all the fuss was about. It was genuinely nice to see the kick that the band got out of the crowd’s reaction, even although most of us weren’t that familiar with the material and the collective hangover was off the richter scale.
And then something unexpected happened, something that was one of the most memorable moments of the whole weekend….
You know those special times that happen occasionally at gigs, the times when the emotion in the room brings a genuine lump to the throat? Well vocalist Shaun Rchard’s heartfelt delivery of The Difference Between Hope And Faith was just such an occasion, pouring his heart and soul into an anguished lament that, judging by the odd teary eye on the crowd, struck a chord with more than one person in the room.
If there was a award for most improved band I saw in 2011 it would have to go to Liberty Lies, hands down. The enforced lineup change in early 2011 did, at the time, look like it could be terminal but instead the arrival of some new blood has revitalised the band. Over the weekend there were loads of great young guitarists strutting their stuff, but in Josh and Matt Liberty Lies have a six-string duo who are a match for anyone.
They were always a band who knew how to write a good rock song, but the evolution over the past 12 months has taken them beyond that. Put simply, if there is any justice in the world Liberty Lies are going to be big. And if there is any justice in the inner workings of the Hard Rock Hell machine we’ll see them on the bigger stage at Prestatyn come November.
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