At the SOS festival, Saturday was the 'Metal' day, and if nothing else it proved how wide that
definition can, and indeed should be. Once again the organisers had laid on an excellent lineup
combining up and coming talent with more established acts and a big name headliner. After the excellence
of the Friday lineup were really looking forward to an enjoyable day.
At the start of the day and for most of the afternoon the crowd was pretty sparse. This
is strange as there were some brilliant bands on. Hopefully as these economic problems we have
apparently been having start to ease (if they do) then more people will make the effort to come out
and support local talent and up and coming bands.
Personally, I was really excited about the Saturday lineup, there were bands I had seen before and
knew would be brilliant, bands I strongly suspected would be and quite a few I had never seen (or in
some cases even heard of). And once again each and every one of them gave it their all, and I salute
them for it.
Luckily the photographer we were working with, the very talented Gemma Lou Harris hadn't damaged her shutter finger, and was back to snap Saturday's
bands for Cack Blabbath. Cheers Gem :)
So without further ado, we launched ourself into Saturday's entertainment. Well, first there was
the small matter of trying to rustle up some interview candidates. In this endeavour we were helped
greatly by the lovely Vicky from Angel of Metal.
After sorting out interviews and organising the plan for the day the first band that we saw were
'Skull Branded Pirates', and you know what..... They were bloody good. They fit fairly unambiguously
into the 'Pirate Metal' category, and have put a great deal of effort into their stage image. Of course
it's ridiculous, but in a good way.
The advantage that these guys have over similar bands is that they can actually play and the
songs are well written and perfectly executed. Singer Captain One-Ayed Wilson owns the stage as the
band blast their way through their set. In places there are touches of Iron Maiden's galloping riffs
in the sound and the twin guitar broadside from Scar-V-Nave and Fradders the Cabin Boy gives the band
a much tighter feel than you may expect from their image. Song titles like Sea Doggin' and
Salty Jim just finish the whole theatrical extravaganza off. Everyone I spoke to really enjoyed this
set and the effort put into the costumes and props was impressive. Apart from the cardboard cannon.
Just proving what a broad church Heavy Metal is the tone changed completely with the next band that
we saw. After the theatrics and pirate speak of Skull Branded Pirates came the brutal assault of
Extreme O.D. This was the first set of the day where the crowd really wanted the band to keep going.
Extreme O.D. operate at the end of the Metal spectrum occupied by bands such as Machine Head and
Lamb of God, a position which you may consider unlikely based on the slight figure of lead singer
Katie Cairns. In a lineup you would never pick her out as the owner of such a strong 'extreme metal'
voice.
Although most of the attention from the (predominantly male) press was on Katie, the band deserve
an equal share of the credit for the performance. Guitarist Kieron Berry looked the part and his playing
was outstanding and the whole band put on an excellent performance. Katie is a recent addition to the
lineup and I am eager to hear the new E.P. the band are presently working on. With the right amount
of luck it should herald the arrival of some new shining lights of British heavy metal.
After a break, we caught the last track by progressive metal band Spires. They reminded me quite
strongly of prog metal titans Opeth, If you like them and their ilk you'll be well advised to go and
check out Spires.
The next band to play were, if I'm honest, the one I was most looking forward to since the festival
lineup was announced. Guitarist Giz Butt has been around for a while and has played with acts as diverse
as punks The English Dogs, goth rockers Fields of the Nephilim and dance nutters The Prodigy. Now he
is making waves with his latest project, thrash band The More I See.
The More I See have been plagued with a number of lineup changes since the band was first put together
in 2002 and this lack of stability had prevented them from building on the momentum garnered by their
first two albums. They have hopefully put this behind them in this latest incarnation released the
amazing Tread The Darker Path album earlier this year. They also made a memorable appearance on the
acoustic stage at the Download festival.
At SOS, TMIS made a rare appearance as a 4 piece as second guitarist James Cluer (who Giz describes
as "amazing") was off on holiday. As the guys tore through their set he didn't appear to be missed :).
The ace in the pack of this latest lineup is vocalist Peter Ellis who looks every inch the metal
frontman and his stage presence and voice are incredible. As the band worked through some of the highlights
of their three albums it became clear that The More I See are something very special. Giz threw proper
guitar god shapes as he more than made up for the missing James as the band blew me away with excellent
thrash tracks like Bloodline and Veiled By Greed, the incredible opening track from the new album.
It's nice when you build up expectations of what a band will be like live based on their recorded
work and they don't disappoint. I can't wait to see them again with the full line up.
Didn't play Smack My Bitch Up though......
I missed all of Nightvision as I had an appointment to interview Blaze Bayley, Fury UK and The More
I see. The joys of being a one-man website. I did, however catch the very end of what looked to be an
incredible set by Babylon Fire and have added them to the 'really need to be checked out again some
time very soon' list.
The second last band on were another regular on the club and festival circuit, and always sure to
be an excellent live show. Fury UK main man Chris Appleton has built this band based on his love
of no nonsense hard rock without any concessions to musical fads and fashions. By the time they took
to the stage the crowd had filled out considerably highlighting their amazing popularity. As on my
previous encounters with them when they supported Michael Schenker and at Hammerfest they certainly
did not disappoint, with a brilliant Death by Lightning being my highlight.
Fury UK are quite simply one of the best live bands in the country, and I am sure that they will
be a headline act in the not to distant future. This is another fine British outfit who will not
compromise their style, but will instead be successful on their own terms.
Today, the 10th of July, was the birthday of a certain Mr. Ronnie James Dio. It was a fitting tribute
to the great man that at the end of Fury UK's set they were joined on stage by Blaze Bayley and others
for an emotional rendition of Heaven and Hell. Brilliant stuff. It's a pity that Peter from The More I
See had left earlier with the band for the 4 hour drive home as I would have loved to have seen him
get his teeth into this.
By now the venue was packed for the main event, the incomparable Blaze Bayley. OK, I know all about
his Maiden days (watch out for an exclusive interview on that very subject), but I always see Blaze as
being in his element playing in smaller, more intimate, surroundings where he can get up close and
personal with the crowd. Blaze is the consumate professional. A lovely bloke happy to chat to the fans,
give interviews to passing strangers with little websites, and give 100% to every performance. Can't wait
to see him again at Hard Rock Hell, but knowing his work ethic he'll probably be round again before then...
And that was that. I really must compliment Lynn and the Rocksector Records crew for putting this all
together. It was an excellent little festival which deserves to do well. Thanks very much for having us and
we'll see you again next year I hope.
