Event Reviews

Nothing quite beats the atmosphere of a live concert; the sweat-drenched walls, the chest-rattling bass lines and the ear-deafening screams of the crowd, but the recent Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes show, hosted exclusively on the Melody VR app (via smartphones and VR headsets), brought a truly immersive experience right …

I last saw Samantha Fish in May last year at the Stables in Milton Keynes. I thought at the time that it wouldn’t be long before she was playing bigger venues in the UK, and I was right as this tour saw her playing and selling out the Islington Assembly …

I’ve been to many Anvil gigs since 1982, playing at festivals, support slots and as headliners. There has never been a bad one, some stand out more than others and another addition to the latter is the Buckley Tivoli gig last night. A pre gig interview with frontman Steve ‘Lips’ …

Tonight saw Sabaton play their only UK gig on their current tour, at a sold-out Wembley arena. On this tour they’ve got two excellent support acts in the form of Amaranthe and Apocalyptica. First up was Amaranthe. I first saw them play 9 years ago and while they were impressive …

For the third year running, the now annual event, Abuse Your Confusion came to The Star & Garter in Manchester, on what turned out to be a fairly mild January Sunday. Whilst there was an entry fee for this show it wasn’t in monetary pounds it was in pounds of …

Tonight’s venue is Chester’s live rooms, which claims to be one of the north wests premier live venues. I’m afraid I have to take that claim with a huge pinch of salt. The sound is atrocious, barely able to hear the vocals in all the bands this evening and the …

Ahead of her tour to promote the new album, Tarja Turunen made time to do two special shows. The first was at Obecní Dum – Smetana Hall in Prague, a beautiful historic venue. The second show, two days later was in Bucharest and was performed in the round with the …

There’s always been a stigma when it comes to Sunday concerts. Especially one on a bitter night in January. A month notorious for everyone being broke due to last months events. However you wouldn’t think it was such a night, as the sold out venue was packing in metalheads of …

Tonight involved plenty of options for music fans including the Gun/Dan Reed Network/FM triple bill gig, but I opted instead for Sonata Arctica. This gig also three bands on the bill with support from Edge of Paradise and Temple Balls.   First up was Temple Balls – an odd name …

As a lifelong Maiden fan I’ve always wanted to meet any of the guys but also aware that I may be a bit star struck if I ever did. I, therefore, was filled with both excitement and trepidation when I was approved to review Steve Harris’s British Lion. They had …

Dutch singer Anneke van Giersbergen celebrated her 25th anniversary in music with two special shows last month. Most singers would probably have a few weeks off after something like that but Anneke van Giersbergen is already back on tour, this time with an orchestra. Over the years Anneke has released …

Rebellion in Manchester is a fantastic little venue that catches some great bands and tonight is a prime example. Sacred Reich are touring their new album “awakening”, and have stopped off in rainy Manchester to remind us all how good they really are. I arrived a little late and missed …

When is a gig not a gig? When it’s an event and I can honestly say that every Wildhearts gig I’ve been to since the early 90’s has been an event as they are a rare breed of band who have never let me down. I’ve always wondered how they …

Periphery are, what I would call, a snowball band. Let me explain, formed in 2005 they have got bigger and bigger until one day they bowled me over (imagine arms and legs flailing as a giant ball of snow rolls down a hill). Joking aside, I first heard Periphery on …