Hærken
Last week Metal Hammer published an opinion piece entitled ‘British metal has a massive problem – and here’s why’. In it they argued that ‘British metal hasn’t had a genuine world-beating band since Bullet For My Valentine’, citing their own countdown of the 100 greatest albums of the 21st century as evidence, without coming to the obvious conclusion that their magazine’s treatment of the UK’s underground bands might be a big part of the problem.
Tonight’s Birmingham Headliners show seems like a pretty appropriate response to that article… a resounding fuck you! This is a point that our compere for the evening, the forever loud DJ Jim Beerman, makes repeatedly and with vigour. The quality of these local bands is astounding; the stage order for tonight had to be picked out of a hat, each one more than deserving of the headline slot.
Rannoch
RANNOCH is the first band of the night, a treat for me as I haven’t managed to catch them live before. I was really impressed with their brand of progressive death metal, although their onstage personas aren’t as flashy as some of the other acts of the evening; they deliver a tight performance that oozes quality. Their twin 8-string attack invites the audience to get lost in vast melodic soundscapes before being brought back to reality with furious crushing brutality. Check out RANNOCH’s 2013 album ‘Between Two Worlds’ for some of the highlights of their set; ‘The Forgotten’ and ‘The Age of the Locust’.
Hærken
The Druid, the Scribe, the Baron and the Scot take to the stage with all the pomp and ceremony you’d expect from this band of bawdy bards. Last time I saw HÆRKEN they were supporting the mighty Ensiferum and doing a stonking job of it too. I’m sure it was a proud moment for the band but seeing them in this intimate venue offers something a little special to the crowd. Scruffy’s tiny stage means you can enjoy the Scot’s deep and rich voice roaring right into your face through his golden lion’s mane and the smell of the Scribe’s incense as he makes his way through the crowd to the stage. A HÆRKEN gig never fails to deliver some memorable moments, their bouncy death metal raising everyone’s spirits and, with tankards charged, a few opportunities for a sing-a-long.
Shadowflag
Next up are one of my personal favourites, black metal poets SHADOWFLAG. With their 2015 album ‘The White Grave’ dealing with themes of survival, fantasy and death; they manage to be simultaneously gritty and otherworldly. Delivering live performances that never fail to give me goosebumps. As with all good black metal vocals, JJ Flames’ insidious growl worms into your mind, echoing around for days. Some magical moments from the performance include ‘Bonefire’, ‘And Hell Walked… Laughing’ and ‘I Am The Blood’ which, to my ears, has more than a touch of Satyricon about it. They end the set with a brilliant Hellhammer cover ‘Messiah’. With a new album set for release early next year, SHADOWFLAG, like all the bands on tonight’s bill, are deserving of a much bigger profile than they currently enjoy. If, like me, black metal fills your barren little heart with joy then I beseech you to check them out – obviously only after you finish reading/sharing this review!
At this point in the evening, the crowd are a little worse for wear and starting to wobble, it’s been a long evening already with plenty of trips to the bar. Local thrashers ERADIKATOR burst onto the stage fresh and with enough energy to keep the crowd just about upright. Officially part of their Edge of Humanity tour promoting the 2015 album; ERADIKATOR keep their thrash fast and heavy with pint-sized vocalist, Pat Cox, providing the only clean vocals of the night. Some great tracks from the set list include ‘Kairos Passing’ and ‘Man Behind The Mask’ both from the new album. With the crowd’s attention span beginning to wane, the guys made the wise choice of ending with a crowd pleasing Megadeth cover ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’.
Eradikator
What a successful first for promoters The Mighty BooChe! With talk of taking the event to London and the unending chants of ‘FUCK METAL HAMMER’ this is a gig that’s sure to go down in history as the night the Midlands underground fought back. Those of you lucky enough to have bought a ticket to the now sold out Beermageddon Festival at the end of August (26 – 28; Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove) can look forward to HÆRKEN, SHADOWFLAG and ERADIKATOR. I’ll see you there!
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