Revolt

Revolt

Concorde 2

Friday 26^th November

Tonight see's the launch of a new club night at the Concorde 2; Revolt. This will be a quarterly event and after the strength of tonight, I cannot wait for the next one.

There was something to keep everyone here entertained, such as fire breathing, Dj sets, zombie fancy dress, stalls from local shops as well as Surfaces and Lithurgy playing, what more can you want?

Walking into the main hall, I was immediately greeted by the site of a clown wanking off a chicken head on the main stage; it was then I realised that I must pay the bar a visit.

Beer in hand and Aerosmith blaring through the speakers, it was time for fire eating act Miss Baby Bones walk onto the stage. She then whipped off her shirt (to a cheer from the male members of the audience), lighting her fire sticks. Miss Baby Bones knew her audience well as she sexually brushed her instruments across her arms before extinguishing them in her mouth to a pillar of smoke. This acted as a great warm up to:

Surfaces www.myspace.com/surfacesbanduk

These guys threw down an impressive performance with their Progressive, Tech Metal sound that assaulted the ears. Sounding like the bastard love child of Periphery, Architects and Sikth, they tore the Concorde apart, with their show only complimented by the perfect mix of the instruments. Their ball rattling bass mixed with their visually stunning synchronised head banging made sure that no member of the audience was left unimpressed.

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Frontman Callum Kirk has only been in the band 4 months but already looks integrated and comfortable as he lets out some disgusting hardcore vocals. Surfaces have a punishing set list that refuses to leave my neck motionless particularly in their breakdowns which were tighter than my pants in the Playboy mansion. Surfaces will soon be embarking on a tour that will see them visit Belgium, Germany and other parts of the UK so make sure you catch them at their next Brighton show on the 19^th of December at The Hydrant.

Between the two bands sets a best dressed Zombie competition was held on stage to a soundtrack featuring Lamb of God, Decapitated, At The Gates and Meshuggah proving to me there was no other club night more suited towards people like me. I quickly went to the bar just in time for Lithurgy.

Lithurgy www.myspace.com/lithurgy

I've been waiting a while to see Lithurgy and good thing it was tonight as this was the last gig till next summer whilst they write and record their new album. Fresh from a tour with Tesseract, Lithurgy are tight as nails with technical efficiency and energy flying off the stage.

From my built up preconceptions Lithurgy seriously did not disappoint, and I mean seriously. The band play with a new line up change of guitarist Tom Bates joining the band and Gazz relieving himself of his 6 string duties for the synth. This does only more to accentuate this band's already stunning sound.

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In sight with their experimental and Progressive edge, Lithurgy are not scared to mix up the normal instrumentation of a metal band by also adding a saxophone, drum trigger pads as well an on stage floor tom to take their sound to a new level. This is great to see as it shows a band pushing the boundaries of heavy music rather than cashing in on current trends and stagnating the genre as so many bands do.

The bands E.P. Mother I is truly awesome and with their tireless work ethic i'm sure the album will be something for every metalhead to look forward to.

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This whole night was run very smoothly, with the DJ's having the ear for what this kind of crowd would want to hear. Clowns walking round and other antics such as the Zombie competition this was the perfect way to spend a Friday night.

Catching up with one of the promotors after the event, it is clear they share a lot of mutual passion for the local scene. Wanting to make it a much tighter community for the bands and the fans.

With the closing of many local venues, and there being no large scale club nights to cater for the, well more heavily inclined. It is great to see someone take the risk and offer somewhere for us metal heads to hangout, listen to some tunes, knock back some brews and watch local bands play on a bigger stage, rather than just listening to Metallica ar some main stream venue that claim to have an 'Alternative night”

The promotors have a lot of ambitions for Revolt, using all profits to improve the next event. If it is anything like tonight, February 25^th will not be a date to be missed.

* Sasha Nicole Photography www.flickr.com/photos/sashanicolephotography
** Tom Frank 'The Tank' Photography

Underground

Sussex Jazz Orchestra

Sussex Jazz Orchestra

The Latest Music Bar

Tuesday 23rd November

www.scoredchanges.com

Tonight's event was held in the downstairs theatre of the Latest Music Bar, formally known as the Joogleberry. Under candlelight the venue offers a pleasant atmosphere perfect for tonights performance of the Sussex Jazz Orchestra. The venue has a great sound coping with a large jazz band very well with a clear sound also coming out of the PA from solo mics. 

The bands line up is more stripped down with many of the senior members being away for various reasons, giving younger musicians more of a chance to display their soloing talents. Baritone player Patrick Billingham acts as a warm host throughout the event talking you through each track as well as passing the solo opportunities around the band. Patrick makes you feel very welcome and with all the other changes plus some new faces in the band see's the songs played with a different feel than I have previously seen.

The band played two 50 minutes sets, playing mostly the late founder of the bands Ian Hamer's songs as well as a few arrangements from Tubby Hayes, Paul Busby and Oliver Nelson.

There were many highlights tonight. Intro track Hamerphilia is always a great staple in the set list and set the night off with a bang.

Last track of the first set was Hamer's rousing 'Choose who's Blues'. This track featured many inspiring solos from the band members, particularly from Electric Bass player Jerry Dearden who played possibly one of the most exciting slap solo's I have ever heard.

The Sussex Jazz Orchestra always deliver a great way to spend a night, though the audience numbers are low I really doubt it bothers these guys. They just enjoy playing the music as can be seen by the expressions on their faces. It's great to see so much humility and unity with the band members applauding others solo's rather than entering a competition of ego's.

Underground

Black Sunday Promotions: Relaunch at the Hobgoblin

Brighton Hobgoblin
20th November 2010

This is the first time Black Sunday Promotions has put on a gig at the Hobgoblin since it's reopening this year. Tonight see's a sell out crowd with 100 plus people coming down to support local metal. Unfortunately headline act Surrounded by Disgust had to pull out due to some unexpected ill health from drummer Ryan Dennington. We wish all the best and a speedy recovery, hopefully we will see them on form soon delivering high octane death metal on a Brighton stage very soon.

This is the second gig I went to at the Hob this week, and they have added a small stage, which definitely does more to differentiate the band from the audience and make it feel more authentic.

Due to some bad time management on my part I missed first act Kickfist (www.myspace.com/kic
kfist), but having seen them before I am sure they did not disappoint.

Graces Collide

www.myspace.com/gracescollide

Graces Collide play to a full room of fans (judging by the screaming girls on the front row) which sets off a good vibe for their melodic metal style. Their songs are well written taking on a more poppy approach which gracefully moves from verse to anthem like chorus. The frontman Dan has a great voice who's melody does much to capture the audiences attention and keep them gripped throughout the set. With the fan pulling power that the band posses I know it will only be a matter of time till we will see them performing at the top of their own bill.

Acamar

Tonight was Acamar's first gig, so fresh are they on the scene that they don't even have a Myspace yet. At a complete paradox to Graces Collide, this 3 piece consisting of guitar, drums and a female vocalist play Darkthrone/Autposy like Black metal. Graces Collide fans quickly run to the hills leaving only select Black Metal fans who band their heads throughout the set. The band almost take a minimalist approach to their songs, but at points it became very boring as a lack of diversity and dynamics were called upon.

The band show potential tonight, but to really become something special on the local scene they need to play and perform to the intensity that Black Metal dictates.

Subservience

www.myspace.com/subservience

Tonight was Subservience's third gig, and little would you know as they put on a hard hitting show that leaves the audience screaming for more. The band show a wide range of influences from Metal styles of old to more contemporary death metal, and would definitely be my choice of band of the night.

Frontman Jay Fitt has a brutal voice that really tops of the raw energy that gets the audiences head banging. Having just released their Demo 'Blueprint to Chaos' Subservience obviously know what they are doing and I will be looking forward to them punishing Brighton again in the coming year.

Gutterfly

www.myspace.com/gutterflyuk

Gutterfly act as honorary headliners tonight, and do a fantastic job. Every member of this band are obviously very accomplished musicians in their own right, adding a little bit extra to the arrangements. The bands style were accurately described to me as Black Label Society covering Stone Sour, and made for a very memorable set.

Their frontman has a very distinguished voice and his performance reminds me of Trent Reznor whilst he handles the mic with such confidence. Gutterfly tick every box that a great performance should and theres something for everyone here.

It is great that Black Sunday Promotions are back at the Hobgoblin for all the memories that the old venue held for the bands and the fans. It is also great to see a sell out show, having the local fans show themselves in numbers, tonight shows a very promising future for metal at the Hobgoblin.

Underground