Silverburn, Only Fools And Corpses & Mines, The Bunkhouse, Swansea, 12/08/23
While much of the metal crowd were at Bloodstock, I made my way to the newly refurbished The Bunkhouse Swansa for the return of South Wales music scene veteran James 'Jimbob' Issac to the live stage. That was later as first it was the anguished noise, slow burning elongated sludgeness of Mines (7) with lots of ear piercing distortion and noise (the genre) influences. Any band that puts a five string bass in the middle of the stage, lashings of feedback and puts it all on top of impressive proggy drumming is great in my book, so my first vieiwing of Mines left a ringing in my ear that will take a week to get rid of.
Up next though were South Wales Bover Boys Only Fools And Corpses (7) live up to their OI! mentality as they play music that stomps it's Doc Martins and flicks the V at the wider world. The trio bring punk, hardcore, distortion and an sense of danger. I would not want to be a Tory voter anywhere near them lest they'd unleash a tirade of c-bombs and probably kick your head in. Getting a good crowd pogoing and whipped up. It was unhinged, angry and making Swansea on edge, Only Fools And Corpses bring a different kind of racket.
Up next though were South Wales Bover Boys Only Fools And Corpses (7) live up to their OI! mentality as they play music that stomps it's Doc Martins and flicks the V at the wider world. The trio bring punk, hardcore, distortion and an sense of danger. I would not want to be a Tory voter anywhere near them lest they'd unleash a tirade of c-bombs and probably kick your head in. Getting a good crowd pogoing and whipped up. It was unhinged, angry and making Swansea on edge, Only Fools And Corpses bring a different kind of racket.
The debut show/album launch for James Jimbob Isaac's solo project, Silverburn (9), the great and good (who weren't at BOA) turned out to support him playing Swansea's best venue. With a live band culled from some of the most experienced acts on the scene, bass from Ross Barrington while Adam French Henderson sits behind the drums as he does for They Live We Sleep. It was a Saturday fun time, helped by the collapse of a local multi genre festival just days before under a cloud of mystery. Still anyone who chose to go to this gig made the right choice as Self Induced Transcendental Annihilation is a brilliant record so I was very much looking forward to seeing it performed live.
Atmospheric opening as the intro tape played and it was headfirst into the mathematical, sludge metal of the Silverburn. Playing all of the album, in order, Silverburn rely on just cranking out heaviness as a matter of course, tectonic shifts in groove, down tuned riff worship, where only repeating chugging rhythmic motions were wlecome. The sound a perfect mix of clarity and extremity as bass and guitar joined in crushing heaviness before there's blasts of thrash/death or hardcore, the drumming ably shifting between the changing time signatures as Isaac roared the intelligent scientific lyrics. The only breaks coming when instruments were changed, it was a forceful, first gig for Silverburn. If you're heading to ArcTanGent this weekend, go check out the sound of South Wales heaviness.
Atmospheric opening as the intro tape played and it was headfirst into the mathematical, sludge metal of the Silverburn. Playing all of the album, in order, Silverburn rely on just cranking out heaviness as a matter of course, tectonic shifts in groove, down tuned riff worship, where only repeating chugging rhythmic motions were wlecome. The sound a perfect mix of clarity and extremity as bass and guitar joined in crushing heaviness before there's blasts of thrash/death or hardcore, the drumming ably shifting between the changing time signatures as Isaac roared the intelligent scientific lyrics. The only breaks coming when instruments were changed, it was a forceful, first gig for Silverburn. If you're heading to ArcTanGent this weekend, go check out the sound of South Wales heaviness.