Saint Agnes
London Camden The Monarch
The new generation is here to keep rock’s
flame burning.
Having chipped away relentlessly at the
rock’n’roll coal face, Saint Agnes have at last
begun to carve their name into the hearts of an
increasing number of converts welcomed into their
coven, and their gruelling touring schedule has
tightened the band into formidable practitioners of
blues-inflected heavy rock. The net result is an
electrifying show that finds Saint Agnes at a tipping
point as they prove themselves ready for the next level.
Built on the foundations of Andy Head’s
powerhouse drumming and the frequently fuzzed-up
rumblings of bassist Ben Chernett, the heart of Saint
Agnes beats to the pulse of the smouldering chemistry
between singer/guitarist/keyboard player Kitty
Arabella Austen and guitarist/singer Jon Tufnell. The
heat generated by the pair on I Feel Dangerous Around
Yo u comes as sharp relief to the bitter cold outside, not
least when sharing a mic before Tufnell lets rip with
some truly filthy guitar playing. Elsewhere, a furious
reading of The Witching Hour proves emphatically that
big stages are crying out for this level of power and
performance. Sashaying on the bar, to the wonder of
the rapt throng below, Kitty refuses offers of assistance
to climb down. “I don’t need help,” she teases. “I’m
exactly where I want to be.”
Saint Agnes are explosively assured. Say hello to
your new favourite band.
Julian MarszalekInglorious
London Shepherd’s Bush Empire
The ego has landed.
First the good news. In spite of Nathan James’s
recent foot-in-mouth YouTube moment,
a potentially career-threatening gaffe that had even
A-listers Def Leppard lampooning it after it went viral,
Inglorious have pulled a large and appreciative
audience at their biggest London headline show yet.
For the most part the band tick all the right boxes.
A goosebump-raising rendition of Glory Days reminds
us that James is an outstanding vocal talent in the
Coverdale style, and his largely reconstituted
Inglorious line-up boasts a new star in Danny Dela
Cruz, the 19-year-old guitarist who lights up an
inspired cover of Alanis Morissette’s Uninvited. There
are couple of fillers during the hour-and-a-half set, but
it’s hard to imagine any lover of 70s-inspired hard rock
failing to appreciate such a vibrant, confident and
assured performance.
The foundations of something very special are
unmistakably being laid here, although a worrying
aspect is the possibility of James’s expanding ego
torpedoing all the goodwill. Offering an olive branch to
the estranged bandmates who inspired his “never, ever,
ever underestimate me” tirade, James now thanks them
all, declaring: “Without those guys Inglorious wouldn’t
be here tonight” before needlessly adding: “I don’t know
what they’re up to, but I don’t think it’s this.” We like our
singers to display a bit of swagger, but James comes
across as mean spirited.
Dave LingGrave Digger
/Burning Witches
London Tufnell Park The Dome
Euro power metal – with power!
Switzerland’s all-girl Burning Witch are
definitely connected to 80s power metal. The
all-girl band are lively, punchy and anthemic.
Grave Digger have never achieved the stature of
fellow Germans Accept, Helloween and Warlock, but
nobody in this decent-sized audience cares about that.
They sing along to everything, and there’s a great
rapport between band and fans.
The four-piece do drop something of a clanger
during The Bruce (The Lion King) when a figure dressed
as The Reaper comes on stage waving not a scythe but
the flag of Scotland – not a sensible thing to do in front
of an English audience. The Reaper reappears during
main set closer Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching), this
time playing the bagpipes to a warmer response.
There’s humour, both deliberate and unintentional,
in the performance. The choreography is more Spinal
Tap than tap-dancing, but frontman Chris Boltendahl
is clearly hamming it up. And special mention must be
made of the magnificently ludicrous Zombie Dance- a metal polka! Why wasn’t this entered for the
Eurovision Song Contest?
It all ends with a massive chantalong on Heavy
Metal Breakdown, Grave Diggger’s most celebrated
song, a fitting finale to a night of true entertainment.
As Boltendahl himself says: “Now, this is a real
heavy metal party!”
Malcolm Dome
Exit sandman, enter light... Mastodon are tidying
up the loose ends of their elongated Emperor Of
Sand world tour. Playing in front of a backdrop of tall
video screens, they’re an industrious set of noodling,
headbanging silhouettes caught against a lattice of hard
white lights and splashes of racing, psychedelic
animation that makes you think someone’s spiked your
drink. Which is probably the point.
People talk about long, strange trips. Well Mastodon
are still on theirs. But while their latter albums (the
aforementioned Emperor and 2014’s Once More
‘Round The Sun) showcased a band with a more
commercial ear (in a way not dissimilar to how Rush
made the leap from the conceptual Hemispheres
album to the much slicker Permanent Waves), they’re
still doggedly obtuse, experimental and almost always
tuneful. The occasional deft time changes are met
with roars of approval, and as the band tear through
Mother Puncher a full pint glass is launched high into
the air over the audience and a golden arc of beer is
caught against the lights.
Two lanky young men attempt a spot of syncopated
air-guitar to the knotty rhythms of the tumbling Toe To
Toes, and very nearly go over in a heap as they clatter
forward into each other. It’s that kind of audience: just on
the edge of collapse but holding it together, buoyed by
the strange magic emanating from the stage.
Philip WildingMastodon
London Brixton 02 Academy
Experimental metallers prompt flying
beer and syncopated air-guitar.‘Mastodo
n (^) are still
doggedly
obtuse (^) and
almo^
st always t
uneful.’
Mastodon: deft time
changes and plenty of
industrious noodling.
112 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
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