BLACK WINTER DAY -
SEREGON, NAILED, HONEY TOAD, CONQUEST OF STEEL & WHEN GIANTS COLLIDE –
BRADFORD ZUU BAR 16/01/10
Travelling to see friends, I took the opportunity to check out a gig in Bradford where all proceeds were going towards Marie Curie Cancer Care, a worthy cause and on paper quite a good line up. Arriving for doors open at 3pm, it was clear that it wasn’t going to start on time. One band (The Aftermath) had pulled out, so the planned start was then moved to 4.30pm, or so we thought!
Opening band When Giants Collide provided their young emo fans with some heavy metalcore sounds. Whilst the singer performed like he was running on a treadmill in the gym, the energy was quite intense, even if I was not a fan of their music at all. Annoyingly after the band had finished, there was a mass exodus from the building. It would appear, as I have found with regional/non-London gigs, the crowd disappears when a band they are not into are playing and that is a shame. Every band deserves full support, and being as it was only a fiver, blimey, you were getting good value people. When you see Conquest of Steel on a bill, you know what to expect and they delivered in bucketloads. Studs, denim, patches, Swords, fake blood, screaming vocals and all the metal poses you can muster. I appreciated this show more than a recent one at the tail end of last year in South Harrow, mainly because I saw a full set this time. Songs like ‘Taste the Metal’ and ‘Can’t Stop the Metal’ place them on a podium finish for the day thus far, and a cracking cover of ‘Holy Diver’ gives a few people a chance to sing along. Whilst I always feel their music is good, sometimes the sound gets lost in live venues, but then it was not helped by a strange stage layout almost in the centre of the room. Unfortunately the next band had to wipe to floor before they started (fake blood makes a mess!), but who cares, metal was alive and well in Bradford and the healthy turnout for this band (most new entrants to the building too) was just what they deserved.
Another long break between bands, on average 45 mins, way too long, Honey Toad takes to the stage. Not really knowing what to expect, everyone is taken a-back by the quality tunes and sound that these guys have. The bassist being the only long haired chap in the band never stopped swaying and headbanging and musically they came across as a bit Soundgarden and a bit progressive with some screaming heavy vocals. What a show, definitely a band to watch out for in the future. Then we are led onto death metal purveyors Nailed. I caught this band a long time ago and never got on with them. Musically I was told they had improved, and granted, what they performed was proficient, but less talking between tracks might have been useful as it killed the flow of their set. Tracks such as ‘Spire of Sins’ and ‘Ongoing Final Submission’ prove they are a force to be reckoned with, but the live show needs a little tweaking in my mind.
Now onto the headliners, my real reason for coming to this gig. Seregon have travelled a long way for this show, now gone 11pm and bassist Ben has some issues with his bass. The DJ (a certain drummer from Bloodstream/ex-Let ‘em Burn – RIP) runs home and retrieves a soldering iron. In London this would have killed the gig as public transport is rubbish, but tonight with no real time constraints, we waited and then we got an explosive show as always. I often wonder how Alex plays all those riffs on the guitar, there is so much movement and head wind milling, it’s clear he and the rest of the band for that matter are bloody good at their craft. ‘Cancer Race’, ‘Fuck Shit Up’ enters the usual stage set and gives the crowd some much needed and missed “life” rather than the doldrums of earlier in the day. Two covers are played tonight, ‘Bio-Tech is Godzilla’ (once again a full frontal assault of their main influence) and ‘Seek and Destroy’ to close the day. An underrated band and a terrific stage show, if you are not moved when you see this band then I don’t really know what to think!
On the whole, Seregon and Honey Toad made the day, too may long breaks between bands and Nu-metal playing DJ sets just made the day drag out. Maybe a later start time would have been more suitable, but in any case a worthy gig for a worthy cause and another town and venue to add to my gigging repertoire!
http://www.blackwinterday.co.uk/
Paul Maddison
Click here for photographs
MTUK HOME
