Apocalyptica & The Raven Age, The Great Hall, Cardiff 05.10.24
I have to be honest, I came tonight because it’s a friend’s birthday party, and he wanted to come, so come we all did. I also have to confess I had low expectations going in, for a variety of reasons…
The Raven Age (7) are fully into their set by the time I arrive, and there’s a good-sized crowd already there to watch them perform. I’ve been aware of the band for a while but have to confess to being a little disinterested on the grounds that the amount of hype surrounding them, plus the not insubstantial boosts the band have received in the game of musical snakes and ladders from having the likes of Steve Harris watching out for you has always felt a little false to me.
There’s plenty of acts out there grinding it from the bottom the hard way, so having someone’s famous dad exert their clout to get them the right label, management and tour slots always makes me cautious, and yes, a little harder to win over. But to be fair, the whole business used to work like this when major labels ruled the roost and decided who they were going to promote, ignore or bury that year…
Another challenge for me for this act initially is getting a sense of their musical identity, because influence-wise they are a real stylistic hotch-potch, running the gamut from elements of traditional Metal, bits of Groove, some straight ahead Melodic elements and a bit of Metalcore for good measure. However, with three albums and a lot of touring under their belt it quickly becomes obvious that there is more to The Raven Age than nepotistic hype.
They seem slightly lethargic when I first arrive, but definitely hit their stride after a couple of songs as the audience, and indeed myself start to get what they are about. Front man Matt James is blessed with a strong set of pipes and a good, dynamic and charismatic stage presence, and within no time has both the band and the crowd feeding each other with energy, but the skill and effortless delivery of the rest of the band has me nodding along as well. By the time they are onto safe ground from their debut Darkness Will Rise, which the crowd are more familiar with the room is safe to say warmed up nicely, and I am forced to acknowledge that whatever short cuts may have been offered at the start of their careers are irrelevant now, because The Raven Age deserved to be here on their own merit. An unexpectedly good start to the night indeed…
Ah, covers and tribute acts…
Those who may have read my ramblings before (and I’m assuming someone other than our esteemed Meister und kommandant editor Matt does) will know that I am often somewhat frustrated when audience’s flock to sell out a venue for some tribute act, whilst ignoring original acts and bands struggling to make their marks. It is deeply saddening that this happens, and I can think of a handful of gigs in recent months when the bands themselves and a handful of lucky journos have made up the bulk of an audience. And here we are tonight, to a large crowd here to see three cellists and a drummer churn out their instrumental versions of Metallica’s greatest hits… ‘80’s Kerrang! Bitch Mode’ engaged and ready for deployment…
But this is Apocalyptica (9), and after twenty-one years and a whole bunch of records of their own I think it’s fair to say that they have carved their own niche and evolved way beyond the mere ‘tribute’ hallmark. Whilst most of their discography stays in the territory of Messrs Hetfield et al, they have produced plenty of original material in the same style, but with a second volume of pure Metallica worship being their most recent opus, you know exactly what you are going to get on the set list tonight.
I’m all ready to be brutal here, but within minutes they have me in their grasp, along with the whole audience. Having never seen them work a room before, it becomes clear instantly that this is a group of gentlemen who knows how to enliven a crowd. Most bands rely on a vocalist as frontman and band leader when it comes to getting the punters going, but when your three instrumentalists not locked onto a drum stool at the back are wielding full size 4/4 violoncellos almost as tall as the players, you would think mobility would be a problem. Nope, these boys can move, utilising every inch of the stage in such a dynamic way that I am completely taken by surprise. And when lead cellist Perttu Kivilaakso flips his behind his head for a turn, and I think my need for a bitchy review has just been shredded.
It's perhaps not surprising that Apocalyptica first started to become well-known around the time Metallica’s ability to write good music went the way of all flesh, and the set does heavily rely on Burton-era classical-infused belters to whip the audience in the right direction (I may have punched the air when The Call Of Ktulu hits the airwaves), but I am equally surprised at how Black album era material works well with this treatment.
Christ, they even make St. Anger sound good, which deserves a medal in and of itself. Closing out with a belting version of One, I find that this has been a very good night all round, and when low expectations get kicked out of the back doors and down the fire escape like that, I am reminded why I do this reviewing lark.
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