On the night where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, all manner of creatures assembled at the doors of Elysium for a ritual of music and mirth.
Wizards, Druids, Priestesses, Valkyries, Gremlins and even a multitude of Blues Brothers descended on Swansea for a bill featuring a high level of talent and four bands more than capable of welcoming in high spirits, it was guaranteed to be a Samhain to remember.
It was a show that featured two Bloodstock Metal To The Masses South Wales Winners, Tarantino Splattercore, Satanic doom conjuring and gothic/macabre storytelling abound. So a quick tipple from their extensive 0% alcohol selection and on the first band.
There was plenty of noise and a big crowd early on for the reverb-tastic, K-Billy Super Swinging Sounds of surfsploitation rockers Grindhorse 83 (9). Essentially created by playing black metal through clean guitars, Grindhorse 83, is a photofit of musical reprobates cranking out a twisted B-Movie inspired version of The Surfaris or Dick Dale.
Featuring dual harmony guitars, grooving bass, the all important crashing drums, some keys which just brighten and broaden their style as down the front Mia let's loose with the widest range in the West. The great Quentin himself once called surf rock "rock 'n' roll spaghetti Western music" and that vibe is exactly what Grindhorse 83 are all about.
Next up things went more down the gothic path with Root Zero (8), vocalists Giac and Sasha looked as if they had crossed oceans of time just to find us while Llyr and Wren each positioned themselves each side of the stage keeping the goth aesthetic, in fact it was only their rhythm section that stopped you believing this was a dank Berlin club as Rob especially stuck out dressed in full clown gear.
Anyway away from the aesthetics and to the music and yet again Root Zero bewitched with their progressive gothic metal the harmonious union of the dual vocals fusing with the swathes of keys, riffs that shift between doom, black and everything in between. They drew most of the set from their most recent effort but did dog back to their earlier releases as well seamless blending the two.
Root Zero seem to get slicker and better on each viewing, so catch them soon if you can.
Up next it was Pyrogaric (7) and this being Halloween there were bound to be few goblins, and it was with the stoner doom trio they decided to strike, taking out the head of guitarist Keelan during the first song so only bass, drums and vocals were heard. Vocalist/drummer Jamey-Leigh tried to keep the spirits high but there was some definite frustration.
A quick restart but still problems persisted and there was a break for some repairs, a replacement head then things kicked back in for just a short 15 minute blast of witchy, stoner doom which was perfect for the Samhain rituals, packed with thumping grooves, now increased by bassist Jim, it's hard to take your eyes of Jamey Leigh as she sings with wide-eyed intensity and drums with a similar power.
Just this short blast alone showed how good Pyrogaric are, another band I've been following since their early days and get better every time, when the gremlins are at bay.
The mists descended across the venue, the sounds of the forest, the glade, the birds filled the room as our headliners, Matt Cooke (keys), Scott New (Nylon guitar) and Thom Lyon (bass) made their way to the stage guided by lantern and took their positions amongst drummer Kevin Arbuckle and electric guitarist Ben Baljak (playing his second set of the day) to once again tell their stories from Rhyfelwyr and the Hallowed Glade, a curse but beautiful place that twists the mind and metamorphoses those who experience it.
The post-folk metal band and Bloodstock Metal To The Masses 2025 winners, play music that eats into your very soul, you can 'feel' their music, it's all instrumental but calls to you, wrapping you songs that draw from folk metal, ambient music, electronic music and plenty of Celtic styles too. It's complex and enthralling, the keys of Matt adding texture as it swells and embellishes the songs with plenty of atmosphere. He also tells the tales between the songs with the relish and delivery of a theater actor, the fantasy elements brought to life by his regailing.
These keys weave into the fluid electric melodies of Ben who showcases his skills as both a lead and rhythm player locking into the thundering grooves with Thom who drives the main thrust of the heaviness, then shifts into the lead role alongside the brilliant nylon string acoustics of Scott, this addition to their sound is vital to their overall impact as a band. Still telling their current tale across the UK into next year, I knew Adfeilion (10) were good but they absolutely stunned in the mists of Elysium.
There was plenty of noise and a big crowd early on for the reverb-tastic, K-Billy Super Swinging Sounds of surfsploitation rockers Grindhorse 83 (9). Essentially created by playing black metal through clean guitars, Grindhorse 83, is a photofit of musical reprobates cranking out a twisted B-Movie inspired version of The Surfaris or Dick Dale.
Featuring dual harmony guitars, grooving bass, the all important crashing drums, some keys which just brighten and broaden their style as down the front Mia let's loose with the widest range in the West. The great Quentin himself once called surf rock "rock 'n' roll spaghetti Western music" and that vibe is exactly what Grindhorse 83 are all about.
Next up things went more down the gothic path with Root Zero (8), vocalists Giac and Sasha looked as if they had crossed oceans of time just to find us while Llyr and Wren each positioned themselves each side of the stage keeping the goth aesthetic, in fact it was only their rhythm section that stopped you believing this was a dank Berlin club as Rob especially stuck out dressed in full clown gear.
Anyway away from the aesthetics and to the music and yet again Root Zero bewitched with their progressive gothic metal the harmonious union of the dual vocals fusing with the swathes of keys, riffs that shift between doom, black and everything in between. They drew most of the set from their most recent effort but did dog back to their earlier releases as well seamless blending the two.
Root Zero seem to get slicker and better on each viewing, so catch them soon if you can.
Up next it was Pyrogaric (7) and this being Halloween there were bound to be few goblins, and it was with the stoner doom trio they decided to strike, taking out the head of guitarist Keelan during the first song so only bass, drums and vocals were heard. Vocalist/drummer Jamey-Leigh tried to keep the spirits high but there was some definite frustration.
A quick restart but still problems persisted and there was a break for some repairs, a replacement head then things kicked back in for just a short 15 minute blast of witchy, stoner doom which was perfect for the Samhain rituals, packed with thumping grooves, now increased by bassist Jim, it's hard to take your eyes of Jamey Leigh as she sings with wide-eyed intensity and drums with a similar power.
Just this short blast alone showed how good Pyrogaric are, another band I've been following since their early days and get better every time, when the gremlins are at bay.
The mists descended across the venue, the sounds of the forest, the glade, the birds filled the room as our headliners, Matt Cooke (keys), Scott New (Nylon guitar) and Thom Lyon (bass) made their way to the stage guided by lantern and took their positions amongst drummer Kevin Arbuckle and electric guitarist Ben Baljak (playing his second set of the day) to once again tell their stories from Rhyfelwyr and the Hallowed Glade, a curse but beautiful place that twists the mind and metamorphoses those who experience it.
The post-folk metal band and Bloodstock Metal To The Masses 2025 winners, play music that eats into your very soul, you can 'feel' their music, it's all instrumental but calls to you, wrapping you songs that draw from folk metal, ambient music, electronic music and plenty of Celtic styles too. It's complex and enthralling, the keys of Matt adding texture as it swells and embellishes the songs with plenty of atmosphere. He also tells the tales between the songs with the relish and delivery of a theater actor, the fantasy elements brought to life by his regailing.
These keys weave into the fluid electric melodies of Ben who showcases his skills as both a lead and rhythm player locking into the thundering grooves with Thom who drives the main thrust of the heaviness, then shifts into the lead role alongside the brilliant nylon string acoustics of Scott, this addition to their sound is vital to their overall impact as a band. Still telling their current tale across the UK into next year, I knew Adfeilion (10) were good but they absolutely stunned in the mists of Elysium.
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