Diamond Head, Muni Centre, Pontypridd
I’m really enjoying gigs at the Muni in Ponty. The Sound is superb, there’s enough room to avoid some punter’s armpit in your face and the bar, despite the awful choice, is reasonably priced. What’s more, if you purchase your drink in a can, you can avoid the plastic pint cup – always a win! Ticket sales were obviously quite low for this gig, but the division of the room in half with a simple black curtain provided the intimacy needed for a Diamond Head gig and the 150 or so who had made the effort were richly rewarded with top effort from every band on the bill.
Pontypool’s Traitor’s Gate (6) had reformed in 2016 following a brief period of activity in the latter days of the NWOBHM movement. Original singer Dave McLean was replaced by ex-Mayhem Messiah vocalist Sy Davies in 2017. Whether he is still learning the ropes or whether age is catching up on him I’m not sure, but Davies was totally dependent on the lyric sheets at his feet. Aside from this, his voice, apart from the odd dodgy note worked well with the band’s heavy power metal approach, the sparse crowd reacting positively to a selection of tracks from their recent album Fallen, including Deceiver, Retribution and the interesting Solar Plains. The band are solid with guitarist Andy D’Urso catching the eye with some neat work. Throwing in the ‘classic’ The Devil Takes The High Road from their mid-80s EP, Traitor’s Gate were solid and watchable, and earnt a warm reception from those souls who had arrived early doors.
London based Killit (8) were a completely different proposition, with a slickness and confidence that can only come from continued hard work gigging and working. In their four years as a band, they have played numerous support slots including previous Diamond Head tours, as well as slots at Ramblin’ Man, Hard Rock Hell and Stone Free festivals. The band’s generic hard rock is worth a listen, but their live performance is captivating with drummer Pete Jeans’ powerhouse machine-like drumming astonishing. Vocalist Gaz Twist possesses a fine voice, and commands the stage well, whilst there is plenty to watch with rhythm guitarist Claire Genoud wheeling around the stage, changing places with bassist Ben Smart seemingly every few seconds. Meanwhile guitarist Niro Knox handled all the lead work with aplomb. This is a band who clearly enjoy what they do, smiles galore and a real pleasing feel to their on-stage effort. With a selection of tracks from debut release Shut It Down, the larger crowd responded well. Killit have a big future and are well worth a watch if you like your rock hard.
Having seen Diamond Head (9) twice in the past year already, I knew that we would get 100%. Their headline set in London last December was superb, as was their classics set as main support to Saxon in February at The Great Hall in Cardiff, but tonight the band was bolstered by the return of rhythm guitarist Andy Abberley which bolstered the engine room, provided the band with more depth and increased their heaviness as well as allowing Brian Tatler to do what he does best; shred for fun. With the ever reliable engine room of Karl Wilcox (what a good drummer) and bassist Dean Ashton holding down the beat, front man Rasmus Bom Anderson was able, between swigging beers like only the Danes can do, to do what he does best: cajole and encourage the lively crowd as Diamond Head surged through a 95 minute set that included all the classics we’ve covered before plus a healthy smattering of four tracks from 2016’s Diamond Head.
One of the highlights of the evening was Knight Of The Swords, pulled from the band’s third album Canterbury. As I have written in previous reviews, it’s only when you see the band live that you realise just how many tunes these guys have in their locker. Lightning To The Nations always gets the audience stoked, whilst the covers of Metallica songs of Helpless and The Prince remain punky and a great tribute to the American monsters (That was a joke, by the way). Of course, when Tatler hits that riff, the place always goes mental. Whilst the crowd was small the response throughout the evening was excellent and by the time we got to full vocal on Am I Evil? the place was rocking. Diamond Head, as always, were stunning, cohesive and polished and heavy as hell. I hope the guys continue to return to South Wales, where hopefully they can be rewarded by bigger crowds.
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