Wretched Soul, Democratus & King Ibex, The Gryphon
Ah The Gryphon, a 'proper' rock bar, full of regulars that drink the real ale while heavy metal blasts in the background. It's also a place for live music, tucked in a room upstairs the max 50 cap room has had some really big names playing there which sometimes makes it a little claustrophobic when sold out, however usually it's a perfectly good venue to watch some metal music. I was here for a band I've followed for a long time but the bonus of having two Welsh bands in support was a pleasure as well.
First up were King Ibex (7), this Alt rock trio merge punk, blues and radio friendly rocking together in a very exciting brew. They were the odd band out here as they were nowhere near as heavy as the other two bands on the bill but they got the crowd grooving. The duel vocals of Michael Buffery (guitar) and Tom Jayne (bass) are integral to the band's sound as Alistair Morgan (drums) manipulates the pace. They took the fact they weren't the heaviest band their in their stride and made the most of opening the evening with little fuss and lots of riffs.
Next it was Democratus (8) the 2018 M2TM winners have been going from strength to strength since their win, buoyed by the addition of Rich on lead guitar now the band boast load more lead solos as the dead ringer for Dan Spitz peeled them off on top of Democratus' melo-death sound. Democratus excel in a small room, giving things the right amount of intensity to get a crowd moving, frontman Steve prowling the room on BTK adding more theatrics as he stomped around the venue, even venturing downstairs before returning to 'hang' Spoon, Joey and Rich much like Dennis Rader who the song is about. The set was filled with songs from both of their EP's though Damnation made up the bulk. They did mix things up as normal set closer Life For A Life was replaced with The Unworthy which is another big singalong getting all that crowd participation that Steve loves. Democratus took the lion's share of the crowd here, mainly due to their heavy touring schedule, but they showed again why they one of South Wales' best and brightest.
The final act of the night was Cambridge blackened metal act Wretched Soul (8) who are always blistering in the live arena, their heavy take on occult speed metal is one that needs to be seen. An artillery barrage of drumming, carpet bombing bass and laser guided guitar playing bring a traditional metal edge to a mix of black and death metal topped off with Chris' amazing vocal range giving King Diamond himself a run for his money. Playing a mix of songs from both of their albums Veronica and The Ghost Road including The Heretic, Veronica the always destructive (or should that be restorative) Necromancer along with a new song called Sacrificial Kings. Chris was wild eyed and stalked the the room running like mad man around it as Luke Mayell (bass) and Steve Clifford (guitar) stick on the spot but Luke (who had recently flown in from Florida so was horribly jet lagged) pumps out the grooves as Steve shreds on his Flying V, his brother Andy beating the drums. The set ended with the grunting, proggy We Made The Gods closing with the vicious War Wolf. Even with a small crowd Wretched Soul play their set like it's an arena and if like me you love Mercyful Fate, Nevermore and bands of their ilk then I suggest you see Wretched Soul if you can this year.
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