It’s been a good year for both bands on tonight’s bill. Stabilisation for Painted As Monsters, now an established outfit on the circuit and with new music slipping onto the streaming services, their slow methodical approach is working well. As for the headliners, well, debut album Rebirth hit all the right notes earlier in 2023, and they have been playing on a regular basis throughout.
Tonight is a celebration and it’s heartening to see a good crowd assemble in the venue for both bands. Sadly, Feral Sun are unable to join the party due to illness, so doors are pushed back to 8pm. This allows time for food and a couple of drinks beforehand.
Painted As Monsters (8) are improving on every showing. Their musical style is a combination of progressive metal, alt-rock, and a little bit of everything else thrown in. It works well, with a decent sound allowing Rhys Evans’ vocals to cut through. He’s a decent guitar player too, and although there aren’t huge numbers of searing lead breaks, when he does get to unleash, he does so with aplomb. They play an expansive set, beginning with Welcome To The Mainframe, throwing in the Trep standard Silence The Crows before concluding with Start Calling Me The Enemy, newly added to Spotify, as Rhys is keen to point out. Backed by the serious rhythm section of Chris Machin and Matt Jones, Painted As Monsters sound and style continues to impress. Keep an eye on them in 2024.
It's no coincidence that Eulogy (9) have found a new confidence in the last 18 months or so. Their album Rebirth has hit over 600,000 streams, earning them a whole £12.50 as frontman Neil Thomas laughingly tells us during the set, whilst drummer Josh Bird and rhythm guitarist Brian Perkins have added additional quality and solidity to the band.
They start strongly, with new song Tomorrows Loss and older staple Corvid heating up the room. Thomas stands proud, his vocals strong and bass playing anchoring with Bird’s thunderous drumming. He’s flanked by Perkins and lead guitarist Mike Williams, who is soldiering through despite a nasty bout of the coughing virus that seems to have spent the entire winter in South Wales. His playing remains fluid and expressive.
Back To Life and Cross To Bare see the audience singing along, whilst a cover of The Cranberries Zombie gets even more reaction. Neil explains that 2024 has some big plans, including some exciting touring, and I for one look forward to seeing where it takes them.
The riffs flow on Pain Is Mine, whilst Narcissist is a track that stands out every time its played. There's another newie in Pariah, which sounds great, before Slipknot’s Duality ensures that the Fuel crowd have one more chance to exercise their vocal cords. With a big thanks to all for coming, Eulogy finish with Laudanum, which finally sees Mike pick up his gleaming white Fender Stratocaster to shouts of “play something by Rainbow” by some naughty hecklers!
It was a fine evening, and for £4, incredible value. It’s these shows that make live music the joy it is, and I get far more reward here than in a 7000 crowd in an arena. Live music needs to be appreciated in all its guises, and tonight we get it at its best.
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