With my trips to gigs being stunted somewhat by a knackered spine, the ones I'm picking and choosing bands that I know will absolutely deliver on a live stage. I'd try to catch South Wales' psychedelic stoner riff warriors a few times this year already but life and physical pain got in the way meaning I had to abandon them.
However a Friday at Fuel Rock Club with support coming from some fellow Welsh riffers I know always bring the groove and psychedelic space rockers that I had not seen before wasn't going to be a gig I missed so it was a slow walk from the car ready to get as groovy as a man with a slipped disc can be.
Getting the night started, fresh from a triumphant show at Bloodstock festival it was the sludgy doom riffs of Goat Major that made sure the PA was working at full volume as they roared to life with a set full of occult doom for for an Argento movie. Mainly drawn from their debut record, the trio stormed through the Sabbath worshipping songs, with a crushing rhythm section adding the meaty grooves while the guitar brought some technical melodies to join the thunder. Goat Major are the heaviest thing to come out of Pembrokeshire in a long while and the one new track they played bodes well for their upcoming album.
Next up were Cybernetic Witch Cult, psychedelic weirdos with plenty of brain melting melodies. I'd never seen the band before and I'm not too sure if many inside Fuel but the volume did decline briefly when they took to the stage as this cult are much more about classic transcendental journeys than sledgehammer riffs. With a revamped line up, playing a set of mostly unreleased music, their was something if a return for the band and the crowd were receptive though I'm sure the majority would have seen anything they played as new, due to them being a rarity on this side of the bridge.
However they did manage to win over the crowd with dual vocals and spacial journeys through galactic soundscapes. Pushing further into psychedelic realms this witch cult was perfect cleanse from the heavy crush of the openers and moved perfectly into the headliners, they even found time to record the set and release it as live record which is mind blowing in a venue like Fuel.
Then it was time for the headliners, like conquering heroes, they once again stormed the Fuel stage with an unmatched energy. The last time I'd seen them in Cardiff was at their album release show (I think) and as with every Lacertilia show they were unbelievably good (spoiler), but while hearing them play the entire third record in full was a brilliant event, I was very interested to hear how those songs blend with their older material.
There's a nervous energy to frontman Fry, always balancing on the edge between mastery and madness, he's the conductor of this church of riffs, letting loose when the riffs of The Wired And The Weird and Weird Scenes kick off the Lacertilia party. Belting out the lyrics and prowling the stage it's hard to take your eyes off him, the between song asides bringing humor and humility.
Behind him though Lacertilia are band with an ease to them, virtuoso masquerading as your local biker club band, Carl's drumming laser focused driving the groove, probably because he's the only one who knows the setlist! With Ed's fluid basslines joining him they're a formidable rhythm section that can weave their magic between tracks as different as the Jane's Addiction like Tangled Up and the showstopping The Sun Is The Key.
The riffs come from Mike and Lukas, the punk rocking of closer Fire Up The Engine Of God or the stoner chug of Deviate From The Plan are just as impressive as the more laid back moments such as Over And Out and Nothing's Sacred where the leads take a melodic turn into psych and prog realms.
I'll always support Lacertilia, every promoter in the UK should be on the phone to them as there's a magic they bring to the stage and after a decade as a band they're at the best they've ever been. A brilliant night in Cardiff with three excellent bands playing to a receptive and up for it crowd, worth the journey as usual. 10/10
Then it was time for the headliners, like conquering heroes, they once again stormed the Fuel stage with an unmatched energy. The last time I'd seen them in Cardiff was at their album release show (I think) and as with every Lacertilia show they were unbelievably good (spoiler), but while hearing them play the entire third record in full was a brilliant event, I was very interested to hear how those songs blend with their older material.
There's a nervous energy to frontman Fry, always balancing on the edge between mastery and madness, he's the conductor of this church of riffs, letting loose when the riffs of The Wired And The Weird and Weird Scenes kick off the Lacertilia party. Belting out the lyrics and prowling the stage it's hard to take your eyes off him, the between song asides bringing humor and humility.
Behind him though Lacertilia are band with an ease to them, virtuoso masquerading as your local biker club band, Carl's drumming laser focused driving the groove, probably because he's the only one who knows the setlist! With Ed's fluid basslines joining him they're a formidable rhythm section that can weave their magic between tracks as different as the Jane's Addiction like Tangled Up and the showstopping The Sun Is The Key.
The riffs come from Mike and Lukas, the punk rocking of closer Fire Up The Engine Of God or the stoner chug of Deviate From The Plan are just as impressive as the more laid back moments such as Over And Out and Nothing's Sacred where the leads take a melodic turn into psych and prog realms.
I'll always support Lacertilia, every promoter in the UK should be on the phone to them as there's a magic they bring to the stage and after a decade as a band they're at the best they've ever been. A brilliant night in Cardiff with three excellent bands playing to a receptive and up for it crowd, worth the journey as usual. 10/10
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