A View From The Middle-Left Of The Industrial Warehouse: AFI (Dean Palmer)

AFI & TR/ST – Prospect Building, Bristol, 27.08.26

Over the last few years Bristol has had a complete upheaval in live music venues. 

The sad loss of Motion and Marble Factory left many of us concerned that this would give the O2 Academy (which remains the worst venue in the UK, one I will not buy tickets for no matter who is playing) a total monopoly on larger gigs. 

Electric remains a strong contender with an incredible sound system, but once a band has need for a capacity above 1000, the natural draw was, for a while, the Academy.

Thankfully The Prospect Building was wished into existence and has absolutely smashed it in terms of both being an incredible large venue for live music, and it only takes a quick peek at their “what’s on” page to realise which venue bands prefer.

Which brings us to a drizzly but warm Thursday when Hardcore/Punk/Horrorpunk/Emo/Post Hardcore/Anthemic Rock/Goth/New Wave (they’ve cycled through a lot of styles in their time) legends AFI finally rolled back into the UK as headliners for the first time in over 16 years, and the first time in Bristol for 20 (when they played the above mentioned Academy).

First up, support act TR/ST (7) take to the stage. Robert Alfons being the only official member of the band, he is joined by Robin Hatch who provides most of the keyboards and controls the drum samples (I am informed they usually tour with a drummer, which fits with a remark I made after their set which I felt they would definitely benefit from some live drums). 

TR/ST are coldwave electronica in its purest form and I could very easily imagine myself dancing to them at 4am in a warehouse in Berlin on any given night. 

Tonight they perform well, but the crowd are in the most part disinterested which is a shame (and does say a lot as to which material from the headliners will be best received right from the outset). 

Even so, if you get the chance to see them in a dark and dingy club – do so.

Which brings us to the headliners. 

The crowd are positively fizzing it to get dark, and as the lights drop we start the night with the earliest cut from the AFI (10) catalogue we will hear tonight (disappointment for those fans of the Hardcore punk era of the band, but they don’t go that far back these days) as they open with Strength Through Wounding, the intro track from 2000s Black Sails In The Sunset.

Once intro duties are disposed of, it is banger time, as the band launch into lead single from 2003’s Sing The Sorrow with Girls Not Grey, quickly segued into DECEMBERUNDERGROUND’s Love Like Winter. It is clear we’re getting the hits and then some tonight, and the crowd are very, very happy this is the case.

That’s not to say Davey and co are resting on times of yonder tonight, as they’ve got a recent album to promote in last years’ Behind The Clock and we get four cuts from it in Behind The Clock, Marguerite, Voidward, I Bend Back and Holy Visions throughout the evening. 

These songs are played utterly beautifully, with the band showing that for every post-hardcore banger they deliver, they can match it with some beautiful synth-tinged gothic rock, however it is noticeable that portions of the crowd present tonight are perhaps not as well versed with the newer material as the golden oldies.

This doesn’t stop the band in any sense though, and with a back catalogue as deep as AFI has there is plenty on the menu to appease almost every attendee. I Hope You Suffer from Burials is belted out with absolute fury, and follows a surprise addition of 37mm as a pretty deep cut from the DECEMBERUNDERGROUND days.

We get two songs from the ultra polished 2009 anthemic Crash Love – Beautiful Thieves and End Transmission mid-set. Both of which really do showcase how well Davey Havok has looked after his voice during his 50 years on the planet, as he hits every note perfectly and still finds the energy to be a charismatic frontman whirling his way around the stage. 

He is a man who has changed image more than underpants (maybe), but the man under that huge moustache and considerable barnet of hair is still as slick as he ever has been.

Having closed out the main set with The Days Of The Phoenix, the band are quickly back on stage for a two-song encore of Silver And Cold and a big singalong to Miss Murder before the lights go up, and everybody in the room hopes it isn’t another 20 years before AFI return to Bristol. 

Outstanding entertainment from true underground veterans of the game.

Review: Black Spikes, Rising Insane, Catch Your Breath, Riff Dealer (Matt Bladen)

Black Spikes - Ydos (Napalm Records)

Ydos is Lithuanian band Black Spike's first for Napalm Records and comes after their nomination at the M.A.M.A award which is similar to a Grammy. So there's an expectation of big things from this progressive metal act who are already booked to be playing Uprising festival next year.

Performed in their native language, Ydos is the story of the human condition, lived through ethereal soundscapes, haunting moments of unnerving bliss, punishing modern prog metal riffs, diverse vocals and a love electonic beats that saturate tracks such as Melas

To my ears, and eyes Black Spikes remind me of The Great Discord, taking an avant garde passage through their music but also adding a feeling of one of Eurovision's weirder offerings (Apatija). Ydos is a very dark, spellbinding and distinctive record.

Tracks such as Zelvar features angular riffs against lullaby-like spell casting as Revana gets to the heavy side with rapid fire rap vocals, that heavy side increasing for Aurea and Senas Demonas as this record is sequenced in a way that it builds into the heaviest moments at the end.

Ydos brings metal but maybe not how or where you would expect it to come from, at times baffling, at others brilliant Black Spikes could be the newest metal superstars. 8/10

Rising Insane - Deathrace (Long Branch Records)

German modern metal act Rising Insane have been making a name for themselves for nearly a decade now, their story reaching a peak when they signed to Long Branch Records in 2019, this led to a shift towards a style that kept their live show ferocity but brought more melody and dynamics.

A cover of Blinding Lights by The Weeknd opened then up to larger audience and with their previous record they further welcomed more kudos for their deeper and more experimental sound, never shedding their metalcore beginnings but adapting them into something more palatable for a larger audience as so many bands do these days.

They keep up this hybrid modern sound with new album Deathrace, with a record that will appeal to fans of Polaris and Caskets, whom they collaborated with on single, and final track Good Enough, but with this record they have made sure to make this Deathrace their most visceral and raw record yet, with every song, even the ones that have more of their clean side still feature crushing heavy riffs.

Their new record has Rising Insane living up to their name with breakneck shifts in tone, there's punk/nu-metal on Outrage, massive aggression on the Title Track, soaring clean choruses on Traumatized, while tracks such as Narcissist and Dirt skillfully bring both the clean and harsh sounds, the interlacing of electonics and beatdowns seeing Countdown absolutely wreck you.

While other bands seem to head towards the lighter side of the metalcore sphere, Rising Insane have chosen to get nastier on this new album, strap in an enjoy the ride. 7/10

Catch Your Breath - Not Broken Enough (Thriller Records)

I will say this at the beginning of the review that there were times when I thought I had the 'repeat track' button pressed while playing this record, mainly in the middle of the record where a lot of the songs have a big drum, a moody verse and shout out loud chorus.

Not Broken Enough is the latest set of emotional cuts from American band Catch Your Breath and while they write from the heart, their songs full of vulnerability and personal reflection shown here through their blend of soaring courses and punchy riffs drenched in electonic beats.

Right on the peak of modernity Catch Your Breath have been crafting their sound on stages across the world amassing a strong fanbase behind them. However the Austin, Texas band don't seem to devuate too far from the multiple bands doing this hybrid of emotional metalcore, alt metal and electronic synths like Bad Omens, Dayseeker and others where pop is the priority.

Not Broken Enough showcases Catch Your Breath boldly and whether you enjoy this record will depend on how much you like this modern style of metal anthems. 7/10

Riff Dealer - New Blood (Self Released)

When you're a band containing members from bands that have previously won Bloodstock Metal To The Masses, then calling your album New Blood just makes sense, as this is the stage that all M2TM winners play at Bloodstock Festival.

So Riff Dealer are experienced there's no doubt about that, so expectations are high for their debut album and they deliver on them if you're a lover for late 90's early 2000's heavy music. Riff Dealer take their influences from the NWOAHM sound with groove and nu-metal being the two major styles they play here.

A love of thick basslines, start stop riffs and barked vocals are needed to really get enjoyment out of this album. I can't say I was ever fully committed to that scene so while there's bits of this record that found myself banging my head to, like Weight Of The World, tracks like Deadends & Daydreams and Voices do nothing for me.

While this record is called New Blood, there's a lot of old ground being gone over here which never really feels massively original. 6/10

Reviews: The Barbarians Of California, God's Hate, RAD, Sunscorched (Spike & Matt Bladen)

The Barbarians Of California - Megatons (Villains For Good) [Spike]

Every now and then, an album lands on the desk that completely bypasses your critical brain and hits you straight in the chest. Megatons the second full-length from The Barbarians Of California, is a total riot from start to finish. Behind the wheel are Aaron Bruno (frontman of AWOLNATION) and producer Eric Stenman, but don't let the mainstream pedigree fool you. This isn't a glossy side project designed for radio playing; it’s a massive, aggressive slab of metallic hardcore that sounds like a band having the absolute time of their lives.

From the moment The Gnarlycore Class and Vanilla Latte kick down the door, the level of aggression on display is incredible. The riffs are thick, heavy, and played with a lethal amount of groove. But what really sets this record apart is the sheer, unadulterated sense of fun baked into every single bar. At its core, this is big, loud, ridiculously heavy music crafted by musicians who obviously know their way around a song, and it put a massive, unabashed smirk on my face from the first spin. In a genre that can sometimes take itself far too seriously, there’s zero shame in making heavy music that is this enjoyable.

Take a track like Bomb To A Knife Fight, it’s got one of the meanest breakdowns you’ll hear all year, paired with a completely absurd hook that you’ll be shouting around the house for weeks. Then you hit Really Really Rad, which starts as a thrashing, riff-heavy assault before pulling a wild 180 and turning into an electro-dance party at the end. It shouldn't work, but because they commit to the madness with total conviction, it rips.

By the time you get through the thrashy chaos of Earthquake and the Mario-esque shouting on This Is Shredical, you realise this is an album built entirely for the stage. It’s one of those rare records that instantly made me pull up my browser and start hunting down their touring schedule. You can practically smell the spilled beer and feel the floorboards flexing just listening to it. I want to see and experience these tracks in a packed, sweaty venue as soon as humanly possible.

They even know how to stick the landing. Dropping an acoustic breather like Shark Out Of Water right before the crushing finale of I Am The Submarine shows a band that understands pacing and drama as much as brute force. Megatons is a loud, furious, and joyously unhinged record that proves heavy music can be as fun as it is dangerous. An absolute blast. 9/10

God's Hate - Won't Be Disgraced (Closed Casket Activities) [Matt Bladen]

God's Hate play hardcore. Aggressive, antifascist, straight edge, metallic hardcore that deliberately antagonizes those who try to spread hate, marginalise and generally be horrible human beings.

Musically threatening with songs full of punishing breakdowns, shifting pace and punishing stomps. They're also physically stacked as Gods Hate were formed by professional wrestler, imposing man mountain and former AEW World Trios and World Tag Team Champion Brody King on vocals and Twitching Tongues frontman Colin Young on drums/vocals.

They live by the credo of Life Is Hard - Be Harder and this is music for the resilient, a call to arms to fight back against oppression of all kinds and when someone like Brody is barking at you, it's worth listening. Colin sets the blistering pace, locked in with bassist Alec Faber and guitarist Anthonie Gonzalez while brother Taylor (also of Twitching Tongues) gives lead guitar blasts.

Won't Be Disgraced follows two full length records and while only three tracks long, it begins with a Bolt Thrower-esque grind on the title track, before I Am The Cure crushes with blast beats as the dual vocals used for maximum rage as it builds into a cry of "straight edge" before a disgustingly slow breakdown and solo section ensues which moves to the punishing finale Warriors Will Reign.

God's Hate then are band who look and sound imposing but have their ideologies aligned in the right way, their music is about triumph over adversity and the only ones that should be scared is if you wear a red cap with snow infamous phrase on it. 8/10

RAD - Rad To The Bone (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Gnarly crossover skate thrash now from RAD who bring the spirit of the Californian skate culture to Southern England influenced heavily by Suicidal Tendencies as they play songs that are about the camaraderie of the skate scene along with classic cult films, the sort of thrash meets hardcore that often leads to two-stepping inside the bowl of a skatepark.

Andy Mansell (vocals), Ben Swanson (guitar) Ben Watson (guitar), Warren Bennet (bass) and Kieran Stanley (drums), play music for the escapists, a way to get away from the drudgery of modern life with homages to VHS classics such as Rambo (First Blood), Cyberdyne Systems (Terminator), If It Bleeds (Predator) and Point Break which is possibly the ultimate skate/surf action movie.

They use these cinematic influences to speak about broader issues such as governmental corruption and the influence of technology but it's all done with thrashy riffs, solo guitar fireworks, hearty chugs and shouted vocals primed for shouting back, as there's rarely a stop for breath, the six cuts here coming at you like karate kicking madman.

Rad To The Bone and decked out in dayglo shorts and massive white sneakers RAD come straight outta your local skatepark and get radical with this new record. 8/10

Sunscorched – Blood Of The Badlands (Bölverk Collective) [Spike]

One of the best things about Musipedia of Metal is stumbling across something you’d never normally find on your own, only to realize within a track or two that you need to buy a copy for your physical collection immediately. Blood Of The Badlands by Arizona trio Sunscorched is exactly that kind of discovery. Coming off a stack of modern hardcore and metalcore, this record is a complete change of pace and a damn impressive one at that.

Instead of the usual cold, snow-covered Norwegian forests or burning European cathedrals, Sunscorched takes black metal out into the sun-bleached desert. It trades classic goth-black tropes for a cinematic, dusty Western atmosphere where blood, revenge, and the sheer weight of the universe crushing down on an unforgiving landscape. If you're a fan of bands like Wayfarer, this sits in that same sun-baked territory, but it carves out its own bitter path.

For me, Stranger's Land is the absolute standout track of the record. It opens with the sound of crackling campfires and distant dogs calling across the dark, setting an outlaw-style acoustic undertone before the heavy riffs drop. The way it transitions with Whiskey And Oak, weaving sharp, abrasive black metal tremolo with that dusty narrative weight is fantastic. You can practically feel the grit in your teeth as the storm rolls in over the ridge.

What gives the record its real spine is how it handles historical grit without relying on theatrical gimmicks. Slaughter At Camp Grant tackles the brutal 1871 massacre of 140 Apache people, delivering a punishing, fast-thrashing assault driven by Austin Kruger’s raw, scraping vocals and Rory James’s battering drum work. It's bitter, dark, and uncomfortable, exactly as history should sound when set to heavy music.

They aren't afraid to bring unexpected textures into the noise, either. The Gallows Tree incorporates haunting slide guitar licks beneath a mid-tempo, crushing stomp, while Thousand Year Drought lets Mitch Wilson’s lead guitar spiral into chaotic, blistering solos. By the time the instrumental title track closes things out, surprising you with moody acoustic passages, weeping violins, and a subtle, jazzy swing, you're left with a record that feels like a complete journey.

Blending the bleak atmosphere of black metal with the unvarnished grit of the American Southwest shouldn't work this seamlessly, but Sunscorched pulls it off with total conviction. It’s a brilliant, unexpected find and a release I’m genuinely excited to add to my shelf. 9/10

Reviews: Iconic, Lalu, Ian Parry's Consortium Project, Zan/Cody (Matt Bladen)

Iconic - II (Frontiers Music Srl)

Another Frontiers supergroup combing the talents of some of the labels highest profile stars.

Iconic features Micheal Sweet (Styrper), Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake/TSO) on guitar, Marco Mendoza (ex-Dead Daises/Black Star Riders) on bass, drummer Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake) and vocalist Nathan James (Inglorious) so they're a pretty super supergroup by anyone's metric.

II is their second studio album and it's the sound of a band who are at ease with each other, their debut Second Skin was the coming together of musical muscle from across the years, II then is them working as one classic rocking body, producing music that all at once is inspired by their experience but is also totally their own.

On album number 2, Sweet and Hoekstra cement their guitar partnership, trading off on each other as Sweet shows a side to him you may overlook in Stryper keeping up with the hotshot almost a decade younger with the killer riffs (Take Me To The Place) and leads that are packed into these eleven tracks.

Beneath them are grooving bottom end of Mendoza and Aldridge who have huge also have gelled combining their experience to power tracks such as Open My Eyes, where Antonio Agate adds some Hammond organ to firmly define the era of rock we're looking at here.

Thankfully with all these late 70's, early 80's rock anthems coming from Iconic they have a powerhouse vocalist who can summon the likes of Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, David Coverdale and Chris Thompson (shown with his role in Jeff Wayne's War Of Worlds), bellowing in the low end and soaring up high on Tears Keep On Falling.

II defines the band Iconic want to be, a classic rock supergroup that pick up where Whitesnake left off in 2022. 8/10

Lalu - A Mythmaker's Demise (Frontiers Music Srl)

Vivien Lalu's progressive rock/metal project returns with a new album and a 20th anniversary as well.

Founded in 2005, the recent Frontiers records have opened up his melodic prog metal to a whole new audience with influence of Yes (Prince With The Swift Warning), Toto (Tears Of The Muse) as well as Rush (Cordial Weaves), Threshold, Porcupine Tree and any band who divide their time between classical, rock, folk, metal and even pop textures.

Lalu has been making 70's inspired prog rock fused with progressive metal grunt for 20 years and you get every day of this experience on A Mythmakers Demise, Lalu's vision to create albums without too much trickery: "no drum samples, next to no EQ, just real performances captured in their natural state”.

Lalu's keys, organs, Moogs, pianos playing a core part of these dense soundscapes, though on three of the tracks Jens Johansson of Stratovarius and Yngwie Malmsteen provides some solo genius as he is so very known to do in both those bands.

Vivien's longtime musical partner Joop Wolters also getting plenty of scope to play some killer guitar and bass parts, adding folky touches with A Drop Of Water, while taking solos and melodies and riffs for all of these tracks, his guitar playing stellar but his bass work also needing to be highlighted.

He's been a frequent collaborator with Lalu for a while now so their synergy is well honed, but A Mythmaker's Demise features some guests from the past such as Jens but also Martin LeMar returns on vocals having been the first vocalist of the project while behind the drum kit is Simon Phillips who also comes back to the project from the early days.

20 years of progressive rock finery, Vivien Lalu doesn't seem to be running out of ideas or musicians to collaborate with. Classic prog fans rejoice as A Mythmaker's Demise, album number five, is another quality addition to the legacy. 9/10

Ian Parry's Consortium Project VI: Legacy Of Empires (Frontiers Music Srl)

If there's an artist who embodies the idea of collaborative projects it's the grandfather of progressive metal concept projects himself Ian Parry, a contemporary of Arjen Lucassen he's been in the prog opera industry around the same time and with this new album, the sixth chapter of the Consortium Project, he's celebrating 45 years in the music industry.

It's the first Consortium release since 2011, and while Parry has been busying himself with his solo career and Rock Emporium project, so he's not been sleeping but a big chunk of his fanbase will have been clamouring for this record for a long time. Parry then returns to the Consortium world reuniting with the who's who of artists that have been part of the project for a long time.

He's got a core band that share the major bulk of the recording, three guitarists, who play, rhythm, acoustic and some lead on nearly every track, two of them also adding keys/synths to the majority of the songs, as Allan Sørensen plays all the drums except when Kamelot man Casey Grillo takes the kit for the final track.

It's in the bassists where there's the most guest slots as Kristofer Gildenlöw joins alongside three more guests and the two "main" bass players. There's some guests vocalists and organists all adding to the sweeping cinematic arrangements of Consortium, Ian Parry gathering musicians that do or have played with Vanden Plas, Kamelot and Pain Of Salvation to create a progressive metal band worth several supergroups.

With Ian Parry's distinct vocals leading every track, this return to the world of the Consortium Project continues a legacy that will keep fans very happy and will surely bring a whole new set of listeners into the Parry progsphere. 8/10

Zan/Cody - Beautiful 'N Damned (Frontiers Music Srl)

Formed by Shotgun Messiah's guitarist Harry Cody and original singer Zinny Zan, with that Swedish sleaze institution now put to bed, the duo have reconvened to form Zan/Cody, another collaboration act through Frontiers Music.

Beautiful 'N Damned is the debut album for this new project and it brings Harry and Zinny together for the first time since Shotgun Messiah's debut album in 1989. What's changed over that time? Well not much as Beautiful 'N Damned brings swaggering street metal riffs and solos, along with a sleazy, sneering vocal delivery, wrapped up in modern rock production.

It's gritty and melodic with references to Ratt, Warrant, Pretty Maids and Shotgun Messiah of course, but they also bring their experience factor to the tracks to rekindle the songwriting partnership they had all those years ago, merging those sleaze beginnings with musical genres that have happened since.

From the Def Leppard thump of I Am The Shit, Ride Or Die which reminds me of the The Cult, as Damn shifts like latter Thin Lizzy. While Suffer City could easily be on Winger's Pull record and She Walks With Violence is Depeche Mode moodiness, however most of you will be here for Let's Be Heroes, Bad Bad Man and Tear It All Down.

Keeping the Shotgun Messiah legacy alive under the name of the founding members, Zan/Cody are still rocking hard 37 years later. 7/10