Live Review : Corrosion Of Conformity + Orange Goblin + Fireball Ministry + Black Moth @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on October 30th 2018

There is nothing better than a well-constructed and immaculately curated package tour and tonight's sludgetastic double header of Corrosion of Conformity and Orange Goblin is made even more appetizing by the inclusion of cult stoners Fireball Ministry and Leeds’ Black Moth. The latter are shoved on ten minutes after opening and initially have a mere smattering of a crowd, which is a shame as this is slick doom done remarkably well. Harriet Bevan is a highly confident and charismatic front-women and it is her mannerisms and sultry but forceful vocal delivery that really makes Black Moth stand out from the crowd. The riffs are heavy and chunky but there is an air of commercialism and accessibility to their sound that makes you think that they may well have a future beyond twenty-five minute opening slots.

The room has filled for hard-rocking and hard-living Californians Fireball Ministry but it is very obvious early into opener 'Flatline' that the majority of the crowd have no more than passing awareness of the bands existence. There is the obligatory polite nodding of heads as the band plough through their set of grove-laden bluesy rock, but that's about it in terms of audience reaction. This is both a crying shame as Fireball Ministry are real hidden gem in the American metal scene but also precedes to annoy the hell out of frontman James A. Rota II (real name and a real life pastor) who hasn't made it out of the opening track before he is berating the crowd, in a fitting fire and brimstone preacher fashion, for being “just too god darn quiet”. They may be the least raucous of tonight's bands but they make up for it by laying down slap after slap of primal good time Rock n’ Roll. By the time we reach their finishing two tracks the audience are still not fully engaged but the band have stopped caring and decided to go for it whatever. 'The Broken' is a utter fireball (pun intended) of groovy riffs whilst 'King' finishes on an energetic flourish that frankly the still unconvinced crowd don't deserve, but shows once again how good simple heavy rock can sound.

Orange Goblin burst on stage to the strains of 'Long Way to Top' and the place, well the place simmers at best. Man mountain vocalist Ben Ward slams into opener 'Sons of Salem' like his very life depended on it but still the crowd fails to ignite. For three songs, Ben hassles the now quite sizable audience desperate for some sort of replicatory interaction, he pokes, mimics and berates but to no avail. Then during the Prog/Sludge mix up of twenty-one year old 'Saruman's Wish' , it all just falls into place. The pits alight with flailing bodies, the arms are raised, the pints fly and finally we have a rock n’ roll show on our hands. Orange Goblin are one of modern British Heavy Metal’s most consistent factors. They have soldiered on with their singular heavy vision for over twenty-three years and as a result of their resilience, forcefulness and sheer bloody mindedness they have craved themselves a loyal following. They are also a fearsome and non-compromising live act and once the audience connection is firmly established there is nothing holding them back. This is metal boiled down to its core ingredients of huge riffs, scream-along choruses and a tight as fuck rhythm section. It ain't clever or complicated but for an hour you lose yourself in the communal feeling of utter happiness (once of course the audience has woken up).

Corrosion of Conformity are the sheer definition of the word authencity. They have been in existence since 1982 and have never compromised their hybrid Punky-Blues style or (pun instead) conformed to fit in with musical fads. Their guitars are battered and battle scarred and Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean and Pepper Keenan all look like the Rock n’ Roll lifestyle has swallowed them up and spat them up probably one too many times. In fact drummer Reed Mullin has sat this tour out following extensive knee surgery following thirty-six years of furious pounding of the bass drum. But what thirty-six years of being musical outsiders does give you is tons of conviction and self-confidence. Referencing the earlier issues, Pepper looks the audience in their collective eyes and growls “I hear you are a tough crowd, well we are a tough band”.

Corrosion of Conformity are a band entirely comfortable with what they do (there is none of the pleas for adoration we got during Orange Goblin) and you get the distinct impression that they really don’t give two hoots what anyone thinks. Musically this is primal, stripped-down heavy blues played with crushing fury. They may not be young men anymore, but anti-establishment anthems such as 'Vote with a Bullet' still comes across as a righteous and impassioned call to arms. We crash through the curfew but still Corrosion of Conformity march on with the determined air of a band who couldn’t care less. They close the set with 'Albatross' and 'Clean My Wounds' from the classic Deliverance and swagger off stage safe in the knowledge that they have once again shown that they are one of the most simplistically brilliant bands out there.

Photography by Samantha Guess