Like a pumpkin left on the porch, Wednesday 13 is here to provide Halloween vibes after the big day has come and gone. Now whilst Wednesday 13 may have long ago decided the UK is a lucrative market for shock horror rock 'n' roll antics, this is his third tour of this isle in twelve months and there is a distinct whiff of diminishing returns. The 1,500 capacity Ritz has shifted 350 tickets, and ...
Read MoreIt’s Halloween, and the ghouls are out in force in Manchester this evening. Vampires are propping up every bar, and death is definitely in the air. What better way to spend it than with a bunch of industrial goths from Germany then? Lord Of The Lost are fresh from hosting their own festival in their homeland, and it’s kind of fitting that their brooding demeanour can be enjoyed on this spookiest of evenings.
Read MoreTonight, the O2 Ritz is treated to a perfect storm of avant-garde chaos, technical excess, and cinematic madness. The lineup is a journey through the outer limits of metal, with Imperial Triumphant summoning the spirits, Master Boot Record overloading the circuits, and Igorrr stealing the show with a performance that’s as unhinged as it is unforgettable. Three wildly different acts take the stage, each pushing the boundaries of what metal can be and what it can sound like.
Read MorePower Metal. Power. Metal. The very words are evocative, bringing to mind heavy rock with soaring vocals, lots of widdly guitar, strong beats and epic lyrics telling tales of derring-do. Power metal may be a sub-genre of your more standard heavy metal but that doesn’t mean it is without its own subgenres. Symphonic metal, folk metal, operatic metal can all be found under the banner of Power Metal and tonight’s headliners take it to another level by introducing both disco metal and, erm, salsa metal. No, really. Intrigued yet? Buckle up dear reader, grab a beverage of choice and sit down while we tell you how it was……
Read MoreO2 Ritz is the venue and tonight is the battle of pinched harmonics. Bleed From Within, After The Burial or Great American Ghost – who will win, you decide! But seriously, it's also a chance for me to once again catch a trio of superb metal bands that take tech, deathcore and metalcore elements and each create something unique in their own way.
Read MoreWho are the most influential rock guitarists in the world? Well there’s a number of contenders, but not all of them are still out there plying their trade. Van Halen died, Page is retired, Blackmore is fol-de-rol-ing in the forest. One man who is definitely up there amidst the greats and still regularly bothering our ears though is Michael Schenker. Once the wunderkind who revived the fortunes of a somewhat flagging little prog band from London before returning briefly to his brother’s band and then embarking on a solo career that’s kept him busy ever since, today’s Michael Schenker is something of a living legend. Last year he revisited his youth, releasing “My Years With UFO”; a double album of his best UFO songs re-imagined with a plethora of fantastic vocalists, and now it’s time to bring the nostalgia fest to his still-adoring public. First though, the support….
Read MoreThe wheels have come off The Wildhearts juggernaut so often that it is a wonder they are not sponsored by kwickfit. Ginger Wildheart is a self-proclaimed difficult man to work with, who has an undeniable knack of surrounding himself with difficult to work with people. The latest reunion of the classic line lasted 4 years, 1 pandemic and 2 rather spiffing albums, grinding to a halt in 2022 in flurry of mutual acrimony. Whilst lived experience has taught us to never count The Wildhearts out, this KO felt particularly final. So we were all really rather taken a aback when an all new version of the band arose from the ashes last year. Whilst Ginger is the one constant in this iteration of the band, it is a very different version of the Geordie workhouse. This is a happier, healthier Ginger who has shed both physical and emotional weight to look, god forbid, like he is actually enjoying himself.
Read MoreVukovi have been working hard in the music industry for fifteen or so years, but if feels like their time has finally come with 2022’s ‘Nula’ and now January’s release ‘My God Has Got a Gun’. Their live shows have always been stunningly dynamic and enthusiastic, and they have an ever better array of slamming tracks to deliver on the bigger stages as headliners now.
Read MoreLet's put this marker down now. Green Lung will headline Bloodstock, they will headline Download and they will eventually, and potentially eventfully, headline Glastonbury. Now we at ROCKFLESH aren't in possession of a crystal ball but we are steadfast in our certainty of this for three reasons. 1)They are utterly incredible this evening as will be attested further on in this diatribe. 2) Their speed of evolution as a band is frankly astonishing. Midway through tonight's show, Tom Templar recites a roll call of the venues that they have played in this city during their journey to the Ritz headliner status. Green Lung have done their growing up in the glare of the public eye and the band before us now is a completely different beast the one played Star & Garter in 2019 or even the one we witnessed supporting Clutch at the Academy in 2022.
Read MoreThe O2 Ritz is rammed tonight to witness a solo outing from guitar superstar Mark Tremonti. Known as a founding member and songwriter of both Creed and Alter Bridge he also has a parallel solo career that spans some 14 years and six albums. So the question on everyone’s lips tonight isn’t “is he any good?” – that’s kind of a given. It’s more along the lines of “just how good is he?”
Read MoreYou can probably tell just from the band names what kind of music we are in for tonight. Gloryhammer came to be back in 2010 as the side project of Alestorm singer and keyboardist Chris Bowes, and since then, they have released a slew of vaguely related concept albums in which various band members assume characters in the ongoing story. Despite some social media controversy following the departure of their original singer, they have weathered the storms that surrounded them and come through more or less unscathed to provide us with entertainment tonight.
Read MoreOn paper the billing for this evening’s show feels distinctly skew-whiff. Fit For An Autopsy are on a quite impressive upward trajectory. They have broken free from the confines and the preconceptions of Deathcore and have cemented themselves a berth in the one-to-watch category. Pairing them as a co-headliner with Sylosis on the face of it feels mismatched because, well Sylosis have been around forever without ever really making their mark. It's hard to imagine a British metal scene without Sylosis plugging away in its lower echelons trying to make a name for themselves. Don't get us wrong, we at ROCKFLESH Towers love Sylosis, it's just that we've never ever envisaged them as being of a Ritz headliner status. Add to all that the fact that the much-fancied media darlings Heriot are sat slap bang at the bottom of the bill and the whole structure feels a little, odd.
Read MoreThe Ritz is hosting progressive symphonic titans Kamelot tonight, alongside a host of bands promising to deliver an evening of mystic allure. It’s a hefty four band bill, and Frozen Crown took the stage first, and with a formidable presence. Unleashing a torrent of epic soundscapes that seamlessly blended heavy metal with soaring melodies. This Italian power metal band is helmed by lead vocalist, Giada ‘Jade’ Etro, showcasing her range and charisma, effortlessly belting out powerful ethereal high notes, accompanied by virtuoso guitarist turned vocalist Federico Mondelli.
Read MoreSometimes you just want a melodic alt-rock band that delivers soaring clean vocals and catchy sing-along tunes – enter a reunited Mallory Knox. A ten-year anniversary tour of album ‘Asymmetry’ has come on the back of reunion dates at SlamDunk, and tonight gives the Manchester fans another chance to dance and sing along to all the classics from the Cambridgeshire rockers.
Read MoreThere’s a notable and eager queue outside the venue as they patiently wait for the doors to open on The Ghost Inside headlining in Manchester once again. The whole bill tonight is a mixture of variations on hardcore and metalcore, and for each band there are elements that set them apart from their peers stylistically and visually.
Read MoreIf Kyuss are Stoner Rock's Beatles (universally revered, rather pretentious, and no longer with us) then that makes Monster Magnet its Stones. There was always something a bit more organic, primal and downright sexy about Dave Wyndorff's crew that made them stand out from the other purveyors of mind-expanding space rock. Tonight is the start of a jaunt to celebrate 35 years of psychedelic riffs and cosmic baselines.
Read MoreAfter eight years of Rockflesh.com contravening grammatical structures, it is only inevitable that there will be repetition and repeat offenders. Whilst there is a myriad of acts that this here website has covered twice or thrice, there is only a handful of musical vendors that we have caught up with in numerous locations and on numerous occasions. A particular frequent flyer is those ubiquitous test-tube breed hard rockers, The Dead Daisies. There was a point before the pandemic when they seemed to be everywhere and had taken up squatters' rights in this country.
Read MoreIt feels like an age since the always impressive Northlane got across to us headlining, and this time they’ve brought a killer lineup in the form of Novelists and ten56. It’s a bill packed full of unique and dynamic takes on metal sub-genres – each with a distinct and immediately recognisable style and unmistakable technicality.
Read MoreNow that Matt Skiba's substitute stint in Blink 182 has come to an end, it is time for Alkaline Trio to once again take the full extent of his attention. Over a warm mancunian weekend they have managed to sell out the Ritz for a second time on this particular jaunt around the shires despite competing distractions such as Radar festival (which ROCKFLESH are also covering, review HERE) and two comic cons.
Read MoreBody Count are a legendary force in the rap-metal scene, and their live shows are a testament to their enduring influence. In an era where genres constantly evolve and blend, they stick to their roots, delivering raw, unfiltered rap-thrash-punk rock that calls back to the origins of the genre while resonating powerfully with modern audiences.
Read More
