Live Review : Sepultura + Raging Speedhorn + Cage Fight @ The Tivoli, Buckley on June 12th 2022

Tonight I am a fish so far out of water I might as well be up a tree. Getting Brazillian thrash pioneers Sepultura at the Tiv, one of just 3 appearances outside their Download set, was a real coup for them. There was no way ROCKFLESH could ignore it, I mean these guys are one of the cornerstones of the music most of my colleagues live for. And that’s the problem. They are in the UK to play Download Festival, and essentially everyone else is at Download too. So here I am, clutching my notebook somewhat nervously and wondering what on earth I have let myself in for. I have never heard a single song by any of tonight’s artists, couldn’t even name a band member for you. It’s all new, which is also kind of exciting I suppose. So fortified with a large rum I step into the fray. Let’s do this.

Live Review : Napalm Death + Raging Speedhorn + Crepitation @ O2 Academy, Liverpool on March 19th 2022

Napalm Death are a national institution, maybe a national treasure. How many other grindcore bands does yer gran not only know the name of but can make a fair stab at describing what they sound like (‘the nice man goes “groahhhhhhhhh” and the songs sound like someone pushing over a trashcan’). Over forty-one years they have built a reputation through hard graft and a no compromise attitude. Their mammoth European trek that was going to keep them occupied for most of the first half of this year was pulled by a promoter unsure how to navigate the different covid regulations still in place across the continent. Instead of being downhearted they declared bugger that for a game of soldiers, asked Raging Speedhorn if they fancied coming out to play and booked a UK tour.

Live Review : Skindred + Raging Speedhorn + Death Blooms @ Academy, Manchester on November 30th 2021

Walking into Academy 1 felt normal until I got to the front and suddenly it hit me... I’ve not stood here in literally YEARS. Even before lockdown I had been to gigs in Academy 3 but I could not tell you my last gig in 1, probably pre-2017 (Machine Head? – it’s actually starting to annoy me!) And now here I am at my second gig since lockdown lifted, but unlike at Devin Townsend I am not flying solo and have some companions with me

Live Review : Employed To Serve + Raging Speedhorn + Loathe @ Rebellion, Manchester on March 29th 2019

Liverpool’s Loathe explode onto the stage in a whirlwind of limbs and tight taught riffs. They feel like an animal released from captivity and as this is their first show of the year that is totally understandable. Their music is awash with short sharp minimalistic guitar lines, but what makes them so interesting is the way that songs suddenly stop or change shape. This is metalcore but with a massive dollop of experimentation and Loathe seem intent on pushing the boundaries of this usually very conservative musical form.