Tales of Phoenix's and Hawks,
A metal fans account of the Littlehampton Alternative Rock Society's event on June 23rd.
Back in Littlehampton, in a small high street pub....huge amounts of rock and energy. This months offering from the Littlehampton Alternative Rock society definitely did not disappoint. The weather was fine, the beer was flowing, the bands were ready and the crowd was pumped.
First up we had Gold Phoenix, a three piece band hailing from Surrey. Describing their sound as fuzzy, garage rock, they really fit that rock and roll sound with raw, heavy guitar riffs, driving bass and a groovy beat. Going for around two and a half years now, the guys are relaxed on stage but with an energy behind their music making you want to tap your feet and move your body. You can see that the guys love performing live and discussing their influences in the interviews it was mentioned that sometimes they write tunes that they think just need to be played live.
Hoping in the future to be touring more, I would definitely recommend catching one of their shows as their sound is awesome to rock out to. The track 'Mortal Man' really stood out to me. It starts off as this chilled, bluesy riff with soulful lyrics, the kind you hear from songs that inspire you or take you back in your memories, and then you get this build up of guitar feedback squeal and then it detonates into this thumping, head banging, pure rock riff with those same soulful lyrics adding to the passion if it.The guys were truly a blast to watch perform and I really enjoyed their set.
Next up we had Hawka, Brighton based 4 piece band. Now these guys are metal with a capital \M/ ! Veterans to the local scene having been around for 10 years, they are no strangers to performing. Despite a few line up changes over the years, their sound has grown with them and now has an energetic, thrash metal tone to it. Listing some of their influences, Pantera, Anthrax, and Slayer, you can see why. Their set was pure fire and passion, the singer definitely knew how to get the crowd going....by becoming part of it! He spent the majority of the set performing from somewhere in the middle of it all, serenading fans in his own way and even a spot of crowd surfing.
Now this didn't mean that the rest of the band just stood there, they were just as energetic in performing jumping about the stage with hair flying (as much as cables would allow of course) it all drew the crowd in to party along with them. What first got me even before they started was this deep thrumming bass, the kind you can feel vibrate through the floor and through yourself. That to me was like "oooh, this is going to be good" and I was not wrong!
Their first track 'Chernobyl' (yes I did have to check the spelling of that one!) Started off with an old world sounding radio broadcast over the top of the guitar riff before launching into a chunky bass heavy riff and crashing drums complete with air raid siren! Explosive lyrics were then brought in for a real fast paced track. Definitely made a fantastic first impression. Following that was the track 'Psycho'. This one begins with a really haunting/eerie guitar riff and whispered lyrics, it would not be out of place in a horror flick, and then just blasts into screaming lyrics, heavy riffs and a thumping beat. It's a track you can definitely let your hair down to (most of the crowd did) and really shows the passion and energy they have for their music. It really was a fantastic, mosh pit worthy set, I was totally rocked by the end!
Headlining the evening was Brighton based 4 piece band, Tales of Autumn. They describe themselves as metal/hard rock and slow whiney stuff. Now this isn't the first time I've met these guys. I met them during another bands EP launch back in January and it was only their second ever gig! So between then and now, bearing in mind that it has only been 5 months, the band have come a long way. Their set is more refined, they themselves are more confident and relaxed, and their music is just as epic. The set itself was passionate, energetic, soulful and melodic, and considering it was their second gig of the evening, having performed in Worthing earlier, I was blown away.
Influenced still by subjects of life that no one wants to talk about and each other, their sound is still unique and a mixture of other genres still seeps through as each member of the band likes something different including 80's, old school metal, gentle rhythm stuff and classic rock. The track 'Worthless' is a melodic, epic solos, passionate lyrics and powerful track. It starts off with a guitar lead lullaby then a sweeping bass riff under those passionate lyrics of the verse before kicking off into the powerful chorus with a driving beat. The track features some amazing bass and guitar riffs that really draw you in, add that to the slightly haunted sound of the vocals and wow....I loved this one.
'Clash' kicks off with more sweeping guitar riffs and a fast paced rhythm ( a little reminiscent of Iron maiden), then the soulful lyrics come in over the riffs and pounding drums. You can't help but head bang to this one during the breaks between verses and in the melodic solos. Definitely a contrast to 'Worthless'. 'Separated' is a slower paced track with more of a driving drum beat under a melodic guitar riff and that amazing voice, but then slowly builds up to a chunky bass lead riff as the lyrics and vocals become more powerful. It then fades back again to build the suspense before unleashing an epic dynamic guitar solo after a burst of mighty vocals. I was completely left wanting more after their set and thoroughly enjoyed their unique sound and fantastic stage presence.
So afterwards, while kicking back to metal meyhem radios tunes, there was still such an awesome vibe of energy in the air. The sign of an epic night for me, definitely a tale to tell. Massive thanks to all the bands for a fantastic night, you rocked! Thanks to the Littlehampton Alternative Rock Society for organising this amazing event. Thanks to The Crown for hosting the evening. And thanks to Metal Meyhem Radio for allowing me to interview these amazing people and write this blog.
Rock on!
\m/
Siobhan Trigg x
This Article was writen by Siobhan Tigg from our partner Metal Meyhem Radio.
The original article can be found here. Article ©Metal Meyhem Radio 2017.