A real metal night tonight with those NWOBHM legends Tytan but opening up for us tonight are those Nordic-inspired local boys Runemaster.
I said last year when reviewing the boys for you all to think Amon Amarth meets early Black Sabbath and I stand by that with the boys’ crunching hard riffs and the Guv’s heavy voice. The band open with the excellent “Into the Hall” from their 2015 EP, Futhark Dawning, guitarist Aiden in fine form tonight with Edward killing it on bass. The band are on fire tonight as we rip through two new excellent tracks “Mannaz” and “The Raven Lord” with some stunning riffage from the Guv along with Aiden; Edward and Keith keeping the bass and drums going well in the rear bodes well for the new EP or album.
The band “Hunt the Living” now with its riff-laden opening that always pulls you in when you hear it live, again the soaring vocals and guitars that I mentioned last time are in full view tonight again. As such I think this will always be a live favourite of mine, again with Aiden on guitar in blistering form. An all-too-short set for me as we head towards the finish with the last few tracks as Edward’s bass line thumps in for “Thurisaz”, the opening track from their excellent By Thorn & Thunder EP. Even though I know the song I am always fooled into thinking it’s a slow one until the Guv and Aiden set fire to the stage with their twin guitars blazing away; another favourite of mine from the boys.
The boys finish off a blistering riff-tastic set with another two new killer tracks in the form of the “Helm of Awe” and “Hagalaz”. I thought the boys really stepped up a gear tonight and the new material was truly stunning, hard to take photos when your head and feet are moving to the furious riffage on show tonight. The band’s EPs are available to download free from their bandcamp page and hopefully the new tracks will be recorded and available soon. Go see the boys live and download the music; you will not be disappointed.
A true NWOBHM legend now in the form of Tytan’s bassist Kevin Riddles, formerly with Angel Witch, who formed Tytan after Angel Witch back in 1981. They lasted only last a couple years back then; thankfully they reformed albeit with a new line up in 2012 and have toured and recorded ever since. Having had a couple of line up changes since I last saw them at HRH NWOBHM in Sheffield in 2016 with drummer Seth Markes on skin duties now, and are touring at the moment with new vocalist Tony Coldham, who is on great form tonight.
There are fans from all over the world here tonight, including one gentleman who had come all the way from Japan for the gig. The intro builds as the band hit the stage and it can only be “Blind Men & Fools” from Rough Justice; what a start to tonight’s proceedings. I love a band with keyboards, Andy doing a fantastic job stuck in the corner with Dave killing it on guitar, Kevin grinning away on bass, enjoying himself, and Tony belting it out with his classic rock voice, not forgetting the powerhouse in the back, young Seth on drums. We meet a “Cold Bitch” now from the same album, Dave’s killer guitar brings us in along with Kev’s bass lines until Tony unleashes that voice again with Seth killing those drums, some “Money for Love” now as Andy’s keyboard brings us in and carries us through this track along with the soaring vocals from Tony.
The harder crunching “Fight the Fight” now from 2017’s Justice: Served! as Kevin’s thumping bass line with Seth banging away on drums and Dave shredding it on guitar, kicking it up a notch as Tony tells us in the chorus to “Fight the fight” – tremendous. We soar up and away now as the band takes us fast and furious in a “Spitfire”; a rip-roaring track with all the band really going for it and sung by Dave, a talented guitarist and singer, a real favourite of mine tonight. We get to meet the “Women On the Frontline” next from Rough Justice. Jody Turner from Rock Goddess guested on the album version, no such luck tonight but a great version nonetheless. The guitar heralds “One Last Detail” from Justice: Served!, I love the guitar and keyboards on this track. We meet “The Watcher” now as Seth’s drums brings us in to meet Dave on the guitar and Tony’s vocals carry us away; classic rock at its best.
The band are going to “Love You to Death” now with the last one tonight from Justice: Served! before we get a change of pace and a “Rude Awakening” with its heavy, driven riffs and the band screaming “Welcome to hell”. We reach the “Far Side of Destiny” now as the delicate guitar and vocals bring us in before that classic thumping romp kicks in along with Tony’s vocals. I do miss classic rock tracks like this, just fantastic live. The band kick it up now as they are “Forever Gone” with Seth powering away in the back, topless now with the heat in this busy venue, he must be the fittest looking drummer I have ever seen.
The band end a truly stunning set with the “Ballad of Edward Case”, a real rock and roller of a track, what a way to end a truly epic classic rock night as Dave lets loose, what a guitarist he is and the band have found an incredible singer in the form of Tony Coldham. The future looks rosy for Tytan who have come a long way in the two years since I saw them last. I would recommend that you all catch them on tour as this is NWOBHM at its finest, hopefully a new album is not too far away. I look forward to catching up with the band in the not too distant future.
Setlist:
- Blindmen & Fools
- Cold Bitch
- Money For Love
- Fight the Fight
- Spitfire
- Women on the Frontline
- One Last Detail
- The Watcher
- Love You to Death
- Rude Awakening
- Far Side of Destiny
- Forever Gone
- Ballad of Edward Case
Photos by Gary Cooper
Tytan: facebook
Runemaster: facebook | bandcamp