Here we are back at my favourite venue to catch those Canadian metal monsters Anvil on the first night of their European tour but we have two other bands on the bill with West Midlands-based Electus taking the stage first. They opened for Anvil last time back in 2020 so I sort of knew what to expect. There is also the matter of Robb Reiner’s massive drum kit taking up most of the stage here at Bannermans and the boys were squeezed at the front of the stage as they opened with the rocking “Saved” from their Rock & Roll Incarnate Pt.1 album. We also get the softer-edged “Slip Away” and the groove-laden rocker “Ticket to Nowhere” from the same album.
A four-pronged attack from their excellent Close Encounters album follows with the bouncing “Best of Me”, “Soul Breaker”, “Midnight Dancer” and the eclectic “Killer Joe”. We also get a new one tonight in the shape of “All the Way” which bodes well for the new album. The band are hard to pin down musically with hints of blues mixed with a touch of Placebo meets INXS, a touch of heavy rock and a big pinch of bounce. A great band to listen to and watch, their albums are a joy to listen to and get expanded live on stage, go catch them live as you will not be dissapointed.
Living Dead Stars from LA next up, their setlist is split 50/50 with their self titled 2020 debut album and their upcoming new album, we have a twin debut album hit up first with “Redeem Ourselves” followed by “In Pieces”. Both quite similar melodic rock tracks with hints of Avenged Sevenfold. We have a few new songs tonight including the harder-edged tracks “Agenda” and “Betrayed” which were definitely stand out tracks for me, a much fuller sound which they carry with more confidence and these came across well tonight with M.Nox carrying the tunes well.
A few more from the debut include the pounding rocker “Nightmare”, possibly my favourite off the debut with “Through the Fire” a close second featuring crunching guitar work and great vocals. The pounding “Killzone” takes us nicely to another new one to finish off their set in the form of the rocking “Enemy”. It was my first time seeing this band and they definitely put on a great show which the crowd enjoyed with singer M.Nox getting up close and personal with the crowd a few times. This is definitely a band for those who like Avenged Sevenfold and Breaking Benjamin to name a couple, get out and catch the boys when they are at a town near you as they are a good live band to watch.
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The main event now with Anvil as the pounding bass and drums start up as the packed venue roars its approval, the guitar kicks in to herald the “March of the Crabs” as Lips gets in amongst the crowd like a long-lost friend, before getting back up on stage. We get a broad selection of songs tonight from the beginning with the absolute rocker “Ooh Baby, Baby” up to this year’s heavy rocker “Take a Lesson” from the stunning new album Impact Is Imminent.
I am not even sure where to start with this band’s legendary back catalogue as we get “Winged Assassins”, “Mothra” and, of course, the seminal “Metal on Metal” from 1982’s Metal on Metal. The band are actually taken aback with the noise this packed out venue is making tonight as they shout and sing along with everything including one of my highlights, the bouncing rocker “Badass Rock ‘n’ Roll”, you can’t help but smile and sing along as Lips’ smile is so infectious. They kick into high gear with “On Fire” as we all sing the chorus back and they most definitely are on fire tonight and absolutely enjoying every minute of this long overdue tour. The setlist is a list of fan favourites new and old with the likes of “Bitch in the Box”, “This is Thirteen” and new one “Ghost Shadow”.
The show ends with a Steppenwolf cover in the form of “Born to be Wild” and this is a band that definitely was born to be wild. The band are definitely on the crest of a wave at the moment with their new album, the brilliant Anvil film is back out for a limited cinema run and tonight’s gig being the first night of a lengthy tour. The band’s sound tonight is huge almost as large as Robb’s drumkit which he pounded majestically along with Chris grinning like a maniac all night on bass, then there is Lips – an absolute joy to watch, he has a huge guitar sound to match his huge grin stuck to his face all night. I would urge you all to get out there and watch a band at the top of their game and loving it, playing to deservedly packed out venues, I’ve seen this band on virtually every tour since 1983 and this was one of those highlight gigs, definitely one of the best times I have seen them live.
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Photos by Gary Cooper