Turisas @ The Talking Heads, Southampton 22/02/2014

War paint, battle-axes, mosh pits and metal could only mean one thing...Turisas fought and conquered the last battle of their UK tour at Southampton’s Talking Heads.

Chicago metal heads Starkill got the final battle off to an exhilarating start. Their highly infectious energy circulated around the venue that I think encouraged massive audience participation. The musicians themselves are incredibly talented and very passionate particularly guitarist Tony Keathley; his originally slick solos and riffs were a crucial highlight of their set. They were most certainly the right band to start off the night of metal and I hope they come back to the UK very soon.

I had seen Finnish battle metallers Turisas a few years ago when they played Southampton University and I remember being impressed with their live show. Last night was no exception. Anticipation and excitement were already travelling around the venue as the band entered onto the stage. Turisas entered with such liveliness and drive, dramatically opening with Ten More Miles. There was a song on the setlist for everyone last night; from the triumphal gallant Rex Regi Rebellis to the classic disco cover Rasputin this eclectic setlist of songs went down very well with crowds at this sold out show. Nothing was going to stop Turisas, even when either their impressive stage smoke or the temperature in the room triggered the heat sensors twice and like true warriors they battled on to make sure their fans got the best show. Since this happened, my respect for the Finnish metallers has gone through the roof.

The experience was truly enthralling; everything from the general atmosphere of the venue to the fantastic music was just perfect. So far the best live show of 2014.

Find Starkill here

Find Turisas here

Words by Charlotte Whittingham

Fozzy @ The Talking Heads; Southampton 3/11/2011

A night of hard rock, beer and wild crowds that were home to mosh pits are what made Fozzy's show last night at The Talking Heads phenomenal.

Entering The Talking Heads to see favourite hard rock band of the year Jettblack I was full of excitement; they were to be supporting Fozzy a fellow hard rock band from across the pond who are fronted by ex WWE wrestler Chris Jericho. I hadn't really heard a lot from Fozzy being since I was there for Jettblack last night.

I walked into the stage area and the first band Codejak were playing; they are a four piece rock band from Barrow in the UK. I did like the upbeat prescence they bought to The Talking Heads; their dirty, ballsy tunes were a great way to open up the night of hard rock mayhem that was to be unleashed into the atmosphere. I also love their crowd engaging stage moves such as frontman Daniel Turner showing us his guitar skills in the audience and of course giving me a high five. 

Find Codejak on Facebook, Twitter and their official website

Brighton boys Verses were up next to play; they had a slightly more punky sound but that didn't stop me enjoying the music. They definitely showed a lot of passion and energy in their performance; the songs I thought were great too. Very catchy and upbeat; it's great how they write songs about the little things that can make a huge difference. I bought a CD so you may see a post about them very soon and hope to see the boys back in Southampton very soon.

Find Verses on Facebook

Jettblack have so far pleased me highly with their slick guitar riffs and solos, sexy, husky male vocals put into some amazingly written songs. Last night's performance was no exeption; I love how they manage to bring a stadium like prescence to small venues such as The Talking Heads. Starting off with album opening track Slip It On I knew Jettblack were well underway with the fans. Performing what will be stadium anthems one day such as Two Hot Girls and Fooled By A Rose to a brand new song Inbetween Lovers from their upcoming album, the High Wycombe hair metallers shall definitely making it big one day.

Find Jettblack on Facebook

Headliners Fozzy did bring a fantastic crowd last night; I felt slightly out of place amongst the tough looking guys that were twice my height and worked out about three times a day. Fozzy did well to engage their fans and brining an energetic atmosphere to the venue. I did like the music Fozzy played last night but it didn't really have much of a variety and most of it did sound the same. Apart from that Fozzy did a fantastic performance; I will give them another chance I think.

Find Fozzy on Facebook and their official website

I'll leave you with some photos of me and some of the lovely boys of Jettblack; good day

Tuomaslotte rates it:  TTTTT

Heaven's Basement and Jettblack @ The Talking Heads; Southampton 19/5/2011

Hello people; it has been a while since I have posted. I have two exams next week so revision has been keeping me busy, but I was glad to take a break from it all last night. In the form of a trip to The Talking Heads in Southampton with my best friend Becca to see two of my new favourite rock bands Heaven's Basement and Jettblack co-headline. I had been looking forward to this gig for quite some time and was so glad I was going to be watching it with the nicest bunch of people ever. 

First up to play were Bournemouth rockers Western Sand; I had written a post about them recently saying how I loved their bluesy rock sound and it was amazing how they bought that to life during their live performance. They impressed me highly; the incredibly catchy melodies were enough to put a smile on my face and get the energy flowing through the crowd to start off a fantastic night of rock. A lovely bunch of guys too; very down to earth, I could have spoken to them for hours.


Find Western Sand on Facebook and MySpace

Counterpoint were next to play that very evening, I had only heard a sample of their music. I have to say their set made me wish I had listened to them a bit more; they performed a fantastic show, their songs were awesome and I bought an EP at the end. So you may see a post about that soon; they had a grungy, bluesy sound that I liked very much. Oh I also want to say I really love the colour of this guitar in the picture to your left, Jay Bartlett has a great taste. 


Find Counterpoint on their official website, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter


The first headliners Heaven's Basement were next to play; I was looking forward to seeing them last night as their music is incredible. My excitement built up as the roadies performed sound checks, then this weird sound was heard and the chants were heard from all over the venue 'BASEMENT BASEMENT BASEMENT'. A curtain was pulled back to reveal the members of Heaven's Basement as they opened with title track of their new EP Unbreakable that got the crowd absolutely pumping; from this I knew Heaven's Basement were well underway. 
Lead vocalist Aaron Buchanan's and guitarist Sid Glover's stage techniques were definitely crowd pleasers, my personal favourites being Sid putting the guitar behind his neck and playing and Aaron making a pathway across the crowd before breaking into my personal favourite Executioner's Day. Aaron recently joined the band and I think he did extremely well; giving a studio like performance of songs such as Tear Your Heart Out and Can't Let Go. I bought their brand new EP; which I did listen to a bit of whilst cooking dinner today, I shall listen to the whole thing and tell you what I think. They were very lovely guys when I chatted to them afterwards. Hope they come back to Southampton and blow me away like they did last night.


Find Heaven's Basement on their official website, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter

Last but by no means least Jettblack; I have seen Jettblack before back in December at The Joiners and was highly impressed by how they bought a stadium like presence to such a small venue. I am extremely happy to say they did that last night at The Talking Heads; they had a different setlist to December starting with show-stopper Two Hot Girls, it was actually great opening song. This new setlist definitely kept me on my toes as it was quite exciting when you didn't what song would be next; they performed my favourites from their debut album Get Your Hands Dirty such as the title track, Sleep and Not Even Love. They also threw in some new songs from their upcoming album that I am looking forward to very muchly. Their encore was incredible; ending with the 80s anthem Dangerzone and the song Holding as requested by their fans.
Where the almighty mosh pyramid was created once again but unfortunately my camera was in my bag at the front away from where I was standing. Luckily pictures of that pyramid where taken; I shall get a picture of that one day. I can honestly say that Jettblack impressed me once again, I hope they stop by in Southampton again and I look forward to the new album.


Find Jettblack on Facebook and Twitter


Overall a fantastic evening with top quality sets from each band; their interaction with the crowds was fantastic. I also loved the atmosphere in the room; so much love in the room and that definitely makes all the difference. A good atmosphere equals a fantastic time.

Die So Fluid @ The Talking Heads, Southampton 5/3/2011

Last night I went The Talking Heads for the first time in I think about two years; I don't often go there because it's quite a hard venue to get too since it is on the other side of Southampton. I wasn't suprised to feel like I underdressed a little bit because Die So Fluid were headlining the gig and frontwoman Grog is very well known for her out-of-this-world appearance on stage so there was a lot of glitter, corsets, feathers etc; but I felt comfortable in the environment I was in.

First to play were industrial goth trio Dreams Divide; I haven't listened to the support bands music before but I was absoulutely amazed by their music. The music was made up by two synthesisers and one vocalist; it had an 80s like sound whilst keeping up with the dark gothic vibe. Lead vocalist David Crout's phenomenal energy passed onto the audience and as most of you know I think energy is the key thing to a great stage performance. A brilliant opening act for the night of industrial metal I was about to enjoy.

Find them on Facebook and MySpace

Welsh rockers Killing For Company were next to play; coming forward to the stage to get the best possible photos and their upbeat, grungy sound definately put the biggest smile on my face. Every single member had an energetic stage prescence and I loved how some of the members looked towards the cameras so anyone taking a photo could get a great image. I was a little bit worried that they were going to upstage headliners Die So Fluid; meeting them afterwards was wicked too, they signed my CD booklet from the CD I bought from them and posed for photographs. It was great to talk to them too; so down to earth and lovely guys. Hope to see them again soon.

Find them on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and their official website

Last but not least headliners Die So Fluid; I had started listening to them just at the end of last year, I love their latest album The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime and after hearing some positive comments about their live performance I was intrigued with what they had to offer performance wise.  Those comments were correct, I was absoulutely blown away by their performance. Grog looked absoulutely amazing in a leather, metal studded catsuit with red fluffy shoulder pads and her theatrical stage prescence was definately a highlight of the performance she gave. I also loved how she interacted with her fans whilst on the stage. I wasn't suprised by how packed the floor nearest the stage got when they played but fortunately I managed to get the best photos thanks to the aid of the benches near the stage. I love the variety of songs they chose to perform too; from classics such as Spawn of Dysfunction to new stuff such as Mercury. In fact Die So Fluid were so amazing that I was actually gutted when it finished since it seemed to be over so quickly. Meeting them afterwards I was quite starstruck; being they are very well known amongst the metalheads. I admire Grog for signing stuff from tickets to someone's arm and posing with fans in photographs despite the small amount of space there was to do it in.

Find them on Facebook, MySpace and their official website

Overall a fantastic evening; brilliant sets played by every single one of the bands creating the lively atmosphere that makes a night to remember for the rest of your life. This will possibly make it to my gigs of 2011 as it reinforced my love for industrial metal, which is a new genre for me this year.