M.A.R.S Alternative Freshers Festival @ The Firehouse, Southampton 3.10.2014 - 4.10.2014

Words:  Charlotte Whittingham  Photography:  Pedro Alves

It had come to that time of year; new students flowing into a new city to start a new chapter of their life. For those looking for a more alternative outing M.A.R.S (Metal and Rock Society) at Southampton Solent University were more than happy to accommodate them with a Rock and Metal festival at their local hotspot The Firehouse. This festival was split into to two days; Friday 3^rd October being suited more to Hard Rock and Groove Metal fans, on the other hand Saturday 4^th October providing a more brutal side to the Metal spectrum.

Friday 3^rd October

This fateful evening kicked off with some local flavor in the form of Southampton Progressive Soul outfit SPYTFYRE. It was still early on the evening as people were still arriving as they played us a set consisting of fantastic guitar solos and riffs; I also heard some great melodies. As much as I enjoyed their set musically, I noticed it wasn’t really keeping the crowd interested as patrons continued their conversations, going out for their much-needed cigarette or getting a drink. Overall a pretty decent set, just a shame the crowd didn’t seem to take notice.

Next to take to the stage on this fateful occasion was Brighton Hard Rock piece BY DEFINTION; judging from the moment when they walked onto the stage they had a more active crowd. As they played their set I was reminded of Southern Rock legends Black Stone Cherry with their excellently dirty distorted solos and top-notch vocals. Also the fact I did a lot more head banging than note taking is a sign that I am highly enjoying a set.

Ballsy Hard Rock outfit TRICORN were next to show The Firehouse what they were made of; I had witnessed this hairy cluster of rockers about a few years ago in the same city and was highly impressed with their manly stage presence. When say I masculine stage presence I mean lots of hair and lots of attitude that showed Southampton they meant business. All of that plus some excellent music meant they were able to pull off the perfect set and impress Southampton’s metal heads.

MARCH THE DESERT provided us with the chance to take a break from all the rapid moshing and headbanging to give Southampton’s metal community a chance to re-gather their energy before headliners XII Boar. Musically they were rather enjoyable with their groovy guitar riffs/solos and rough vocals, although the comment I heard most from the crowd about MARCH THE DESERT was how much one of the band members looked uncannily like John Lennon that I wholeheartedly agree with. They certainly got me warmed up ready for the headliners.

After having spoken to XII BOAR and listened to their stuff earlier I was incredibly excited to see what they had to offer live. I must say I was highly impressed with their no-nonsense stage presence, hard rock tunage and the ability to get the crowds going; basically the whole package of a perfect headliner. The crowd went absolutely crazy for them; mosh pits, stage diving and head banging showing us so much glossy hair that would make Pantene bow before the metal community. I honestly did a lot more head banging than note taking during this band meaning I was enjoying XII BOAR a lot.

So this concluded the first night of hard rock, groove metal from Southampton’s very own MARS. I was only anxious to know what the next evening had to offer.

Saturday 4^th October

Due to some blunders before leaving to go I was very disappointed to arrive after first act LAID WASTED had finished. From what I remember from their previous shows they often give the crowd a treat; their comical stage presence via Sean Walsh and their music would have been the perfect way to open up the evening of brutality that The Firehouse was about to receive.

The first band I actually got to see that evening were Progressive/Black Metal oufit REIGN OF PERDITION. Now before arriving to the event I was feeling quite stressed so their mellow music actually calmed me down in time before any more bands took to the stage. They also seemed to gain a positive reception from the crowd, which is often good for the first or second band into the evening.

Bristolian Progressive Metal ENDEAVOUR outfit were up next; during this was when the first bout of head banging started to take place. What I really enjoyed about their set was their amazing merge of Progressive and Melodic Metal that in in my opinion created some excellent songs for the The Firehouse’s patrons to enjoy. I was also taken with their lively stage presence, which appeared to be infectious as the crowds seem to do the same.

Black Metal force VEHEMENT were next cast a dark cloud over The Firehouse; I first saw these Eastbourne metal heads a few months ago at the exact same venue, I enjoyed their set then. Now over the past few months I am beginning to have a better appreciation and understanding of any kind of extreme metal and watching them with this new found gratefulness I found I enjoyed VEHEMENT’s set a lot more. Especially when they had the crowd at the palms of their hands from the first death growl; rapid head banging and fist pumping reinforced this. This curse Vehement seemed to have was so powerful that even people at the bar were showing their appreciation in a true metal head fashion. So it’s safe to say Vehement tore the roof off that evening.

Extreme Metal cluster AGHAST stepped into the shoes of main support with true metal fashion. They basically brought brutality to The Firehouse on a silver platter with their lively stage presence, perfect brutal metal tunes and a more than active crowd. I was particularly taken by their set when front man James stood on top of the speakers. This seemed to be the point where The Firehouse got fuller meaning the carnage just increased. After that bout of carnage I was anxious when BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS were due to take the stage as Aghast were a tough act to follow.

Headliners BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS describe themselves as Murder Metal on their Facebook page and after witnessing their live set it is easy to see why. As the opening song, which was something quite innocent that lured us into a false sense of security. Next minute you see a band that appear to have blood on their hands quite literally as they dominated the stage in their blood stained attire. Their infectious energy passed on into the crowd like the Olympic torch being distributed on. Even though this headliner weren’t quite my cup of tea I definitely thought they were the ideal choice to close the festival of Rock and Metal.

So from this report I am sure you have gathered I enjoyed this local festival of brutality and carnage. This whole festival provided a huge reminder for me as a music journalist why I continue to support underground metal music in any way I can.

New Artist: Vehement

“Vehement will not kiss anyone’s arse.” – Andras, Vehement

Silence has been broken in Eastbourne, Sussex from the loud, thunderous sound of Extreme Metal piece VEHEMENT. Another band I was able to catch amongst the busy surroundings at Southampton Annihilation Festival. Influenced by some of the biggest giants of metal such as MAYHEM, EMPEROR and BEHEMOTH but also some unlikely inspirations for a metal band such as DAVID BOWIE and SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES. It seems though this break down of inspirations have defined the band’s sound.

“It’s a collective of music to help write our own stuff if that makes sense.” Guitarist Wraith explains. “I think for the most part with all of our different influences that come into it then combine everything to create something.” Bassist Nybras concludes, “Hence why we’re not necessarily Black Metal, we have a lot of different influences.” They are a different sort of metal which Wraith continues to explain “I think what makes VEHEMENT a bit more unique is that, like Andras was saying, there’s no bull**** between us. There are no theatrics and there are no gimmicks.”

It’s also fantastic to see a hardworking band that care about one thing and one thing only, keeping their fans and new listeners happy. Also how they will get places through hard work and not pay for Facebook likes.

“We’d rather grind through these shows and earn it. We played at half past 2 this afternoon and we had a great crowd; that’s all what matters to us.” Drummer Andras justifies “At the end of the day, Vehement will not kiss anyone’s arse.”

If you wish to check out Vehement and I recommend you do, find them on Facebook.

Live Review: Southampton Annihilation Festival @ The Firehouse, Southampton 26.04.2014

Words by Charlotte Whittingham  Photos by Tomasz Wrobel

Bands and metal heads from all corners of southern England united as one in order to show their undying support and love for metal. This fateful occasion took place at Southampton Annihilation Festival accommodated by Southampton Solent University’s rock and metal society M.A.R.S and their favourite hotspot The Firehouse.

As I arrived at The Firehouse after just managing to get out of lunchtime traffic, Brighton Extreme Metallers WYRDFORGE had just started their set. Influenced by metal legends such as NAPALM DEATH and REPULSION, they showed a lot of energy when performing songs about manga related subjects such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Metroid. The Brighton metal heads had The Firehouse under their thumb; this was demonstrated through the crowd’s head banging and moshing for the first band. WYRDFORGE were a worthy choice to instigate the day of metal.

Next to conquer the stage were Southampton based Thrash/Death Metal five piece LAID WASTED. Their set got off to quite an obscure start where aggressive Death Metal will be played for it then to stop quite abruptly to interject spoken words that didn’t necessarily have any relevance to the song. This provided a comical side to the band’s personality, particularly when one of their main influences is every metal head’s favourite fictional Metal band DETHKLOK. This was reinforced by frontman Sean Walsh’s natural showmanship when growling those Death Metal notes; I would compare it to watching a Death Metal version of either Freddie Mercury or The Joker from Batman. I also heard him being compared to favourite know it all Sheldon Cooper from “The Big Bang Theory”. The passion and energy was clearly visible and infectious as the crowd were certainly taken by their stage presence. Sean’s Batman song allowed Southampton one last mosh before concluding their set.

Hailing from Eastbourne, Black Metal four piece VEHEMENT were next to show Southampton what they were made of. The first thing I noticed was that their shadowy stage presence gave you chills from the word go; this presence reminded me of Black Metal legends DIMMU BORGIR. VEHEMENT offered up absolutely everything that you could ever expect from a Black Metal show on a silver platter; theatrical stage presence, aggressive up-tempo music, sombre guitar riffs and solos whilst keeping a dark atmosphere.  Their set certainly had Southampton metal heads in the palm of their hands and I do very much hope they come to Southampton again soon.

Now there are not a lot of Folk Metal bands in the UK but it was fantastic to see one taking part in this festival. Home-grown from Weymouth, GYMIR did exceedingly well to fill the shoes of the only Folk Metal band to take part. As they swept onto the stage dressed in their kilts and leather waistcoats with the folklore décor in tow GYMIR’s stage presence had the audience captivated from start to finish. The sweeping melodies on the synthesisers and the harsh vocals are two of the key things you’d expect from Folk Metal. Considering they had a bass player absent they did remarkably well to carry on like true warriors.

With a band name like SPAWNED FROM HATE and the first song on their set list “Filth” it doesn’t really take a genius to figure out kind of metal this band showcase. I personally didn’t get along with the pig squealing vocals within their music, which eventually meant I went upstairs to the ‘chill out’ bar. In terms of their set the crowd did seem interested and for fans of that kind of brutal metal I do think it was a spectacle.

Local Thrash Metal three-piece DESOLATOR had The Firehouse at their command from start to finish. Even with a little crowd they were the first band cause chaos via mosh pits and stage dives. Their melodic choruses’ and their aggressive music reminded me very much of EVILE. For me personally their songs sounded similar, which is what you expect from a Thrash Metal band but the fact they had a more than engaged and eager group of metal heads going crazy showed that they would be walking away with new fans. I could hear spoken words about the band within the crowd such as “I like DESOLATOR”.

For Thrash Metallers OVERTHROW it was the last time bassist Ted Bridges was playing with them, he certainly got a farewell metal style as this performance will be one he’ll be proud of before embarking on a new adventure. They got the whole of The Firehouse pumping with their melodic riffs and slick guitar solos, did I mention they even got people at the bar singing along and raising their rock horns? Definitely a last show that Ted can be proud of.

The last band I managed to catch before I had to dash off due to other commitments was the almighty upcoming Technical Doom Metal band HOLE IN THE SKY. I had the pleasure of catching them at Brighton’s Falmerfest last month and was very taken with their performance despite not being a huge fan of Doom Metal. Their set could have everything you expect from a metal show; moshpits, stage diving, crowdsurfing and of course headbanging. Frontman Monty McDoom is certainly becoming a favourite vocalist of mine and I think in the south of England; his deep growls, his charismatic stage presence and not to mention his iconic dreadlocks, that will make AMORPHIS frontman Tomi Jousten bow before him, will certainly open doors for HOLE IN THE SKY. Keep an eye out for him and drummer Sam Chase in solo project JEREMY LAWLER’S WINTER’S EDGE.

My only regret was missing the last few acts due to other commitments but I can hand on my heart honestly say that I certainly enjoyed this amazing day of local metal! My advice would be keep supporting it and keep it alive!

Find Wyrdforge here
Find Laid Wasted here
Find Vehement here
Find Gymir here
Find Spawned From Hate here
Find Desolator here
Find Overthrow here
Find Hole In The Sky here