Gig Review

Saxon
Wolfsbane, Fury UK
Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
18th April 2011


Saxon                    Wolfsbane             Fury UK
           

Photo Of Fury UK © Copyright Robert LawrenceUpcoming British rockers Fury UK open up tonight’s gig to a surprisingly large crowd. The 3 piece rock through some heavy rock tracks yet with elements of heavy metal and power metal, like a clash between Iron Maiden and Metallica; the guitarist definitely thinks he’s Kirk Hammett and whilst being a phenomenal guitarist does go over the top with the length of some of these solos. All 3 members very talented; drumming is superb, guitar work is great and the bass is good. With the vocals I can make a lot of reference to American band Taking Dawn; whilst Fury UK have been together for a longer period of time I can’t help but think that Taking Dawn annihilate them on stage and musically whilst the vocals are almost identical. They have some good energy but not quite enough to get much reaction from the crowd. Not a bad opening act but not fantastic.

Photo Of Wolfsbane © Copyright Robert LawrenceWolfsbane hit the stage second in tonight’s line up with former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley fronting them who is a complete lunatic. Comes on stage and any member of the crowd not getting involved gets individually singled out and shouted at, it’s brilliant. Blaze and his drummer who is also crazy (Came out in a sparkling gold jacket and smashed his drums to pieces) are the main attractions of the show as they are the most out there. Whilst his onstage antics are cheesy and have been the same since back in the day it is still great to see how much energy and effort he puts into his show aged 47 and still going. Great crowd participation, “You fat bastard, you fat bastard!” “THEY’RE PICKING ON ME AGAIN! Listen you lot, it’s not fat it’s a 1 pack! Why have a 6 pack when you could have the whole barrel” wise words from a legend. Playful and energetic after so many years you can really appreciate the effort especially when they aren’t that young anymore.

Photo Of Saxon © Copyright Robert LawrenceWe are finally greeted by home grown legends; we gladly welcome the return of Saxon to the stage! Pure British heavy metal legends once again grace our town; whereas modern day metal bands have pyrotechnics and all fancy things Saxon just keep increasing the number of lights they have, it’s a mass of the damn things but adds for some great ambiance. They throw us out some great anthems tonight like “Demon Sweeney Todd”, “Denim and Leather”, “Dogs of war” and “I’ve got to rock (to stay Alive)”; on top of this they are debuting a few songs from their upcoming CD Call To Arms, “Hammer of the Gods”, “Back in 79”, “Call to Arms” and “When Doomsday Comes” to give us a little taster. On stage singer Biff and bassist Nibbs are very lively and up for it head banging and bouncing around the stage but the 2 guitarist are a little on the opposite side of the spectrum and even during stupidly heavy and fast songs don’t give much energy but play it cool, bit boring in comparison to the other 2 but they make up for Photo Of Saxon © Copyright Robert Lawrenceit superbly. They mix the set list up nicely for a good balance of different styled songs to really give the show their edge; tearing through a 2 hour set at their age with no sign of taking it easy is massively impressive. On the whole terrific show from old school NWOBHM legends and proof that Britain has put out some of the best acts in the world! All hail Saxon!

Fury UK – 3/5
Wolfsbane – 4/5
Saxon – 4/5

Review By James Webb Photos By Robert Lawrence

 Saxon


Biff Byford
Doug Scarratt
Nigel Glockler
Paul Quinn
Nibbs Carter

 Wolfsbane


Blaze Bayley
Jason Edwards
Jeff Hateley
Steve "Danger" Ellett

 Fury UK


Chris
Martin
Luke

 Band Related Links
Saxon Myspace
Wolfsbane Myspace
Fury UK Myspace
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?