BlackWolf live at The Exchange, Bristol UK on September 19th, 2014

Live Photos and Gig Review Credit: Duncan Everson (Photographer/Live Gig reporter Myglobalmind Webzine

With BlackWolf having been nominated recently for a Best Newcomer award at this year’s Classic Rock Magazine awards and this tour being sponsored by Planet Rock, it’s clear that they are a band on the way up. So it was going to be a special night at their hometown gig, it was just unfortunate that The Brew had to drop out of the tour due to unforeseen circumstances.

I was looking forward to seeing Fire Red Empress as I was very impressed with their debut EP released a few months ago and I was interested to see how well it would transfer to a live environment. Starting off with “Southpaw” it’s immediately obvious that the band are at home on a stage and enjoying themselves. The whole EP is given an outing tonight, with “Behind The Veil” being my pick, just as it was in the studio. Of the songs I was unfamiliar with, probably “Swear It” was my favourite with its chunky riff being particularly good. The band haven’t been together that long but I’m definitely looking forward to hearing what comes next.

MEMBERS:

Nik Taylor-Stoakes (Vocals)

Carl Gethin (Guitar)

Paul Gethin (Guitar)

Ben Pickens (Bass)

Luke Middleton (Drums)

SETLIST:

Southpaw

Hitlist

Left Unspoken

Swear It

Paint Me The Devil

Seven Shades

Black Skies Mist

Behind The Veil

https://www.facebook.com/fireredempress

BlackWolf hit the stage with a huge roar from the home crowd and start things off with a little instrumental before the first song proper, “Moving Mountains”. One thing is evident right from the start – this is going to be a blast! No nerves are evident from the band, just great playing and great music. Tom Lennox-Brown is a total powerhouse behind the drums, beating the shit out of his kit as though it had spilt his pint and there is definitely more than a hint of Bonham to his playing. Ben Webb, on the often overlooked bass, is a damn good musician who plays his part excellently, laying down a heavy bottom end for the rest of the band to build on. Jason Cronin just never stands still, even on a stage of this size and yet his rhythm guitar work never seems to miss a beat. I get tired just watching him, yet the smile is never far from his face. In fact his guitar work is integral to the overall BlackWolf sound with the way that it provides a solid groundwork for the riffs to work from which is then accentuated by John Greenhill’s lead guitar playing. The way that the two of them play together is quite a joy to watch and shows that the music is actually more complex than initial impressions would suggest. John often appears to be off on his own planet but in a good way, as he is focussed on his music and makes it look natural and effortless. It must be said that Scott Sharp combines all the elements needed for a truly great frontman – his singing live is as good as in the studio, he is very natural and at ease with a crowd and he has the natural charisma that all the great frontmen have.

Musical highlights would probably have to be “Sleepwalking” which provided a lovely change of pace being a slightly slower tempo than some of the other songs. “Steady Slow” was a new song and helped to spotlight that there is a definite BlackWolf sound the band have developed, with the two guitars working together to create the riff, while the bass and drums thunder in the background and Scott’s Plant-esque vocals float over the top. But the pick of the crop would have to be “Relief”. One of my favourite songs of theirs anyway, it always seems to be taken to the next level live and this time was no different. I wasn’t the only one to think that either, as the crowd nearly raised the roof after it had finished!

BlackWolf are making waves in the UK music scene right now and with performances like this it’s not hard to see why. Their particular take on the bluesy classic rock theme is one that I am definitely a fan of and I’m not alone. I predict that BlackWolf are set for far bigger things in the near future and I for one can’t wait to see it.