Review: Smudge / Photos (C) / Adrian Hextall
Tuesday night was ladies night and what a night it was. Thundermother is promoting probably their finest work ‘Dirty And Divine‘ and helping them are the metal goddesses Cobra Spell and punk/metal she-wolves, Vulvarine. In the week prior to the gig I was playing them all on rotation and as I did I became very excited for the gig.
Vulvarine entered the cramped and darkened stage and just let rip into ‘Drugs Love And Pain‘ before the huge melody of ‘Good Time‘. Deputising guitarist Coralie Baier of Atlantean Kodex definitely knows her way around a fretboard with some superb solo lines and chops. She was ably assisted by a three-way rhythm section of guitarist Sandy Dee, bass player and face puller Robin Redbreast and heavy hitting powerhouse behind the kit Bea Heartbeat. They all laid it down for singer Suzy Q to do her thing. New numbers, ‘Fool‘ and ‘Cheri Cheri Candy,’ from the forthcoming album were aired before ‘White Pricks‘ and the mighty ‘Heads Held High‘. Set closer ‘Rock Bottom‘ again showed what Coralie Baier can do and she made it look easy and fluid. What a great start that set us up perfectly for Cobra Spell.
The eerie strains of ‘666‘ introduced Cobra Spell and specifically Sonia Anubis who commanded attention with her stage attire. It was apt that they started with ‘Satan Is A Woman‘ because she could make anyone good go bad! ‘S.E.X‘ and ‘Love Crime‘ were rattled out and the only male to grace the stage this evening, deputising guitarist Adri Funeraillies, peeled out some superb leads alongside Anubis making them look like an S&M double act. They powered their way through ‘Poison Bite‘, ‘Accelerate‘, the massive ‘Warrior From Hell‘ and their set closer ‘Addicted To The Night‘.
Having been lucky enough to not only review Thundermother’s new album but also get to chat with them, I was excited to see and hear this incarnation of the band with new singer Linnea Vikstrom Egg. Her performance on the album is incredible – she proved she can do it live too. Kicking off with ‘Can You Feel It‘, Linnea immediately showed that not only is she a great singer but a great front person. ‘So Close‘ and ‘Watch Out‘ were ripped out before ‘The Road Is Ours‘, ‘Dog From Hell‘ and the rousing ‘Loud And Free‘. ‘Bright Eyes‘ and ‘Take The Power‘ both showed why band mainstay and guitarist Filippa Nassil chose bassist Majsen Lindberg and drummer Joan Massing. They locked in perfectly, allowing Nassil to show her stuff. What she can do with a Gibson Explorer is nobody’s business. We got some West Coast melodic rock on ‘I Don’t Know You‘ which included some angelic harmonies before the band’s soon-to-be classic ‘I Left My Licence In The Future‘ – what a fabulous song. ‘Sleep‘ gave us a well-earned break with a stunning acoustic lullaby which led to a drum solo. The band returned and took up where they left off on ‘Whatever‘ and ‘Shoot To Kill‘.
The familiar riff to Thin Lizzy’s ‘Don’t Believe A Word‘ was cranked out and Linnea’s voice was heard but she wasn’t seen until she climbed up onto the bar at the opposite end of the room where she belted out the lyrics along with the rest of us. She made her way back to the stage during the solo and jumped up with a full pint which I know she didn’t pay for! ‘Try With Love‘ and the thunderous ‘Thunderous‘ brought it all to a wonderful climax. Yet we checked our watches and there was still at least 15 minutes left. They came back out and gave us ‘Hellevator‘, ‘Can’t Put Out The Fire‘, the awesome ‘Speaking Of The Devil‘ and ‘Driving In Style‘.
What a fantastic night of pure metal and rock n roll. All three bands brought their ‘A’ game, and the crowd fed into it which gave a wonderful atmosphere. Fingers crossed we can see all three back in the UK soon.
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