The last weekend of August saw me embark on an epic weekend of music, and after spending the Saturday in London at the LED Festival catching two of my favourite electronic music artists – Aphex Twin and Leftfield – I would have normally spent Sunday recovering. Not this bank holiday weekend though, I had Black Sunday IV to go to. In what was a relentless day of metal I managed to catch five of the nine bands on the bill and what I saw made me realise the quality of upcoming local and domestic bands. As promoter, Shaun Lonegran explained in the pre-show interview, Black Sunday is truly a fantastic showcase of emerging bands all of whom blew me away with their energy, talent and ability to knock me sideways with their performances.
Opening proceedings were Sonace, who readers of my column will recognise from my first article for SRG. This was the last time bassist Rich Harvey was to play with Sonace and as ever he played with his usual precision and power. Unsurprisingly, Sonace rocked with their hard hitting tunes, despite being first on and playing to a largely sober crowd at 2.30 in the afternoon. Playing songs from their Welcome to the Silence EP such as the excellent Mind of a Tyrant, Sonace promise great things for the future. Incidentally the EP is now available to stream from their Myspace page, which I seriously suggest you give a listen here. Unfortunately their set was hampered by technical problems, firstly with guitarist Jason Rhodes snapping a string during Chaos and guitarist Jonny Senett’s head on his amp blowing a fuse, bringing their last set with Rich to a premature end. Despite these problems I still know these boys have one hell of a future.
The next band I caught, the excellent Seven Year Kismet, were my 'Band of the Day'. Added as last minute replacements for a band that dropped out, these guys blew my mind. Vocalist, Luke Sohn owned the stage and even managed to bring about the first mosh pit of the day. Backed by Jack Price on guitar and a pounding rhythm section consisting of Shannon Wellby on bass and Joe Ward on drums, Seven Year Kismet were one of the highlights of the of Black Sunday. Luke graciously acknowledged the other acts on the bill, a tradition carried on by many of the other bands who played, and Kismet basically tore the place apart. The song Baptised by Way of Napalm was suitably as brutal as the title and at times the riffing reminded me of Seattle metal gods, Black Breath. With more shows in the UK and Europe in coming weeks and an extensive tour of South Africa early next year I predict we’ll be seeing much more of these guys in future.
Next up were Pyre, a refreshingly melodic alternative to the pound-you-into-oblivion brutality of Sonace and Kismet. Guitarist and vocalist, Peter Chapman had the presence of an established artist such as Dave Mustaine and guest vocals from the likes of Alana King and Olly Simmons only added to Pyre’s originality. The band, including Steve Surtees on guitar, Jay Fitt on bass and Chris Walker on drums, were technically amazing and Alana’s soaring vocals feature on the video footage below, adding to what was an accomplished set by a band that I’m sure I’ll be seeing again.
Then came Mothers Ruin who brought their own brand of fierce hardcore/metal/punk to the table. This was the kind of set that grabs you by the throat and assaults your eardrums with their relentless power. The vocalist, whose name I didn’t catch, prowled the area in front of the stage like a pissed off, caged animal and screamed like a man possessed. The rest of the band looked like they could easily rip your head off and tear you several new holes and the music that they brought with them sounded like it could do the same. Brutal doesn’t describe Mothers Ruin anywhere near well enough. On their Myspace their influences state: ‘First and foremost, alcohol, drugs and a total fucking disregard for authority'. I think that sums them up to a tee.
The last band I caught earned my nomination for ‘Best Performance of the Day’. Demental are awesome, a true thrash metal treat. Bassist and singer, James ‘Fizz’ Cartwright is an incredible frontman, reminiscent of the great thrashers of the classic era of yesteryear. I’ve no idea why but for some reason James reminded me of Mille Petrozza from Kreator. If James wasn’t enough, lead guitarist, Ricardo St Hilaire is one hell of a shredder extraordinaire; throwing down riffs and solos that had would have had my hair standing on end if I didn’t shave my head. James and Ricardo were backed up by the excellent rhythm guitar work of David Tobin and filling in on drums was the brilliant Lee Bryant from the band Seero, because Demental, like Sonace, are still looking for a final permanent member to complete their line up. Demental are one hell of a live band and deliver no holds barred thrash metal that both harks back to the classic 80s style and also brings you something fresh and exciting. These guys are a band I’ll definitely be seeking out in future. I managed to record two songs from these guys along with their cheeky cover of Metallica’s classic Master of Puppets that you’ll find coming in at 5 minutes 30 seconds on the first vid.
Black Sunday did exactly what Shaun promised in the interview; it brought to the fore some of the best emerging metal from some of the best new bands. The video coverage I shot at times doesn’t really do the bands the justice they deserve so I strongly suggest that you check out the links to their Myspace pages that I’ve added to get a real taste of what they’re about. A big thank you must go out to the tireless efforts of Shaun Lonegran for organising the show, who it has to be said worked like a demon all day. Black Sunday revealed to me something that I’m learning rapidly, namely that with music like this around, Brighton Rocks!
Words and Videos by Small Paul
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