Review & Photography by Andy Payne for MPM
Wrestling and heavy rock music have always been a match made in heaven with some of the world’s biggest rock bands often collaborating with wrestlers for their intro music.
Over the years we have seen the likes of Motörhead, Limp Bizkit and Code Orange make appearances in the ring to name a few, but for die-hard wrestling fans there has always been one band that shares an
especially deep connection with the entertainment sport.
Whilst Fozzy may not be as well known in the mainstream as the aforementioned bands, they have a trump card in their deck being that their singer just so happens to be six-time World Champion Chris Jericho.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, it is no surprise that Fozzy has built a devoted following over their twenty-year career as a band.
What is surprising is that Jericho has managed to maintain both his music and wrestling career simultaneously for the last two decades and doesn’t show any sign of winding down in the near future.
Tonight’s show is hosted by wrestling organisation AEW as a precursor to the weekend’s ‘AEW All In London 2024’ event taking place in the iconic Wembley Stadium.
Last year’s All In event was a massive success with over 70,000 fans attending and singing along to Judas as the band played an epic entrance for their singer.
That weekend also saw Fozzy play their largest UK show to date at the O2 Forum. This year, they may have downgraded the venue size, but tonight’s show is sold out and judging by the length of the queue before the doors open the band is just as popular as ever.
Chris Jericho isn’t the only champion in Islington tonight as current AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland is here to kick off proceedings alongside his partner Flash Garments for the UK debut
of their new rap duo.
Hip-hop is another genre that shares a close relationship with wrestling with artists like Snoop Dogg, Bad Bunny and Lil’ Wayne all making appearances with rival organisation WWE in recent years.
Tonight’s support however is far less established with their album ‘Motion Sickness’ only being released a few weeks ago and it is safe to assume that the fans are more excited to see their champion in the flesh than hear his music.
There is an extended introduction from their DJ/Hype-man during which the house lights are turned down and the fans are encouraged to light the stage themselves with the torches on their phones whilst the PA blares We Are The Champions.
Once the crowd are warmed up, Flash Garments comes running out followed shortly by Swerve Strickland who is proudly wearing his AEW Championship Belt. Together the duo leap and bound around the stage alternating lines like a musical tag team.
Orbit is an early crowd-pleaser with arms bouncing up and down to the back of the venue after which Flash Garments turns to his partner and asks “What do you do for a living?” to which the wrestler replies “I fuck n****rs up,” and they tear into the hyper-aggressive Fuck Em Up.
The stage dynamic between the duo is great to watch with the two rappers interacting with each other and the crowd in equal measure. Both rappers climb onto the stage barriers at various points so that the crowd can shout the chorus back.
Wrestling fans being wrestling fans, the night would be incomplete without a bunch of call-and response catchphrases.
The pair more than live up to expectations regularly egging the crowd to join in with Strickland’s trademark “Whose house? Swerve’s house!” It is clear to see that the crowd are loving the experience, even if they don’t know all of the material yet.
After a while, the tempo of the backing tracks does begin to get pretty repetitive and the lack of any other stage production or backing band means that attention spans do start to wander at the halfway point.
As if sensing this Flash Garments takes a short break and Swerve Strickland instead welcomes a dancer onstage to join him for the lo-fi 2am In London from his previous album. Dressed in a figure-hugging sequinned leotard, the female dancer is the centre of attention for this song as she dances provocatively for the track’s entirety.
It is an interesting deviation from the rest of the set but feels rather voyeuristic which isn’t helped by the rapper’s remarks when she exits the stage afterwards.
Thankfully the energy returns when Flash Garments makes his way back onstage for the upbeat track Say That with its optimistic hook that “miracles can happen in a day.” It always feels weird hearing backing vocals coming through the PA as opposed to any onstage singers, but this is the only time that it was particularly noticeable.
The duo then seemingly close their set with another back and forth of “Whose house? Swerve’s house!” and are told that they have reached the end of their allotted stage time which prompts boos from the crowd. At this point, it feels as though things are about to take a dark turn, but naturally it is all kayfabe as fellow wrestler (and Swerve’s manager) Prince Nana rushes onto the stage and leads the group into a rousing finale of Swerve Strickland’s walkout theme Big Pressure which naturally whips the crowd into a frenzy.
As they exit the stage for real this time, Swerve signs off with “I’ll see you at the main event at Wembley,”
and the crowd continue the chant of “Whose house?” long after he has walked away.
After a short intermission during which the crowd keep themselves entertained by chanting Chris Jericho’s former moniker of “Y2J” it is time for Fozzy to take to the stage.
With just a TV screen on either side of the drum kit displaying the band’s logo, it is a fairly minimal stage set-up yet reminiscent of a traditional wrestling walkway (minus the catwalk).
As usual, the band precede their set by playing the song Who The Fuck Is Alice? by Smokie with the crowd joyfully singing the chorus.
The band then come out to their latest single Spotlight which boasts an incredible leading riff and a massive singalong chorus. Chris Jericho is every part the superstar, dressed in a spiked and studded leopard-print leather jacket, trousers with Fozzy song titles stitched into the legs and his glorious blonde lion mane flowing over his shoulders.
Next to him, lead guitarist Rich Ward is a firecracker of adrenalin with his headless guitar; running around the stage, strutting, jumping and pulling funny faces at the crowd.
On the other side, second guitarist Billy Grey and bassist PJ Farley are just as enthusiastic, keeping the hulking groove of the riffs chugging away whilst also refusing to stand still. Completing the quintet, drummer Grant Brooks is the latest addition to the band, but he fits in seamlessly with the rest of the group and there is a massive smile on his face for the entirety of the show.
Following up with Bad Tattoo and Painless, Fozzy start their show with some of the heaviest riffs and biggest choruses in their roster.
The Tom Morello style solo section followed by a staccato chug in the former has the whole crowd head-banging whilst the lead riff of the latter demands everyone to pump their fists in the air. The chorus of Painless is one of Fozzy’s best and it is a real statement of intent playing it so early.
Chris Jericho has described the sound of Fozzy as “if Metallica and Journey had a bastard child,” and you can see where he is coming from although their newer material especially calls to mind more contemporary bands such as Shinedown and latter-day Papa Roach with a much stronger emphasis on bouncing riffs than legato solos.
Celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year, the front end of the set features a lot of songs from the album Do You Wanna Start A War, with Jericho holding a CO2 pump in one hand and blasting it into the crowd during the album’s title track.
The stage is equipped with a really great light show and there are additional strobe lights and CO2 canisters placed underneath and beside the drum kit respectively. The two TV screens display a variety of really cool visuals throughout the set which span from album artwork to anime, always in keeping with whichever song is playing at the time.
After Lights Go Out, we are brought up to date with a run of songs from their most recent album Boombox starting with a wonderful rendition of Frankie Goes To Hollywood smash-hit Relax! A cover this silly has no right being so good, but this is arguably one of the best songs of the entire show.
Live, the guitars really ramp up the heaviness with a constant chug throughout which is accentuated by some furiously fast drumming from Brooks at the end of the song.
The jacket is off for the more industrial-tinged Sane, revealing Jericho’s ginormous biceps. Admittedly
Jericho sometimes struggles to hit the notes when he ventures into the higher register, but he more than makes up for this when he roars the song’s single-word chorus.
Throughout the show, Jericho puts his all into his vocal performance and it is a wonder how he doesn’t strain his voice more than he does. Sane is also Ward’s first killer solo of the night.
The solos are short and sweet all night long (with one exception) and it is an admirable quality for Fozzy that they don’t oversaturate their songs with too many gratuitous lead guitar sections.
Chris Jericho is a man who has regularly performed in some of the largest sporting arenas in the world so Islington Academy is a piece of cake for him. He is able to stand with his arm raised commanding silence from the chanting crowd only to break character with the disarmingly charming “Hi guys.” Jericho gives a heartfelt speech thanking all the fans for their support over the years remarking how this is their third London show this fiscal year and they have managed to sell it out.
After welcoming all first-timers to “Fozzy Friday” we are then treated to the one ballad of the night, I Still Burn with fire visuals on the screens behind. For follow-up Nowhere To Run, we are treated to a montage from the film Mad Max. It is another US radio rock banger complete with a singalong chorus and a heavy breakdown in the mid-section that has the crowd bouncing on their feet. Fozzy are just as energetic as their fans in a way that is very slick and choreographed but doesn’t take anything away from their performance. Jericho himself acts as a conductor waving his arms and holding them out for silence at the end of songs.
We are treated to a deep cut towards the end of the set. It is Sandpaper complete with pre recorded backing vocals from M. Shadows and a brilliant dual-harmony guitar solo during which the four moveable members of the band come together to pose at the centre of the stage.
Ward is able to show off his impressive vocal chops in the backing vocals for Spider In My Mouth which
has a monstrous lead riff during which the screens play a montage of classic horror films all the way from Nosferatu to Red Dragon.
The band then end their set with Enemy before which Jericho encourages everybody to sing along if they know it and “if you don’t then pretend. We’ll never know the difference.” Once again Jericho’s voice wavers a bit in the intro, but when the rest of the band has fully kicked into gear it is a fantastic end to the set complete with an incredible guitar solo trade-off between Ward and Grey that makes up for every short solo played earlier in the night. Lasting longer than some of the bands’ whole songs, the two guitarists play every trick in the showman’s book by leaning back-to-back, dancing across the stage and holding their hands over each other’s eyes.
It is undoubtedly the most self-gratifying moment of the night but never gets boring. Chris Jericho stands at the back of the stage and lets the two guitarists do their thing before returning to centre stage and leading the crowd in a chant of “Holy Shit.
There is a short respite and then the band are back for their biggest hit Judas which gets such a big reaction from the crowd that you can barely hear Jericho as he is practically drowned out by the crowd singing his lyrics back at him.
The band then bring the night to a close (for real this time) by inviting Swerve Strickland back onstage for a rendition of Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against The Machine.
It is a wise song choice that perfectly brings together the two opposing genres although there are signs that this was the one song in the setlist that hasn’t had many rehearsals as a few vocal cues are missed and Grey’s solo ventures off-key at the start.
These are minor gripes though as the entire venue is swept up with the famous final hook of “Fuck you I
won’t do what you tell me!” It is a big, bombastic end to a thoroughly enjoyable night and modest as ever, Chris Jericho waves goodbye leading the crowd with one final back and forth of “Whose
house? Swerves house!” How Chris Jericho and Swerve Strickland will fare during Sunday’s main
event remains to be seen, but tonight the two superstars are both champions of Islington
