Review & Photography by Gary Spiller for MPM
It’s the time of year once more – the berries of the hillside rowans provide splashes of vivid orange whilst tall, slender foxgloves tower above the luxuriant green fern – the valleys of South Wales are in full swing with Mother Nature. In its now traditional late July slot Steelhouse, crown-jewel rock festival of this region, writes its 13th chapter.
Steelhouse’s landlords, Hafod-y-Dafal Farm, have hosted the festival here since 2011. A working farm it operates upon a plateau, 400 metres above sea level, atop a jut of moorland bounded by the rivers Ebbw and Ebbw Fach – to the west and east respectively – that meet to the south in the nearby village of Aberbeeg.
Winding the way up the track to the farm I ponder upon the pre-festival discussions regarding this year’s lineup; quite fairly, regardless of your personal perspective upon the actual subject, noted as one of the most divisive in the festival’s history. However, 2024 seemed to produce a really polarised selection of opinions. Much more so than normal it seemed.
The lot of a festival organiser isn’t a straightforward one and irrespective of the effort and considered thought expended there’s always a slew of varying opinions. Following our truly positive thoughts post-Covid on this subject this year our own take lay somewhere in the mid-ground neither truly exhilarated but not desperately despondent.
Thus, for the first time since 2019, Steelhouse wasn’t at the forefront of our summer plans. We had happily handed over the reins to a MPM colleague with a much more positive mindset than ours. That was until a late call was received just prior to our departure for Germany’s Rockharz Festival enquiring as to whether we could assist in our platform’s continuing coverage of this event.
Sadly, work commitments on the opening day curtailed any possibility of covering ‘Bernie Fest’ – a poignant tribute to the late and most certainly great Bernie Marsden – of which nothing but deserved positivity swamped social media. It also meant that today, for the first time, I was ‘flying solo’; entrusted with the camera duties. Not having picked up a DSLR in a few years there was no pressure, right?
Mingling with cherished friends wherever I turned the initial feelings of being a touch adrift minus Kelly, my better two-thirds and much more adept behind the lens than I, my attentions turned to onstage activity. A brief shower hadn’t amounted to anything thankfully. Not a single soul was wishing for a repeat of last year’s sodden last day.
Up first are Swansea lads Zac and The New Men with a good-sized noontime congregation awaiting their arrival. These four teenage friends began their musical whilst still at school a few years ago, their roots are steeped in the heritage of South Wales.
Supporting, and providing opportunities, for emerging talents from not just the region but across the UK is something to be applauded with Steelhouse, over the last few years, doing precisely that. The likes of Ashen Reach, Dead Man’s Whiskey amongst many who have benefited from the experience.
Encountering them for the first time a couple of years ago in Cardiff’s Fuel Club I was immediately struck with the confidence and belief they held in their material and its despatch. Belying their youthful years there was an instant reminder of witnessing the forces of Ethyrfield a few years back.
Looking sharp their carefully curated retro outfits Z&TNM hit the stage assuredly with the title track of their debut album ‘Reinvent Me’. With delicious slices of psych amongst a fuzzed-up delivery. Taking such luminaries as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix into the company of Royal Blood and Blackberry Smoke and applying their quintessential sensitivities to the resultant blend delights the ear.
In amongst their seven tracks there’s time to slot in a couple of, as of yet, unreleased tracks in the form of screaming eagle ‘World’s Gone Mad’ and the set-closing roar of ‘Off To The Moon’. The progress is clear with ‘Deeper’ echoing the early stages of Reef and ‘Atom Bomb’ buzzing like a pack of angry wasps. Much awaits these seriously talented youngsters.
Continuing the keen sense of retro fashion on Steelhouse’s ‘catwalk’ are Brighton quintet Creeping Jean. Formed some six or seven years ago these edgy blues rockers – think the Rival Sons sharing some quality greenery with The Doors in the surroundings of Bob Dylan’s kitchen and you’ll get the picture, in fact all that’s missing is a luridly patterned orange and brown wallpaper – have two albums already in their arsenal but are seemingly too cool to have a website.
Prolific in the release of singles with an incredible 16 to date since their 2018 debut 7” ‘Bandit’ that wraps up a warmly received set that bubbles along nicely without threatening to boil right over. It’s a ten-track set dominated by single only releases with just two tracks apiece from the aforementioned long-players – 2022’s ‘When’s The Blowout?’ and this year’s follow-up ‘Business Is Dead’; the latter highly rated by Rolling Stone France by all accounts.
An effervescent ‘Ten Kisses’ kicks off as they rattle and bluster their passage through their allotted half hour. Rock n’ roller ‘Sassy Got Shakes’ shines as does ‘When’s The Blowout’ a track reminiscent of a vibing Lou Reed. It’s a set that washes and laps gently upon sandy shores rather than crashing powerfully about a rocky coast.
More a gentle embrace than an imposing fist clenching firmly. A first encounter that leaves me intrigued and, in the knowledge, a second one is required when I’m not distracted by photographic duties. (Footnote – I take my hat off in admiration to those who skilfully combine both camera and pen aspects of capturing gigs.)
Having caught Pontypridd’s James and The Cold Gun on a number of occasions over the last couple of years opening for fellow Welsh outfits Florence Black and Those Damn Crows I’m wondering what lies ahead. They’ve regaled and left me uninspired in equal measure; a conflicting output from gig to gig with the only surefire thing is the driven energy to prove their self-proclamation of being ‘South Wales’s Loudest’.
It’s a bold one statement without a doubt but this afternoon one that, rather than translating into a singular amorphous wall of sound (like what happened in their supporting set back at February’s Florence Black gig at Cardiff’s Tramshed), it happily morphs into one of a vibrant and striking energy. A wave of surging kinetic that holds all present in a firm grasp bouncing and shaking along the way.
Debut ep ‘False Start’ is well represented with its opening track ‘Seven’ reprising that role and registering dangerous levels on the Richter scale. Rolling into the amplified Stooges dimensions of ‘Plug Me In’ the surrounding hills are rocking too.
The galloping cascade of initial single ‘She Moves’ more than ably demonstrates why they hit Hyde Park headlong supporting Guns n’ Roses last summer and a tour with Duff McKagan awaits later in the year. Evidently there are admirers upon high.
Latest single ‘Fragile’ delivers a punchy statement of intent to support that of their eponymous album of last year, which was released on Stone Gossard’s (Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone) Loosegroove label. It was hearing closing track ‘Long Way Home’ on a Seattle radio station that sparked Gossard’s initial interest and the rest, as they say, is history. Something that this quartet have the potential to make.
2024 has been busy for South-coast based horror rockers South of Salem and promises to increase in intensity even further. The release of their deservedly much-lauded sophomore album ‘Death of The Party’ has broadened an already burgeoning support. The Coven is bursting at the very seams! Independently released the album, to the band’s absolute credit, hit the top 50 of the UK albums chart, no mean feat.
Pushing Kris Barras and his band all the way opening up for the Devonian hard rockers in April has been followed by a whole host of festival dates including blowing the roof off and laying waste to Swansea at Station 18 Festival. Incredibly the opening night of this year’s Bloodstock Festival awaits as does a month-long UK and European tour with Wednesday 13th and Hardcore Superstar.
Formed from the ashes of Al. B. Damned and Texas Drag Queen Massacre phoenix-like South of Salem have ascended to the cusp of something incredibly special. Although their first album ‘The Sinner Takes It All’ proved a breakout it’s the follow-up release that has been a major catalyst for the major detonation. Naturally nearly three quarters of their set are drawn from ‘Death of the Party including its pugilistic title track.
Under SOS are provide a conflagrant shot in the Steelhouse under ever improving skies setting the festival ablaze with the predatory howl of ‘Let Us Prey’. The despatch is bad boy Mötley Crüe in its roots but wholly dunked into a gothic noir, deeply resonant lyrics exploring the darkest of subjects resonate on a personal level.
‘Jet Black Eyes’ is lustily sung by the Steelhouse choir, the first real outing of the day for the massed ranks. In fact, the crowd participation is on point throughout; I’ve witnessed acts of supposedly higher stature struggle to illicit this degree of reverence.
‘Vultures’ is a clear standout from where I’m stood, engaging frontman Joey Draper sings “You didn’t want me at my worst, so you can’t have me at my best” in a lyrical raising of the middle digit to those doubters, bullies, and all-round negative personalities.
By the time an emphatic ‘Cold Day In Hell’ brings their set to a triumphant conclusion SOS have captivated, enthralled in vast amounts. A high bar has been set for those who follow. The future potential has been laid bare there’s so many directions in musical terms that this quintet can advance in – commencing to conquer the continental European market is surely the next phase.
Three sisters from Monterrey, Mexico The Warning have been pulling up rock n’ roll trees for a decade since their formation when aged 9 through to 14 years young. Alejandra, Daniela, and Paulina Villarreal Vélez all picked up instruments at an early age; the very epitome of born to rock. With over a million monthly listeners on Spotify and nearly half a million followers on Facebook alone their figures scream numerically from the loftiest of rooftops.
They’re an industrious triumvirate for sure, currently in the midst of a Europe-wide tour that ran through the entirety of April before recommencing at the start of July following some dates in Japan and USA. There’s a behemothic machine supporting this rapidly accelerating outfit and its output is matched by a stellar output onstage from these highly energised sisters.
Following South of Salem the three-piece have a high bar to clear but within the opening couple of tracks – ‘S!CK’ and ‘Z’ – it’s totally apparent that this already towering level has been cleared. With a fuzzed-up Halestorm alloyed with The Kut sort of delivery this is a band right at the forefront of the current wave of rock’s evolution and it’s great to see festivals like Steelhouse and Maid of Stone engaging with it.
There’s clearly an ardent following here in the UK, many of them in attendance atop this Welsh hill. No doubt, in large part, garnered from their 2023 dates with Muse and Royal Blood plus an appearance at Download that same summer. The Warning’s music stands on its own feet without the need for utilising any gimmickry or, indeed, their femineity. This is hard rocking in its purest and, for me, most delightful form.
In a heartbeat they have converted myself into a fan and I’m swept along with the tidal wave that is constructed from alt-edged epics such as ‘CHOKE’, ‘Escapism’ and ‘MORE’. By the time a stampeding ‘EVOLVE’, so aptly titled given that this band are representative of the tip of the iceberg that is rock’s future, provides a cataclysmic finale. It’s a surefire conclusion that far bigger things await – future headliners across the major European festivals I’ll wager.
For those possessing a stronger leaning towards the ‘Classique’ side of all things rock and metal it doesn’t get much better than Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. Formed eight years ago in the wake of the passing of Motörhead frontman Lemmy; the decision, taken by Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee to cease Motörhead is to the day to be applauded as the correct one.
Along with his three sons – Dane (drums), Todd (lead guitar) and Tyla (bass) – this Phil’s third Steelhouse outing and all with different vocalists. The first coming in 2018 with initial vocalist Neil Starr, then immediately post-Covid, in 2021 with stand-in singer Andrew Hunt (Buffalo Summer, Valhalla Awaits) and finally this evening with former Bootyard Bandits frontman Joel Peters.
If there’s a better song of self-introduction, then please be sure to introduce me to it as the bulldozing ‘We’re The Bastards’ perfectly covers all bases from stage to band via the connecting music. Head bang and clenched fists pump in the sunny evening air; Steelhouse unified.
In a powerhouse hour or so there’s time sufficient to visit all three Sons’ albums plus the usual smattering of well-oiled despatches of Motörhead classics plus a couple of covers. One an extremely poignant and respectful outputting of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ – dedicated by Phil to the memory of a cherished friend Bernie Marsden – and the other the complete antithesis in the raucous full-on form of the Pistols’ ‘God Save The Queen’.
One of my personal favourite Motörhead classics ‘Going to Brazil’, a track that encapsulates the band’s sense of adventure, receives a thorough dusting off and a rumbustious early doors outing. There’s also ‘Born To Raise Hell’, the set-closing ‘Killed By Death’ and the “Fuck you Tyla Campbell” banter to leading into the ubiquitous anthem ‘Ace of Spades’ for all Motörhead aficionados to savour.
In amongst all these glorious recollections there’s further Bastard Sons’ action in the forms of the brooding ‘Dark Days’, a particularly searing ‘Schizophrenia’, and fuse-blowing ‘Freak Show’ ensure Steelhouse’s hometown heroes will surf homewards upon a tsunamic wave of love and affection. Once again, Captains Consistent, this quintet rocks the hill to the foundations. Never fail to deliver.
We’re into the warming glow of the golden hour, the sun descending horizonwards casts a wondrous orange-yellow hue. Perfect light and perfect metal in the shape of German teutonic legends Accept.
Rare visitors, nowadays, to these shores there’s a definite expectant buzz surrounding their appearance here atop a Welsh hill. They’ve hauled in from Greece and in just four days’ time will be tearing Wacken up. This is a major Steelhouse ‘signing’ and a massively astute one. There’s even a certain Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Night Ranger).
With a career spanning six decades and 17 albums since formation in 1976 Accept are regarded as being responsible for, in part, the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Having just seen original vocalist Udo Dirkschneider at Rockharz Festival it’s also evident the high regard the enduring music of this fine band is held aloft in.
A 75-minute set is, with typically precise engineering and choreography, despatched in a military fashion. Steelhouse laps up every last second in what is destined to be one of the most memorable performances for a long, long while at this festival.
With their impressive backdrop artwork courtesy of this year’s release ‘Humanoid’ the sextet – with a triple helping of Flying V’s to the fore – tear into ‘The Reckoning’ from that album before heading into its title track. Close your eyes and you could have teleported back to the bands mid 80s glory days.
Joining forces, in 2009, with sole original member Wolf Hoffmann current vocalist American Mark Tornillo has proven a perfect fit. He seizes his first opportunity to get his impressive pipes around the older material in a ‘Restless and Wild’ that gallops freely across the plains.
The metalliferous servings are of generous proportions with ‘Metal Heart’ (complete with Fur Elise segment), and ‘Fast As A Shark’, amongst many, filling even the most voracious of appetites. Unsure what to feast upon? Then sumptuously one is cordially invited to snack upon the seamless “Riff Orgy” of ‘Demon’s Night’, ‘Starlight’, ‘Losers and Winners’, and ‘Flash Rockin’ Man’.
Whilst one and all await the inevitable curtain call of the piledriving ‘Balls To The Wall’ for me track of not just the set but the entire festival ‘Princess of the Dawn’ is the ultimate metallic ram raider. Coruscant guitars in perfect synchronicity, absolute heaven. Accept have waltzed into the legends of Steelhouse in consummate style.
The world requires more folk of the personable ilk of Benji Webbe, a wise head upon worldly shoulders. That’s the conclusion I draw shortly following a highly charged and re-energising 90 minutes. My first glimpse into the reggae-metal crossover realms that Welsh legends Skindred inhabit.
Formed over a quarter of a century ago Skindred have been tearing up the music textbook and rock n’ roll form consistently over those 20 plus years. Their latest album, 2023’s ‘Smile’, emphatically gate-crashed the UK album charts only being denied the top spot by Irish singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot.
Having hotfooted it up the roads from nearby Newport it’s fair to say the quadrumvirate are lean in shape and eager to rip apart Steelhouse upon their first trek up the track since their first, according to the historic annals somewhat sodden visit, Steelhouse outing since 2017. Pre-set an amazing party atmosphere spills over the barrier into the photo pit, it’s truly infectious. A sea of smiling faces.
It’s a quartet formed of Webbe, bassist Daniel Pugsley, guitarist Mikey Demus and percussive force Arya Goggin, a lineup that’s endured since 2002. Fusing metal with diversities such as reggae, two-tone and electronica it’s safe to say Skindred make one heck of an astounding racket that elicits a glorious inner feeling of well-being. Webbe’s banter and chatter along with Pugsley’s slick programme add to the dynamic.
Drawing heavily from ‘Smile’ throughout their set Skindred crank it up track on track; a masterclass in the art of getting a crowd to eat from the palm of your hand. Ever destructive ‘Set Fazers’ produces an incendiary tone from which there is no going back from. AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ gets interjected into ‘Pressure’; does it work? You bet it does!
There are summery reggae infusions in ‘L.O.V.E. (Smile Please)’ – there’s not one dissenting voice to Webbe’s lyrics “Love is what the people want.” Ska chopping riffs resonate from a raging ‘Kill The Power’. ‘Gimme That Boom’ manically ramps up the chaos as Steelhouse are right on point with the mayhem, an electric synergy “Turn around stupid!” rankles Webbe.
‘Nobody’ receives a deep intro “You start drinking from the bottle then the bottle begins drinking you” notes Webbe in a sensitive moment amongst the crazed dynamics. Steelhouse gets as wild as it probably ever has during a fiery ‘Warning’ which brings out the Newport Helicopter.
I’ve witnessed crowd-surfing industrial wheelie bins and gargantuan walls of death at close quarters, but this is a totally new level of crazy. Here atop a Welsh hill surrounded by dark moorlands somehow it simply makes complete sense. My first live Skindred experience, it won’t be my last! Thus ends a top-dollar Steelhouse Saturday on a day with discoveries, realignments and most importantly the camaraderie of good friends.
