Review by Rob Broom for MPM
Back at the end of the 1970s and into the early 1980s the ‘New Wave Of British Heavy Metal’ (NWOBHM) became a major force in the UK and then spread across the world.
Following on from the DIY spirit of punk and the subsequent ‘new wave’ movement, rock and metal bands seemed to materialise from nowhere – although in reality some had been struggling to be recognised for years already – and a completely new music era was born.
For a period of time the record companies circled like sharks, picking out the tastiest morsels for that career making recording contract and then – seemingly – it was all gone and if you didn’t know better, you would have thought the NWOBHM had only consisted of Iron Maiden and Def Leppard.
Of course that was not the case at all. Numerous other bands from the era still have successful careers today (Saxon, among others) while others, although their moment in the sun was more fleeting, left a lasting and enduring impact on the metal music world (without Diamond Head there probably would be no Metallica, and without the likes of Angelwitch and Witchfynde we probably wouldn’t have the doomy dark metal genre, while arguably the likes of Venom and Raven inspired the whole thrash scene). It also highlights the fact that the NWOBHM was not just one musical style, it was an umbrella term that covered a wide variety of metal and rock, much of it groundbreaking.
Anyway, all that preamble leads up to the following cold stark facts, whilst the NWOBHM scene is no longer ‘New’ it is most certainly alive (as it never stopped breathing), it’s still very much kicking and most definitely still screaming!
Tonight’s show is a case in point, bringing together two legends of the NWOBHM – Tygers Of Pan Tang and Tytan. First on however, is a band called Hellfire Club (who I’ve never heard of before) and they immediately impress me. Punchy songs and a sharp delivery keep the audience completely focused on the stage. After the set the band head to their small merch stand and I’m straight there to buy a CD of their album and congratulate them on a great show. I would throughly recommend checking Hellfire Club out.
Before the next band hits the stage let’s take a moment to talk about merchandising a little more. With royalty revenue streams much lower nowadays many bands rely on income from live gigs and merchandise sales. Unlike the ‘mega band’ tours – where prices can be eye watering – T shirts and related items (such as CDs and patches) at smaller gigs are much more affordable. Tonight T shirts ranged from £10 (Tytan shirt purchased thank you!) to £20 and CDs were £10 (there was also vinyl but I didn’t spot the price as I wasn’t buying that). I’m sure bands aren’t making a fortune off individual sales but combined together it all starts to add up. If you want new music and new cool merch help the bands out by buying some. It also keeps them on the road!
Next up on the stage are Tytan, who were my primary reason for attending tonight’s show as I hadn’t seen them before and I was looking forward to it immensely.
Founded by former Angelwitch member Kev Riddles (Kev also has ‘Kev Riddles Bapthomet’ band to keep him busy!) Tytan absolutely blow the stage apart as they deliver a full on quality epic performance.
Opening with ‘Fight The Fight’ from the ‘Justice Served’ album, the majority of the set was taken from debut ‘Rough Justice’. This included ‘The Watcher’, ‘Women On the Front Line’ and the ‘hit single’ (according to Kev) ‘Blind Men and Fools’. Vocalist Mark Hale took command of the stage and delivered an excellent performance and the whole band were absolutely jaw dropping. Kev Riddles has had some health issues recently and therefore had to play bass sat down. That certainly didn’t diminish his ability at all and at times he was emotional as he took gratitude in the crowds response to the way the band excelled.
Kev closed the evening with a few words in memory of Paul Di’anno before the band lit up the stage with a rousing performance of the ‘Ballard Of Edward Case’, which is most definitely not a ballad!!
Tytan have a third album in the works and based on this evenings performance it is going to be one to look out for!
Finally, after a short break, our headliner for the evening, the Tygers Of Pan Tang hit the stage (to the tune of Muds ‘Tiger Feet’!) and – like Tytan and Hellfire Club before them – proceed to rip the stage to shreds.
Having been one of the foremost NWOBHM bands at the time, the Tygers have a number of classic albums to draw on (Wild Cat, Spellbound, Crazy Nights), but more recent albums get plenty of attention too (remember, many bands have kept working!).
Among the songs we have ‘Paris By Air’, ‘Don’t Stop By’ (with a dedication to John Sykes), ‘Euthanasia’ and newer tunes such as ‘Only The Brave’.
This is very much a career spanning set and even though Rob Weir on guitar is the only remaining original member, all the ‘newcomers’ swagger around and really ‘own’ the tunes as well as the stage. They are all working together as a single roaring heartbeat.
The band finish with an encore of ‘Love Potion No. 9’ and leave the crowd baying for more! Absolutely brilliant and mesmerising, put simply- the Tygers are absolutely full on and brilliant – they really needed to be seen – now!
So in conclusion this was an amazing evening and remarkable value for money at less than £20 (inc booking fees).
The venue ‘the Factory Live’ in Worthing is on the South coast. Definitely not ’round the corner’ for me (living near Bristol), but somewhere that I shall definitely return to. The staff were all friendly and helpful and the sound was absolutely superb.
Promoter Harry White (of Hammerdown) was singled out by all the bands for all his efforts in putting the show together. I would echo that and add that there are a number of metal and rock related shows in the area coming up worthy of your support ( Hammerdown Festival in July and – later in the year – Praying Mantis and Blaze Bayley) so check them out.
If the south coast is too far, you can have a NWOBHM experience at the Mearfest event in Northampton during August.
Lots of bands are still out there working and recording so check the music press and internet to see who is playing near you.
The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal is well and truly alive. Long may that continue.
