Review & Photography by Paul Hutchings for MPM
The start of a short six-date UK co-headline jaunt across the UK sees three impressive and important UK bands arrive at a venue fast becoming iconic.
The Steel Mill, as everyone knows, is the hub of metal in the Black Country, and fast becoming the place to add onto the tour itinerary. Tonight it may be the smaller room in the vast venue that is the location for the show, but make no mistake, all three could have held their own on the much bigger main stage.
There are plenty of links between the three bands, with openers Rites to Ruin formed from South Wales’ Triaxis, the former home of Fury bassist Becky Baldwin. Rites to Ruin possess a sharp classic metal attack, twin guitars, solid engine room and the pipes of Krissie Kirby, who fronted Triaxis at Bloodstock three times during her tenure with the band.
They are on fine form this evening, with an explosive 40-minute set which is drawn from their excellent 2025 debut Daughter of Hatred. Although the room is still filling when they launch into the title track, but the heat soon increases and by the time the clock hits eight, it’s a furnace. That is mainly due to the fire being created on stage, as the band rattle through In Memoriam, Envy, For the Love of Gold and the anthemic Prevail which ends the set.
It’s a good sound that allows Lee Cartner’s lead to rip through the venue, whilst the guts of the band rumble nicely along. This allows Krissie to show why she remains a national treasure amongst the Welsh metal community, and as always, the microphone doesn’t need to get too close due to the power she possesses.
It’s controlled, enunciation perfect, and it’s unsurprising that by the time they finish, they’ve gained new fans. They don’t get the opportunity to gig that often, but when they do, Rites to Ruin are ones you should have on your list.
Last summer’s massive show at Stonedead Festival proved that King Kraken had the guts and the music to stand alongside everyone else on that stacked bill. With new single Call to War resonating in the ears, they are in no mood to do anything but remind people that they are still very much here.
It’s a powerful hour, with the band rarely letting up as they pound through a huge set, bookended by Call to War and second album title track March of the Gods. It’s only the more melancholic Hero that slows the pace and allows us all to gather breath and reflect on those we’ve lost. It’s a song that still holds dear more than a year since release, and whilst singer Mark Donoghue is less troubled emotionally than those early run outs, he still feels every inch of it as the song moves along.
It’s when the Kraken is unleashed that they hit top form. Berserker, El Giganto and Man-Made Monster still roar, whilst new song Second Skin mates a live debut. Powered by Richard Lee Mears huge drums, Kraken may be slimmed down to a four-piece, but their sound is bigger than ever. And they have the lead work of Adam Kowalski Healey, who continues to amaze with his fretboard wizardry.
Little let up with a cascade of riffs that would break the strongest dam, it’s muscular with a solidity that would hold up a block of flats. By the time they leave the stage, the temperature already stoked by Rites to Ruin is now an inferno. Make no mistake, the Kraken has no intention of having a fallow year in 2026.
Fury on the other hand, haven’t been anything short of magnificent for many years. Their most recent album Interceptor was possibly their best ever, and they throw a couple from that album alongside a glorious smattering from the rest of their catalogue.
They know how to pace it, with a blistering trio of Interceptor, Prince of Darkness and the Motörhead tribute It’s Rock and Roll driving the band forward with intent. It’s a cohesive unit, with Matt Fletcher now firmly embedded and looking very much at home. Glorious harmonies, rich melodies and the humour of Julian Jenkins make it another scorching Fury show.
Star Trippin takes us back to the Lost in Space album released a decade ago. It still sounds great. And anchoring the band, it’s impossible to ignore drummer Tom Fenn who gets a short solo towards the end, whilst Becky Baldwin’s Rickenbacker is as much a signature sound of the band as some of their songs.
Nyah Ifill has added a new dimension to the band in recent years, and this continues to be the case. She has a set of lungs to rival the other two vocalists on the bill tonight and radiates enjoyment and happiness. If you want to see a band with bigger smiles, I think you’d struggle to find them.
It’s a magnificent show, full of pace, passion and energy. All three bands bring their A game, and the rest of this tour should be something special. Get to a show. Support some of the UK’s finest hard rock bands and have a bloody good time in the process.
