Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons - Exeter Review

Although the band had been around for a few years prior to 2015, since the sad death of Motörhead leader Lemmy The Bastard Sons have been guitarist Phil Campbell's main creative outlet. The band, which features his three sons as well as vocalist Neil Starr, was originally something of a low-key distraction from Motörhead for Campbell. The band's early shows were often largely made up of covers, and allowed Campbell and co. to have some fun with a few of their favourite songs in sweaty pubs and clubs up and down the country. Now that Motörhead are no more however, The Bastard Sons has become more of a focus. The touring became heavier, and the band starting writing songs. A self-titled EP was released in 2016, but the band really started to make a name for themselves with the release of their debut album The Age of Absurdity last year. With the release of the album, the band shifted to being a truly original outfit - with many of the covers being dropped from the set, although some classics from Campbell's time with Motörhead remained. While not exactly an album to set the world alight, The Age of Absurdity is a fun and hard-hitting modern metal album. It is packed with strong riffs and catchy choruses; and feels different enough from Motörhead to allow Campbell to show a slightly different side of his songwriting. There is more of a modern sound about the band, but the songs still compliment the Motörhead classics when they are played together live. Since the album's release, the band have been on tour almost constantly. I saw the band twice last year, once at the Steelhouse Festival and once in Plymouth, both shows of which were excellent. The band manage to whip up a storm when they perform, so when I saw the announcement of another string of UK shows earlier in the year for November I immediately picked up a ticket for the Exeter show. The band packed out Plymouth's Junction last year, so I am glad they went for a bigger South West venue this time around. By the time the evening rolled around, it was clear that quite a few tickets had been sold as the place was busy. While I do not think the show was sold out, there were certainly more people in the Phoenix, the chosen venue in Exeter, than could ever fit in the Junction. The Junction show was actually a bit too full at times I thought, which led to some unpleasant moments, but there was much more space in the Phoenix - which was necessary due to some rather over-the-top moshing that happened throughout that seemed to be being instigated by some people who had no idea how to behave at a heavy metal show.

The evening's support came from King Creature, a Cornish-based metal band that I have been aware of for a good while but have never really had the chance to properly check out. They supported Motörhead back in 2015 at the Eden Project, but unfortunately I got there too late to watch their set. Clearly they made an impression on Campbell that night however, as now the band are on tour with the former Motörhead man throughout the UK. King Creature had about 40 or so minutes on stage, and they made it count with a hard-hitting set packed with strong groove-based riffs, anthemic choruses that showcased Dave Kellaway's (vocals/bass guitar) strong voice, and the occasional burst of twin-lead guitar that brought some classic 1970s hard rock to their modern metal sound. Being a fairly local show for the band, they seemed to bring their fanbase with them, and the result was one of the best reactions to a support act that I have seen in a while. There were many people singing along to the band's songs throughout their set, and I think that really helped to spur them on and put on a great set. Soundwise, King Creature sound a bit like a more anthemic version of Pantera or Black Label Society, with dirty groove-based riffs driving everything but with an overall larger focus on melody. Nearly every song had a big chorus that could easily be latched on to, and the riffing of both Matt Vincent and Dave Evans was punchy and packed full of attitude. Both had plenty of chance to solo too, and both had a unique style that brought a lot to the band. Vincent is more of a traditional blues-based player, while Evans tore up his fretboard with furious shredded licks. This mix of styles ensured that the band kept things fresh and actually reminded me of the guitar interplay in the early Voodoo Six line-ups with a good mix of old-school hard rock and modern metal elements. The band's set flew by, which is always a sure sign of it being a good one. I have been meaning to give the band a chance for a while, and after this showing in Exeter I will definitely need to check them out further.

After a 30 or so minute changeover, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons took the stage to Deep Purple's Highway Star, and proceeded to blast through a seventeen-song set with little fanfare - just with the power that heavy metal requires. The bulk of the setlist was the same as the Plymouth show last year, although there were a few different Motörhead tracks included as well as a couple of new numbers from Campbell's solo album Old Lions Still Roar. The album is quite varied, so not every song would fit in at a Bastard Sons show, but a couple of hard rockers were thrown in to spice things up a little and promote the new release. Step into the Fire kicked everything off, but for me it was the driving riff of Freak Show that really got things going. In my opinion it is the best song on the band's album, as it features a huge, boogie-esque riff and a powerful chorus. While Campbell is of course the leader of the band, the rest of the band are no slouches. Todd Campbell (guitar/vocals) is a mean player in his own right, and ripped up a great solo during Freak Show, while Starr is a great frontman who really knows how to work the crowd. His voice is suited perfectly for this material, and he never tries to impersonate Lemmy during the Motörhead numbers, instead doing them justice in his own way. Rock Out, the first Motörhead number featured, certainly got everyone going early on - before the new These Old Boots made everyone headbang with its great old-school metal stomp. There was barely any time to breathe throughout the night as the music came thick and fast. A highlight, as always, was Born to Raise Hell which is one of the most anthemic pieces Motörhead ever wrote in my opinion. The band always do a killer version of it, and everyone on the stage really gave it their all. It a testament to the band's own material however that it never feels secondary to the classic tracks. Big anthems like Get On Your Knees are always going to go down well live however, and the crowd's participation during the tune was loud and raucous. A short tribute to the Ramones with a version of Rockaway Beach led unsurprisingly into the burstingly short R.A.M.O.N.E.S. before the Old Lions Still Roar album was represented one more time with the inclusion of the meaty Straight Up. By this point the crowd was in full-on party mode, and some big fan-favourites in the form of Silver Machine and Ace of Spades only intensified this. By this point the moshers had got a bit out of hand, and were starting to annoy quite a few people around them. The strange thing is the that the main instigators did not look like metal fans at all, and were clearly at the show just to be a pain - which is always a shame to see. Everyone sung Ace of Spades loudly however, before Ringleader closed out the main set nicely. The band briefly left the stage but came back for a few more, and opened up the encore with Big Mouth from their EP, before ending with a couple more Motörhead tracks. The slower-paced Lost Woman Blues was up first, which saw both Phil and Todd Campbell soloing away over the steady blues backing, before the chunky Killed by Death rounded everything out nicely. It was a powerful end to a high-energy set that barely let up throughout, and one that reminded us all again with a great guitarist Campbell is. The setlist was:

Step into the Fire
Freak Show
Rock Out [Motörhead cover]
These Old Boots [Phil Campbell solo material]
High Rule
Born to Raise Hell [Motörhead cover]
Dark Days
Get On Your Knees
Rockaway Beach [Ramones cover]
R.A.M.O.N.E.S. [Motörhead cover]
Straight Up [Phil Campbell solo material]
Silver Machine [Hawkwind cover]
Ace of Spades [Motörhead cover]
Ringleader
-
Big Mouth
Lost Woman Blues [Motörhead cover]
Killed by Death [Motörhead cover]

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons are really establishing themselves as a big draw in the metal world now, and their strong work ethic and mixed setlists are certain to keep people coming back. Campbell has clearly been busy with his solo album recently, but I hope that now his attention will turn to the next Bastard Sons album as I am looking forward to hearing where the band goes next.