Wolfsbane - London Review

Whilst I have seen the British metal singer Blaze Bayley live a number of times over the years as a solo artist, including two excellent showings last year in celebration of his latest solo album War Within Me, I have seen his original band, Wolfsbane, far fewer times. Prior to this past weekend I had only seen the band live twice, and both of those shows were a decade or so ago. Despite having been aware of Wolfsbane for a while prior to this, I first saw them live in 2011 - when they opened for Saxon at the underused Princess Pavilion in Falmouth. Wolfsbane's set clearly made an impression, as I went to see them again the following year in Leicester - at The Musician, which was a regular haunt when I was living in the city and attending De Montfort University. Despite really enjoying the Leicester show, which was part of the touring cycle for 2012's Wolfsbane Save the World, I did not see the band again until this past Sunday. Wolfsbane are not one of those bands that are out touring every year, as Bayley tends to focus on his solo career these days, but there has been at least a couple of Wolfsbane UK tours between 2012 and now. I remember that the band came The Wharf in Tavistock, a local venue for me, a few years ago, but for whatever reason I did not go. I am assuming that the show clashed with pre-made plans, otherwise I would have gone, and I am also assuming that no plan to travel to see them on any of the other tours made sense at the time. When the band's most recent tour was announced, then, I knew that I had to make the effort this time - especially having enjoyed Bayley's solo shows so much last year. The show that made the most sense for me was a Sunday night in London at The Water Rats - a new venue for me, which is quite the rarity these days. Being in Kings Cross, and a very short walk from a regular Travelodge that I use, made the London plan make all the more sense, so it was with excitement that I set things in stone. I cannot remember if the tour was announced as such originally, but the run of shows supported the release of Wolfsbane's latest, and fifth, studio album Genius - which was release earlier in the month. I had not pre-ordered the album, as I had planned to pick it up at the gig, which meant that I would be going into any new material played blind. Given Wolfsbane's no-nonsense brand of punky heavy metal, though, this was not likely to be an issue - as Wolfsbane do what they do and they do it well. Bayley has gone down a more epic-sounding metal route as a solo artist, but Wolfsbane are still as rough and ready as they were in the late 1980s - and I expected Genius to be no different. The Water Rats proved to be a decent little venue too, being a room at the back of a pub. It could have done with a slightly higher stage, but such is to be expected in a venue of The Water Rats' size - and the place was packed out by the time Wolfsbane took to the stage.

Before Wolfsbane's set, however, the growing crowd was treated to sets from two support acts. Up first were the Kent-based four-piece Swampstomper - a band who played a back-to-basics brand of chunky rock music with a strong dose of punk. Some of the band's members looked as if they probably were punks back in the day, and Swampstomper's set had some of that energy - whilst also exhibiting something of a bluesy hard rock vibe. Most of the songs were not as fast as typical punk songs, but there was plenty of weight behind them. Being relatively local, it seemed that there were quite a few fans of the band in attendance. There were quite a few down at the front dancing and singing along to the band's shout-along choruses, and the band impressed with their no-nonsense attitude and songwriting grit. There was nothing fancy about Swampstomper's music, but the riffs and the drawling vocals of Paul Brightman (vocals/guitar) kept the band moving, whilst the odd guitar solo from Kev Hammond (guitar/vocals) added some additional bluesy melodies. In many ways, Swampstomper were the ultimate pub band - and that is not supposed to be damning them with faint praise. They seem like the sort of band who have been on the circuit for years and have regular haunts that they turn up at and are welcomed at with open arms. I imagine that the band are no strangers to The Water Rats - and the locals who had turned up enjoyed their time with the rowdy four-piece.

Up next were Daxx & Roxane, a Swiss four-piece (who are now based in London) who have been making a bit of a name for themselves on the UK gig scene for a while now. I saw the band twice in 2018 and was underwhelmed both times, but I was willing to give them another go - and I found myself enjoying their meat-and-potatoes hard rock more this time. I still think that there are better new hard rock bands with a stronger knack for a chorus and melodic flair out there, but Daxx & Roxane's set at The Water Rats was full of energy. Cedric Pfister (vocals/bass guitar) seemed a much more powerful vocal force this time, and the soloing and stage presence of Cal Wymann (guitar/vocals) seemed much busier. Despite looking like he had dressed for an afternoon out at the local artisan café, Wymann threw all of the rock shapes that can be imagined - and he was a force to be reckoned with on stage. He barely stood still, and his soloing was just as busy - which added some melody and flair above the band's fairly basic style of AC/DC-esque riffing. Despite enjoying the band's stagecraft and their overall energy, there was little that set them apart musically for me. This is partly the issue that I have had with them before, as their sound is pretty derivative and there are not that many big hooks - at least for me. Daxx & Roxane have become a powerful live band over the years, but I cannot imagine ever wanting to actually sit down and listen to one of their albums. I am not sure that their energy and presence would capture itself that well on record, and I feel like Daxx & Roxane are a band to enjoy whilst they are on stage - before then moving on to something else.

As mentioned above, by the time Wolfsbane hit the stage the place was full. Wolfsbane seem to like to play very small venues, and they are the type of band that really needs a strong atmosphere to operate. Bayley is always an animated frontman, but when fronting Wolfsbane he seems to go for it even more. By his standards he was quite restrained on his own tour last year due to on-going COVID-19 concerns, but with Wolfsbane he was back to his usual self - getting in the faces of those down at the front and constantly egging the crowd on further. Even with a croaky voice he gave it his all, and he led the band perfectly through a 16-song set that covered all of the band's five studio albums as well as one of their main EPs. Three new songs were featured in the set, but largely the band stuck to playing the well-known favourites. This was probably wise given the gap since the last Wolfsband tour, and the crowd lapped up every song - singing them all back to Bayley loudly. The fast-paced Steel kicked the set off, before the more mid-paced You Load Me Down showcased Bayley's epic voice in a big way. Bayley has always been a dramatic vocalist for a band like Wolfsbane, but it is partly what helps them stand out - and he nailed the song's chorus despite being somewhat under the weather. Jase Edwards (guitar/vocals), who performed sitting down due to some on-going back issues, is a rather virtuosic guitar player, too. His solos are often busy and well-constructed, and not just the short bursts of energy that one might expect from a band of Wolfsbane's ilk. There are a number of reasons why Wolfsbane stand out though, as they are very much a musical enigma. The new cut Spit It Out is basically pure punk, which is something that the band have dabbled in previously, whilst tracks like Ezy and Money to Burn are anthems - which are made to be sung along with live. Regardless of the type of song, though, Wolfsbane's songs are made with big choruses. Pretty much every song in the set had a big hook to be latched onto, with the new track Impossible Love sticking in the brain after only hearing it the once. The one song that stuck out somewhat was the strange Zombies, which is also from the new album, but the rest of the set was very anthemic. Even the more serious Seen How its Done, which is indicative of the direction that Bayley would take as a solo artist, was easy to sing along with - whilst anthems like I Like it Hot and Temple of Rock that followed were more about headbanging. Bayley then told the story of the band's early days, with Edwards and Jeff Hateley (bass guitar/vocals) forming the band, via Smoke and Red Light, before taking a trip into more of a horror setting for the creepy Kathy Wilson. By this point, though, the set was approaching its end. Man Hunt proved to be easily the loudest sing-a-along of the night, and instead of going off and coming back on again the band just played their encore without moving. Totally Nude raised a few smiles, but it was left to the fast-paced and mighty Paint the Town Red to close things out - which also saw plenty of singing from the boisterous and energetic crowd. The setlist was:

Steel

You Load Me Down

Spit It Out

Ezy

Loco

Zombies

Money to Burn

Impossible Love

Seen How its Done

I Like it Hot

Temple of Rock

Smoke and Red Light

Kathy Wilson

Man Hunt

Totally Nude

Paint the Town Red

I had purchased a copy of Genius before the show, and it was not long after the set finished that the four members of Wolfsbane came out to the bar to sign things for the fans and take pictures. Bayley has always done this with his bands, and it was good to see this tradition once again restored after being suspended last year. I got my CD signed by the band, which a nice end to what had been a powerful and high-energy night of live music - and I am looking forward to getting stuck into the new album in due course.