H.E.A.T - London Review

I have already made my way through most of the concerts that have been postponed over the past couple of years, but there are still a few more to go! Many of them have fallen over the past month or so, though, and October 2022 has been one of the busiest months of gigging for me ever. I have squeezed so much into the last few weeks, and there is still one more to go - as I will be heading up to Bristol on Sunday to catch Dare for the third time this year. The focus of this piece, though, is an excellent show that I attended in London this past Tuesday, when me and many others descended on the Electric Brixton to see the Swedish melodic rock/AOR act H.E.A.T put on a great display - ably assisted by the modern British rock acts Mason Hill and Collateral. This is a show that I had had a ticket for for a long time. It was originally supposed to take place in May 2020 - at The Garage in Islington. It has been postponed multiple times, and at some point over the last couple of years was moved from North London to South London - from The Garage to the Electric Brixton. The Garage would have been preferable really, as I have never really been a fan of Brixton - but the Electric Brixton is still a decent venue. It is not somewhere that I have been too often, though, and H.E.A.T's show there a couple of days ago was only my third visit - following Kamelot in 2018 and one of the last performances of Delain's previous line-up in 2020. It is also worth noting, too, that when I bought the ticket for this show H.E.A.T had a different singer! The band's original frontman Kenny Leckremo returned to H.E.A.T at the end of 2020 - replacing the outgoing Erik Grönwall who joined Skid Row earlier this year. I was sad to see Grönwall go, but as someone has who has always liked H.E.A.T's early albums I knew that Leckremo would easily reintegrate himself back into the band. It took a little while for the second Leckremo era to get off the ground for obvious reasons, but H.E.A.T have been pretty busy this year - both on and off the road. They released their latest album Force Majeure, and third overall to feature Leckremo, back in August, and they have also ben touring pretty heavily over the past few months - with shows throughout Europe and even a quick trip to Australia. The band have managed to build themselves a strong following here in the UK, though, so I am sure that they were looking forward to coming back for some headline shows. H.E.A.T's last few visits to the UK were either for festivals or to undertake some high-profile support slots. I had never seen H.E.A.T as a headline act until this week, but I had previously seen them live twice - supporting both The Quireboys and Skid Row. I had been a fan of the band before those two shows, but I had not really given them much attention for a couple of years. Those shows in 2018 and 2019 rectified that, though, and I have been a big fan again since - completing my collection of their back catalogue. It was not just me that was excited for the show, either, and the Electric Brixton was pretty full throughout the night. It is good to see a band like H.E.A.T being able to play somewhere of a decent size - and the crowd were up for the night from the off.

Gigs with strong bills are always more memorable than ones with a poor undercard, and H.E.A.T made sure that this show fell into the former category - with Collateral, and later Mason Hill, impressing the crowd before the main event. Both Collateral and Mason Hill are well-liked modern British rock acts, and both were greeted like heroes by the crowd. I would say that most in attendance were as familiar with the two support acts as they were with the night's headliners - which meant that the atmosphere was great from the off. The London show was the last night of H.E.A.T's UK tour, so all three bands were clearly in the partying mood. Collateral were the perfect band to kick off the night, then, with their melodic, 1980s-style rock fitting the bill. I saw the band last month in Nottingham supporting Reckless Love - but I enjoyed their set in London much more. They were playing to a tiny crowd in Nottingham as they went on about 10 minutes after the doors opened - and they also suffered from a muddy sound mix. Neither was the case this time, and the five-piece powered through six songs with ease. Frontman Angelo Tristan seemed really up for the show, and prowled around the stage during the riffy opening cut Lullaby, whilst Todd Winger (guitar/vocals) nailed the shredded solo. The party vibe was set early on, as H.E.A.T's drummer Don Crash was wheeled out early on to drum along to Mr Big Shot. This showed the rapport that the two bands have clearly built up, and it was fun seeing Crash join in with Collateral's set. The more country-tinged Midnight Queen was the only difference between this set and last month's show in Nottingham - with Tristan strapping on an acoustic guitar and showcasing his love of all things Bon Jovi. The hooky song had lots around me singing along, but it was the two new songs that impressed the most. If all of the songs on the band's next album are as good as No Place for Love then it should be a special release; and the sleazier Sin in the City allowed newest recruit Louis Malagodi (guitar/vocals) to rip out a solo of his own. The band's short, but sweet, set then came to a close with Merry Go Round, another hard rocking moment that the crowd really enjoyed. Collateral are definitely one of the UK's best when it comes to throwback-style 1980s hard rock, and it was great seeing them play to a large, receptive crowd. I hope to catch them at one of their own shows soon! The setlist was:

Lullaby

Mr Big Shot [w/ Don Crash]

Midnight Queen

No Place for Love

Sin in the City

Merry Go Round

Mason Hill's more modern, post-grunge sound may have stuck out like a sore thumb on a bill with AOR-esque acts - but Mason Hill ensured that the genre differences did not matter, as they put on a great eight-song showing that was also greedily lapped up by the large crowd. I am on record on this blog as not being into Mason Hill, but that all changed last year with the release of their debut album Against the Wall - and my fandom was solidified thanks to a stunning headline show at the Camden Underworld last September. I knew that the band would impress again here, and they did - although they did have struggle against a less-than-ideal sound mix. Collateral and H.E.A.T both had decent mixes, but for whatever reason whoever was mixing Mason Hill's sound decided that they really wanted to hear the bass. The bass was so high in the mix that the floor was vibrating during some of the songs - and this did rather overshadow the rest of the band at times, particularly during the slower songs. The band still put on a strong set, though, with the hard rocking Hold On and the melodic single D.N.A. kicking things off nicely. The riffing of James Bird (guitar/vocals) was on point throughout, whilst frontman Scott Taylor delivered a passionate performance. The slower Out of Reach lost some of its power due to the muddy sound, but the riffing of Find My Way powered through the mix. Another ballad in Where I Belong was a real highlight of the Camden show last year, and it was here too - despite the bass being rather overpowering. For me, though, the song works better as a set-closer, as it really focuses on Bird's soloing. I can understand why it was moved to the middle of the set during a support slot, though, but I still think that they should have closed with it - as it is easily the band's most powerful track due to how it builds, Taylor's emotional delivery, and the excellent soloing of Bird. It was a highlight of the set for those reasons, before the gang vocal-led We Pray upped the tempo again. As was the case with Collateral's set, most of those around me were singing along to Mason Hill's songs - and as they chose to end things with two singles the singing only increased. Broken Son kept the energy levels high, but it was the closing cut Against the Wall that seemed to really get the crowd going. There was plenty of singing from everyone around me, and it brought the band's set to a triumphant close - justifying their decision to move Where I Belong from this slot. I am really looking forward to seeing where Mason Hill go from here as they are really starting to make a name for themselves. The setlist was:

Hold On

D.N.A.

Out of Reach

Find My Way

Where I Belong

We Pray

Broken Son

Against the Wall

A gig is a great one when a great time has been had before the main act hits the stage, but it was H.E.A.T that everyone was there to see - and the energy levels rose further as they walked out and launched into Back to the Rhythm from their latest album. Due to the pandemic, 2020's H.E.A.T II was never toured in the UK, so the band chose to focus on both Force Majeure and H.E.A.T throughout, playing four songs from each, with their other five albums also being represented. The early part of the show generally consisted of newer material. The stomping Back to the Rhythm set the tone for what was to come, with Crash's precise drumming and the choppy riffing of Dave Dalone (guitar/vocals) - before Dangerous Ground really set pulses racing. The song has become one of my favourite H.E.A.T tracks in recent years, and it also showed the crowd that Leckremo is more than capable of handling the songs that he did not originally perform with the band. He is slightly less gritty than Grönwall, but he still did the songs justice - and he also proved to be a great frontman. He was all over the stage throughout the show, and he seemed really happy to be back in the band. In fact, the whole band looked like they were having a great time - with the sleazy Rock Your Body and the more cinematic Come Clean bringing huge smiles from the band members. The strong new album was then showcased again with the AOR-tinged Hollywood and the heavier Tainted Blood - the latter of which really came across well live. Dalone's riffing throughout was great, whilst Leckremo owned the song vocally. Sitting between the two was a trip back to the past for the band's first single Straight for Your Heart - which focused the keyboards of Jona Tee in a big way. A short drum solo then showcased the talents of Crash, before the synth-heavy One by One had everyone singing along with the anthemic chorus. Dalone was then highlighted with a guitar solo spot, which led into the up-tempo Beg Beg Beg. The fast-paced song saw everyone singing along, and Leckremo took the opportunity to indulge in some audience participation during which the crowd happily obliged. The slower-paced Cry allowed everyone a bit of a breather, before Collateral's Tristan was brought out to help the band sing their wannabe Eurovision hit 1000 Miles - which was a lot of fun thanks to the song's throwback, anthemic nature. By this point there was not a huge amount of time left, but a couple of huge tunes from 2012's Address the Nation kept the crowd going. The percussive Breaking the Silence always goes down well, but it was Living on the Run that I enjoyed the most. Tee's keyboards really drove the track, and the chorus was sung loudly by the large crowd. Instead of going off and coming back on again, the band just carried on with the upbeat Nationwide from the new album, before the bluesy and foot-stomping A Shot at Redemption brought the night to an end. It started slowly, with Leckremo dragging out the intro in a cinematic way - before Dalone kicked in with the riff and the mid-paced tune brought the curtain down on a great show. The setlist was:

Back to the Rhythm

Dangerous Ground

Rock Your Body

Come Clean

Redefined

Hollywood

Straight for Your Heart

Tainted Blood

Drum solo

One by One

Guitar solo

Beg Beg Beg

Cry

1000 Miles [w/ Angelo Tristan]

Breaking the Silence

Living on the Run

Nationwide

A Shot at Redemption

Both Collateral and Mason Hill came on stage at the end to join in with H.E.A.T's photo with the crowd, which goes to show how much fun all three bands have had on this tour. Things like that are always great to see, and it is also great to see a headline act value a great undercard. H.E.A.T made this tour the more special by bringing along two great support acts - and the crowd really got their money's worth with three great sets. H.E.A.T continue to grow in stature here in the UK, so I doubt it will be too long before they return - and I will certainly be there when they do.