South of Salem - Bristol Review

I always enjoy being blown away by a support band whom I know nothing about. It does not happen all that often these days, but it is exactly what happened back in March when I went to see W.A.S.P. at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton. W.A.S.P. were fun as always, but it was perhaps the Bournemouth-based five-piece South of Salem who somewhat stole the show. I had heard their name mentioned a few times, but I had not heard a note of the band's music until they hit the stage. From the off the band impressed, and I came away from the show a fan and with a freshly signed copy of their 2020 debut album The Sinner Takes It All. Since then, the album has been in regular rotation. The gothic and sleazy edges to the album remind me of some of my favourite 'new' hard rock bands of my teenage years. Heaven's Basement, Glamour of the Kill, theFALLEN, and Dear Superstar, to name a few, are all much-missed bands, and South of Salem sound to me like a hark back to that long-lost scene. As much as I like many of the new rock bands of today, there seems to be a lot of focus placed on both American post-grunge sounds and excessively retro blues rock. South of Salem are neither of those things, and the band's mash-up of Mötley Crüe and The 69 Eyes is one that really speaks to me. Another great thing about the band is that it seems that they are really pushing themselves. No sooner had the W.A.S.P. tour wrapped up they were out again with Wednesday 13 - and by all accounts they were one of the highlights of this year's iteration of Stonedead Festival. Given the buzz around the band, it was about time that they went out under their own steam - so they announced their first ever headline tour a few months ago. I knew that I had to make an effort, and a Bristol show on a Sunday made the decision to go an easy one. Tickets and a Premier Inn were booked, and it become one of the shows which I was most looking forward to. I love seeing bands of all sizes, but some of my favourite shows of the past have been packed out shows by up-and-coming bands - with a couple of Heaven's Basement and Glamour of the Kill shows in particular standing out. South of Salem at the small Exchange in Bristol promised to be such a night - and clearly many others thought so too, as it sold out fairly quickly. In fact, most of the dates on the tour sold out quite far in advance of it kicking off. This is a great achievement for the band on their first headline tour, and hopefully this means that next time they tour they will able to play some larger rooms. With their second album Death of the Party due out in January, there is a lot of excitement in the South of Salem camp currently, and with both this tour and the upcoming new album the band's fans are really being treated to a lot of great music.

Some of the shows had multiple support acts, but only the tour's main support She Burns Red joined South of Salem in Bristol. Given that it took an awfully long to time get into the venue, and then I bought a tour t-shirt and visited the toilet, it was not long after I had taken my spot in the main room that She Burns Red started their set. They were a band I had heard of, but I was not familiar with any of their music - and I enjoyed their 30 minute set without ever being blown away. There seemed to be a lot of people in attendance who were fans of the band, so there was a strong atmosphere throughout their set, but the band's grungy hard rock did not really connect. The multi-vocal approach of Andy Moore (vocals/guitar) and James McCulloch (vocals/bass guitar) worked well, and Naz Scanferato (guitar) impressed with a few strong bluesy solos. For me, though, the band were a bit 'meat and potatoes' in their approach. They were not as anthemic or as melodic as I would have wanted them to be, but I think that it is fair to say that She Burns Red are going for a different sound. The riffing throughout was pretty thick, with plenty of strong 1990s grooves, whilst the vocals were more emotional and raw than cultured. Despite not really being my thing, though, I thought that the band came across well live. Their songs are the sort that work well on stage, and the hard-hitting riffing and the powerful drumming of Scott Hanlon kept everything ticking. The fact that there were a lot of people around me singing along showcased that She Burns Red are doing something right, and I did enjoy my time with the band despite my previous comments. Some of the choruses did sink in somewhat, and there were a few moments where the crowd helped the band out - which is always impressive for a support act. They certainly helped warm up the capacity crowd for South of Salem, so it was a job well done for the Scottish four-piece.

Half an hour or so after She Burns Red's set finished, the lights went down and the five musicians of South of Salem trooped onto the small stage. A drum barrage from James Clarke heralded the arrival of Let Us Prey, and for the next 75 minutes or so the band rocked the Exchange as if they had packed out Wembley Stadium. The bands 14-song set contained essentially all of The Sinner Takes It All (minus one song), four songs from Death of the Party, and one cover thrown in for good measure. After spending lots of the year opening up for other bands, South of Salem seemed overjoyed to be filling the Exchange in their own right, and it was one of those shows where every song, even the new ones which most of the crowd would not have known, was greeted like an old friend. The band's typical supporting set covers the best songs from the debut album, with The Hate in Me immediately following the anthemic opener, but the longer set allowed them to pull out some lesser-played cuts. The slightly thrashier Another Nail in My Coffin allowed Kodi Kasper (guitar/vocals) and Denis Sheriff (guitar/vocals) to lock together for some powerful riffs - whilst frontman Joey Draper prowled the front of the stage and interacted with those down at the front. With the new album due out soon, everyone was looking forward to hearing the new cuts - and the album's title track was thrown out early on. It was probably my favourite of the new ones played, with another big chorus to add to all of those found on the first album. The new songs seemed a little heavier overall, but the band's usual sound remained. Static later certainly sounded meatier overall, but before that point the crowd were roped into singing along with Made to Be Mine - nailing the wordless vocal hooks perfectly - and the pace was also slowed for the more emotional ballad Demons Are Forever. The hard-driving new single Left for Dead and the aforementioned Static represented what is to come nicely - and a well-played cover of Billy Idol's Rebel Yell also prompted quite a bit of singing from the crowd during the poppy choruses. Perhaps my second favourite of the new cuts, though, was Bad Habits (Die Hard), another pretty anthemic piece with a shout-along chorus which is certainly going to become a setlist staple going forward. It whipped up the crowd again as the set was coming to a close, before the pace was briefly slowed again for a slightly creepy Pretty Little Nightmare. Sadly, by this point, the night was coming to an end, so it was left to the excellent No Plague Like Home, with its gang vocal-led chorus, to finish off the main set. Dee Aldwell (bass guitar/vocals) shouted the chorus lyrics along with the crowd - and the band received a big cheer as they left the stage. It was not long before they returned for one last track, though, and the band's big single Cold Day in Hell was the perfect way to cap off what had been an excellent show. The setlist was:

Let Us Prey

The Hate in Me

Another Nail in My Coffin

Death of the Party

Made to Be Mine

Demons Are Forever

Left for Dead

Static

Rebel Yell [Billy Idol cover]

Dead Hearts Don't Break

Bad Habits (Die Hard)

Pretty Little Nightmare

No Plague Like Home

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Cold Day in Hell

As I had expected, the show turned out to be a special one. There is no substitute for the energy that young, hungry bands give off - and South of Salem seem to be on the cusp to taking things to the next level. Given how many tickets have been sold for this tour, it seems that there are plenty of people wanting the band to do well - and I hope that the band's album release next year makes a bit of a splash. The songs that the band played live have certainly whetted my appetite, and I am already looking forward to it dropping in January. Hopefully the band will want to tour some more behind the album next year - and I will certainly make an effort to get to a show if they do.