Rock & Metal Circus Festival - 9/21/2013 (Day 2 - Part 2)

Rock & Metal Circus Festival - 9/21/2013 (Day 2 - Part 2)

Rock & Metal Circus Festival, Stoke Prior Sports & Country Club, Bromsgrove, UK
Saturday 21st September 2013 (Day Two, Part Two 'The Metal Circus')

With some liquid refreshment (oh, and some food as well) thrown down my neck we took a little while to have a proper look around the site and buy a selection of 'Pam's Happy Hats' which were proving extremely popular with the crowd.
https://www.facebook.com/pamshappyhats

All the stallholders appeared to be happy with how things were going (which bodes well for an increased amount of activity next year) and everyone was extremely friendly. I had a chat with the team from 'The British Biker Relief Foundation' (BBRF), the chosen charity at this year's event, and found out about the excellent work they are doing to support bikers and their families after serious and fatal motorbike accidents. Check them out at their website http://www.bbrf.co.uk/#. Back in the hall it was time for 'The Metal Circus' to commence and another selection of bands to watch and interviews to conduct.

First up were Sold For Evil and their 'Death Hop', which is the genre tag they have given themselves. Now I'm not the biggest fan of Metal, of any sort, fused with Hip Hop, it just doesn't make me 'hop', but it has to be said that London based Sold For Evil put on a very good show. Their two vocalists 'Robert Flaubert' and 'Csaba Kis' work well together on stage and their hard hitting political based songs are a little different. If you're a fan of crossover Metal then they are very much worth checking out!
https://www.facebook.com/soldforevil

I was starting to think whether any band today was going to give a bad performance and the answer to that question was an emphatic 'NO' as Seven Deadly hit the stage. Rising from the ashes of Panic Cell, Seven Deadly's mixture of Thrash and Melodic Metal, with modern sounding harsh and clean vocals, is another genre that doesn't necessarily tick all my 'like boxes', but sometimes the best way to appreciate a band for the first time is in a live setting and what I saw of their set was very good. They are another band definitely on the up!
http://www.sevendeadly1.com

I've watched too many episodes of the cartoon 'Regular Show' with my kids for the name Mordecai not to raise a big cheesy grin but London based band Mordecai (another new name to me from this weekend) are a completely different prospect. Their British sound mixed together with a huge slab of American Rock hints at bands such as Shinedown, Creed and Alter Bridge. They were yet another act to deliver a fantastic performance at the circus.
http://mordecaiuk.co.uk/

The More I See were another new experience for me but I was more than familiar with their guitarist 'Gizz' Butt who has been a member of English Dogs, The Prodigy and Sabbat and is a prodigious live performer. I have to admit I was guilty of seeing the band name and pre-judging what they would sound like. That was very silly of me because The More I See are a metal band through and through, with a sound reminiscent of a more melodious Metallica and they played a storming set with some absolutely incredible guitar work https://www.facebook.com/TheMOREiSEEband

One band I had really been looking forward to seeing was Stormbringer and even though no-one had put a foot wrong so far during 'The Metal Circus', they raised the bar considerably with their performance. Stormbringer are a band that any lover of Rock & Metal can enjoy. Their powerful mix of Southern tinged Modern Metal with a British twist really hits home in a live setting which is where you have to see Stormbringer to truly appreciate their power!
http://bringthestorm.com

Watching Huron live for the first time was another superb introduction for me. You really wouldn't believe this lot came from Plymouth, UK! They have a sound than can probably be placed somewhere between Pantera and Five Fingered Death Punch. It's very powerful stuff but instantly likeable and insanely catchy. It was only near the end of the set I realised that my eyes had been closed and I was headbanging like a maniac instead of actually watching the band and I shall definitely be checking out their albums!
http://www.huron-uk.com/

I first caught A Thousand Enemies earlier this year at 'The Circus Of Hell' in Derby, UK (Hell's tour launch and one of the finest gigs I've ever been to). They were impressive then and once again proved a fantastic live experience. Their modern take on Heavy Metal is full of power and melody. Guitarists Dave Ward and Liam Johnson whipped up a storm with the solos and vocalist Bane Holland is a real powerhouse performer. He had the crowd in his grasp from the off with the added advantage that he really can sing when the songs demand it.
http://www.athousandenemies.com

Breed 77 are a band that, for one reason or another, have never really been on my radar, but witnessing them headline 'The Metal Circus' proved I've been missing out for quite a few years! With new vocalist Rui Lopez having just joined, after the departure of Paul Isola, Breed 77 could have been forgiven for taking a break to regroup, but they have forged on and Lopez seems to have settled in immediately with their Spanish influenced metal coming across superbly. They thoroughly deserved their headline slot and the assembled crowd gave them a great reception.
http://www.breed77.com

Having witnessed all of these fantastic acts we still had the 'Aftershow Party' to look forward to and another band. I've already mentioned that the organisers had done an absolutely miraculous job of trying to keep everyone to their allotted time slots (a lot of larger events could learn a thing or two from the team who worked on this) but invariably things do get behind and it was a terrible shame that 'The Self-Titled' had to be limited to just three songs so that the 1am curfew was kept to. However, all I can say is WOW, what an excellent three songs. They, without a doubt, put on one of the performances of the day with their thumping metal riffs and excellent sound laying waste to what remained of the venue. I certainly wasn't the only one talking about how good these guys were afterwards. 'The Self-Titled', remember that name!
http://www.theselftitled.com

Outside, with the obligatory final drink of the night, members of some of the bands, crew and audience were all chatting and laughing in what can only be described as a fantastic and very relaxed atmosphere. Sitting back at my tent about an hour later, with some much needed food and coffee, I suddenly realised what an absolutely incredible day we had all been lucky to witness and be part of. Not one of the seventeen, yes seventeen, bands had put on a bad performance and it goes without saying that the organisers deserve huge credit for assembling such a top quality lineup. Had that been the end of the festival no-one would have felt short-changed, but we still had another mass of activity to come on the Sunday!

Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley: www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351

Seven Deadly, Mordecai and The Self-Titled photos by Helen Tilley

Sold For Evil, The More I See, Stormbringer, Huron, A Thousand Enemies and Breed 77 photos courtesy of Robert Balmer Photography
http://www.robertbalmer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RobertBalmerPhotography