There’s a flag being vigorously waved at the moment for the New Wave of Classic Rock, with lots of new, exciting and upcoming bands in there. Tonight at the Rebellion one of those bands firmly at the head of the pack are back in town having recently returned from a string of German stadium dates as guests to Böhse Onkelz. The buzz that Florence Black created led to further dates and now they are on their own UK tour in support of the album “Weight of The World” released 12 months ago to critical acclaim. It’s no wonder then the Rebellion is busy for a Monday night. It’s a cracking venue and one that serves as an excellent platform for many a band treading the boards. They’re out in force for the boys from deepest Wales and tonight should be nothing short of the ‘perfect storm’- loud and sweaty and with plenty of grunt and growl to look forward to.

The night begins though with probably more a whimper than a bang courtesy of young localish band Crude Virtue. A cross of punky riffs with a touch of Indie thrown in with the odd bit of angry guitar, these lads put in a good effort but there’s little chance they will escape their fathers garage anytime soon. They did little to captivate, yet some songs did have some interesting early Maiden esq type hooks thrown in there. The biggest cheer though went up as they finished their last song. The problem this evening seems to be in the sound mix and the overuse of the smoke machine and stage backlighting making it difficult on a few levels, like being able to breathe; which is always a concern, and also incredibly hard to take photographs without them looking like they’ve been shot in Victorian Jack the Ripper London.

The vocals had been completely lost for the young lads, and as Häxan, this exciting Welsh female 3 piece took to the stage, fingers were crossed hoping they would be ironed out a little. It’s always easy to draw comparison to Rock Goddess, The Amorettes, or Girlschool but these lasses are growing a large following of their own, and rightly so, they’re good. It packs a punch and singer guitarist Sam Bolderson has an impressive vocal range, almost reminding you of a young Suzi Quatro perhaps. There’s lots of killer riffage going on and third song in we get ‘Killing Time’, a track off the 2020 album “White Noise”. It’s grungy yet super melodic and smacks of early Heart. They go down well. The sound improves enough to really appreciate their efforts, the smoke doesn’t and neither does the shocking stage lighting- our ‘tog Gregg isn’t happy. They launch into ‘Gravedigger’, another powerful number with its energetic pulsing drums and thundering bass. It’s classic rock with a modern twist. They certainly have a few aces up their sleeve tonight and ‘Black Sheep’ an album fave comes before their sing-a-long number of ‘Bring The Thunder’ ends their shift. They have done more than enough to gain the rich applause and appreciation showered in their direction and rightly so.

 It needed a powerful band like these to bridge the gap into the blood, guts and thunder performances we have come to expect off Florence Black. It's packed in here, and so full of smoke it nips the back of your throat and as Queen's ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ blares out during the changeover the crowd are in fine fettle vocally.

From the first gigantic riffs of ‘Zulu’, It’s a throbbing pulsating affair from the off, and like a rabid dog with a bone, the boys have a strong hold on the crowd and are not letting anyone off lightly. Tonight a hefty part of the set would comprise of “Weight of the World” alongside material from their EP’s and even a couple of extra covers. What Florence Black do they do well- very well in fact. They combine the best elements of classic rock; blending it in a cement mixer churning out an ear damaging, no nonsense, no frills noise that suits everyone, even those old school rockers. These motherfuckers have nailed their niche to perfection. Tristan Thomas cuts a mean yet confident frontman; he controls the stage without actually doing much more than wringing every last note out of his guitar and singing with a voice that could have been gargling on broken glass. It’s huge and gravelly, and thankfully crystal clear now that sound has been sorted out. There’s something in the set for everyone, from the big attitude of tracks like ‘On The Ropes’ and ‘The Deep End’, to the groovy chug of ‘Can You Feel It?’ From the nu metal dexterity of ‘Inside Out’, to the snarling ‘The Light and Pierrepoint’. The blues soaked ‘Black Cat’ takes off in another direction, all admirably glued and stitched together by the bass and drums of Jordan Evans and Perry Davies. ‘Smoke’ and ‘Bird On a Chain’ grunt and growl in that Black Stone Cherry style yet still remains fearlessly their own.  The smog still holds its hazy hold on the venue, hanging heavy in the air, creating an atmosphere akin to those tobacco filled days gone by. It's cooking up on that stage, and the sweats pouring down. With their sheer energy, raw and powerful anthemia songs Florence Black could well be a Welsh Motorhead and by the time set closer the emphatic Budgie track ‘Breadfan’ ends you know there’s still that song to come. 

In the crowd tonight there’s support from the likes of Sam Miller, Kira Mac, Bastette singer Caroline Kenyon and Kim Jennett. As the encores start, Jennett joins the boys from the valley onstage for Led Zep’s ‘Rock n Roll’ and AC/DC’s ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’. Although she is a great performer and vocalist in her own right, no real value was added to the set, she had one job to do- demonstrating exactly why it’s always good to rehearse beforehand. Fortunately though, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, and as the mood softens, the end of the evening is nigh. They thank the crowd for a great evening before the song that launched them on every rock radio station, the awesome sundown ballad ‘Sun & Moon’ ends things beautifully.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!