Live Review : Stone Broken + Mason Hill + The Fallen State @ Academy 2, Manchester on April 22nd 2022

I tend to compile my reviews in my head as I watch the band in question. With Stone Broken I had already decided that I was going to major on the fact they have successfully managed to combine slick, well-rehearsed arena rock with a real feeling of genuality. There is down to earthiness about them, like they have managed to remove the pomp and pretension form a musical art form that is swathed in it. And then the incident happened that curtailed the show and Rich Moss proved his spurs as an utterly decent bloke and showed that he has inexplicably managed to avoid all the egotistical trappings that comes from leading a band. 

But before we get to there and Stone Broken’s set, we have two support slots to recount (well to be honest one support and one almost co-headliner as there were as many Mason Hill t-shirts to be seen as there were Stone Broken ones, but I am getting ahead of myself). The Fallen State are first on and are a perfectly serviceable opening act. They have been around in some shape or form for nearly ten years but have failed to make the elusive breakthrough. There is a new set of lungs in town, courtesy of Adam Methven, and he has brought coddles of personality and exuberance to the party (as well as some very well contoured muscles). They may well still be missing the killer songs that they need to break out of the plethora of British rock acts that seems to be currently vying for our attention, but with this new incarnation of the band they seem so much more comfortable in their own skins, and you are left with a feeling that that killer cut may well only be an album away.

Mason Hill are already a force to be reckoned with and to be honest are already at a stage to be playing these sort of size of room as a headline act themselves. To pick on poor The Fallen State once again, what Mason Hill have that makes them stand out from the crowd is the songs. There is a country tinge to their music that is reminiscent of “Keep the Faith” era Bon Jovi and they provide a flavour of hard rock that is windswept and decidedly epic. Almost all the set (aside from new track ‘Freckin’) is from their self-financed debut album, and it is really fascinating, as the bands have hoiked them around every highway and byway, how these tracks have developed over the last twelve months. They have grown in stature and strength and ‘Out of Reach’ and ‘Broken Son’ now feel like bonafide anthems, full of passion and rage. The band have also become a tight unit and they have perfected that last gang in town mentality, combining vulnerability with an allure of confidence. Releasing a live album when you only have one studio record of material to play with is a bold move, but Mason Hill have become such as well-oiled live machine that it actually makes sense.

It is obvious that tonight Scott Taylor is hurting, and that emotional openness is one of the things that makes Mason Hill so special. He dedicates ‘We Pray’ to his late mother and during ‘Against the Wall’ the tears begin to fall. It is handled in such an honest and matter of fact way that is a credit to both him and his band matters. This is a man grieving and openly showing his pain and fragility. That toxic masculinity that has dominated rock music is stripped away and there is something honest and honourable about the fact that he feels able to cry in front of us. Both touching and heart-wrenching, it illustrates that there is truly something special here.

For Stone Broken, tonight has been a long time coming. Work began on third album “Revelations” way back in those hazy pre Covid days of 2019, but tonight is the first show where they can legitimately sell it on their Merch stand. A lot is made of the new release and Rich comes across as proud parent cooing over what he and his mates have created. There are shots to celebrate release day and tales told of an afternoon spent in the sun signing cassette inlays. There is a refreshing honesty to the way that he speaks of the importance of the first week of sales, but also how chart placing don’t hold a candle against the feeling of being able to play these new songs in front of live audience. They are genuinely chuffed with what they have produced and now wait with bated breath to see what everyone else thinks

As I said above, Stone Broken a truly remarkable band in that they have a polished arena ready sheen, but they have lost none of their salt of earth black country authenticity. The songs are immaculately structured affairs, precision designed to be sung along by large crowd. And then Rich opens his mouth to chat, and it is the geezer down the pub talking with passion and candidness about his band. This level of honesty is infectious and gives the band such a unique edge. The set is beautifully balanced combination of tracks of the new album and older tunes. Stone Broken tracks are synthetically designed to burrow into your brain, so whether it is perennial favourites or newcomers, the crowd sing along with glee. Most of the crowd, including my good self, look like they have been hanging around halls like this for a good number of decades. We have all been around the block, but we know something special when we see it.  Stone Broken songs aren’t necessarily too far removed from what other bands (such as Alter Bridge, Shinedown and, god forbid, Nickelback) are doing. It is just that it is done with such conviction and sincerity that it feels distinct and new.

Things are seriously motoring as they hit ‘Worth Fighting For’. It is gigantic behemoth of a number designed to be roared along to by a choir of thousands and then suddenly Rich indicates for Robin to stop and with genuine concern he goes to the lip of the stage and asks if an unseen person is ok. From the off you can tell this no ordinary front row faint and that something serious has happened. The show is halted and a look of trepidation rests on Rich’s face. Heckles rise up from the back but he is having none of it “I want to wait until she stands up, so I know she is alright” rebuts the now deadly serious Rich. He handles it admirably, he is no longer a member of a band; he is a concerned citizen worried about the welfare of a fellow human being. There is level of relief when he realises that his dad is in the thick of, “I didn’t even know he was coming” he deadpans “He doesn’t live local”. Inevitably the house lights go up and the security proceed to clear the room to allow the emergency services in. Again, Rich handles this brilliantly, thanking us for coming but with authority and a level of urgency imploring us to leave. 

Whilst it was truncated, tonight was still a triumph. It proved that Stone Broken are on the verge of something rather special but without succumbing to egotistic traits. Rather than spoil the event, the incident allowed the band to show that they have not forgotten what really matters and that is other people. There is no airs and graces and there is no belief in their own self-importance. Tonight, they showed that they are still the same people that they were before they started making music and with that, they cemented their position as something really rather special indeed.