Live Review : Straight For The Sun + Neon Oracle + Viral Strain + Sanque @ The Outpost, Liverpool on April 4th 2025

Liverpool city centre on Grand National Day – are we mad? Well yes and no, most of the pubs are full of arseholes which makes Outpost something of a refreshing return to sanity after the madness of the streets outside. Part of the fun of being a part of ROCKFLESH is that we cover anything and everything rock and metal. That means that whilst colleagues are out watching the likes of Skunk Anansie or The Darkness this week, tonight I am in the tiniest of tiny back-room venues doing something that we all like best – reviewing the bands of the future so that they can be on your radar too.  

Tonight is promoter Laura’s birthday so technically we have gatecrashed her party, but as the first band Sanque features her on lead vocals she doesn’t really mind! The songs are covers, but kind of out-there for a rock gig. The band decidedly do rock, but when was the last time you saw a metal band cover Chappell Roan’s ‘Red Wine Supernova’? Laura’s voice is good, she sings a little like Adele, and for a band that only really play together a couple of times a year and haven’t really had much rehearsal time they are tight and together. Happy Birthday is sung, and balloons are released, and it all contributes to the party atmos. 

Next up we go back to the 80’s and a band with extremely pointy guitars. Manchester’s Viral Strain are very heavy in an early Metallica style. They do shake it up a little with some rap and a touch of metalcore but basically they are metal. There’s a little bit of social commentary but mostly it’s just old-school twin guitar goodness, with time changes galore and immense vocals. Musically they are superb, and everyone in the room is nodding along and smiling because they are kind of infectious. There’s even a nod to seminal classic rockers UFO. They do a cover for Laura for her birthday and it’s Madness’s ‘Baggy Trousers’, but done in death metal. It’s amazing, but the crowd are too young to know how to skank and I am too old to show them so they just jump about a bit! All in all a great set and definitely a band that should be on your radar if you like your classic metal sound.  

Neon Oracle are a refreshingly different sound. They are led by a female vocalist and offer us a kind of goth version of Linkin Park. It’s alt, or nu, or whatever, but with a spooky side. The vocals go from growl to clean nicely, with a bit of screaming here and there, and the lyrics are either dark horror or social awareness, because those are totally normal bedfellows right? There's no clap along here and no room for a pit so we scream into the void with them, and now there’s a song about toxic masculinity; it's all a bit right on. At the same time there's lots of vim and energy but in a dark, slightly gloomy and ever so slightly scary kind of way. 

I remember Straight For The Sun as being quite a fun, bouncy kind of band and on that score they don't let me down. Right from song one the singer is already in the crowd belting out songs that are full of energy and melody but keeping it metal at the same time. Now the bass player is out too, and it doesn’t take long for the guitars to join them. Admittedly the stage edge in Outpost is at floor level and marked by a slightly frayed carpet and a bit of sticky tape, but I’m not sure this band can telI the difference between stage and floor. Either that or they just don’t care! It's very upbeat and fun but there's certainly no lack of head banging going on. Despite the lack of space they manage to get a pit going, and it contains as many band members as audience because they had that kind of vibe. There are balloons flying everywhere (because after all it IS a party) and plenty of moments where the crowd can join in, clapping and chanting and stomping with all their might. A broken bass string doesn’t stop them, and their juggernaut of a set closes with a yell-along chorus of “I need it more than ever” (although I don’t think that was the song title). They leave the crowd exhausted and wondering what the hell just happened. A nice dose of happy clappy party metal this is exactly what we needed more than ever, so more of this please! 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Straight For The Sun + Neon Oracle + Viral Strain + Sanque