“YESSS! Hypno5e are coming to Manchester!”. These were my initial thoughts as I learnt that the French progressive metal act’s upcoming European tour included a stop in my current home city of Manchester. To top it all, part of a highly impressive tour package consisting of 4 post/progressive metal acts who have pushed musical and stylistic boundaries throughout their careers.
Read MoreUrne have had such an impact in the last few years, that is hard to reconcile the fact that this is their first major UK headline run. Covid (as with most things) takes a lot of the blame as their phenomenal debut "Serpent and Spirit” emerged at a time when touring wasn't really an option. This comprehensive jaunt around the aisles is nominally in support of their deeply personal (and rather cracking) sophomore effort “A Feast of Sorrow” but really, it's an opportunity for the band to prove to all and sundry that they deserve the hype that has been heaped upon them.
Read MoreAnother first for me tonight, a gig at Satan’s Hollow and not just a gig, reviewing a gig no less. I haven’t stepped inside this venue since probably 2010/11 after Jilly’s Rockworld closed and those years have certainly flown by. I even got asked for ID last time I came here, though the Jilly’s membership card was the giveaway that I was definitely over 18 (and over 21, and over 30)!!!
Read MoreDespite being a haunt of mine for some time, this is the first time I have ever attended a concert at Satan’s Hollow. It’s unique in the round setting offers punters a chance to have a 360-degree viewpoint, meaning that every bit of atmosphere can be soaked in.
Opening tonight’s 3 bands bill were Liverpool Blackened Death Metallers, Omega Throne. At first, Omega Throne just came across as your run of the mill Death Metal Band comprising all the regular staples found within the genre to create inoffensive music that does enough to keep the punters inside Satan’s Hollow nodding their heads along to it.
Read MoreWe’re back at Satan’s Hollow this time on the last Wednesday before December, and we’re going heavy and hard tonight! Before we have the gig, Johann and I dash to the venue to grab an interview with Cage Fight. And what an interview it is! Seriously, it’s one of the most chaotic, unhinged and fun interviews we’ve done yet, so definitely check it out HERE. But you’re here to read about the gig - so let’s get to it!
Read MoreWe’re back at Satan’s Hollow on a Sunday night for a stacked line-up of tech-metal bands. In my opinion it’s a real who’s who of up-and-coming or seriously under-rated bands, and it’s all in honour of Borders’s album release tour for “Bloom Season”. The interview with them is one of the most fun and interesting interviews I’ve done for ROCKFLESH (see it HERE), and they don’t disappoint with their set later on either, but first there’s the plethora of great support bands to talk about.
Read MoreThere’s nothing like walking through the streets of Manchester on a sunny day...on your way to Satan’s Hollow for a gig! Just as i’m strolling to the venue I spot ROCKFLESH’s very own Dark Lord himself (Johann), complete with a an injured hand. Ensuing jokes about me possibly having to take the photos of tonight’s gig, as well as writing the review, serve only to make me chuckl and smile more. Spolier – Johann did take the photos and did and amazing job working through the obvious pain in hand, ever the professional and champ. As we make our way up to stairs into the venue we can hear that openers In Depths have already started and in full flow.
Read MoreThere’s a fair few gigs on in Manchester at the same time as this offering, so it’s great to see a decent crowd turning up early and eagerly for this varied bill. First up are local support Hunter & The Wolves who offer us their take on rocky alternative indie. They remind me very much of Hot Hot Heat, and quite clearly have plenty of influence from The Strokes. There’s definitely a heavy American alt-indie vibe to the songs, with the vocals in particular demonstrating that trademark swagger and drawl.
Read MoreWell, the shows are coming thick and fast. Tonight, is the utter antithesis of my previous engagement with Ghost at the arena. This is metal in its most gnarly cellar-dwelling form. Harsh, anti-social, un-commercial and utterly unrepentant. Liverpudlians Atanamir are first up, and whilst Satan’s Hollow is not in any way full, they pull a good crowd for this time of the day. They trade in doom laced thrash, which results in a really interesting intertwinement of the formers lethargy and the latter’s pulsating canter like nature.
Read MoreOn this night, I find myself dashing into Satan’s in time to catch opening act Sertraline. I’d recently caught this local band at UK Tech-Fest and immediately took a liking to them, with their take on modern melodic technical metal. In Lizzie, they have a charismatic, energetic and gifted singer, but the whole band offer an energising vibe through their staging and impressive musicianship.
Read MoreIt's my first time in Satan's Hollow for a gig, and I’ve got to say it's weird seeing bands on the dancefloor! It's certainly intimate though, and as I know tonight is pretty much a sell-out I'm expecting it to get even more intimate. I leave Johann down the front and set-up shop by the stained glass windows at the back of the room…about five people back from the front of the stage still. It's a great line-up secured by Tapestry Promotions and I wait for local lads Where Oceans Burn to start things off for us tonight.
Read MoreMy experiences at Satans Hollow have always been hit and miss. The venue is one of the best themed night clubs I've ever been in, but gigs here have always been a strange affair on a personal note. The stage is circular in the centre of the room, beneath a vast array of twinkling fairy lights (think Joyce Byers trying to contact the Upside Down). Visually it's stunning. In the past though, I've seen bands here with sound that... well... sucked.
Read MoreIt’s been that long since I jumped in the Johann’s Crimson, German death wagon that I have changed career paths, got past a serious medical scare (not mine) and watched Johann jet-set about Europe. Going to a unvisited venue is always exciting. Aside form the new things too write about each venue has its own character. Satan’s Hollow is off the beaten track a little, situated in the back roads between Oxford road and Piccadilly it sits askew to its corporate surroundings. A large, dark, heavy gate greets the visitor, a portent of things inside? We traverse the usual entry problems, god help us if Johann forgets his phone. Once inside we can see an unusual layout. It’s a small venue, 500 people would see this uncomfortable. The stage is a small penned garden of metal right in the centre of the oddly shaped room. Shining have wrapped a large banner around one side of the pen creating a temporary backdrop to the normally circular stage. The room is intimate but has space for two separate bars.
Read MoreI had to start to start someday so why not today. After having photographed many bands over the last couple of years, I have never really put pen to paper except on rare occasions when I think I know what I am talking about. Now is the time, the first time.
The festivals season is over and done, the students are back to what they do best (drinking) and bands are once again touring our local clubs. The australians Lagerstein are currently visiting the UK on their Young, Dumb & Full of Rum Tour and last night were in Manchester Satan's Hollow supported by Nottigham's Red Rum.
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