Local band Apriori open the show today, and do a damn fine job of it too. They have changed a lot since I last saw them. Previous vocalist Mouse is now the drummer, his brother Tony still plays the guitar but also handles lead vocals, and new boy Mark covers pretty much all other bases on an impressive bank of keyboards. I’ve seen bands play with a drum machine before but I think this is the first time I’ve seen bass played on a keyboard, with feet!
Read MoreLast night, We SIgnal Fire were on the second date of their UK mini tour at the Manchester Academy Club to support the recent release of their new album "Still Sick // Still Human". Not only they were supported by the punky grungy Lowlives, but 3 other relatively local bands.
After a slight delay due to a missing bass player, Soldato kicked in with their brand of classic hard rock.
Who can argue that Operation: Mindcrime is one of the greatest metal concept albums of all time? - and arguably one of the finest that rock & roll in general ever produced. I’d pretty much worn the tape threadbare back in the late ’80’s on my blag Walkman, in the days were teenagers used to walk everywhere with a bag full of ferric tapes. The album struck a chord with me at a time when Rock and Metal music was to me in its transcendence; it became my life, as did this album.
30 years on (where the hell did that go?) and NOW my phone has unlimited access to millions of songs covering all that man has created. I’m regularly drawn back to Mindcrime. It sounds better than ever after the remastered job of 2003 and it’s part of my rock DNA, spiraling through my soul.
