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One Night of Rawk at The Spectrum Centre,Inverness on the 12th of December, 2015. Review and Photographs.
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The Spectrum Centre seems to be becoming something of a player on the Inverness music scene with tonight’s ‘Night of Rawk’ the latest in a series of events that have featured the likes of Silver Coast and Lionel’s memorable single launch.
The venue, although unassuming from the outside, is actually well laid out andis a nice fit between the smaller venues of Hoots, Mad Hatters and The Eagle and the larger of the Ironworks. The price on the bar does leave something to be desired and £3.50 for a can of McEwan’s is a bit cynical, it didn’t stop people from buying it though!
The melodic death metal outfit are the heaviest act on the bill and pummel the eardrums
Seed of Sorrow are without singer Lewis Goodwin this evening; leaving the vocal duties to be taken up by guitarist Mark Savage who confesses that it’s the first time he’s had to vocals in nearly ten years. If they hadn’t mentioned it I’m not sure newcomers to the band would have really noticed. He pulls it off and seems to enjoy it in the process.
The melodic death metal outfit are the heaviest act on the bill and pummel the eardrums of anyone who gets too close to the stage. The downside is that they don’t have any tunes that necessarily stand out in the set, each song sounding much like the next. They’ve got talent to spare though and I suspect the complete outfit is a different prospect, but tonight they just don’t sound all that cohesive.
The Broken Ravens are surprisingly not headlining tonight and are rather modestly only second on the bill. However with each band being given the same amount of time on stage, this is largely academic. They’re a well-oiled powerhouse of sound and perform one of the best sets I’ve seen them play. Any lingering ghosts of former singer and guitarist Bugsy have been well and truly banished with Toby Michaels now having the band in the palm of his sweaty little paw.
New-ish guitarist Derek Healey has gelled well with the band and has brought additional riffery that compliments Thrash’s own growling guitar riffs while ever genial bassist Lotto Ferguson, along with Drummer Kevin Clark, are a rhythm section that are going to be hard to match. New tracks ‘My Shrine’ and ‘Contrition’ that, ‘may or may not be on a new album’, pull slightly further away from their earlier material and there’s seems to be a proggy hint to the songs. These are where Michaels comes into his own and you hear why he’s such a good fit for the band.
Devil’s Queen match them for power and theatrics.
I’ll be honest and say that the last time I saw Devil’s Queen I wasn’t hugely impressed. They seemed too slick and… nice… for want of a better word. The band really didn’t feel like it had any edge. So as a result I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing them play again. However I do take a perverse delight in having a band look me in the eye and then force me to eat my words and shit them out in a positive review. And this is what they did tonight! I’d initially felt that the music would peak with the Ravens but Devil’s Queen match them for power and theatrics. Singer Tom Coyne even goes for his own wee browse around the punters a la Toby Michaels at the end of the set.
echoes of nu-metal and grunge
The hard rock quintet have echoes of nu-metal and grunge but are for the most part unashamedly ‘rawk’, there’s solos, posturing from the lead singer, hair twirling and exhortations to ‘put your fucking hands up’. It might ‘just’ be the Spectrum Centre but I’ve got a good degree of respect for any band that puts on 100% regardless of venue and audience size. If you like good and honest metal then Devil’s Queen are going to appeal to you.
Lawless and The Leash might sound like the title for a ‘dodgy CBS sado-masochist crime drama’ (Dave Maciver, Fried Gold Podcaster) and it’s hard to know what to expect. What we are treated to is a hyperactive ‘McBusted on E’s and Whizz’ pop rock band with a manic lead singer who looks like he fell out of a New Wave band by way of the asylum in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Liam Lawless’ lyrical style is unusual and I suspect a bit marmite for some, it certainly raised a few eyebrows, but you have to hand it to them for forging their own path. They bring a sizeable support with them and are at full pelt from the word go.
The fun they’re having on stage is infectious and the fact that they’re ever so slightly barking bloody mad adds to the charm. I liked them and expect to see more of them next year. Bonus marks go to Liam’s Dad and his wonderful Dad dancing, we at iGigs salute you sir.
Final act of the night are Swamp Radio who make an agreeable racket. Much like Broken Ravens and Devil’s Queen before them, they are straight down the middle rock and clearly enjoying playing for the sheer hell of it. The only down side I would say at this stage is that punters had begun to drift off and they didn’t have the support they might otherwise have deserved.
This was the first music event I’d attended at the Spectrum Centre and I have to say that I’ve been impressed by the venue and the organisation. Judging by audience numbers on a very cold December night it would seem that there is room for more to be done here and I’d hope they can keep the momentum going.
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Photos by Stephen Bull
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