Gig Review: Fatalist + Bile (Friday 31st Jan, Harrogate Retro Bar)

This post has been a bit delayed due to procrastination and a hangover, but it seems like a good way to start my last day before going back to the daily grind. This past Friday I went to a gig (which, hasn't happened for quite some time!). It was the first heavy gig to happen in Harrogate for sometime and it was all thanks to Retro Bar and Snicklefritz Promotions, a new local gig promoter. 

The gig featured local powerviolence band Bile (whose demo I reviewed not so long ago) and fellow Leeds/Harrogate black metal band Fatalist. Leeds band Dregz were due to play the gig too, but sadly had to pull out at the last minute. I attempted to review the gig and take some photos, so this will either be complete rubbish or not a bad effort...you decide.

Doors were at 8pm and Bile started things off at 9pm. Retro is a cosy space and there was over a handful of people in attendance at this point (aside from the bands themselves). Bile's set was short, like their demo. They sounded great and their no-bullshit approach was refreshing given that this was their first gig. Talking to their drummer before the set, he mentioned how much he enjoyed early-Magrudergrind and I could definitely here that influence in their music, as well a slight hint of sludge to. Great set and I'm definitely eager to hear more from Bile. I did take a couple of photos from their set but managed to lose them, which I'm gutted about.

Fatalist were up next and after the fast and short Bile set, their atmospheric black metal was subtle and sounded really clear. Beginning with an instrumental song (from reading my notes, I'm probably wrong in my recollection) they went onto play black metal with melody and a somewhat earthy feel, especially with the vocals held back in the mix slightly and the haze from the smoke machine filling the room. There were a few more people in the crowd at this point as well and Fatalist's tones filled the bar and rung out into the street above, meaning wherever you were in the venue the sound was clear. It was the second time I'd seen Fatalist (both time being at Retro bar). I managed to salvage three photos of them from the night after my phone's wobbly over the weekend, so I've posted them below.

Note: I decided to turn my phone's flash off part way through the gig so I didn't piss people off. That coupled with the smoke machine means that these are a bit grainy and dark, but I think that adds charm.

If anybody reading this review does gig reviews themselves and can give me tips on how to do things differently or better in future, please don't hesitate to shout up. Maybe, I should invest in better camera equipment for future gigs as well.

Finally, thanks to Snicklefritz Promotions for putting this night on and make sure you check out both bands, as well as Dregz:-

Bile - https://www.facebook.com/BILEHC/

Fatalist - https://www.facebook.com/Fatalist.Leeds/

Dregz - https://www.facebook.com/dregzmosh/

ERICBANA/Scum - From The Ground

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 03 Mar 2018

Tracklist:

1. ERICBANA - Maniac

2. ERICBANA - Colour Of Death

3. Scum - Blood Of The Machine

4. Scum - Witness

Off work this week so catching up on some reviews that I've been meaning to write for a while now. This is one and having interviewed Scum and ERICBANA, as well as seeing both play a joint EP launch gig in Harrogate, I finally got something written up. I've talked before about feeling more pressure when it comes to covering bands whose members I know personally, so here goes...

It’s good to hear ERICBANA releasing music and playing shows again. They’re one of those local bands that always seem to be there even when you think they’re off the radar. Their opener Maniac starts off loud and heavy as it builds. When the first verse kicks in it’s backed up by fast pogo-punk drumming and guitar-work to match. The vocals are shouted though the lyrics are audible, while the gang vocals show the DIY spirit and togetherness that Harrogate small music community has. Coops does his best “Transplants” impression at the start of Colour Of Death, but unlike that band, ERICBANA don’t make use of gimmicks and instead mix hardcore-punk with thrash. High tempos and more raucous shouting adds to the song’s urgency and it’s over before you know it.

Scum are a slightly different proposition musically, as they’re more crusty and technical in places. Blood Of The Machine has a metallic edge and plenty of off-kilter hardcore blended into it. Being from London, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up on a Chimpy Fest line-up in the near future. They just straight-up grind on Witness, which takes no prisoners. Instantly it’s stupid fast and when they do slow it down, it’s to the kind of heavy stomp that makes powerviolence so moreish. Chaos reigns supreme and what seems incoherent is in fact perfectly structured grinding punk. 

This split has been a labour of love between two bands that are doing what they enjoy. The Homefire Studios recording job allows their music to breathe while taking away none of the heaviness. Both ERICBANA and Scum are brilliant live and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased. Give this a listen and show both bands some support. 

Stream the full split below, where it's available from both bands as a name-your-price-download:-

You can also watch Scum's EP release video below:-

CD copies can be found at gigs or you can contact both band's via the usual methods.

ERICBANA - https://www.facebook.com/ericbanahc/

Scum - https://www.facebook.com/ScumMetal/

10 Questions: ERICBANA

I've often said despite not calling myself a "serious music journo", that the most pressure comes from writing about bands whose members I do know as opposed to the ones I don't know. That's true of London-based punks Scum, who I interviewed a couple of months back and that statement also applies to fellow Harrogate punks ERICBANA. They were one of the very first bands I wrote about on this blog, way back when I really had no idea what I was doing. Fast-forward five or so years and I felt it the right time to not only try and do some more interviews but also to contact the band again, in a bid to coincide some coverage with the release of their split cd with Scum. Here's what they had to say...

Who is in the band and where are you from?

Drums - James Astin

Vocals - Chris Cooper

Guitar - Toby Matthews

Guitar - Jamie Bramhall

Bass -  Mike Gowland ( at the time of recording the split with Scum )

All pretty much from around Harrogate.

What is the history of ERICBANA? When and how did you form?

We started up maybe 8-9 years ago but its been that long we can’t remember. I think it came about from 3 of us ( Cooper, Mike and Jamie ) wanting to play in a heavier band as we all started out in a punk band called Old Youth. We then somehow convinced Toby ( from Fuck with Fire fame ) to join, then Astin joined and subsequently quit after two practises then came crawling back 6-7 years later after our old drummer Tom quit.

Have any of you played in previous bands and are you any other bands currently?

Chris played in two previous bands called General Waste and then Old Youth

Toby is currently in Fuck with Fire and Croakditch

Jamie is also in Croakditch and The Chris Bramhall Experience

Astin used to play in Toy Shelf, Shark Bait, the 7ups and probably 20 other bands like a

typical drummer!

Who write’s the lyrics/music? Is it collective? 

It’s always a collective usually its music first then lyrics written over or existing lyrics made to fit.

Someone will usually come in with a riff or beat and we take it from there. Everyone brings their own style and piece of fun

What subjects do you cover in your lyrics?

Mainly horror influence lyrics but few are about ex girlfriends or mental health. Its can be tough writing angry lyrics when you haven’t had any bad shit happen to you!

Are there any bands that have influenced you?

Black Flag, Cancer Bats, The Bronx, Crowbar, Pantera, Sick of it All, Mastodon, Misfits,

Fucked Up, Ghost. Basically anything that has good riffs, beats or lyrics!

What are your favourite albums/EPs at the moment?

Scum - Null

Spelljammer - Ancient of Days

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

Charlie Parr - Dog

Neil Young - Tonight's the Night

Bob Dylan -  The Rolling Thunder

Martha - Courting Strong

Bridge Burner - Mantras of Self Loathing

PCP Eagles - I Hate the Mall

Beastwars - The Death of All things

The Bronx - V

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes - Modern Ruin

Basement  - Promise Everything

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

Johnny Flynn - Sillion

Ghost -Prequelle

What is your favourite gig/tour story?

Never really had anything to crazy happen on tour although we did manage to sleep 12 people in the back of a Ford Transit with all the equipment which was interesting. Oh and our old drummer ended up snogging the male singer of another band for a bet ( The other bands bet ).

What is your local heavy/punk scene like and who should we check out (band-wise)?

There used to be a really good Punk/Hardcore scene in harrogate where we’d have lots of touring bands from all the world play like Fucked Up and Trash Talk which isn't too bad for a small posh town like Harrogate!

Nowadays it's a lot quieter, there are still bands going like Fuck with Fire, Croackditch, 7ups etc but the gigs are few and far between. There's a music night once a month called Regency Live at The Regency pub in Harrogate which is great, it’s a good mix of all genres of rock really.

Also every so often Mike ( the old bassist ) puts on gigs but again they're few and far between.

What is your favourite beer (if you drink)?

Jamie - Coors Light

Chris - Double Brown

Toby - Aldi Saint Etienne lager ( 2.79 for 4 cans )

Astin - Just had a kid so he’s not allowed to drink!

I will have a review up of their split cd with Scum in the near future, but for now you can stream and download it here:-

ERICBANA - https://www.facebook.com/ericbanahc/

10 Questions: Scum

This interview was going to form part of a larger article; however, I've decided to post it up this evening so that I'm not keeping Scum waiting any longer. Scum are a London based hardcore band with links to links to Harrogate, where I reside. Those links have seen them release a split cd/digital EP with local hardcore band Ericbana (who I'll be featuring in the coming weeks). They came up here recently to play and EP release show alongside Ericbana, Leeds punks Strong Boys and fellow Harrogate band The 7ups. Thanks to Scum for taking the time to answer my questions. 

Who is in Scum and where are you from?

Scum is a four piece from Harrogate and London, Ross Lilley is our vocalist, Ash Merritt on guitar, Jamie Lyons on drums and Alin Lordache on bass. We're essentially nasty fellows who play something resembling metal/hardcore with a bit of thrash and grind thrown in for good measure. 

What is the history of the band? When and how did you form?

Scum was started by me (Ash) and Lyons around 2014 as a way to let off steam and exercise our musical muscles outside of the more straight ahead punk bands we were playing in around the time the band started. It didn't take us long to come to the realisation that we way preferred the musical freedom and heaviness of playing in a band like Scum, it quickly became both of our main gig! It took us a little bit to find Ross and Alin, two years in actual fact, we're still trying to get rid of them. Initially we started off a little more techy but as the band progressed, the groove became king, more extreme elements of punk seeped which takes us up to where we are right now. 

Have any of you played in previous bands and are you in any other bands currently?

Lyons and I (Ash) have played in a bunch of bands together over the years, we've done everything from hardcore to twinkly emo music but currently Scum is our main and only. Ross has played in supremely heavy bands namely Blind Mentality around the Pompey (Portsmouth) area which is where he's from. Alin played in a Birmingham based tech metal band called Rise Of My Empire for a good few years before joining us. 

Who write’s the lyrics/music? Is it collective?

The process tends to be that I (Ash) write the rough outline for a tune, then Lyons and I will properly get together in the practice space and structure it out and make it sound like us. Alin will then re-write the bass parts (always for the better). Lyric wise Ross is a loner so we solely rely on him to come up with shit. He's good at it so we basically leave him to it! 

What subjects do you cover in your lyrics?

It tends to be all quite serious and po faced! The folly of humanity, war, mental struggle, financial struggle, the political and social state of the world at large all are topics Ross has covered. 

Are there any bands that have influenced you?

A fuck tonne, the Dillinger Escape Plan are a massive one for me (Ash), mainly from the perspective of our approach, i.e. fuck the conventional path, make your own. Early Trash Talk and early Hatebreed for the groovy hardcore side of things. We personally grew up on a steady diet of Metallica, Pantera and Sepultura which all have a huge bearing on the riff style. That being said, we really try to not borrow too much from any one band in particular, we're incredibly conscious of when things do and don't sound like 'us' and we fully intend to keep it that way. 

What are your favourite albums/EPs at the moment?

...From the Ground by this band called Scum, duh. Seriously though, recently we all really dug the new Code Orange, we've also been on a massive Jamie Lenman hit recently, Devolver is fucking dope as are Reuben who amazingly i've only just discovered. I also recently discovered Bark Market who are incredible for that lo-fi rock and roll southern fried sound. The most recent Car Bomb album kills, and on that heavy side of things, the most recent releases from all Pigs Must Die and Nails, Employed to Serve, Knocked Loose, Fit For An Autopsy, Carpenter Brut are nuts. We're also heavy into various other genres from Horace Silver to Jamiroquai to MF Doom. 

What is your favourite gig/tour story? 

Every gig tends to be rife with alcohol fuelled shenanigans, it's the mental people that you meet gigging that stick in my mind. We played the Devonshire Arms in Camden a little while back, spent the whole day getting rather messy with strange old punks. The sound engineer turned out to be one of the said old punks, he went by the name of Diesel and bought a pitbull (who was much nicer than he was). He was a quick to temper old gentleman who did not take kindly to me calling him son in true Yorkshire fashion in a urinal encounter. People like that make gigging hilarious! 

What is your local heavy/punk scene like and who should we check out (band-wise)? 

Scum had two main phases of existence, for the first few years we were in London and unfortunately there wasn't much of a scene but in the North there’s Leeds with it’s famously sick hardcore scene, bands like Broken Teeth (Manc) and Higher Power (Leeds) are sick as well as more underground bands like Hex (Leeds). We're basically down with most of the bands that play places like Temple of Boom and Chunk. We aren't too aware of of whats going down in York but we're playing there at The Spread Eagle on the 13th of April (plug) so I guess we'll see! 

What is your favourite tipple?

The band drink is basically rum and coke, a drink we can consume to a shameful degree. Lyons is an alcohol bin and will drink basically anything. Alin occasionally brings us back home made Romanian moonshine from his trips to the motherland which tastes like petrol and could knock out a small army. Great for a cold, because it will kill you. 

You can listen to their split with Ericbana, as well as thier earlier EP below:-

Both are available as name-your-price downloads too.

Scum - https://www.facebook.com/ScumMetal/

Once again, cheers to Ash and Scum for taking part in this interview. I'll be posting up a review of the split soon too.