the Thursday 26 June 2008, London

Crowning Glory

Crowning Glory  +  Blood Island Raiders  +  Witchsorrow   -  Club 100, London. England.

Event:        Crowning Glory's 1st gig as headliners   
Date:        20th February, 2008.
Written by:    Chris Galea

Looking deceptively inconspicuous, the '100 Club' is situated in the heart of London. More meaningfully, its iconic value places it in the heart of Rock itself. Over the decades it has hosted musicians such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, The Who, Jeff Beck and countless others.

Times move on and tonight the focus is on Metal. Despite (or maybe because of) the variety of bands on schedule the attendance wasn’t as good as one may expect. Oblivious to such issues was the DJ of the night, none other than Ben Ward, vocalist of Orange Goblin, who span a barrage of classic Metal tunes to the delight of all and sundry until the time came for the first band to take the stage.

Witchsorrow
Witchsorrow were a new band to my ears until this gig but it was encouraging to know that there’s new blood raising the flag of Doom in Britian. The type of Doom plied by this trio is certainly not as depressive as, say, Thergoton or Funeral but it’s also not as uptempo as the groovier Place Of Skulls or Cathedral.

I felt that the songs delivered lacked a solid identity but the band had an ambivalent sound that I found really interesting. It had the rawness and darkness of Black Metal merged with the downbeaten hallmarks of Doom. The eclectic influences became all the more evident when the band closed their show with a cover of Mayhem’s ‘Freezing Moon’. (The striking irony is that while this cover was being played a total lunar eclipse started to blacken the night skies above.)

As far as the band’s stage-act went I must say I found it irksome that bassist lass Emily Witch rarely faced the audience while playing. Quite a contrast to the overflowing enthusiasm of guitarist/vocalist Necroskull.

Witchsorrow are as yet unsigned and it might be premature to attempt any forecasts on their future. Judging by this gig, however, there do seem to be some interesting ideas on which to build something unique.

Set-list  (incomplete):
The Trial Of Elizabeth Clarke
Thou Art Cursed
Freezing Moon (Mayhem cover)

www.myspace.com/witchsorrowdoom

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Blood Island Raiders
Having been formed back in 2002 it is only recently that BIR are emerging to a wider audience. Labelling their music really isn’t straightforward but it does elicit flashbacks to the ilk of Fireball Ministry, Orange Goblin and even Mastodon. The singing of Warren is mainly ‘clean’ but he wouldn’t even be out of place with bands like Suicidal Tendencies or Faith No More. All this means that the band’s music might not be easily digestible. What’s certain, though, is that tonight these Londoners put on a highly dynamic and engaging show. BIR’s experience and particularly the gigging the band had been doing towards the end of last year is all paying off. This much was clear from tonight.

The set-list had an inconsistent effect on me. After the gig I realized that the more recent compositions were those that impressed me most (positively). This is encouraging I guess. Hopefully the band will also continue building on their growing momentum as a live act.

Set-list :
Locust
For The Sake Of Clarity
Rust
Demon
War
God's Breath Is Steel
I Am The King
Blade Of Vengeance

http://www.myspace.com/bloodislandraiders

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Crowning Glory
This might sound paradoxal but CG gave a refreshing and invigorating performance with their take on old-school Heavy Metal.

When you think about it, one of the common threads uniting British bands is the ease at which the songs seem to adapt to a live environment. CG embody the epitome of this heritage with raised fists saluting Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the rhythm section of Black Sabbath. The songs within tonight's set-list would in fact stand proud alongside those of the aforementioned bands. I mean I dare anyone with a modicum of Metal sensibilities not to rhythmically nod his or her head to the riffs of 'Dead Man's Paradise', 'Sands Of Time' or the infectious 'Sea Of Dead Dreams'.

The set-list included some newer numbers, such as ‘The Devourer’, which are not featured in the band’s “Path To Glory” demo. 2 covers were also given the CG touch - one a Dio classic ('Holy Diver') and the other a more convincing 'Children Of The Damned' (by Iron Maiden). The latter was the number that drew to a close one great evening.

Set-list :
Dead Man's Paradise
Sands Of Time
Turning to Evil
Souls On The Run
Holy Diver (Dio cover)
The Devourer
Crime
Winter In Our Blood
Sea Of Dead Dreams
Children Of The Damned (Iron Maiden cover)

www.myspace.com/crowningglory

© Chris Galea

The author would like to acknowledge the co-operation of Kerry Morgan in making this review possible.