Furyon, M.A.I.R, & Audiodriver
The Vale, Glasgow 8 September 2012
The Vale in Glasgow is a room situated above a pub, very compact and different, but a great little venue. There were quite a lot of people about for the first band Audiodriver, who opened up with 'To The Bone' and 'Let it Go'. These guys are pretty damn special, having never seen or heard of the band we were instantly taken with their brand of hard rocking and enthusiasm.
Adam Culyer - Guitar/Vocals got the venue singing and dancing as they did a stunning version of Black Stone Cherry’s 'Blame it on the Boom Boom'. By the now the venue was pretty full and very hot, so more beers and more partying with these Glaswegians as the band played 'Waiting for Yesterday', 'Getting Over Betrayal' they had the room moving and cheering, I struggled at times to understand what the band where saying, but it was all good.
The sound is excellent in The Vale, it’s just the Glaswegian accent I couldn’t always make out! 'Noose of Modern Youth' stood out for me and 'Reach Out' rocked The Vale. Audiodriver finished off with Pink Floyds classic 'Brick In The Wall' and had everyone singing, awesome stuff! And a great band, will surely be catching them again.
Next up were unbelievable, energetic M.A.I.R. Oh my God, words can not really describe how fantastic they were. Bassist Miranda duelling with guitarist Davy Wilson, Miranda has so much energy and I'm told she was quieter tonight! She was unbelievable. Angus Young in female form, working the crowd, partying with the whole room as she meandered through the growing crowd.
Del Wilson on vocals opened with 'Prize-fighter' and it just hit you full force in the face that M.A.I.R are something special and as I mentioned, we got guitar dueling as 'Ace' and 'Burn Doubt' blistered your face. This band put on one helluva a show. 'R.I.P' and 'Man On Fire' really got into your senses and blasted you into the all-out Metal that these Glaswegians deliver. 'Pride and Pain', well I don’t know about pain, but this band should have some “Pride“ after this performance.
Final song 'The Quick And The Bled' left you wanting more. Seriously this band are energetic, fun and are hotter than hell! A band that would wake up a comatosed person!
Then time for headliners Furyon. At last, we'd been wanting to see these Brighton rockers for two years. We last saw them tearing up the stage supporting Kip Winger and they were brilliant then and did not disappoint tonight. They truly made our weekend. The band played songs from their recent album 'Gravitas' and a new song, this was metal heaven. The Vale was full by now and believe me, very hot and sticky.
'Wasted on You' kicked off the proceedings and it was intense stuff. Matt Mitchell's vocals are phenomenal and 'Disappear Again' gave me goosebumps. The band has recently graced the stages at Download and Bloodstock and you can see why, man they are totally awesome. The whole band is extremely tight and they played nearly the whole 'Gravitas' album, an album I love and one that gets played regularly. Now to see them performing it live is an honour.
Lee Farmery on drums beating his drum kit like a man possessed as they played 'Fear Alone' and 'Stand Like Stone'. Then Matt Mitchell introduced new track 'Nothing on Me'. Well if that’s what the new albums going to sound like, I want it yesterday! 'Souvenirs' and 'Voodoo Me' had The Vale and probably the bar downstairs, punching the air and head-banging along. Pat Heath on rhythm guitar and Alex Bowen on bass were a wall of hair as they rocked the joint. Then we got the song that wasn't going to be on 'Gravitas', 'Our Peace Someday'. The slow ballad song which gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and for Matt Mitchell to show his truly outstanding vocal range. Absolutely out of this world.
Then to close the show we had 'Don’t Follow', total head- banging, metal maelstrom of heads and bodies bouncing and singing to this tune and what an end to the night … Honestly everyone got value for money tonight and it was just a great feeling to have been there, witnessing some of the best metal bands I have seen in a long while.
Review by: Seb Di Gatto
