Someone really needs to explain to Chris Appleton and his Absolva chums what “Acoustic” means. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean a blistering twin Gibson SG old school heavy metal shred-along….
But what do I know 
After seeing Absolva’s first ever gig a few weeks back I made sure that I caught the band’s appearance on the Jagermeister *cough* acoustic *cough* stage at Bloodstock. Since their live debut the band have been honing their skills and BOA presented the perfect opportunity to show off how things were coming along.
Absolva drew a decent crowd for their set, and judging by the number of their t-shirts that were visible in the crowd (and on the main stage, courtesy of Iced Earth new boy Luke Appleton) the band already have a considerable following, made up of a mix of Fury UK fans and more recent converts to the cause.
When you see Absolva live it’s difficult to believe that they have only been together for a comparatively short time. Chris was always a great front man, and along with Fury UK Drummer Martin, guitarist Tom and Bassist Dan he has put together a British “classic” metal band for the 21st Century.
Where Absolva score above many of their contemporaries is the fact that the blistering live performance is backed up by some incredibly catchy “proper” metal songs which Chris started writing pretty much as soon as Luke took the call from Iced Earth. The cliches of many a modern metal band’s lyrics do kinda grate on me, but Absolva are certainly not guilty on that count.
Their set today consisted of impressive, memorable, riff-laden tracks from the band’s upcoming debut album, and judging by the reception that songs like Flames of Justice and Code Red got in the afternoon sunshine Absolva are a band destined for great things.
If you missed it, you missed out ‘cos there is no way these guys will be playing these little stages for long, surely the BOA main stage beckons…..
