DJ Ebony B’s rock nights at the Pit and Pedulum in Nottingham have grown over the past few months to become something that you really need to keep your eye on if you want to get up to speed with the hottest new bands.
I mean, free entry, cheap beer and a killer atmosphere… what more could you ask for ??
The most recent installment of this was, for me, a not to be missed occasion which saw Sheffield’s hotly tipped Gotteri, Birmingham’s finest new(ish) metal band Valous and Bradford / York’s Hellbound Hearts.
The first band of the evening were Sheffield’s Gotteri. After some glowing recommendations they’ve been pretty high up my “have to see” list for a while, but until tonight I’ve never taken the opportunity, even though they do gig pretty constantly round my adoptive home city. Loads of people have told me that I HAVE to check them out, they are one of those local bands who have a buzz about them, so it was nice to finally make their acquaintance.
Well, judging by the performance they put in tonight the buzz they are building is certainly well deserved. Frontman Steve Baranovich even managing to elicit a reaction from the (usually) reserved Nottingham Crowd.
It’s always good to see a band ripping into what they do with a confidence that belies their years, and if this is anything to go by then for Gotteri the only way is up.
Next up were one of the highlights of the last Twitrfest. Valous have played a couple of CackBlabbath gigs so it’s fair to say we’re fans. Now if I was planning this review before seeing them here I’d have been getting ready to use phrases like “Maiden inspired traditional metal” and such like but, well, given some of the new tracks that the band debuted tonight I don’t think that’s an entirely fair description anymore…
Valous’ sound has, for want of a better word, evolved. OK so the tight harmonies are still there but the music has taken on a much more distinctive, individual quality and the end result is a massive improvement on what was already a pretty impressive mix. Rock solid rhythms, two guitarist who are very different in style but compliment each other perfectly and a proper Metal frontman in Mat, Valous are a band who have it all.
So how on earth were Hellbound Hearts going to top that ???
Well, you know when a band just blow you away right from the first note… well that.
Exactly that.
High octane, High intensity no messing about Rock’N'Roll, Hellbound Hearts hit the small stage in the Pit with a passion and intensity that was breathtaking, rocking out like the slightly unhinged, hard partying offspring of Therapy and The Wildhearts. This is music to get the whole place bouncing, and there is no way these guys will be playing venues this size for long.
Hellbound Hearts were, quite simply, the best new band I have seen in ages. They’re out on tour at the moment, make sure you catch them.
You won’t regret it….
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