Live Review: Agrona – Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff
29th October 2021
Support: Cranial Separation, Incursion and Elkapath
Words & photos: Paul Hutchings
Even though it was two days before All Hallow’s Eve, the ghouls and goblins were already prowling the streets of the Welsh capital, but it was the gremlins that caused the most mischief in the technical department on what should have been a triumphant return to their home for the Welsh horde after their magnificent Bloodstock performance only ten weeks earlier.
For those who only attend arena gigs, this night would have been both an eye opener and probably a bit of a horror show. But this is what real music is all about and despite a rather lack lustre crowd in terms of numbers, all four bands reminded you that for every Metallica and Iron Maiden there are a million bands playing in front of 20 people on a Friday night all around the globe.The sight of Cranial Separation frontman Ray Packer struggling up Womanby Street with a piece of large equipment mere minutes before his band were due to start summed it up. There is no glamour at the bottom of the food chain; merely love for what they do.
Cranial Separation are of course, Bloodstock alumni, having wowed the Jaegermeister Stage in 2018 with their particular brand of gory death metal. They released their debut album in 2020 on digital format, but bassist Chris Machin told me that there are hopes for physical copies of ‘Bound in Barbed Wire’ soon. Decked out in their now traditional Hawaiian shirts, their short set contained all the fan favourites that the local crowd are used to. ‘Miasma’, ‘Rancid insertion’, ‘House of Incest’ were delivered in the usual brutal manner, drummer Sam Heffernan blasting out the tempo in the first of two sets on the night. There’s a charming humour to the band, with cries of “yeah, man” ringing out from both audience and on stage. It’s a Welsh thing! Closing with their traditional love song, ‘Fucked by a Jackhammer’, it was good to see a staple of the local scene back on stage having lost none of their fun.
Pontypridd boyos Incursion have been through a turbulent few years, but the green skinned trio who inhabit Treforest’s Green Rooms keep on going. A smattering of new songs interspersed with older tracks kept the interest, but a muddy sound didn’t help them. Incursion featured on a Thrash Metal Album of the Fortnight Club article a while ago when they were the focus of Neil Brannagan’s virtual visit to Wales and they continue to work hard with their industrial thrash. Not the best of nights for them but full credit for their endurance.
Main support for the evening changed the sound and vibe again with Gloucester’s Elkapath playing only their second ever gig. Their new album ‘Black Spiders’ is due to drop at the end of October and the set list came from that release. A curious mix of styles and imagery, Elkapath describe their sound as ‘synthetic gothic metal’. It was certainly different to the previous two bands. Guitarist AJ Marios experienced some minor technical challenges which caused their set to appear a little disjointed. Their reliance on clicks and backing tracks also meant that their show was a bit stuttering in places. I’d enjoyed ‘Black Spiders’ for its different and bold approach and live the music worked well. Although the band are experienced, it takes time for any band to gel and I’m sure once they get a dozen or so gigs under the belt the experience will be totally different.
Another thing that you’ll find differs at local shows is the running time. No small army of techs and roadies to get everything into place on time at Fuel, merely one sound engineer doing his level best to keep things moving. Unfortunately, with the pressure already on Agrona due to the late start, disaster struck with a complete loss of sound through the cabs of guitarist Stuart Woody. Cue frantic switching of cables from amp to amp, keen assistance from members of the audience including AJ who appeared to save the day with some technical wizardry.
Throwing aside their symphonic intro and effects, Agrona roared into their set with pent up frustration and anger that fired their set. Adopting a stoic “the show must go on” attitude, the five-piece roared through a slightly truncated set, drawn mainly from their debut album ‘Realm of the Fallen’. Whilst the musicians in the band were understandably attempting to manage their frustrations, ferocious singer Teresa Rohelova showed that any delay merely stoked more fire as she roared her way through ‘Storm’s End’, ‘I Chose to Burn’ and a bruising ‘Immaterium’.
Ultimately this wasn’t the homecoming that was planned. The attendance wasn’t fantastic, the frustrations gargantuan. It did, however, provide those of us who follow this fine band (and the others in support) with a welcome return to one of the smaller venues in the metal world. Small, but totally essential. And that is where live music dwells. In a week when the farcical decision of the UK government to provide two million pounds merely to source a museum to a band who haven’t been functioning since I was born rather than providing meaningful support to the wider music community, this type of gig is even more important. Think of that next time you walk on by. And the impact it could have in the longer term.
