Live Review: Wayward Sons – KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
26th March 2022
Support: Mystiek, She Burns Red
Words & photos: Tim Finch
It’s back to the UKs best music venue tonight as former Little Angel and current Planet Rock DJ Tony Jepson brings his Wayward Sons touring machine on a much delayed (thanks COVID) tour of the country.
Opening band Mystiek are no strangers to us here at The Razor’s Edge having competed in the last two editions of Metal 2 The Masses in Wolverhampton - pre-pandemic. But that is where the familiarity ends, the band have reinvented themselves, where they were previously heavily inspired by Metallica and Iron Maiden the sound and image is now very different. They fit perfectly into the classic rock genre, their sound is now huge, no longer raw and aggressive but well polished, smooth and incredibly powerful. The set delivers a roundhouse blow of pure rock fury and it’s great to see and with set closer ‘Uneasy’ that Iron Maiden influence creeps back in, and there is nothing rearing with that.
Main support for the evening are She Burns Red whose first E.P. ‘Take Back Tomorrow’ was produced by Toby Jepson. From the off they are I’m your face with their high energy performance. Their bassist may look like an old school punk but the music is anything but! This is what rock 'n' fuckin' roll is all about, hard hitting, full of hooks that grab you and pull you into the energy the band produce on stage. They were worth the entrance money alone.
Toby Jepson needs no introduction, and indeed doesn’t get one as Wayward Sons take to the stage and dive straight into ‘Any Other Way’, wearing his flat cap he is every bit the Peaky Blinder this evening.
For those unfamiliar with Wayward Sons, their brand of rock is a high energy affair and their live performance more than matches it. Full of juicy guitar licks, throbbing bass lines along with Jepson’s charisma which drives the band forward. Sam Wood’s wonderful guitar solos perfectly intersecting the live performance as Nic Wastell, the most hyperactive bassist you will ever see, charges around the stage.
Through ‘Feel Good Hit’, ‘Big Day’ and ‘Until The End’ Wayward Sons prove they have it all. What a show, we can’t wait to see what’s next for the Sons
All photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
