Live Review: Eternal Fear - Wolverhampton
Review by Tim Finch
We’re back at K.K.’s Steel Mill on a crisp November Friday for an evening of unadulterated MAYHEM! For tonight is Mayhem Promotion and Mayhem Management's monthly live show at the venue run by K.K. Downing and his team.
This evening we are treated to a five band bill of immeasurable talent. Some of the bands you may not be familiar with unless you are a regular on the Black Country scene, some of the bands, including headliners Eternal Fear travelling all the way from Sweden for a mini U.K. tour, you will be more familiar with.
Kicking off the evening are Wired, a local super group of sorts, made up of members of Face Up, Gehtika, I Hate You More and A Tower if Crows. They open up not as the freshest faces on the scene but as Face Up have another gig 100+ miles away on the same evening and the band are racing up their straight after their performance for a second show sof the night. Now that’s dedication! Their sound brings is a mix of influences from each of its members but ultimately delivers a thrash/hardcore crossover sound that is music to many of our ears. They are loud, angry and in your face for their full thirty minutes. Leaving many of us wondering what just hit us but ultimately leaving us wanting more!
Next up are Tamworth lads Nebula State who describes themselves as electronicore. It’s a new genre on us and the name may conjure up ideas in your mind as to what that really means, and to sum up, the sound is pretty much what you would expect. It’s a strange mix of melodic/electronic segments and then more metalcore driven ones. Guitarists and bassists combine to provide the softer vocal elements but when the angst ramps up so does vocalist Joey’s more aggressive stylings. The performance is spot on, note perfect leaving everyone wondering how do those two different styles work together so well?
Mystiek are here to ramp things up, having made a name for themselves in this years Metal 2 The Masses competition and narrowly missing out on the opportunity to progress to the final. Six months on they have refined their sound and their stage presence, they are more commanding with greater self belief and will pose a threat in next years competition. But tonight the vibrant performance sits well with the assembled audience, there is an energy amongst the crowd and the banter from frontman Josh flows forth. The band have the confidence to shine, their sound a mix of rock, metal and grunge melding into a cacophony of aural delights.
The Black Hounds have one up on Mystiek in that they reached the final of the same competition this year. But the band are a completely different entity. Obviously taking inspiration from Iron Maiden both musically and vocally, but these are not Maiden clones, The Black Hounds mimick no one. Raucous guitars bring a bombastic sound to the room, filling it with riff after riff of wonder out delights. They are a well rounded entity, their Sound thunderous that envelopes the audience and makes them part of the show.
This to close out the evening, Eternal Fear take to the stage. The Swedish stalwarts with a storied twenty five year career behind them are the big draw of the night. They may lack the youthful vigour of some of the undercard but their musical performance more than makes up for it. Swirling sounds of luscious guitars and thunderous bass collide and help drive the band forward as Ole steers the ship with his commanding vocal outlay. Their hour long set features career highlight after career highlight much to the pleasure of the growing fan base in attendance and a great way to end the evening.
The Mayhem team, along with the guys at K.K.’s Steel Mill have yet again delivered the goods for the metal fans of the Black Country. Every month quaility heavy metal entertainment is served up from the bretherin and we can’t wait until next time.
