Live Review: Alpha Wolf - Rebellion, Manchester
10th April 2023
Support: King 810, ten56., Xile
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Damian John (Birmingham)
It’s pretty clear from the mass of people awaiting to get into the Rebellion Bar quarter of an hour before the doors are scheduled to open that tonight’s show is going to be getting a bit intimate. And why wouldn’t it? As here is a touring package featuring four of the most punishing live bands out there and, let’s face it, what else are you going to do on an Easter Monday evening?
There is still a steady stream of people flowing through the doors as Xile take the stage. The New Zealand crew have come a long way for this tour and mean to make the most of every second they have the stage. Playing for the most part under blood-red lighting seems to suit the performance to a tee, as the five-piece lay into some heavy hardcore beats, supplemented by infectious two-step rhythms and some brutal low-end pummelling. Frontman, Luke Mansons makes an early call for the Kickboxers before smashing the venue with a mammoth beatdown.
Damaged brings with it a big Slayer riff, a newbie arrives shiny and chrome with thick slabs of metal while Penalty Death is two-minutes of hardcore hate, Promise of Bloodshed sees the floor opening up, while set closer – and debut album title track, I Am Your God, gives the crowd one last chance to dance along with our Kiwi cousins. If you’ve not yet had the chance to catch up with the full-length, then I highly recommend the use of your time. Otherwise, Xile’s short stint marks the opening for one of the most impressively brutal evenings I can recall.
Shania Twain (a name I did not image using ahead of this show) is brutally cut short by Ten56.’s entrance, with That Don’t Impress Me Much giving way to a Hip-Hop tape and dissonant hardcore. The Parisian’s version of the hardcore sound merges the base genre with death growls and even some nu metal sensibilities to create chaos. Saiko sees heads bobbin’ in the pit and bodies bouncing like Zebedee and it’s to Ten56.’s credit that they have captured the zeitgeist of insanity and nihilism in musical form.
Just before kicking into Yenta, vocalist Aaron Matts calls for the first Wall of Death of the evening which, in fairness, is more of a glacial collision than a WoD, but the Rebellion Bar isn’t really designed for such shenanigans.
Having released their debut album in two, separate EPs, Downer Parts I and II – and with the totality of those EP due for issuing this month – this tour has been a perfect showcase of what this band is all about. Hiding in plain sight within the aggression of Shitspitter and Traumadoll can be found hints of Funk and Jazz and there is even a dalliance with a Goblin vibe and some Seventies Italian horror soundtrack aesthetic going on during RLS. The short set closes with Kimo, which takes all we know about Ten56. thus far and pack it all into one unstoppable musical juggernaut. A chaotic yet mesmerising set and one perfectly suited to the environs of the venue.
I’ll make no bones about this, but I’m a huge fan of King 810. I understand that they can be divisive but the turnout for Flint’s finest and the anticipation before the band hit the stage is palpable. Even though King was in this venue last May as headliners, the room is bursting at the seams as the drummer takes his seat. Gone are the histrionics of supposedly armed protection walking on stage before the band emerge, but times have changed, and King is showing itself as being one of extreme music’s big draws.
Opening with brains on the asphalt from January’s Follow My Tears EP the assembled throng have done their homework and are singing every word back to David Gunn. Musically, the band is razor-sharp in its delivery, with the masked drummer and guitarist supplementing the creative team of Gunn and live bassist, Eugene Gill, who plays all instruments in the studio.
Alpha and Omega gets almost everyone screaming back to the stage, as does Murder, Murder, Murder and Vendettas. David rarely engages directly with the audience, rather it is like taking a walk through his damaged psyche or having a front-row seat to a PTSD-influenced episode.
Two more from the EP in the form of holy war and widdershins show King have the utmost faith in the strength of their newest material and having a direct comparison with the following Fat Around the Heart confirms these tracks can stand side-by-side with the band’s most beloved material.
The closing duo of Suicide Machine and the obligatory Killem All come around far too soon, and the set is over. As the band leave the stage there is a similar exit of those just here for King 810, but their endeavour was worth it and they’d received another blistering set. Gone might be the hype and the showmanship, but the sheer class is evident throughout. Back in 2014, they recorded Write About Us for Memoirs of a Murderer so, with the evidence thus far this year, that is a real pleasure to do.
Which just leaves the headlining Tasmanian terrors, Alpha Wolf to take their turn at Rebellion. Hitting their tenth year in 2023 this Metalcore outfit have not given themselves an easy ride when selecting the touring mate for this Steppin’ Over Roaches trek.
The thinning of the crowd has given those stalwarts at the front of the stage a bit of breathing room and from the very beginning it’s clear Alpha Wolf have not come along to make up the numbers. The bulk of the show is taken from their latest album, 2020’s A Quiet Place to Die and any worries they would be overshadowed is quickly dispelled with the combination of 60cm of Steel, Creep and Black Mamba.
The heavy hardcore meets metalcore finds the pit with a little more room in which to work and the seismic bass adds a sheen to the already destructive rhythms. Packed full of beatdowns and without looking to offer any respite whatsoever, the Antipodeans’ hour upon the stage is a mass of controlled aggressive energy served up and served back by a pumped-up crowd.
As we all pile out into the Manchester night, reflecting on what we’ve just witnessed and contemplating work after a four-day weekend, it becomes apparent that you don’t need massive spectacle shows and lavish productions; all that’s needed are four hungry bands and an adrenaline-fuelled audience. The rest takes care of itself.
All photo credits: Damian John Photography
