Live Review: Uada – Bristol

An evening of all American black metal hit The Fleece in Bristol with three bands on the bill all playing a different style of black metal showcasing the diversity and range of the genre.

Opening the show were Atlanta four piece Cloak. With the stage bathed in red light and incense burning, the band showcased their riff-laden style of black metal which brought in a few gothic influences but on the whole was a straight up black metal attack. With only a short set, the band churned out the songs with plenty of headbanging and fists raised not only from the crowd but from the band themselves who performed with passion and ferocity. A meaty sound ensured that songs such as ‘In The Darkness, The Path’ and ‘The Holy Dark’ hit with their full power. Cloak may not be anything particularly original but what they do, they do very well. They are not a band I have had much exposure to but I will definitely be checking more of them out in future and they were a great way to open the show.

“We are Ghost Bath and we write rock and roll songs about killing ourselves” is how the North Dakota based band introduced themselves. My only previous exposure to Ghost Bath was their infamous set at 2016 with the unhinged screams and wails of frontman Nameless being heard all round the festival site during their set leading to much ridicule and piss taking, Nameless has definitely toned his vocal style down in the ensuing years but they are still utterly unhinged and true to the depressive suicidal black metal style that Ghost Bath are known for.

Ghost Bath are definitely an interesting band and I wasn’t utterly convinced when they first hit the stage as having three guitarists meant that some things got lost in translation and some songs just sounded a bit too busy but I soon started to get what this band was about and there were plenty of moments with luscious melody and forlorn atmosphere. The band’s on stage antics are interesting as well with Nameless swaying away in his own little world whilst one of the guitarists and the bassist were throwing themselves around like they were playing in a grindcore band which was a bit distracting from the bleak nature of the music.

The band were also hit with some technical difficulties in the form of the power cutting out towards the end of their set. It seems that playing depressive suicidal black metal will cause the electrics to kill themselves. There were parts of the Ghost Bath set that I thoroughly enjoyed and parts I just found confusing. Entertaining enough but not a band I would rush to see again.

Headlining the show were Portland melodic black metal band Uada who in no uncertain terms stole the show this evening. This was a set which completely let the music do the talking. The band were all in hooded jackets obscuring their appearance, they were lit with very minimal white lighting rom beneath and behind them, the stage was filled with liberal amounts of dry ice and there was absolutely no vocal interaction with the crowd with the band interacting instead with raised fists and gestures. But with the blinding performance that Uada put in, you didn’t need any interaction.

It was the tightest and most flawless performance possible with not a note or a beat missed. The band blended absolute ferocity with gorgeous, spine tingling melodies with dual guitar melodies galore as well as plentiful amounts of blast-beats and the passionate roars and screams of frontman Jake Superchi. The band were all active and enthusiastic on stage with plenty of movement and lots of headbanging which made their flawless musicianship and performances even more of a sight to behold.

It was a show that was hard not to get lost in and many of the crowd seemed completely caught up in songs such as ‘Snakes & Vultures’, ‘Djinn’ and ‘Black Autumn, White Spring’. When it comes to black metal, Uada are one of the finest live bands you will see representing the genre and if they hit a town or city near you, it is really not to be missed.