Wolfcrusher Live At Manchester Academy 15th October 2011

Wolfcrusher Saturday 15^th October, Manchester Academy, UK

Gig Reviewer – Phill Bruce

Photographer – Sabrina Romdoyal, Carved Photography – All images are copyrighted https://www.carvedphotography.co.uk/

Review Date – 16^th October 2011

We all arrived at the Academy not knowing what to expect to see as we had never seen Wolfcrusher before.  We were all having a giggle as the venue had misspelt Wolfcrusher and on the ticket it said Wolf Catcher. 

The first band were on just as we went in. Septic Enema a bunch of lads from Rotherham were part way into All Over You by the time we got in.  I liked what I heard so went to get a drink from the bar to try rush to the front whilst at the bar I heard the storming Time Tragedy Struck (Taken from their second EP F.I.B.R.E.) and Drag You Down.  The guys thundered in to Monologue and their final song Black Coffee (From their first EP Deny It’s Existance).  Their set all but short was a good opener and I would like to see more of these guys.  Suffice to say your favourite reviewer managed to work his charm and managed to get an interview with Septic Enema which will be available in the next couple of weeks after we head over to see the guys in Sheffield, so keep your eyes peeled.

Second on the bill was a bunch of young guys who’s appearance was very deceptive.  The Threat looked like they would bring some new metal rubbish but boy was I wrong.  They started with Takomaster, the track having a few murmours of old school Thrash.  Then I was blasted back when played their second track Cerberus, it was packed with very decent chuggy guitar riffs and kick ass guitar riffs.  They rolled into Swashbuckle and again I was amazed, the late 80’s early 90’s decent metal was being manifested on stage. 

They went on to Baghead Big and we were left wondering how these guys even knew about the music they had managed to capture and recreate.  Judge Judy again amazed me and then they played Shindig which truly blew me away.  The late great Chuck Schuldiner would be proud if he ever had chance to hear Shindig his influence seemed to be very prevalent.  The lads finished on an untitled track which was in the making and again I was impressed.  I can see a very bright future for The Threat.  Again I managed to bag Grave Concerns an interview with them so again keep your eyes peeled for this one.

Third up were Kaitain, these guys gave us some very interesting music indeed.  They were metal with a bit of something different.  They opened with No Way Out and then blasted straight in to Superheavy.  Throughout their set Kaitain kept their melodic but heavy style, next up was Drown which opened with stunning guitar work which lead to some very powerful vocal tones and must admit this was the song that grabbed me out of their whole set.  Drown has elements of classic metal it has power glory and a whole lot of melody. 

The lads then kicked into another very well played melodic but heavy track called Babylon Rise, elements of very early Metallica rang true in Babylon Rise.  The guys finished on Vicious Circle which was the crown to a very good set.  I had never heard of any of the warm up bands at this Wolfcrusher gig but was amazed by them all non more than Kaitain.  Again keep an eye on our interview section as we have an interview lined up with these guys too.

It came time for the mighty Wolfcrusher fresh from their appearance at Bloodstock and recently featuring in Metal Hammer.  They appeared on stage in a cloak of darkness with Gary the vocalist wearing some daft head boppers which just made everyone giggle.  The crowd was charged they had been waiting for this moment.  They started with Moving Mountains from their debut album A Virgin Tapestry.  Never before had I seen such a young band command the audience like Wolfcrusher did.  They went blazing into Lost At Sea and then Insuperbilis.  They music was a mix of mind bending guitar riff, thunderous drum beats, awesome bass lines and the heavy orchestral vocals of Gary.  The atmosphere was amazing to say the least and a pit started to form as the band blazed into Focus.  The pit grew to amazing heights and so did the music as No Chance thundered in.  It was obvious that the band really enjoyed what they were doing as they all smiled and worked so well together. 

The music was flawless and it is easy to see why they have grown in popularity really quick as the played Reborn.  The crowd were all shouting their name Wolfcrusher and some were having a giggle pointing out the venues mistake and started shouting Wolfcatcher to which Gary just played on their joke.  The band finished with a song which in my mind is their finest from their amazing set which was Skeletonizer.  There were cries from the crowd for Wolfcrusher to play more but the venue had to close and we were all ushered out.

To summerise it was a truly amazing gig with great bands to open and Wolfcrusher the crowning glory of the night.  The crowd was a great one and even the pit was full of power all for and from Wolfcrusher, the floor was slippy so a few of us went down but the people around us picked us up shook our hands smiled and threw us back into the pit.  One absolutely amazing night and must admit I am looking forward to seeing and hearing more from Wolfcrusher.  An interview from Wolfcrusher will be appearing on Grave Concerns soon.

https://www.facebook.com/wolfcrusher

https://www.wolfcrusher.com

https://wolfcrusher.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KaitainOfficial

https://www.myspace.com/Kaitain666

https://www.facebook.com/TheThreatUK

https://Myspace.com/thethreatuk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Septic-enema/125032384206091

https://www.myspace.com/septicenema