Bastard of the skies, Kal - El & Ironrat - Rebellion, Manchester
I travelled all the way to manchester from sunny leeds to witness a maelstrom of stoner/doom at rebellion in manchester. Bastard of the skies were headlining and were supported by Kal-El and Ironrat. there were some good points and bad and i will try and detail them with the utmost respect to the bands that played.
First up were Ironrat who although sounded great they had a couple of technical issues regarding guitar pedals and vocalist chris having throat problems and a few of their songs to me felt a little rushed. When they were good it was great but the bad was noticeable. this is a band that hasn't played a show in a while and unfortunately that rust was showing
Up next was Kal-el a norwegian band who had flown over for their first ever Uk gig and like their kryptonian namesake they are out of this world. Their sound is very fat and fuzzy which to begin with was a point of contention for my ears however that all changed the moment their vocalist started singing and it was at that point it all made sense. Ståle's warbling, melodic vocals added a warmth to the whole sound by simultaneously juxtaposing and complementing the fuzziness of the guitar and bass. I would highly recommend seeing these guys if you ever get a chance although personally i didn't think their live sound did them any justice as i think the E.P. sounds a lot crisper but nevertheless they are an exceptional live band.
Last on stage was headliners Bastard of the Skies and unfortunately i can't really say much about this band because i fell asleep. I'm not really that big a fan of doom metal at the best of times but this band to me were very repetitive. Don't get me wrong from what i did see they are a very tight, precise band and i would recommend them if you are into that genre but to me it just fell a little flat.
Props also go to the very friendly staff at Rebellion for putting on such a great show
