Skarlett Riot at Macmillan Fest 2012 - Photo by Eric Niemz
A chance to see some awesome metal bands and raise money for Cancer charities are at the same time? Why the hell not! Showcasing over 25 bands and artists from Nottingham and beyond, whilst also raising a significant amount of money for a fantastic cause. Tom Hadfield and Jackson Green discoed down and checked out the show...
Bustling into the Bury The Ladybird set a few minutes after it has started, we are punched in the face with a powerful fist of noise. On first impressions it looks like a Florence and The Machine that have kicked all the hippy bullshit and have been on tour with Motorhead for 5 straight years. Led by the punk tinged soul of Tiggy's voice, the four piece create a passionate sound that seems to flirt with several genres. There are obvious elements of text book hard rock with Matt's fretboard wizardry but then the savage echoes of a Rancid-like thrash in bass monster Seb's handiwork. The soul of Tiggy's voice seems to be top of the hierarchy however with its sheer velocity and at times seems to become a wee bit jazzy. The only possible criticism is that the drummer needs more tattoos.
Now we're not going to go down the route of comparing Skarlett Riot to Paramore just because they are a Punk Metal Rock sound fronted by a girl. Skarlett Riot would maul Paramore to the ground, rip them apart limb by limb and then probably make guitars and drumsticks out of the left over arms and legs.
This old school garage rock n roll band bounces with energy throughout the entire set like a spider on speed. Skarlett on vocals and guitar steals the show with her party hard stage presence and her, erm, is that underwear?
It is no fluke that this band have been touted by Kerrang as shithot, it is partly because of their high octane live performances. The fiery riffage singes the eyebrows at the front and the rockers and metal-heads downstairs in Stealth headbang, mosh and generally lose it to the explosive Rock n Roll.
Sinners Highway at Macmillan Fest 2012 - Photo by Eric Niemz
Dash to the bar and back in time for Sinners Highway. Having a full pint at any point during a Sinners Highway gig is highly unadvisable. As they rip into the opening chords of the first track from their debut EP self titled Sinners Highway, the place goes apeshit with all the sinners in the room moshing and desperately thrusting fists of metal in the air.
This band are like a satanic hurricane live and take the gig by the scruff of it's neck and wrestle it to the floor... and then choke slam it. Simon Ross' voice is the ultimate frontman sound and he will be the envy of many a rock band across the land. It has shades of Axl Rose's high pitched gloryness mixed with the stadium rock of Bon Jovi, a dash of Justin Hawkins trill but most noticably the snarl of a badass rock star.
The lighters-in-the-air heartbreak ballad song Can't Stand The Fate builds into a mammothly epic explosion. Only this band could make the lyrics, "I just don't know what to do/ because baby I love you" sound cool. The best part of the whole novel of a song is the brain-frying solo towards the end which fluctuates and shreds magnificently, showcasing the band's expert musicianship. If you haven't managed to catch these guys yet we strongly recommend you go see them on the 30th of November at their headline show at Rock City Basement.
Macmillan Fest 2012 took place in Rescue Rooms and Stealth on Saturday 1 September 2012.
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