The Heavy Metal Muppets is a place for all things Metal with a particular emphasis on the London Underground Metal scene. We are a bunch of friends who have been into Metal since the late 80's and want to share our enthusiasm with anyone else who's prepared to listen. The format varies and we hope keeps it interesting for everyone, so keep your eyes peeled for reviews, interviews, memoirs and live videos amongst other things \m/

Friday 23 March 2012

London Gig Roundup for the First Quarter of 2012

OK so it's been a while since we've posted on here, sorry. Things have been all kinds of crazy but the gigs are still happening and The Metal Muppets are still there. Before I talk about the great things we've witnessed over the last couple of weeks I'll do a quick rundown of the 2012 highlights for us.

11 January 2012 - The year kicked off with The Black Dhalia Murder and Skeletonwitch at The Underworld in Camden. Woah! Skeletonwitch kicked some serious ass. They have a groovy catch to them that sucks you right in and then spurts you out with those brutal vocals. The Black Dhalia Murder weren't as good for me. I guess because I'm a bit old school makes me slightly sceptical of the new approach to death metal... Core this and core that or whatever. Still it was a good start to the year.



Necroriser
19th January 2012 -  I made my way with Pat to The Grosvenor to catch Necroriser, Foetal Juice, Cavity Search and Desolator. Unfortunately, I was just a tad too late for the Desolator guys but it was good to see them and hear their awesome news about the support slot with Sacred Reich and Shrapnel later on in the year. They're such a hard working band they deserve it, well done guys. Cavity Search were OK, they're not quite my cup of tea and they look a bit weird but it's punky hardcore I guess. This was the first time Foetal Juice have made it to London and they didn't disappoint. I have heard their stuff and really liked it but they are also very entertaining live. If you get a chance to see them then I urge you to do so. They're hilarious. Necroriser owned it as usual. I don't think they can do any wrong and with their new album coming out imminently I can only see them raising in status significantly. 2012 is Necroriser's year, absolutely.

2 February 2012 - So, what can I say? The Treatment at The Highbury Garage. Fucking awesome as always. I mean since we've been following them (almost three years now), they have gone from strength to strength. Under the careful guidance of their brilliant manager Laurie they have landed themselves some very high profile shows and tours. To mention but a few... Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Steel Panther, Sonisphere, Hammerfest, Download 2012 and the list goes on and on. These boys are extremely gifted and deserve everything they have worked so hard to achieve and happen to be some of the most down to earth guys I've ever met. (If any of you are reading this, Lady Toes is still thinking of your health and will sort everything out when we next see you!) Roll on Steel Panther at the Brixton Academy.



15 February 2012 - Krisiun and Malevolent Creation at The Underworld. Of course Malevolent Creation absolutely destroyed the place. It doesn't matter how many times I see these old masters, they just never get boring. I loved the show, Krisiun were good but definitely overshadowed by the mighty MC.



Rezinwolf
23 February 2012 - Thrash Thursday!! We love Thrash Thursday at The Unicorn in Camden. This venue is a lifeline to the underground scene. Cheap drinks and free entry to see cool bands. Sweet. With a line-up of Rezinwolf (reminded me of Revoker which is a good thing), Makavalien, XXXX (minus Steve) and Arkhaos we had a typically fun evening drinking and thrashing. Long may this night continue.

24 February 2012 - Rammstein at The O2 Arena. I'm not a big fan of arena shows to be honest. You pay shit loads of money and if you're seated you can usually only see little dots on the stage or have to watch it on the big TV screens at the sides. I guess if you don't go to many gigs it can feel exciting especially if the atmosphere is good, but I'll take a small venue every time over an arena. Having said that, Rammstein really pulled off a good show. Their brand of band I guess suits this kind of environment. It was utterly bonkers but at the same time extremely compelling. I'm not sure Rammstein would be much cop without the show but let's not hold that against them, they definitely know what they are doing and we certainly left with grins on our faces... Until we tried to get the sodding tube.



10 March 2012 -  Job For a Cowboy, Triptykon and Cannibal Corpse at the Forum. Job For a Cowboy is a band I've been looking forward to seeing live for a long time. They did a great job here but I think I'd like to see them in a smaller venue. Triptykon were good (and with such a legendary frontman you'd hope so) but a little bit slow for my liking. Although I felt as if I was in the presence of greatness at the time. Cannibal Corpse have and always will be one of my favourite bands. They totally owned this big theatre and when they encored with Stripped, Raped and Strangled I almost shit myself with glee. What a brilliant show, brilliant performance by a brilliant band. The sound wasn't too shit at The Forum either, which was nice.



13 March 2012 - As if that wasn't enough, only three days later was Suffocation, Cattle Decapitation, Blood Red Throne and Cerebral Bore at the Underworld. Let me just start with Cerebral Bore. This is literally one of the most extraordinary bands I have ever seen. I am a fan and have listened to 'Maniacal Miscreation' on rotation for days. The groovy chunkiness of this Earache, deathly grindfest is so addictive and the vocals are nothing short of exceptional. The fact that THAT noise can come out of that small lady is astonishing. I watched the whole set with my jaw on the floor. If you haven't heard them before then your life is incomplete and you need to rectify it immediately. Fucking Sadist were on next and they were so shit we walked out and went to the bar instead. Blood Red Throne were really groovy too. The problem with their set was the new front man. He is obviously capable but he was so fucking wasted it was a joke. He kept spilling water all over himself and spitting in the air and trying to catch the flob in his mouth but constantly missing resulting in it landing on his face or clothes etc. It was so ridiculous it took too much away from a potentially great show. We also saw the singer walking around by the merch stands in his pants which was not a pretty sight... Believe me. A shame really. Cattle Decapitation were also brilliant musically, but again there was this spitting in the air thing they were doing. It's fucking gross. Suffocation were second best to Cerebral Bore for me. They had a stand in singer from I forget which band now, but he had bags of stage presence and filled in for Frank pretty well. Suffocation are another one of those classic old school bands you just can't get enough of.



Diamond Plate
20 March 2012 - Savage Messiah, Diamond Plate and Collapse at The Barfly in Camden. Collapse were entertaining, I'd probably catch them again. I don't know why but I thought they were a bit out of place on this line-up, not to say I didn't enjoy it, it just seemed to be not quite right. I think a bit too much death metal involved. Check them out though, cool band. Diamond Plate are another one of those bands that are so accomplished for their years. They're only about nineteen I believe and they rocked the show as if they were old pros. Watch this space for sure. I love Savage Messiah, they're a finely tuned machine. The parallels with Megadeth are evident but I don't give a shit because Megadeth are awesome, and so are Savage Messiah, although I don't think Pat would agree, he thinks they've gone a bit Power Metal. It was ultra-loud in the venue and I was walking around for the next few days with invisible pillows over my ears... The Mrs is seriously starting to worry...



So that's the round up for the first three months of 2012, it's been great so far and we're really looking forward to the summer. Keep your eyes peeled for a review of the recent Thrash Thursday which was astonishing. Laters.

Sunday 12 February 2012

HAMMERFEST 2012 Times






THURSDAY PRE PARTY 15th MARCH

STAGE TWO – THOR’S STAGE
19-30 – 20.00 Krusher
20.00 – 20.50 Black Rose
21.00 – 21.50 Pagans Altar
22.00 – 22.55 Saracen
23.05 – 00.00 The Sanity Days
00.15 – 01.30 Dirty DC
01.30 – 02.30 Krusher

STAGE THREE – EMBRYO METAL
17-15 – 18-00 Firebrand Super Rock
18.15 – 18.50 Thousand Enemies
19-05 – 19.45 Flame Fracture

FRIDAY 16th MARCH
STAGE ONE – BATTLE STAGE
17-45 -18-45 Diamond Plate
19-00 – 20-00 Waylander
20.15 – 21.05 Chimaira
21-15 – 22-30 Paradise Lost
22-45 – 00-15 Anthrax
00-30 – 01-30 Evile

STAGE TWO – NEW SOUNDS STAGE
15.00-15.45 Arthemis
16.00-16.45 Sci Fi Mafia
17.00-17.45 Heavens Basement
18.00-18.45 Fury UK
19.00-19.40 The Painted smiles
19.55-20.30 Slam Cartel
20.40-21.20 Ravenface
21.35-22.10 RSJ
22.30-23.20 Achren
23.35-00.10 Hammer of the Gods
00.25 -1.20 Evil Scarecrow
01.35 – 02.30 Lawnmower Deth

STAGE THREE – FRESH BLOOD
12.00 – 12.40 Inferno
12.55 – 13.30 Kyrbgrider
13-45 – 14-30 Trucker Diablo
14-45 -15-15 Gentlemen of Distorted Sound
15-30 – 16-00 Savage Outlaw
16-15 – 16-45 Spirytus
17.00 – 17.40 One More Victim

SATURDAY 17th MARCH
STAGE ONE – METAL ON METAL
18-00 – 19-00 Hell
19-15 – 20-15 Wizard
20-30 – 21-30 Dream Evil
21-50 – 23-00 Amon Amarth
23-20 – 00-40 Skindred
01-00 – 02-00 Criminal

STAGE TWO – HAMMER HOUNDS PT I+II
PT I – ALTERNATIVE METAL
12-00 – 12-45 Chemicals of Democracy
13-05 – 13-45 Severenth
14-00 – 14-45 Cerebral Bore
15-00 – 16-00 Sworn Amongst
16-20 -17-10 Avenger
17-20 – 18-00 Senser

PT II – THRASH LORDS
20-45 – 21-25 Mortad
21-45 – 22-30 Snakebite
22-45 – 23-35 Elimination
23-50 – 00-30 Virus
00.45 – 01.20 Holosade
01.40 – 02.30 Savage Messiah

STAGE THREE – METAL FORGE
12-00 – 12-40 Oaf
12-55 – 13-35 Collapse
13.50 – 14-40 AR
14-45 – 15-30 Red Mist Destruction
15.45 – 16.30 Dripback
16.45 -17.30 Lets Play God

CHECK OUT THIS YOUNG BAND!
Introducing:RAVENFACE