Those fine lads at RED CRUST - now including Eric Brock from local rock'n'roll combo EARL OF HELL- return with the year's first metal feast, the WINTER WARMER (Not to be confused with their GLASGOW Winter Warmer, which is an entirely different beast)
Now a regular feature of Edinburgh's metal calendar, it's a one day celebration of DEATH, THRASH, BLACKENED DEATH, PROGRESSIVE DEATH, DEATHENED THRASH, THRASHENED DEATH, etc, taking place in three venues - LA BELLE, the BANSHEE LABYRINTH and LEGENDS
I'm not going to try to give you genres for every band on the bill. I can't be bothered trying to separate the fine layers of metal, one from another. Let's just say they're all shades of death/thrash and leave it at that. If you need finer detail, look them up on Facebook or something.
HARBINGERS DRUM CREW: A slightly abbreviated crew this time, perhaps due to a short notice call-up following the sad withdrawal of metal covers band POLYJAMORY, about which I was truly gutted. Oh yes.
Neither Death nor Thrash, by the way. Just drums.
HOLLOW TOMB: Locals, fairly new on the scene. Never seen them before, but no objections to seeing them again in the future. Suffered lightly from the early hour and lack of crowd.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/CDq90uNR_1A https://www.facebook.com/hollowtomb.uk
KING ABYSS: From Stoke, apparently. Another new one to me. Singer performed heroically with a broken nose.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/jWKpxAdQpLM https://www.facebook.com/KingAbyssuk
TYMVOS: Another local band, edging toward the 'black' end of the death/thrash spectrum.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Xb9U7xHDiIE https://www.facebook.com/Tymvosband
HELLFEKTED: From a non-specified location in something called 'The Midlands'. The midlands of England, presumably. Except the one with the spotty guitar. She's Scottish.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/jUOYdFq8qnE https://www.facebook.com/Hellfekted
HAMMER: Hefty locals. They do a song about trains. I didn't catch all of their set because I had to cut out to retrieve my car and bring it into town. Parking in Edinburgh before 6:30pm? Not without a bank loan...
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/eF1rNkqQh3g https://www.facebook.com/HammerScotland
IRON ALTAR: Back just in time to catch this, the heavy sound of Penicuik, which is NEARLY Edinburgh. Featuring new boy Greg Armstrong on bass, whom you might recognise as the singer of CODESPEAKER. Or you might not. Take my word for it.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/kGk-6uqN1no https://www.facebook.com/IronAltarBand
BAEST: One of the diminishing number of overseas bands braving the horrors of post-Brexit travel, Danish thrash veterans BAEST
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/a1wZv2ezJ3Y https://www.facebook.com/baestband
EXTORT: Closing things at La Belle, we have up and coming local melodic/progressive metal kids. They have the talent, they have the songs, they have the exotic dancers, but do they have that bit of luck that will take them to the top?
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pWHCi2-lCB8 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082869608112
Apologies go out here to all of the drummers - apart from those in HDC - who consistently fail to appear in the above photographs. This is due to the depth of the La Belle stage, the somewhat hostile backlighting and the heavy use of smoke, all of which conspire to make the drummers next to invisible.
Since I am very old and have a longish drive home, my time here is limited to 11:00, which means I can catch only one of the afterparty bands. I opt for the BANSHEE LABYRINTH, for no reason other than that it's nearer to where my car is parked. And so I get to see
goodhuman Heavyweights from Aberdeen, with a guitarist who seems to have turned up at the wrong gig.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/cr-ZdIuPxt8 https://youtu.be/cr-ZdIuPxt8
That was that, then. Cheers to Duncan and Eric for having me along, all of the bands for playing and the crews for making it all work. Red Crust will be back in late March for their big three day Fest, featuring a host of rather impressive names. Which is nice.
