I can’t believe it’s over three weeks into 2025 before I caught my first live show. At least I made it a good one with a very strong lineup, and at a nice venue with good sound. It was icy cold outside in Glasgow, but once down the steps unto the underground bunker that is Slay, things warmed up.
The venue looked fairly full for openers Bloodred Hourglass who had just started before I arrived. The six piece Finnish outfit very much filled the available stage space, taken up as it was by three drumkits (including the one being used). Their own brand of melodic death metal, using three guitars, definitely appealed to the audience as a whole and they ploughed through a well-received 40-minute or so set.
Early on, singer Jarkko asked who had encountered the band before and a staggering… erm… five people raised their hands. By the end of the set, you’d have thought that everyone in the building had seen them before. The sign of a strong and able live act, they’re definitely one that increased their fan base tonight. With songs like “Waves of Black” and “Where the Sinners Crawl” they definitely deserve your attention.
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Main was from the band, in honesty, I was mainly there to see. Pain are a wonderfully eclectic act, fronted by the every-busy Peter Tägtgren (with his son Sebastian on drums). They were given a generous hour for their set, emphasising the fact that though they weren’t headlining they are still a major and influential band. They’re also fun for a gritty, industrial-edged outfit, with a couple of costume changes to show that their music may deal with some melancholy subjects, but that it’s all about enjoying yourself.
A few obvious songs in the set list included “Call Me”, “I’m Going In”, “Party In My Head” and “Shut Your Mouth” and there wasn’t a dull moment. With a little more room to move around, due to only having four , and there being one less drumkit on stage, the band wandered around as much as they were able and the show was fairly “rock and roll”.
I particularly liked “Call Me”, with the recognition that they didn’t quite have the stage setup that they did last time they played Glasgow. At that gig they had a video backdrop, so Sabaton’s Joakim could sing his verse from there. This time, a little bit of “eannie-minie” determined that one of the live band would be channelling their inner battle metal frontman to fill the gap, and they did this well!
The hour flew by and it was obvious that they had a great number of fans already in place within the walls of Slay. Every bit as much fun as that last show, and I look forward to their next venture to our wet and windy city.
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The Halo Effect were tonight’s headline band, and we have them to thank for bringing the two superb s with them. Thankfully they weren’t to be overshadowed by their touring band mates and put on a solid performance of their own. At one point Mikael Stanne joked about playing “the old stuff” as opposed to new material as they only have two albums. Pain have nine, and Bloodred Hourglass six! Despite this lack of back catalogue, it’s the strength of the material and the ability to put on a good show that determine if you’re worth people’s time.
It’s a good sign that I didn’t see anyone leave after Pain’s set (I have been to gigs where people have been there for a and left early), and Slay remained rammed as their fellow Swedes played for just over an hour. I’m not really familiar with The Halo Effect’s two albums, but I did really enjoy the show.
Melodeath doesn’t make for a huge show in of pyro or whatever, with the focus being on the music and thankfully The Halo Effect are damn good where this is concerned. The guitar solos were tight and note perfect, and the sound in the venue did them justice. “The Needless End” and “Where The Sinners Crawl” caught my ear in particular, but all the songs obviously went down well with the audience.
What I enjoyed most about tonight was the way the whole package worked. Though I was there for the second band, I really enjoyed the other two and for the ticket money this was a damn entertaining few hours. No frills (barring those on one of Pain’s more colourful costumes), no egos, just good music played well, and some laughs.
Photos from the London show by Katie Frost Photography
