Mat Price has once again gone out into the wide world and reported on the real goings on around London, this is an all singing and dancing post… featuring an Interview with Morten from The London Metal Coalition about the partnership with Signature Brew and Coalition Fest, a live review, and a bit more….

LONDON METAL COALITION PRESENTS: BATTLE OF THE BREW III Signature Brew, E17, 10th August 2024!!

In every aspect of life, it’s hard to pass up a bargain. It can be even harder to pass on a freebie, but there will always be an element of risk. After all, you get what you pay for.
Sometimes, you get a deal so good, it feels like you’re robbing the provider. Especially if it is something you love.

I love heavy metal and beer. So when the London Metal Coalition announced another Battle of the Brew event at Signature Brew’s flagship site (and brewery), I was on it. It’s not like anything else was going on, apart from some little festival in Derby.

Signature Brew is an independent  brewery and the Blackhorse Road site is where the beer is made during the week. At weekends, the main room is cleared and a stage is erected for music events. Then it is all packed away in time for the next working week…..It’s impressive.

Just as impressive is London Metal Coalition (LMC) , a group of 56 metal bands (and counting) who have come together to help each other out and to just hang together., I needed to know more, and I would like to think some of you would to. So I got in contact with Morten, one of the founders of LMC, and frontman for the band Levee, and asked a few questions a couple of days before the show…

THE INTERVIEW –

Mat: How did you secure, not one, but three Battle of the Brew events at Signature Brew to showcase the LMC roster? It’s a very impressive venue.

Morten: From the beginning of the LMC, when we were only 7 bands that had started to work together, Signature Brew was the place we met every other month to discuss how to help each other elevate the scene. Signature Brew gets everything we are trying to do and supports us in it by not charging for meeting rooms and providing free beers for the meetings. Earlier this year, we had the first Battle of the Brew. Signature Brew was interested in getting more metal into their 350 capacity brew hall venue, and we were happy to help set it up.

We agreed that if none of the LMC bands would charge to play, I wouldn’t charge to set up the shows, and Signature Brew would cover the rent hire and costs of sound engineer and show runner. Then we could put on a free show for the metal scene of London. We love the idea of these showcase shows being a gift to the scene. You don’t have to pay anything to catch a great show, and feel part of the metal community here.

Mat: Sounds like a big leap of faith for all involved. How did it pan out?

Morten: The first “test” show was on Febuary 17th this year. We didn’t know if anyone would even show up for a free show in Walthamstow. The show ended up being packed to capacity. The next week, Signature Brew wrote me an email and asked if we could add four more Battle of the Brew shows this year. They sold a lot of beer that night, and all bands played a packed dream venue. Win-win.

Mat: well, myself and my friends had a great time. What lessons did you take from it?

Morten: It showed us how much we can do as a community. The LMC now consists of 56 of the best, most active metal bands in London. When we all push together we can pull something like this off……It’s humbling.

Mat: With the 1st BOTB being a success, I’m hoping the second event was even more successful. I couldn’t attend that one, unfortunately. Was it?

Morten: BOTB 2 was equally successful. More free tickets were claimed but, due to sudden heavy rain, not everyone came. We still filled the brew hall and had an amazing time.
When all the bands in the LMC push this event we reach a lot of people, and all the bands have an interest in these events being successes, because all the bands will eventually play them.

Mat: Sounds like I missed the boat there. LMC affiliated bands do get around a lot. Some did well at the London legs of Metal 2 The Masses as well (I was rooting for Nymphic, personally). That must be a boost.

Morten: Yes, Nymphic is one of the great servings of metal from London. Their energy is wonderfully fresh and anarchistic., Them Bloody Kids ended up winning the final. Another young band that has the tunes and live performance chops to make it far. We always follow the Metal 2 The Masses closely in the LMC mother chat that all the bands are in. We build each other up before the heats and we pick each other up should a band not go through.

Mat: The LMC has a healthy history with Metal 2 The Masses, doesn’t it?

Morten: The LMC started when bands were entering the competition in London back in 2022. The band that arrived the earliest on the day outside the venue got to play the latest. That resulted in bands spending hours on the pavement waiting for the venue to open.
Loads of beers and chinwags were had, and my own band, Levee, ended in the same final that Imperium won. Through the many heats, we met so many great people and after the final, we decided to keep that contact in a chat. Boom! The LMC was born.

Mat: Quite the success story. After this, you have Coalitionfest 2024 lined up (31st August to 1st September at the New Cross Inn, SE14). From a thrasher point of view, you’ve managed an impressive haul by getting Xentrix and Harbinger to headline the two dates. How can you top this, or is the challenge part of the appeal running the LMC?

Morten: Thanks. Yeah, we’re excited about having Xentrix and Harbinger headline. It’s a great feeling to be able to have LMC bands play a bill with such calibre artists. It excites and gives every band an urge to go home and write more brutal riffs and deeper lyrics.
We’re not really worrying about being able to top this year’s Cofest next year. There are many bands out there that are excited to support the scene and, as CoFest grows as an event, I’m sure we will be able to deliver bigger and better headliners in the future.
It’s an exciting challenge to keep trying to build the LMC. There are so many ideas from the bands as to what we can do to grow; podcasts, themed shows, band exchanges with other parts of the world, festival connections in mainland Europe, parnterships with magazines, etc etc. There is so much more we can do when we work together… and it’s loads of fun doing so.

A good example of how we try to build the LMC and the community, is by having a collaboration track made every year. This year is the third time we’re doing so.
My band has written the song, and there are 30 different metal artists from 26 different bands on it. That sort of thing is not just building cohesiveness in the scene, but it also shows that we’re united and welcoming everyone onboard.

Mat: I take it you refer to Battle For London by Halberd as last years collab single.
Speaking of which, it seems there’s not a stage they won’t play or a band they won’t play with. That sort of work ethic must be inspiring for the others on LMC’s roster.

Morten: Yes, Halberd is not just a fantastic recorded and live band, they are also great people. They’ll play with every band that plays metal. Doesn’t matter the sub-genre. They know that when they go on stage, they don’t need to be at an all-thrash event to get the party started. They will set any crowd on absolute. They have even played a wedding once. Great guys.

Mat: In my chat group, whenever we see Halberd playing a show we’re attending, we aften joke that we don’t see enough of them.

Morten: In the LMC we talk about “Halberd envy”. It’s easy to feel that you’re not very productive as a band when you have Halberd put new, amazing material and videos out all the time. It’s super inspirational and sets a very high bar for all other bands.

Mat: One last question. Can we expect a BOTB 4 this year, will there be LMC Merch any time soon (ok, two questions)?

Morten: There will be a BOTB 4 and 5 this year, and BOTB 6 is already in the calendar for February, 2025. Let’s keep pushing this rock for as long as it rolls. We are having new merch printed as we speak. It will all be ready for Coalition Fest. We are making both the standard LMC T-shirt with band logos on the back AND a special Coalition Fest T-shirt for this year as a collector’s item. Both designs are great, and we hope to sell quite a lot of them this time around. Last year, we had around 100 tshirts printed. Hopefully we can get that number up higher this time around. The more we get our merch out there, the more metal musicians will ask, “What is the London Metal Coalition?” and the bigger we can grow this wonderful community.

Mat: Well, good luck with a busy few months, and thanks for taking the time to talk.

THE BUILD UP –

There is no mistaking that, when approaching Signature Brew, it is a working brewery. Six tall, steel silos in front of the main building are a focal point, with a tap room built to the side.The forecourt is filled with tables that are equally filled with customers from all walks, drinking and enjoying the mid afternoon sun. It didn’t take me long to find Morten. He is a tall man with a permanent, infectious smile and a Danish charisma that will melt the most frigid soul. We greet and make small talk before I am invited to sit in on the 12th LMC private meeting, held in the venue bar.

There were over a couple of dozen people present, and not just members of bands on the bill. Members of Halberd, Kardinal X and, obviously, Levee were there. Along with new  LMC members Aera Nova and Tales of Perdition being represented. There was free beer passed around but, we were there for business, so little was consumed… thankfully (I had ‘work’ to do). This was a meeting like any other held by an organisation. There were introductions, an itinerary of points to be made, brainstorming and announcements.

I am not at liberty to divulge any of the details but, rest assured, London Metal Coalition are not sitting idle. Expect great things to come. I will, however, mention that LMC sister group, London Metal Valkeries were represented by Izzy, of black metal band Daughter. I feel that, being given an enviable position to write about others art and passion, it is important to give column space where it is due

It’s best if I let Izzy explain further…

The London Metal Valkyries was created when the women and non-binary members of London Metal Coalition bands got together to ensure our voices were heard in what is often a very male dominated scene. We believe that we have a responsibility to make the metal scene an inclusive and safer space for everyone.

We’re based on a simple ethos – represent, connect, support. We provide a platform for women and non-binary metal creatives, in all its aspects, to express themselves, snd connect with each other to ensure we all feel welcome in the scene. We ensure that we are visible in the scene – there are two of us in the LMC ‘Forge’ steering group (myself and Alea from Tales of Perdition/Ygodeh), and there is always LMV representation on stage at LMC-run gigs. We are also starting to run our own LMV gigs, with women and enbys in all bands on stage, running the sound desk, designing the posters and taking the photos down front.

More importantly, we’re looking to create a more visible presence at London Metal gigs (of all sizes) so that women and enbys can reach out and ensure they’re not alone. While metal shows can be wonderfully Inclusive spaces, sometimes going on your own can still feel risky/uncomfortable. We’re hoping to launch this before the end of the year and it’ll be a sort of buddy system, where people can reach out on Instagram and in person and we’ll do our best to make sure one of us is at the gig with them. We’ll also have visibility in the form of back patches/jackets for people to just hit us up at gigs if they want help. Sadly, all of us have had experiences at metal gigs where we’ve had unwanted attention, or just not felt safe, so we believe this is a really important thing.

We’re always looking to welcome in new metal creatives into the mix. On a personal note, the LMV has been a wonderful part of my life as a woman in metal and I’ve met so many wonderful friends as a result of it. I know I speak for all of us when I say – we’re committed to making this scene the best it can be and we’re not going anywhere.’

Something I can support, wholeheartedly.

Once the meeting was adjourned, we were back outside to wait for the event…

THE GIG –

Inside the main hall, you are surrounded by the breweries tuns, vats, and walls of kegs. If that isn’t metal enough for you, then I can’t help you.

First onstage were NWOBHM influenced metallers and mates with Tim ‘ripper’ Owens, Tempest Saint. You know what you’re getting with this band. Fist pumping classic heavy metal. Vocalist (and fellow Hertfordshire denizen), Joe knows how to work a crowd and easily got them joining in. A promising start to proceedings, I think.
I asked Joe after their set just how did they manage getting Tim Owens to collaborate with them for their single. Self Vilified. “Just luck,” he said. “We took the plunge and asked. And we got.” Sometimes, that’s all it takes. I should know…

Ravenhymn were next. They brought Germanic  folk metal to the evening, and I don’t care what you think, folk metal gets the beer sloshing and the head bobbing. It was unfortunate that the mix couldn’t quite handle Vorn’s bagpipes, but they soldiered on and gave a fun performance. The guitar here was given more heft and bite here than on their studio effort. They were also the band with the latest release to plug. Their EP, I saw the wolf, was realeased on july 12th.

Now, I know this is on UK Thrashers, but I was looking forward to seeing Superfecta.
They hit a perfect balance between grunge and stoner, and have an ear for hooks. Blackest by Lazarvs was my album of 2023 and, while Superfecta lack the death metal of that release, they certainly have the groove. Bassist, Max was in Alice In Chains UK before Superfecta and played europe before Covid hit. I’m perversly glad it did if it gave us what was played here.

Now that everybody was loosened up adequately, it was time to tear it up, and Fracture Point had just the thing for that. They’re an intimidating looking bunch, and their brand hardcore infested thrash does little to remedy it.  In fact, they are very an amicable group. Bassist, Adam, is just as outgoing as Morten, and Aiden has a deliciously dry wit. FP are celebrating the release of a stonking EP (Act of Malice), but every song on the set is played with an intensity that befits the freshest written anthems, and they are not afraid to rub their own musk on thrash in general. They are old enough to know better, but they do know better, and for that, it makes for a banger of a set.

There were, undoubtedly, a few bruises after Fracture Point, and I’m certain a few more were to be added once the headliners, Enquire Within hit the stage. So far, the other Darlings of thrash, along with Halberd. They offer something with groove and originality. 
I first saw EW back in Febuary ’23 opening for Acid Reign in Camden, and they’ve since solidified their sound. Where they ruled the Black Heart stage (with a guest appearance from Acid Reign’s, H). Their’s is an intelligent brand of thrash that borders on the progressive. Vocalist, Jacob, commands the stage and has the vocal chops to enthrall an audience. Backed by Daniel(guitar), Erim (Bass), and drummer, Henry, they make it look effortless. Even in a hot and sweaty brewery.

I asked Jacob if playing the saturday of Coalitionfest 24, before headliners Xentrix, was a daunting task. He answered (paraphrased), that a few years ago, Enquire Within played a fest along with Xentrix and, when Jacob looked side stage during their set, saw Xentrix rocking out to their music. After seeing that, going  onstage is exciting, more than anything.
If everything was equal in the world, we would be blessed, but the world is not equal. Time got the better of everything and Enquire Within had to cut their set short, although only by one song and a tantalising “special surprise”. All I’ll say is, the set list said ‘Slayer’. So, Prison was the last song of the night, but what a night it was.

If there’s one thing to take from this, it’s that with the right passion and fortitude, metal can be more powerful and far reaching than we can imagine. If you don’t believe me, get a ticket for Coalitionfest 24 at newcrosslive.com, dice.fm, or the other places… or check London Metal Coalition on all the socials for details and say hi.

Before we finish, I need to say one thing…

If I chattedto you, and it failed to make it here, I apologies. I forgot my glasses and couldn’t see once the sun went down. But standouts were…

Rick of Silverhex
Sean of Kardial X
Matt of Tales Of Perdition
Andre of Aera Nova
And rubix of some band called Halberd (…..yeah, me neither).