Once again Mat Price goes above and beyond for a review and interviews at this the 4 coming of the London Metal Coalition Showcase… Battle Of The Brew

Although I’m not new to the Signature Brew site, This being the London Metal Coalition’s 4th quarterly showcase of artists, and the penultimate one of 2024, the exterior has had another seasonal change. With the winter months closing in, the open area outside now sports a large marquee. For this battle I find myself going in blind, having not really listened to, or knowing anything about the artists performing. The lack of diligence has left me, once again, cramming tracks from the bands performing tonight the day before and on the way into London.

From what I was hearing, this should be a good night. I arrived early at around the same time as  some artists and enjoyed a pint or two of Roadie IPA. It wasn’t long before Izzy of London Metal Valkyries turned up, shortly followed by the unmistakable top hat of the ever grinning Morten, our compere for tonight’s showpiece and ringleader of the LMC.

He’s a hugger, that one, but each one is heartfelt and friendly. I made small talk before he had to prepare for the day’s activities. These include the LMC meeting. At some point, I was called upon to sit in with said meeting (the LMC’s 13th at this site) and am, again not at liberty to divulge what was said. However, new artists were introduced into the coalition’s metal roster, now bringing the tally to over 60. That’s quite an achievement.

I was also given a chance to announce my intentions to interview each of the five bands playing this night, but more on that later… The thing with Signature Brew’s hall is its ability to impress me, every time I walk in. Your head knows it is a working brewery, but it feels like elaborate stage dressing.  What stood out more than anything was the house back line amps and cabs the brewery supplied, which were Orange. Very encouraging.

So the show had to begin and I had work to do…

HEART RIPPER

First on was HEART RIPPER, a one man death metal project by Zack Covill.

Normally, you would find him behind the drum kit playing with thrashers Halberd, and I just knew there would be a connection with one of the LMC’s flagship acts. Yet, here he was, with a guitar hung over his shoulder and a laptop to his side, belting out tight, brutal death metal.

Some may scoff the one man metal band approach, but full bands are expensive and can be a logistical nightmare. Especially if it’s an underground side project from your underground main band. I like the idea of getting your music out first, by any means, and let the people decide how far (and with how many on stage) it can develop.

Songs like Vortex Of Flesh and Death 13 really showed off his talent as a songwriter and guitarist; proving this isn’t just something to do for a laugh. This was serious death for serious metalheads.

As mentioned, I spent the week after blagging quick chats with the artists performing. So here’s HEART RIPPER’s.

Mat: First off. How was the gig at BOTB? Have you played as HEART RIPPER often?

 Zack: BOTB was absolutely fantastic! I’ve always wanted to play a HEART RIPPER set ever since Halberd and I performed at The Brew back in February for the first BOTB.

 At the moment, this is the fourth HEART RIPPER show I’ve done! I love to play whatever show I possibly can – it’s been a ton of fun so far.

 Mat: Well, the crowd liked your stuff.

 Doing a set solo is usually a black metal or industrial thing. Do you get much snobbery doing death metal with a guitar and a laptop on stage?

 Zack: I haven’t experienced much of that at the moment, but I’m sure there will be an odd person or two in the non-distant future. There’s bound to be a few people who won’t like what you do, that’s the subjective nature of music as a whole.

 Mat: You’ll get no complaints from me.

 Am I correct in assuming you played the drums on the HEART RIPPER releases?

 Zack: Yes! I use MIDI drums admittedly, but I make them as realistic as possible, and make parts I’d actually play myself – I take incredibly careful attention to detail of the drums with every release.

 Mat: That makes sense.

 You played a new track on Saturday and teased an album. How’s that going and what can you tell us about its release?

 Zack: The new track on Saturday was called Devoured By The Mind, which is the next single that’ll be released real soon. 

 The whole album process has been going super well so far! I’m still refining some things here and there, and once that’s ready, all will be revealed.

 Mat: I have one last question. What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Zack: BISCOFF! One of my all time favourites by far.

 Of course, such a direct answer is what to expect from a driven person such as he.

BORN TO BE MOURNED

Next on were BORN TO BE MOURNED, a deathcore five-piece that is putting the ‘core’ part front and centre. I will admit, deathcore is a hard sub-genre for me to get into, but I’m coming around. I couldn’t stand glam metal back in the 80’s until I saw Tigertailz live, and it was a revelation. BORN TO BE MOURNED gave me that hope again.

Playing their latest single, Hypocrite sounded like an unchained beast live. This is a band intent on going somewhere, evident by the shared crowd patter and the sense of enjoyment they relayed playing. A cover of Mistakes Like Fracture (originally by Knocked Loose) was quite the treat and, near the front, you needed your senses about you as action was being unleashed on the floor.

 Another deathcore band that has relieved my cynicism is one to watch.

 I got a chance to speak with their bassist, Joe. Here it is…

Mat: First off, how was the gig for you?

 Joe: The gig was amazing, the crowd were amazing and the energy in the room was THERE. I think we played the best we have in a while and we loved every bit of it.

 Mat: Good to hear. You played a new track, didn’t you? Fatality (based on the game, Mortal Kombat), was it?

 Joe: We did indeed, we also played our new single Hypocrite. That always gains a good response when we play that track and it’s starting to become quite the fan favourite at the moment.

 Mat: Are we to see an album or EP anytime in the future? Is there anything to tease?

 Joe: We are currently working towards an EP in the new year with a few of our set tracks making an appearance, so keep ya eyes peeled.

 Mat: I will. Deathcore can be a tricky sell to certain demographics (stubborn oldies like me), but I’m warming to it.

 Who would you recommend for someone like that to change their mind?

 Joe: Well we are a mix of Deathcore and Hardcore and if ya starting to like what we are bringing to the table then the best place to go would be our influences, so bands such as Kublai Khan, Knocked Loose, Whitechapel, Malevolence, Guilt Trip and Heriot.

 Mat: Kublai Khan and Malevolence are excellent bands. It’s good to know I’m on the right track.

 One last question… What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Joe: The toughest question of all time that. See, I’m a jammy dodger or a custard cream lad personally but I respect the humble digestive.

 Mat: Has to be one, I’m afraid…

 Joe: I’m gonna say custard cream and a cuppa tea.

 Hard to beat a classic.

OPENSIGHT

OPENSIGHT were the third band on the bill, and the suit-wearing movie buffs certainly know how to dress for the occasion. This was the curveball act of the night, and maybe the one that would split the room.

I’m glad to say they didn’t, and OPENSIGHT’s brand of metal-meets-movie soundtrack hit the right notes, It was like hearing the best Bond and Tarantino songs never released finally given a chance to shine. It was cheesy, funky, fun, but most importantly, it rocked. Frontman Ivan had all the charm and croon of a jazz club regular, mixed with the swagger and glitz of a diehard rock ‘n roller.

Their set is full of callbacks and references to cult and blockbuster cinema that acted as a much needed (and enjoyable) breather between the other four, full on bands on the bill.

Afterwards, Ivan was kind enough to share some words with me…

Mat: Obviously, most of your inspiration comes from cinema, but who inspires you musically?

 Ivan: A mixture of things. On the Heavy side of things we have been mainly inspired by more progressive bands that push the envelope somehow like Opeth, Devin Townsend, Faith No More and so on, although the bands that initially were an inspiration were the classic giants like Iron Maiden, Metallica and so on. Growing up with Heavy Metal and heavy Rock music in general steered the band within those realms, but there are a lot of influences outside of Metal and Rock. So things that creep into our sound are film music from genre films (a lot of 70s exploitation, horror, westerns, crime films), progressive rock, vintage video game music, and so on.

 Mat: So, like Trent Reznor and David Holmes (DJ and edm producer) who went on to compose film scores, would you do a film soundtrack, and if so, what genre would you pick?

 Ivan: Yeah. It would be great to write music specifically for a film. When it comes to particular genres we’ve done some songs that would work in Thrillers, Horror, Action, Crime Films and perhaps even a drama film would work. Some of the passages we’ve done for songs sound like car chase music for example. We’ve also done some stuff that has John Carpenter 80s horror vibes and sometimes we’ve even done some Spy themes and also bits that sound like music from a Spaghetti Western!

 Mat: It certainly shows.

 What comes first when writing your songs? The music to fit a movie theme or a movie to fit the musical theme?

 Ivan: The songs are structured with verses, choruses, bridges and other elements just like any other song, but the initial idea could be more thematic. Sometimes there is an idea that sounds like it could belong in a 70s Dirty Harry style film or a Tarantino movie or a video game and the song gets built from there. Sometimes you get inspired and try to do something specific like “let’s try to do a theme for a western” and try to make it work even if you arrive somewhere different. There’s a lot of gathering and recording of ideas, words, melodies and they spontaneously become songs.

 Mat: You played a new track at BOTB4, Midnight Hunger (about the film Gremlins).

 Does that mean you are recording at the moment?

 Ivan: Yeah. For ‘Midnight Hunger’ we wanted to do a Christmas song in a different way, so we grabbed Jerry Goldsmith’s Gremlins theme and made a song out of it, with lyrics touching on rebelliousness, pushing the envelope and breaking boundaries which is related to that Gremlins-like sense of freedom which we identify with. We ended up with a sort of ‘Anti-Christmas’ song and released a version as a single last Christmas, but we will definitely have an improved version for the next studio album and we are indeed working on that. We’ll definitely have a full length next year.

 Mat: I’ll keep an eye out for that.

 Last question, and probably the most important.

 What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Ivan: The Chocolate Five Finger Palm Exploding Heart Technique.

 You gotta love a choccy finger.

AGGRO

It was now time to ramp things up, but maybe not as it transpired…

 AGGRO came onstage, bringing with them their brand of groove drenched metalcore.

The Surrey quintet seem to have a soft spot for noughties NWOAHM and metalcore, with duelling vocals and nifty licks. Lead vocalist, Dan Gallop, has good command of the stage, egging on his cohorts in the band and the crowd equally. Songs The Rage and Take A Stand are reminiscent of Killswitch Engage and Lamb Of God respectively, but AGGRO ensure they put the right spin on things to make them theirs.

Things took a weird and unfortunate turn as technical issues with a guitar halted proceedings temporarily, then a crowd injury halted things altogether. It’s a shame, as AGGRO were on fire this night.

As if you weren’t expecting it, I asked for an interview and got one from Dan…

Mat: I found your brand of metal has a 2000’s vibe (not that I’m complaining). Is that an intentional thing? Music has a habit of being cyclic sometimes.

 Dan: It definitely does influence our style. We all grew up with ‘new metal’ so there are hints of those 2000’s metal bands. But we also have earlier and more recent metal flavours also.

 Mat: Seeing as we’re reading from the same page, is there any style of metal you’d like to see make a resurgence, like thrash and, to some extent, Nu Metal has?

 Dan: A nu-metal resurgence would be sick but also more groove based bands like Pantera/ Lamb Of God etc

 Mat: Your set was unfortunately cut short due to on stage issues and then an off stage injury, which he has happily been given an all clear.

 Where can we see Aggro play a full set in the near future?

 Dan: At the minute, our next gig will be M2TM on December 1st at The Forge

 Mat: Do you have any new songs lined up for that gig?

 Dan: As a matter of fact, we do! We’ve been working on getting it ready for the night. It’s a spicy one!

 Mat: I guess you’ll have to be at the forge to hear it. Nice.

 Last question. What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Dan: Definitely a chocolate digestive!

A classic choice, right there.

CALL OF FENRIR

Unfortunatly, CALL OF FENRIR’s set was called off. The time to wait for an ambulance ate into the rest of the evening’s music. This is a real shame as I was looking forward to hearing the Londoner’s brand of Viking inspired melodic death metal.

However, seeing as the taphouse is adjacent to the gig hall, everyone who wanted to stay did, and we were able to enjoy just hanging out and chatting. Of course, the cloud of worry was above, and, happily our injured warrior was ok after further checks the following day

 Although I cannot write about their performance, I can have a word with vocalist Chris…

Mat: It was a tough break you couldn’t play, but a relief that all is ok. What were you hoping to play for us?

Chris: As long as our fans are okay, that’s all that matters, there’s always more shows down the line.

Our set list consists of…

Winds Prevail: a song about the battles faced on the open water, the Norsemen were brave to venture across open water, and this song details the turmoil they faced, seeking new land and treasures.

March of the Heathen Horde: a song about brothers in arms, loyalty and the build up to an epic battle. (Our latest song on all streaming platforms with Chris our new vocalist on vocals).

Storm of Jormungandr: in Norse mythology midgard has the giant sea snake that’s wrapped around it, a creature so ferocious that even the gods feared it. This song describes that fear and the power Jormungandr has.

Allfather: guide us across the waves, this song is about the turmoil the Norse men had when they went on the journeys they did, leaving the loved ones behind and hoping they would return with riches for their families. 

A Wolf’s Requiem: this song is about a Wolf pack, brutally attacked by men, and their lands ravaged, a call from the great wolf Fenrir gives them strength to fight back for their land, and take back their home, this song is a slow one, with some heavy moments scattered throughout, Liv takes the lead with main vocals and Chris comes in with his screams to give the chorus the feeling of sorrow and anger the wolfs felt. We wanted to try something with this song, and have the lights dimmed down and the crowd to bring out those lighter or torches to light the stage and portray stars in the dark sky.

Ivar’s Wrath: this song is about Ragnar lothbrok’s son Ivar the boneless, on his quest to seek revenge on King Aella for killing his father. A fast paced song with thrash elements to end the show on a high note. We like to get the crowd involved in a wall of death on this one, to portray the battle between Vikings and Saxons.

 Hope that’s enough detail.

Mat: Plenty, thanks. Two of the songs are already out in the wild. Storm Of Jormungandr and March Of The Heathen Horde.

 Any plans on further releases?

Chris: Yes, they are both out on streaming platforms, Storm of Jormungandr has Adam our old vocalist on.

We actually were recording vocals for our album last night, we have several more songs in the pipeline and possibly one more coming out this year, with an album following next year, but being an independent band, it takes a little longer to get things recorded, mixed and then released.

Mat: I look forward to that.

For those who wanted to see you play, you’re playing The Dev in Camden on the 22nd of November. Any other gigs we should know about?

Chris: We are yes, we also have Sunday the 17th of November at Eradication fest in Cardiff, and December the 13th Headline show at The Six Six bar in Cambridge.

Mat: Good to know.

One last question. What’s your favourite biscuit?

Chris: I’ve gotta say it’s probably Oreo’s haha, the American in me will never let them go.

LONDON METAL COALITION

Obviously, any article about the London Metal Coalition would not be complete with some words from its main instigator and standard bearer, Morten. So here it is…

 Mat: Since the accident, have they made a good recovery?

 Morten: Yes, he is all fine. To be on the safe side he went for the relevant scans and he’s a-ok. We have had a good meeting with Signature Brew where we’ve made a plan for dealing with future crowd members who have read the mosh wrong and bring too much aggression. 

 Mat: You have one more gig at Signature Brew this year, haven’t you. Can you tell us more?

Morten: We will pack one more Battle of the Brew event on December 14th. It’s gonna be Xmas themed so expect Satan Claws, Jingle Hells and all that good stuff. We have an amazing line-up once again. It’s gonna be a great way to cap off a year where Signature Brew took a chance on the LMC and we showed them that we can deliver quality shows that fill their Brew Hall. 

 Mat: Lastly, a very important question. What’s your favourite biscuit?

 Morten: The Biscoff one. I will die on that hill! 

Considering the Biscoff is the popular choice, I see no need For such drastic action.

Hiccups aside. I’d say the night was a success. Even some curious types who only came for a beer at the tap room  ventured in to see what all the noise was about, and they actually had some fun. Not at the expense of it all, but because it was fun. Such an event is still an impressive achievement for a group of artists and musicians, but to pull it off 4 times is proof that coalitions such as the London Metal one do bear fruit.

Who knows… maybe we could see Yorkshire, Glasgow or Cornwall Metal Coalitions following suit, consolidating into a UKMC. The togetherness has always been in metal, and we now know where to go for the blueprint.

See You Next Time!!