Category: news

Crowbar roll into the Welsh capitol once again to play at Tramshed and bring Legions of Doom and Wales own Silverburn with them, lets get inside and check out what went down.

First up we have Silverburn (7), a band I have seen before and was very impressed with, this performance cemented that judgement for me as spot on just like the band tonight. Tramshed is rammed already before Silverburn even take the stage and you can clearly see why this gig has been upgraded many times to bigger venues all over the UK not just here in Cardiff, there is no late people just walking in and everyone is packed in to witness the powerful blasts from the first band tonight.

Silverburn formed just after the pandemic by vocalist James Isaac as a solo project that has bloomed into so much more, the talent this man has at commanding an audience is great. The band rip through songs from the only album release they have so far, 2023s Self Induced Transcendental Annihilation, which sends the people here into pits and head smashing mayhem from the off.

Musically every song gets you right in the mood to stomp around and get your mosh on uncontrollably and that’s matched by the band on stage who are very rarely not moving about but as said previously have a command of the crowed in a way that everyone here is feeding off well. A sweaty and dirty feast of metal that was as raw and real as you will see from this excellent band.

A brief but calm chat with the next bands vocalist Karl Agell, from Chicago’s own Legions Of Doom (7), to me and a few other photographers tells us that he and the band are in such good mood about this tour and that they have received nothing but love from the UK fans explaining to us that he is so humble to be on this tour and cant believe the love and appreciation that the band has had from everyone. 

This being the bands first gig in Wales as Legions Of Doom which only formed in 2022 but has members from The Skull and Corrosion Of Conformity they know all about touring around the world including previously playing in the UK. This being my first time seeing them I am blown away by the enjoyment I had watching up close at first doing my photo thing but also afterwards I found myself just lost in the groove and guitarwork that went on throughout the whole set. 

Drummer Henry Vasquez is a human version of animal from the muppets but a very precise and groovy alternate. Song after song gets everyone here bouncing and we get our first surfers of the night, the energy and groove coming from the stage is infectious and you cant help but feed the band with claps and head bangs whenever you can.

A nice sprinkle of some Thin Lizzy riffage as a break point in the set is a nice surprise but its all about the bands great stage presence and interactions with the crowd that is impressive, the sound here at the Tramshed is really decent so we have no worries about that tonight but Legions of Doom are much more than just that. 

We end the set with a classic Corrosion of Conformity song, Dance Of The Dead, which Agell dedicates to former CoC bandmate and drummer Reed Mullin, a very entertaining set and that is shown in the roars of joy displayed by everyone here tonight, very impressed by the music and relaxed stage presence by all.

“Lets do this Shit” starts of the set from the legends that are Crowbar (8) tonight after a little break, the band get on to stage and fine tuned everything before we get vocalist Kirk Windstein telling it like it is, and we are a go straight into …And Suffer As One, from the bands 1998 album Odd Fellows Rest, a song that hits you in that edgy doom metal urge that everyone here has been dying to itch all night, from note one to end of song the photo pit is ablaze with surfing madness and a sway and push from the crowed that gets the security hard at work right away. 

No messing about tonight from the Louisiana men as we go from classic to classic like To Build A Man, Cemetery, Repulsive and Planets Collide. The experience of seeing a band 20 years after you first saw them is a very crazy experience for me as I was young sprout and would of been in amongst the pit and just living in the moment of the music.

This time I am in the moment of the music and live performance appreciation and this is a very commanding performance from the veterans who tell everyone here that they are blown away by the new support and explains how this is the bands most successful tour ever which is well over due in my opinion. 

We close the night with All I Had (I Gave) which sends everyone here home very happy and sweaty. A excellent set and performance from a band that has been the bar setters in the doom scene for a very long time.