IRONVOLT

IRONVOLT – ‘GRIMM’

Album launch party – The Fleece, Bristol

Wednesday 4^th December 2019

Support from – Conspiracy of Chaplins, Raised by Hounds.

Having waited two years for the album the night was finally here for the official launch of ‘Grimm’ which is the third album by Ironvolt. We arrived at Fleece which is an excellent venue, just before doors open and got to chat with a couple of the bands beforehand.

With the place beginning to fill up, first band out of the gate were local band Conspiracy of Chaplins. I found them to be more rock than punk with excellent guitar. It is quite a surreal thing to see four vicars on stage giving it large and by the time they hit second track ‘Pornstar’ the crowd was engaged. The Fleece offers good acoustics which suited the band who are extremely tight. Vocals were excellent and the band aired a new song, ‘Lead Me On’ which went down very well. There were some shades of early Sabbath when it came to the guitar, especially on ‘Moral Panic’ but all in all the guys put on an excellent set. It would have been great if the crowd had been a little bigger but I was left impressed by the band and we managed to get an interview for a later date.

Set List – ‘Big Dog’ ‘Pornstar’ ‘So Close’ ‘Plastic Jesus’ ‘Lead Me On’ ‘Moral Panic’ ‘Plastic Trousers’ ‘Experimental Love’ ‘Captains’ ‘Vicar’.

Next up were Alt-rockers, Raised by Hounds. First track ‘Living Sacrifice’ had a somewhat sedate start but built and then went next level. Both the guitar and the vocals were excellent and the driving rhythm section was second to none. With a very enigmatic frontman the crowd were engaged straight away. Raised by Hounds have a big sound and the feeling was that they could have done with being in a bigger venue or that the sound engineer could have put a bit more effort in to give the guys music clarity. Nevertheless their tracks had great hooks and they put on quite the show. There was a big nod to Idris Elba possibly in the running for the next James Bond and the band wrote a tribute to that, unsurprisingly called ‘Idris Elba.’ We were also treated to most recent release ‘Colt’ to round things off. I do look forward to seeing the guys again once they have their own sound engineer but the show they put on this evening was a good one.

Set List – ‘Living Sacrifice’ ‘Siege’ ‘Sonny’s Tune’ ‘Idris Elba’ ‘Home’ ‘Angel’ ‘Wonder’ ‘Colt.’

By the time Ironvolt hit the stage the crowd had swelled and with opening track ‘Pale Red Gentleman’ we were up and running and were treated to a real step up in class. Minka’s vocals were on point and the band were as sharp as ever. The twin guitar riffing was sublime and the sound within the venue was very impressive. Every track received a huge cheer from the crowd. We were treated to band members moving through the crowd as they played which went down an absolute storm. The whole of ‘Grimm’ was played this evening and the band have an electric energy which captivates the crowd. Since seeing them a year ago the band have taken leaps and bounds in terms of quality and engagement. They have grown into quite the tour de force. ‘Pigs’ seemed to have beefed itself up for the set and ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ was simply outstanding. The cover track, ‘Filthy Gorgeous’ played live is a thing of beauty and at the end of the set the calls for an encore were thunderous. We were indeed blessed with ‘Honeytrap’ and ‘Mojo.’ This was an excellent set from an excellent band who are only going to get bigger and bigger.

Set List – ‘Pale Red Gentleman’ ‘Filth’ ‘PIGS’ ‘Sloth’ ‘Defiled’ ‘Reaper’ ‘Panic’ ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’ ‘Honeytrap’ Mojo’