Opening tonight’s three-band riff-fest are the spectacular Silverburn. Tall and crowned with a shock of platinum hair, frontman Jimbob Isaac is an imposing figure, towering over a fired-up crowd, willing them to snap their necks to the riffs he wrenches from his guitar. Sonically, the three-piece are an intense proposition.
Inevitable comparisons to Isaac’s former bands, Hark and the mighty Taint, are there to be made, but Silverburn are an altogether more abrasive proposition than either, bringing to mind the breathless angularity of Deadguy, or the pummelling, off-kilter rhythms of Meshuggah. Whatever the precise recipe, they’re absolutely killer, kicking off the night’s first circle-pits and earning appreciative air-guitar work from Crowbar members watching on from the side of stage. If you love metal, you will love Silverburn.
Legions Of Doom are up next and are tailor-made for the battlejacket-clad masses packing out the Tramshed tonight. Born from impressive stock – they feature former members of Corrosion Of Conformity, Trouble, Sourvein and a dozen other pillars of the US metal pantheon – the five-piece get a headliner’s response. Frontman Karl Agell is a warm, natural focal point, effusive in his love for the metal community; behind him drummer Henry Vasquez is a whirling dervish of a man who rarely remains seated and seems to resent being stuck behind a kit. They close on a raging CoC number, Dance Of The Dead, which Agell dedicates to departed former bandmate Reed Mullin.
“Good evening, Cardiff. We are Crowbar from New Orleans and we’re here to kick your ass. Let’s do this shit.” Kirk Windstein, veteran frontman of the Louisiana wreckers, does not mess about. This statement of intent is immediately followed by the clattering opening to …And Suffer As One, from 1998’s landmark Odd Fellows Rest album, with mayhem the result. For the next 70 minutes, Crowbar deliver a furiously intense set. Riffs rain down on a seething, sweating audience who reciprocate with circle pits and a non-stop succession of crowdsurfers.
Although they stick predominantly to well-honed classics, first released 20 or more years ago – The Lasting Dose, Conquering – the sludge metal legends are apparently riding a wave of unprecedented popularity. This may not be quite the same TikTok-enhanced tsunami that’s carrying Deftones at the moment, but Windstein seems genuinely touched to share that this is their most successful tour in 36 years, pulling in bigger crowds than ever before.
Peeling out riffs beneath the fleur-de-lis banner of their home, the quartet bring the night to a satisfyingly bruising close with the aptly titled All I Had (I Gave) from their self-titled record, leaving several hundred pairs of ringing ears behind them.
Crowbar, Legions Of Doom + Silverburn, Tramshed, Cardiff, Wed 25 Feb
words HUGH RUSSELL photos ALEX TOBIAS
