Urne, Mountain Caller, Tribe Of Ghosts – Live at Satan’s Hollow
Urne, Mountain Caller, Tribe Of Ghosts
Satan’s Hollow, Manchester
10/12/2023
Live Review by Oli Gonzalez
It’s a cold and rainy December night in Manchester. Nothing that unusual then. Though on this night, I’m making my way to Satan’s Hollow for a night of live music featuring three emerging bands in the UK’s ridiculously stacked underground Metal scene. All three are of the Progressive and more experimental variety: Tribe Of Ghosts, Mountain Caller, and headliner Urne. More colloquially known as ‘Satan’s’, the nightclub / music venue is a pivotal hub for the alternative community in the region. A rather unique venue that offers the opportunity to see the artists in a full 360° stage view!
That’s not the most interesting thing for me though. No. For you see, a band from France arrived in the UK circa 2006 on one of their very first shows on this island, at this very same venue. A band who were (and still are) known for their Progressive take on Metal and pushing boundaries for the genre. A band who have gone on to tour the world, headline festivals and acquire a truly global fan base. Who? Why, Gojira of course! Not so small now obviously. A friend of mine told me how he was there that evening and told me “I saw Gojira play to 40 people at Satan’s. Now they’re huge”. Crazy to think how far they’ve come. So despite the gloomy weather, I arrived with a great sense of optimism, pondering whether I could be seeing another band who are ready to explode, and have a similar trajectory in the music industry. First up, are Brighton’s Tribe Of Ghosts…
Tribe Of Ghosts
The opening act, their mission was to get all in attendance sufficiently warmed up and ready for the night’s festivities. Mission accomplished! I loved the high impact Hardcore and Modern Metalcore, blending seamlessly with an Industrial edge. Something I’ve not seen before. Both vocalists were up to the challenge and complemented each other brilliantly. Lead vocalist Beccy taking the clean vocals and sounding fierce in doing so, whilst Adam pulled double duty as the bands guitarist and provider of harsher growls. The energy of the whole band was infectious and palpable, each member effortlessly filling the stage and making their presence known, running from side to side like a Duracell bunny! They made their gratitude known and seem to genuinely love what they do. They’ve been cropping up on major festival line ups and it’s easy to see why.
Although this isn’t my preferred genre, I couldn’t help but appreciate and admire what was on display here. A solid opening indeed.
https://www.facebook.com/tribeofghostsUK
Mountain Caller
A new band for me, I went in completely blind as I wanted to maintain that element of surprise. Being a three-piece and playing an instrumental set, this presented two main challenges for me. Making sure there’s enough variety in the composition and song structure to maintain interest, and ensuring the sound of only the bass, drums and guitar was full enough. I’d say they not only met these challenges but absolutely smashed them! I loved some of the dirty doomy riffs; good ol’ fashioned big tones and brutal simplicity. They alternated this with some rather aesthetic psychedelic and Shoegaze style passages, making for a melodic masterclass in parts. As for the sound being full, well it’s a good job I had ear plugs! No issues with sounding thin or lacking depth.
Overall, a very pleasant and enjoyable set. One that’s going to prompt me to dive deep into their discography.
https://www.facebook.com/mountaincaller
Urne
The main event and headline act Urne took to the stage. The venue was suitably packed out now, front man Joe Nally instructs the crowd to step closer, who duly oblige. Similar to the previous band, there’s always the risk of a three-piece sounding too thin up there on stage. Absolutely no risk of that from Urne though! They were ferocious right from the get go and delivered crushing blow after crushing blow in what can be described as an absolute riff fest and juggernaut of a performance. Frontman and bassist Joe was fighting the Christmas lurgy, and whilst not able to fire on all cylinders as a result, his voice was still fierce and commanded respect from casual onlookers and diehard fans alike.
There’s no doubt as to why the band’s latest record “A Feast On Sorrow” has received such critical acclaim! Their set was constructed almost entirely of tracks from this album, but I squealed with excitement when I heard the opening to ‘Serpent & Spirit’! THE SUN! WILL SET! FOR THE! LAST! TIIIIME! Such powerful lyrics delivered with such venom. I belted this out as loud as I possibly could. I’m sure others did too. An older track from the band’s extensive discography. A discography that caught the attention of Gojira’s very own Joe Duplantier (who ‘slid into our DMs’, in the words of Urne’s frontman), and who played a key role in this latest album. This ultimately lead to the two bands touring together earlier in the year.
To say having an ally like this in the music industry is valuable would be a huge understatement. A partnership that I’m sure will continue to bear fruit as the career of Urne continues to ascend. An ascension that poses the question; can Urne reach similar heights to that which their French comrades have enjoyed so far ?
Call me hyperbolic, but based on this night’s performance, I’d say that’s a very strong possibility. They clearly have all the ingredients right there to do so!
https://www.facebook.com/urneband
Whilst I have no way of knowing what the weather was like, nor what those in attendance on that evening in 2006 would have thought leaving Satan’s, I left thinking that I had just witnessed something special. I may well be telling people about this in 15 years time. “I saw Urne at Satan’s. Now they’re huge”.
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