Black Wolf

05.06.2015

BlackWolf were back headlining a home town show and it was a packed venue that saw them on excellent form. With howls from the crowd, and the temperature rapidly rising, it was a blistering set from them.

With a man down for the evening, Empire Of Fools started off the night with an acoustic set. With the venue already filling up, it was an appreciative crowd who got there early to see them and the band set about gaining even more fans throughout. ‘Down To Earth’ was an excellent start and even though it was just 2 acoustic guitars, this song rocked from the very beginning with the crowd clapping along in time. Singer Mark Pascall had vocals that powered their way through every song even though musically it was more subtle for this set and guitarist Steve Cobbin pulled of the difficult task of ripping up the more intricate notes on an acoustic guitar with a sound you didn’t think was possible. Adding a couple of new songs in the set, ‘Hope’ left you wanting to hear so much more from this band, whilst more well-known songs ‘Better Day’ and ‘Dirty Minded’ went down a storm with the crowd. ‘Devil Inside’ proved it was entirely possible to rock out to just 2 guitars, as this was a stunning arrangement of the song, rounding off what had been a brilliant opening to the evening.

Wreckage Of Society were only playing their 3rd live date and already they are well on the way to becoming a more established band, with a polished sound to their songs. The four piece took to the stage and set about winning over a crowd that may not have seen the band before. With some very impressive sounding guitar hooks, ‘Let Them Go’ was full of crisp guitars and singer Luke Smith had a voice that had an edge to it that made for a powerful combination. ‘Running In Circles’ showcased the talents of the band and even when they toned their set down, it still unleashed a monster of a sound as the songs rose in tempo throughout. ‘Back To Square One’ showed this is a band that is full of potential and will certainly be making a name for themselves after an impressive set from them.

Howls rang around the venue as BlackWolf took to the stage and it was straight into ‘Seeds’ which was an opening statement that very clearly said the boys were back in town and were sounding better than ever. Singer Scott Sharp worked the crowd into state of euphoria by the second song of ‘Moving Mountains’, as his vocals reverberated around the now hot and sweaty venue before the rest of the band joined in with those infectious guitar riffs that make this such a brilliant song live. ‘Kiss The Fire’ is one of those songs that is just perfect when played live and showed that BlackWolf are one of the most exciting bands around at the moment. With a second album on the horizon, it was a chance for the band to run through some of the newer songs and ‘Steady Slow’ left you wanting to hear so much more from them, as they have raised the bar with just how brilliant the newer songs are. With shouts of “Hey” mirrored by Scott and a now excitable crowd and with the temperature rising by the minute, ‘Black Hole Friend’ was riff after riff of delicious guitars with a drum beat that sounded truly massive. Another new song ‘Grace’ was one of those wow moments and those there instantly got just how much of a monster of a song it was live. Final song ‘Relief’ with its soaring guitars and thumping beat was an excellent end to a set that had been epic from start to finish.

A quick photo with the crowd duly followed and then an encore of ‘Mr Maker’ that had a sea of bodies swaying along to the grooving sound of the song, before ‘Sea Of Mercy’ played out in a final moment of greatness. Home town gigs are always a little bit more special, but BlackWolf were on fire at The Exchange and sounding the best they have ever been.