Vicious Nature / Blade Edwards
ST Josephs Community Centre, Rugeley - 17/8/19
Review by; DeeDee
You don’t often find yourself in a Church Community Centre to watch a thrash/metal band such as VICIOUS NATURE. But the guys decided a homecoming show was long overdue. Sold out well in advance, the good people of Rugeley gathered early to enjoy an evening of entertainment, in the company of this well established outfit.
Support from BLADE EDWARDS, gets the show underway. From Willenhall, Blade was previously in bands for over 12 years, but has decided to go solo and is often seen playing local venues, around the West Midlands. Sat on a stool with his Electric/Acoustic and Metallica T-shirt, facing a packed room, he soon has our full attention. A varied set, ‘American Idiot’ and ’1985’ are really captivating, I like the way Blade covers the AC/DC hit ’Whole Lotta Rosie’ and Zep’s ‘Rock And Roll’ as they are played precisely how acoustic versions should be. Finishing a marvellous performance with his own compositions, ’Wild At Heart’ and ‘Fire And Brimstone’, wow, yes what a great choice. If you do live locally, check him out.
VICIOUS NATURE don’t really need any introduction, three ex members of Marshall Law with a drummer who was in Cloven Hoof, make up this intensely powerful 4 piece. Getting back together in 2012, Andy Pyke and Andrew Southwell, who had by this time recovered from an injury to his finger, decided to start a new project. By adding Jon ‘JB’ Brown, who had been in the Wolverhampton NWOBHM legends Cloven Hoof for 23 years, on drums and Mark Culley from Cerebral Fix for bass, Vicious Nature were ready to go. Plenty of shows and festival appearances have kept them busy, Hammerfest and Bloodstock among them. They have also been regulars in Belgium at the annual Wizzfest, held in memory of their friend Philippe ‘Wizz’ Beauprez.
Openers tonight are ‘Fight For Your Life’ and ‘Dream Stealer’ both appeared on the
debut EP in 2013, six years on and they are both still menacingly fierce. Andy Pyke uses
harsher vocals than in his Marshall Law days, numbers like ‘Salvation’ are delivered
deeper and more severe. A handful from the excellent 2018 release ‘VII’ follow in
succession, ’System of Disorder’ does allow Andy P to raise a chanting chorus, while
the riffs from guitarist Andrew Southwell are as precise as ever, ’The Silence That Kills’
and ‘Rise Up’ allow him to shred, it’s fast, extreme and the Rugeley faithful are loving it.
‘When The Devil Calls’ continues the pace, but it has a break midway when Andrew S,
slows it down and produces a few moments of gentle notes before the uproar is resumed. During ’Twisted Psychotic’ the drums of ’JB’ and bass of recently recruited Declan ‘Paddy’ Parry are so together, it’s amazing to watch.
Andy P takes few minutes to thank the audience, who have been so supportive, before the encore starts with ‘Breathless’ that featured on the ‘Salvation’ EP. Stunning guitar and dynamic vocals, it has that distinct sound that makes Vicious Nature so unique. We get a couple of Marshall Law songs as ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Under The Hammer’ are lashed out, taking a few of us back to ‘in the day’ as the saying goes, before they end with a blistering cover of Sabbath’s ’Symptom Of The Universe’. What a truly amazing evening and such a cool idea to perform here in the St Josephs Community Centre.
Actually this isn’t a bad venue at all, decent size room, nice enough bar and the stage has ample space. Maybe we will all meet up again next year in Rugeley. But before all that, October 12th sees Vicious Nature headlining a return to the Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton. Get a ticket from the SLADE ROOMS or directly from the band HERE as it is likely to sell out.
