Deadland Ritual with support from Gin Annie
Live Review - Garage, Glasgow
British rockers Gin Annie were first to perform. They played a brief set of rock n roll anthems filled with massive riffs and catchy choruses. Their live sound was well mixed with vocals sitting prominently while guitars and drums still sounded clear. Performances of ‘Fallin’ and ‘Chains’ were standouts for me and were well received by the audience. Gin Annie are a great band with some brilliant songs and I would recommend that people check them out.
Due to issues getting the introduction to play, supergroup Deadland Ritual chose to leave the backing track and begin their set slightly early. From the get-go the sound blew me away. Geezer Butler’s bass tone was amazing. It was punchy and well defined. Steve Stevens’ guitars sounded great with solos sounding really crunchy but without any muddiness. Matt Sorum’s drums were well set up and never overwhelmed the other instruments. I was impressed with just how good Franky Perez’s voice sounded live. The strength of his voice was demonstrated during performances of ‘Broken and Bruised’ and ‘Neon Knights’. The setlist consisted of original singles like ‘Down in Flames’ and new songs such as ‘Dead Before Sunrise’ which is possible the heaviest song they have written so far. In between originals the band played songs form the other members’ past bands including a fantastic version of ‘Rebel Yell’ and an extremely energetic performance of ‘Sweet Leaf’. Despite the venue only being half full the audience made the band feel welcome by singing along and the shouting the band members names during quiet moments. ‘City of Night’ showcased how tight the band were and it was a joy to watch the band members having so much fun while playing it. To top it all off the band finished with a truly spectacular rendition of ‘War Pigs’ and you could feel the venue rumble with the combined power of bass and guitar.
Despite being a new band Deadland Ritual sound so in sync with each other that you would think they’ve been playing together for years. My personal highlights of the set were ‘Dead Before Sunrise’, ‘Rebel Yell’ and ‘Sweet Leaf’. I am excited to see what the band do next and would definitely go and see them again because they sound great live.