ROCKINGBURGH LA BELLE ANGELE, EDINBURGH 30th September 2023

At first, it was disappointing to discover Saturday night headliners Daxx & Roxane pulled out of Rockinburgh at very late notice; too late for the organisers to secure a replacement. The solution was to give all other bands a longer set, which worked well and ultimately proved to be the right decision… But I’m getting ahead of myself! 

Bursting with youthful exuberance and dressed in their finest rock star chic, Edinburgh’s own Holyrude Vault did a decent job of warming up the modest crowd with their sleazy hard rock. Steven Swanson’s vocals were reminiscent of Vince Neil (when he was good!) and in keeping with tradition, they even threw in a power ballad in the form of ‘Saved Me’. It’s always difficult when the tunes are unfamiliar but the set was padded out with welcome covers of ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ and ‘You Could Be Mine’ that successfully got everyone singing.  

DeadFire took things up a few notches with their antagonistic, spiky take on metal. Frontman Charlie encouraged everyone to “take one step closer”, and looking at him, I felt it better not to argue! With songs like  ‘D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F’ (that’s ‘Do I Look Like I Give…’ er, I think you can work out the rest!), the music is upfront and confrontational, just as rock should be. In ‘Anxiety Society’, DeadFire have a memorable anthem, with a surprisingly catchy chorus. But it’s the big, grooving riffs that are their real strength and generated much involuntary head-banging. Resistance is futile, DeadFire is a band that has to be seen to be believed. 

A Ritual Spirit specialise in technically proficient metal, at times reminiscent of Dream Theater with their jagged riffs and unexpected u-turns. Much as I enjoyed the likes of ‘Sacrifice’, the lure of food became too great about halfway through the set and I sloped off to seek pizza. Although the venue did a great job and had a selection of chicken wings available to save anyone having to miss any bands, my mind had already turned to cheesier propositions! Sadly, it meant that I missed Battalion of Flies altogether, but I’ve heard good things and hope to catch them another time. 

I was back in time for Welsh fivesome Valhalla Awaits, who brought their intense, grunge influenced metal to the Scottish capital. There’s a certain foreboding in the brooding riffs and despairing lyrics prevalent through ‘Dying Inside’ and ‘Digging the Grave’. But there are enough cracks of light in the infectious choruses to ensure that the darkness never overwhelms. The squeals of angry guitar that punctuated ‘Skin and Bone’ were particularly pleasing, and closing with a cover of Nirvana’s ‘Breed’ was a masterstroke, the familiarity ensuring a rapturous response.

Lulling us into a false sense of security with the promise of some ‘smooth jazz’ and a laid back introduction, Mother Vulture quickly changed things up and delivered undoubtedly the most electrifying set of the weekend; if not one of the most startlingly brilliant sets I’ve ever seen. With a striking image that subverted the expectations of what is is to be a rock band, the white suits with flashes of red and black gave no indication of what was to come. The unbelievable feral energy flying from this quartet was something to behold; frontman Georgi Valentine effortlessly switching from helium throated singer to death metal growler - new single ‘Go Big or Go Home’ demonstrating this beautifully. Guitarist Brodie and bassist Chris careered around the stage with so much intensity it’s a wonder they didn’t fall over. And let’s not forget the music itself, a snarling, hard rocking, body rattling, riff machine that takes influence from so many sources it’s difficult to truly pin down. But isn’t that true of all the greats? As Mr Jones reached its cacophonous conclusion, the cries for an encore persisted, but news that Brodie had cracked his nose ensured it wasn’t happening! In some ways, the lack of encore was a bit of a genius move that left us all wanting more. Surely an impossible act to follow. Daxx and who?