with Projekt Mayhem and The Big Dirty
It’s a cold, wet, sombre Friday night in Leicester, but there’s reason to go out..…. Hells Addiction are back in town playing a hometown show at the Musician and are breaking in a new guitarist.
Hells Addiction are stalwarts and local heroes of the Leicester music scene and have been busy since their 2010 formation. Describing themselves as a 5-piece balls-out hard rock band and the bastard child of an illicit three-way between Skid Row, early-Guns N’ Roses & AC/DC.
The venue was packed with leather-clad, hard rock faithful ready to forget the monotony of the week just passed, let their hair down and put their fists in the air.
Opening act, Northampton’s The Big Dirty, took to the stage with their thundering opener Dirty Rider which set the tone of the evening with its big riffs, pounding drums and infectious groove. Over which lead singer Jonny blasted out his powerful vocals including a tom cat howl that would put Axl Rose to shame.
To this reviewer, The Big Dirty seem to have a mix of LA sleaze rock from the 80s combined with some good old British 70’s rock. Their bassist’s tone is very reminiscent of a certain, now departed bassist of Motörhead. The bassist also sings but instead of being front and center he was able to compliment lead vocalist Jonny with some strong harmonies which added to their overall sound.
The band put on a good show, even if some of the stage theatrics were a bit cliched, but it is to be expected with this genre and the crowd were lapping it up. Particularly the whiskey which was delivered directly into the mouths of those at the front via water gun during the track ‘Whiskey Pistol’.
Throughout the set I was impressed by the wall of sound considering the band are just a 4 piece, the guitar, bass and drums work well together to provide a strong foundation over which the melodies are delivered and the guitar in particular was executed well ensuring no drop in in attack during the solos.
Stand out tracks were Light Weight Champion, Crimson and a cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game but played more menacingly as if Chris Isaak had written it based on a bad Tinder date rather than the heartfelt, tender, emotive feel of the original.
If you like your rock big, dirty and sexy….then The Big Dirty are the band for you.
The next band to grace the stage were Leicester’s own Projekt Mayhem featuring some well-known faces from the Leicester music scene and a member who we would be seeing on stage again later in the evening.
I was familiar with Projekt Mayhem, having caught their set at Firebug back in August, so I knew what to expect but it would be interesting to see how they would go down amongst the crowd tonight. Especially given they were a female fronted band and were following an almighty bout of testosterone that was left behind by The Big Dirty.
Kicking odd with Signs it was clear that Projekt Mayhem had nothing to fear and fit perfectly onto this bill with lead singer Jo more than holding her own with her strong vocals, impressive melodies and stagecraft.
Projekt Mayhem had something more to offer than the other two bands on the bill, their songs had a bit more complexity to them and were well constructed. You could tell everyone was playing to the song and not serving their own ego, each track had its own feel and style but was very clearly performed by the same band. Guitarist Dan Weir, who would feature again tonight, stood out with his impressive guitar work and tight harmonies.
Again, as a 4 piece, there was a distinct level of power to their sound that comes from the level of musicianship on show and the way each member gelled together.
Stand-out tracks were Cliché, TV and set closer Kylie which was this reviewer’s particular favourite. The track builds on a bass motive which breaks into an incredible chorus and is a definite earworm. A great song and a great way to end their set.
Projekt Mayhem are creating their own sound and it was good to see them perform live again in another incredible Leicester venue. This mayhem was a joy to behold.
And so it was time, we had been building up to this…. the crowd were perfectly lubricated over the past few hours drinking and ready to sing along to the balls-out rock that was about to commence.
Hells Addiction walked onto the stage following a dramatic opening backing track, primed and ready they burst into Gimme A Sign. The crowd responded, heads were banging, women were dancing and horns were held high.
Their sound is definitely inspired by the bands mentioned above and Hells Addiction have no problem wearing these influences on their sleeve.
The dual guitar attack of Dan Weir (also of Projekt Mayhem) and newby Darren Moulds, who recently joined following the departure of founder member Liam Sargent, provided an impressive array of hard-hitting riffs and blistering solos in which they traded throughout each song.
Backed up by a tight rhythm section channelling their inner Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams, the band put on a captivating show with singer Ben Sargent wowing the audience with his stunning vocal range and command of the stage.
The band played through an energetic set which featured plenty of strong choruses that were catchy enough to have you singing along. The music is perfectly designed to let you switch off your brain and let you engage fully with the band.
Stand-out tracks were On the Road Again, Masking the Pain, Save Me and Free Your Mind.
The hard-hitting riffage was interspersed by the track Masterplan which was a slower more introspective track and again demonstrated Ben’s impressive vocals, which on his lower register reminded this reviewer of Joshua Todd from Buckcherry and displayed that the band had more depth to them than just being a balls-out hard rock band.
The set was well constructed and ended on a high note (literally) in closer The Way I Feel.
The band took pause for a minute before returning to the stage for an encore which pleased the loyal fans who stayed right in front of the stage the whole night. On this showing, it’s not just hell who’s addicted, I also have a new fix.
Reviewed by Kenny Cassells
If you would like to share this review, please help us by using the share buttons below instead of a screen print – thanks!