with Liliths Army

August had been a long month for many reasons and the gigs had been coming thick and fast so when the message came in that Kevin was looking for someone to review a midweek gig at The Musician on the last day of the month, I was honestly hoping someone else would step up so I could get some much-needed R&R. However, as I did a bit of research on the bands that would be playing, I was intrigued and so agreed to head along.

Kevin had mentioned meeting up early outside the venue to catch the bands prior to their sets to introduce ourselves and interview them. As I walked up to the venue I could hear the last part of someone’s soundcheck and I was liking what I was hearing, some nice meaty riffage was been executed so I was looking forward to hearing some more.

We did our introductions and the interviews (which you can watch below), purchased our hipster beers and proceeded to find the best place to stand to soak in the evening’s entertainment, sadly the venue was as busy as expected for a midweek gig so good standing/leaning places were easy to find. However, I did notice the hardcore fans who had come out to support the main band Krow, but we will come back to that.

First band on were Lilith’s Army from Northampton. A power three piece fronted by Sylvie Studente, that had origins dating back to 2004. We had found out earlier that her band mates (Sam & Travis) for tonight’s gig were dep musicians and just standing in for this evening, but upon the beginning of the 1st song Breathe you would have thought the band had been together since their aforementioned inception.

The band tore through a blistering set which was packed full of big guitar riffs and powerful drumming. Tracks Sick of It, Insomniac and Possesed which featured audience participation and recent single Get Away were all standouts and despite Travis (dep bassist) insisting he had only been playing bass for a few days, the band impressed hugely with very little evidence this was their first gig together bar a few mistakes here or there.

Sylvie had mentioned that she was lucky to be performing that evening after being hospitalised recently with issues that could have prevented her from ever singing again. On tonight’s showing, we were also lucky that she was able to perform, I now consider myself a recruit of Liliths Army and I made the connection that this was the band who’s soundcheck I had caught the end of earlier.

Fans of bands like the Distillers and Nirvana should check out Lilith’s Army, you won’t be disappointed.

As Dominic Torreto would say, “it’s all about family” and for tonight’s headliner KROW that is certainly the case. The 7 piece all female band are part of a travelling commune whose members come from all over but are brought together by their shared beliefs and love of music. Especially hard-hitting, dark, brooding music.

We met them earlier in the evening and got an idea of their influences (see interview below), but really didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say we were blown away…

Their sound is hard to describe, it’s almost as if Maria Brink got together with LCD Sound System and Filter to write music to the words of Alastair Crowley. From first song Disconnect to their last song and current single Hallelujah KROW put on a fantastic performance which was a lesson in stagecraft, musicianship and attitude.

Their New Industrial Metal sound was complimented by lead singer KROW’s strong vocals and the tight harmonies provided by vocalist Sunna, guitarist Babe and bassist O.

The band’s set was full of energy and passion which was captivating throughout, each member playing their role to perfection and having their moment to shine. Vocalist Sunna even got to demonstrate her unique and also impressive vocals during dark track Burn the Sugar based on an old story about a Zombie outbreak in the plantations of the Caribbean.

We did notice that there was no drum kit on the stage when we arrived but this was amply made up for by, in the band’s own words, ‘two sets of sample pads; two Floor Toms, one Snare and 10 metric tonnes of attitude’. Supplied by percussionists Spork and Spanner.

Synth player Nikki rounded out the sound by ensuring there was always an ominous sound punctuating the tracks and providing the counter melodies where needed.

Standout tracks were Messiah, Under and Hallelujah.

KROW are definitely a band to keep an eye out for and are currently blazing a trail across the country in support of their as-yet-to-be-released album, but you can find out more via their website here.

All in all, tonight turned out to be a fantastic midweek adventure and it was a shame that there weren’t more people there to take in these two fantastic bands. However, for those of you that missed it, fear not Music in Leicester were there to document the event and here is a clip of each band in action.

Live performances from the gig

Interviews

 

Reviewed and interviewed 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!