Live Review: Summer Bash 7 hosted by Mercury’s Well (Part #1)

It’s no secret that we’ve been working with Reading Progressive Death Metal trio Mercury’s Well over the past few years, helping promote Summer Bash and as we prepare to head out to the annual Hawaiian themed beach party this year, it has to be said we’re excited at the prospect of the actual day like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve. As always, its been great fun putting together the band introductions, doing the interviews and reading the choices the bands have made for our 5 Albums I Want To Be Buried With series and now the build up is over, it’s time for the party! A cheeky listen to the self-titled album from Mercury’s Well accompanied by a can of a beastly world famous energy drink on the way to Reading Facebar has us in the zone, turning up early enough to watch drummer Liam Fogarty put together his drum kit with the help of his young son. In the blue room we chat with the regulars like Dan from Tape It Shut about their plans for today’s big day and work with Shadow Promotions while the Reading Rising crew setup the light rig and test the PA. The stage is cornered by four inflatable palm trees with flower necklaces hanging from the microphone stands and it’s that time of year again!

Southampton Winge Punx Petty Squabbles [8/10] may have been a last minute addition to the Summer Bash line up but the openers are a mighty fine place to start, setting a standard with their melodic qualities and energetic approach. Featuring in their ranks Dan Wilson-Stone from Buds. and Ben Palmer from Arid Wave means that they’re not newbies in the game and their experience shines through in the quality of their material. In a tip of the hat to the Prince of Darkness, the trio start their set in rock star poses before tearing through the opening riffs of “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. A special moment in homage to the legendary Ozzy Osbourne who of course tragically passed away in the build up to Summer Bash, it instantly puts a smile on everyone’s face. Then comes the brilliant “Daylight Savings Time” which finds Dan moaning about the little things in a way to which we can all relate. In a similar fashion, “Email” is about how work sucks and has a Tom Morello style solo before “Go Outside” resonates with all the introverts and has big sing-a-long chorus. They may claim their songs are silly and old but in all honesty they’re a mighty fine time.

There are twenty minutes between sets in which time we’re treated to a playlist compiled by Mercury’s Well bassist James Tiffin and he has for us more than a few treats from pretty much every genre of music. That gives the bands enough time to change over their gear and we have to take our hats off to Ben Palmer from Petty Squabbles who switches from bass to guitar and vocals in Arid Wave [8/10], complete with a costume change. They begin their set with the first verse and chorus of “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath before busting out their own material, the self confessed Nirvana loving trio having created a Metal ‘n Roll style with heavy riffs and flamboyant clothes all part of the show. Every song is laced with feedback and their drummer is a ball of sweaty tattooed energy in the heat, “Life Is Combat” and “Fold” being particularly good. After their Pop Punk song the three piece even throw in a Beatdown Hardcore riff just to keep the audience on their toes.

For those not in the know PAINSTAKE [8/10] are the artists formerly known as Turning Point but that name change is nothing to do with a style shift and they still have a found somewhere between the nail of Hardcore and the hammer of Deathcore. The Reading four piece are the first band to bring an 8 string guitar and a 6 string bass to the stage and they absolutely crush with their weighty brutal material, demonstrating their power with cuts like “Isolation” and “Dead End“. Despite a momentary reprieve for the audience due to some technical issues, they manage to square off the circle with a high energy finale that includes everyone changing instruments for a surprise Knocked Loose cover. While a cover is something very much in the tradition of Summer Bash, its still a surprise to see their vocalist playing the drums but at least their drummer has the help of the audience when it come to the vocals.

They say that you should never judge a book by its cover and while Black Skull Ritual [7/10]  bassist and vocalist Baron Von Strange looks like he belongs in a Pizza Thrash crew, instead he creates Electro Punk Doom Metal with partner in crime and guitarist Karl Lawrence. Their set is an Industrial Metal masterclass with dark and sinister grooves, the rumbling five string bass enough to trigger alarms for seismic activity. Using a drum machine might be seen as a necessary evil that serves a purpose by some but in Black Skull Ritual its essential to their sound. Its been purposefully set to primitive to give the duo an old school vibe with “Doom Grinder” standing out like a hammer smashed thumb. Riffs fit for worship are just important as the involved bass playing, the snot nosed punk vocals as classic 80s as they get. Think churn and burn like early Pitchshifter or Godflesh and you get the picture.

It’s been a minute since anyone heard anything from Melodic Death Groove Metal heads Remnant [9/10] but a new line up, a couple of ripping solos and a vocalist with some serious death growls proves that not only do they still have what it takes but if you pardon the pun, the remnants of Remnant are very much running software v2.0. What’s interesting is that on the older songs the band aren’t using a backing track for the female vocal parts despite going from two vocalists to one, so their screamer roars through all the lyrics in throat shredding unclean fashion. They dedicate “Wolves“, a song inspired by “Bark At The Moon“, to the late Ozzy Osbourne before tearing through the Groove Death riffs, the dark tale masterfully told. A new song with a working title “Meat Is Back On The Menu” completes their set in style, a brutal new tune that has been very well crafted and sounds like the real deal. It also has a clean vocal bridge that the band don’t lose any of their energy to allow for, which is always a hallmark of great song writing.

Reading Punk three piece Tape it Shut [9/10] blitz through a set of politically charged and socially aware tunes in classic high energy style with songs like “Death Traps Waiting To Happen” finding Dan Tape cramming in as many words as possible while still managing to play guitar. How they do it without running out of breath, we’ll never know but set times are shorter at festivals so they keep things succinct between songs. They’ve got an album coming out in October and give us a couple from that including “Logical Sense“, a song about how people believe media bullshit until their questioned and actually think for a minute. Bringing out Danny from Masquerader the band offer up a surprise cover of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX theme song “Get Your Game On” in tribute to Mercury’s Well bassist Tiffin which they nail in true video game style. Another great sing-a-long moment, from an outfit whose live energy is electric, it’s a special moment. Back to the politics, Tape It Shut finish with a sweaty “Honest Politics“, one of many that lyrically resonate with satirical humour.