Tony Steele and The Massacre

Needless to say, it's nice to be on the guest-list for a Cast gig however, Ralph's primary mission was to check out the support act on the evening Tony Steele and The Massacre whose new single was previewed on the blog late last year. let's face it, Cast are hardly going to be struggling for reviews.

They are currently embarking on a 20th-anniversary tour and this evening they were taking The Citadel Theatre in St Helens by storm. Not too difficult a task that being said as the audience was mainly made up of gentlemen of a certain age who were long time fans (some probably from John Power's Las' days) and had spent most of the evening previously in the bar. 



To their detriment as it happens, as Tony Steele and The Massacre played an immaculate set of well-crafted songs, some Americana-esque some just plain rockin' it out. Whilst the pre-Cast crowd was relatively small they quickly warmed to the band and Tony in particular, as he put every ounce of his energy into the set.

Kicking off with the slightly psychedelic Americana-style Feel Love they showed that they'd formed a well drilled, tight unit. Tony's rough-edged vocal bringing the song to life. It was quickly followed by a slightly countrified track called A Ballad Of Dead Love which bounced into a skiffle vibe that Lonnie Donnegan would have been proud of.

With thanks to @BazzaMills for the photograph

I'm Back Home was reminiscent of early Faces tracks around the time of the classic Long Player album and again Tony's vocal carried it to a higher level and that was carried through into the more upbeat, crowd-pleasing One More Chance with its folky, rebel song vibe.

Next up, Along The Right Track had a feel of The Animals to it before turning into a real foot-stomper and the band proving they were committed to their craft with solid musicality throughout. 





Penultimate track Fake Love had a cross-over Americana feel again, with shades of The Eagles brought up to date by being infused with Daughtry-like guitar and drums.

Finishing with a bit of a rock 'n' rolla Tony's strong, individual vocalising brought Bound to Collide to life and left me wondering how long it will be before Tony Steele and The Massacre take their rightful place as the headline act on a bigger stage.

Broken Witt Rebels

Ralph's featured Birmingham band Broken Witt Rebels a couple of times now on his Radio KC Indie Show and always to some great feedback, so it was with great interest that he checked out their newly released EP Howlin'.

Released this week, it's five tracks of bluesy, gutsy and downright nasty rock 'n' roll in the style of Bad Company or Family from back in the day. Lean, mean, punch you in the face and buy you a drink after tunes, proper music for grown ups.

Thanks to sidavisphotography.co.uk for the pic.

Lead track Shake Me Down is old school that wouldn't have been out of place on a Faces LP with shades of Ronnie Wood's geetar licks and smoky vocals al la Rod 'The Mod' Stewart.

They follow it up with gritty blues based Bottom Of The Hill and it's solid guitar work and raunchy vocal that drags you into the more Americanised Cloud My Day and I'm hooked, it's Broken Witt Rebels doing what they do best.

Thanks to trust a fox photography for the pic.

Lead track Howlin' is a stomper, and the anthem for Broken Witt Rebels on the EP, destined to be a classic fans favourite that'll have them howling along with the chorus at gigs. They round the EP off with another rip roarer in Queen Bee, it lulls you in then picks you up with its gripping vocal.

Broken Witt Rebels are Danny Core - Vocals & Rhythm Guitar; Luke Davis - Vocals & Bass; James Tranter Vocals & Lead Guitar and Anthony Byrne - Drums & Percussion and you can download the EP by clicking on these words!