Words and Photos By: NICK ASHTON
Festival season is now well underway as we start the 16th installment of SOS Festival at its now well-established home at Whittles in Oldham. With a large outdoor stage and a smaller indoor set up, there are no delays between bands allowing the organisers to cram as many bands as possible into this three-day celebration of rock and metal. Despite rain forecast for the weekend, everyone seems to be up for a good time as the usual resolution to ‘take it easy’ on the first day of the festival is quickly abandoned once old acquaintances are renewed and the music starts in earnest.
Opening up on the indoor Skull stage Not Now Norman quickly set out their stall for all to enjoy. Built around the daughter-father partnership of Taylor-Grace and Zander Brown, the band serve up some tight hard rock underpinned by a message. From social media abuse (Why Don’t Ya Like Me) to online stalkers (Bad Liar) to abusive relationships (Shout Your Mouth), the lyrics fight back at the bullies and cowards who seek to control women. But it is not all doom and gloom, because the music rocks hard and Taylor-Grace is an entertaining frontwoman with an ever-growing collection of feathery hats inspired by the eponymous chicken Norman. Moving outside for the first band on the Viking stage, the growing early evening crowd is greeted by The Darker my Horizon. The band have been around for 10 years and have seen numerous line up changes, but with 5 albums under their belts these melodic hard rockers are here to stay. Led by Paul Stead on vocals and guitars, the emphasis is solidly on the music which ranges from upbeat feel-good rockers such as No Superhero, Pt 1 and Still Alive to the slower Dear Olivia. Keeping the chat to a minimum in order to squeeze as many songs into their set as possible, the band acquitted themselves well and raised the crowd’s spirits despite the threat of rain. Next up we have Ransom who bring bags of energy to the stage. Despite self-identifying as pub rock, Matt Fielder and Co. could teach quite a few bigger bands how to get a crowd going and keep them on side with their rough and ready, rabbling-rousing good time rock ‘n’ roll. Songs such as Vindication, Even Nuns Watch Porn and Enter The Dragon don’t set out to do anything other than rock hard and that’s just what we want. As we reach the end of the set Matt starts to introduce the obligatory singalong song and then, remembering that there are kids present advises them to don their ear defenders before leading us through an incendiary rendition of Hell Fuck Yeah!
Outside on the Viking stage for the first time, the Luke Appleton Power Trio launch into a powerful set of emotive metal. Early acoustic songs and the recently released electrified Forever Viking EP really come alive when the Trio ramp up the volume and get into the zone. Guitarist Rishi Mehta lays down some heavy riffs, while drummer Adam Harris locks into a groove with Luke’s bass on epics such as Heart Returns and What Heroes Do. Forever Viking is dedicated to a fallen friend and acts a fitting memorial to a lost comrade. The pace and tone then change abruptly as back inside once again McHale’s Permanent Brew deliver a blues masterclass. The emphasis is on the songs rather than the extended solos for which Frank McHale is known, but this was perhaps a decision based on the eclectic festival lineup and the time allotted to their set. Nonetheless, the likes of Third Lane Baby Blues and Café Bar a GoGo demonstrate the band’s dirty gritty blues to great effect, and win over the crowd who lap up their set. We then move outside for the final time this evening for Friday night headliners Doomsday Outlaw. The weather has deteriorated by now and the rain is coming down quite heavily, but that does not stop the crowd from immersing themselves in Outlaw’s good time rock ‘n’ blues. Kicking off with Hard Times and On My Way, we are treated to a set of groovy, bluesy feel-good hard rock designed to get your hips moving and raise your spirits. Despite many of the songs being about vocalist Phil Poole’s failed relationships, you can’t help but smile at the upbeat nature of the music. The band preview some new material, including Gimme Love which is another classy tune and bodes well for a new album. Sadly by now the lurgy that I had picked up the previous week at another festival was winning the battle and I reluctantly decided to call it a night before the end of the Outlaw’s set in order to recuperate before starting all over again the following day.
Saturday greets us with leaden skies, but the sun always shines when ERB band of the month This House We Built hit the stage. This is the third time in as many weeks that I have seen THWB and once again they deliver a high energy set packed with cheery, upbeat tunes. Frontman Scott Wardell exudes charisma and knows exactly how to get an audience on side right from the outset, while bassist Wayne Dowes-White throws rockstar shapes as he roams across the stage. Addiction, Fairweather Friend and a rousing cover of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice soon blow away the cobwebs and get everyone in the mood for another music-filled day. All too soon the set comes to an end with new song Coming Home To You which is another banger and bodes well for the forthcoming second album. Outside the rain is falling, but this does not phase Manchester-based alt-metal rockers DACARA who burst into life on the Viking stage. Vocalist Emma Shippen switches easily from pop songstress to screaming harpy (in a good way!) while guitarist David Dyson is a blur of blonde hair and raging riffs. The pace never dips as they race through a high energy, hard rocking set that certainly pleases the crowd. There is no respite from the riffage as back on the Skull stage Reaper unleash their metal-thrashing madness. Their progressive thrash (the set list states that the closing riff to Awake is in 7/4 time!) is fast and furious and both the band and the crowd are having fun as they gallop through the likes of In God We Trust, Jericho and Death Games. If you enjoy complex thrash that combines energetic riffing with thoughtful lyrics then look no further. Keeping up the pace 40,000 Leagues open their set of melodic metal with, appropriately, a song called Reaper. Their style is different, however, veering towards metalcore with heavy riffs, clean/scream vocals and thundering double kick drumming. Guitarist Joe Leonard also drops some shred solos to mix things up and they do a fun cover of Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody which works surprisingly well when roughed up a bit.
The Heir Apparition (previously known as Fate’s Hollow and reborn at the beginning of 2025) weave complex story telling around their progressive alt-rock. They have built a fantasy world in which to place their hero, Elo Harrick, a vengeful spirit seeking revenge on his killers. Musically, they combine elements of prog with quirky alt-rock and jangly guitars which suits their science fantasy narrative. Heading back inside and back down to earth, Sheffield’s The Heavy Souls take us to the swampy blues underground. You can almost taste the gumbo as you sweat it out in the heat of the Mississippi delta while vocalist Clark Vaughan asks Have You Got Soul and guitarist Ben Boswell grinds out another dirty riff on She Devil. As it is the weekend of Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning mega farewell show, the band throw in a soul-drenched cover of Fairies Wear Boots which goes down well before all too soon we take a trip to The River and the end of a spell-binding set. We change genres once again on the Viking stage with Dutch stoner/metal rockers Diggeth who make an instant connection with the crowd as they launch into Spaceship Earth. Guitarist/vocalist Harald te Grotenhuis easily wins the award for the best hair and beard combination of the festival with a truly impressive mane and a rich, gravelly voice to match. Joined by Natasja (aka Pebbles) on bass and Casper Bongers on drums the trio are clearly having fun as they grind out their gunslinger blues on Three Gringos and the dirty start-stop stutter of Soultwister. Set closer No Man’s Land sums up their sound perfectly: rough and ready stoner-flavoured riffs combined with working man’s blues lyrics. Fellow countrymen Lord Volture are heavy metal to the core and immediately take you back to the 1980s when Maiden, Priest and Saxon were defining the genre. As soon as they launch into Where The Enemy Sleep, the twin guitars of Paul Marcelis and Dennis Moree begin to rock hard and vocalist David Marcelis lets out a scream à la Rob Halford you know that this is going to be a no-nonsense traditional metal show. The band have close connections with Absolva and the Appleton brothers and you can see that they are going down well with the partisan crowd.
Ashen Reach have been having a run of bad luck recently, with illness forcing the band to perform as a three piece and a tour being cancelled at the last minute when the co-headliner imploded shortly before the first date. A couple of weeks ago they made a triumphant return at Wildfire Festival, so I was hopeful of a repeat performance today. However, the bad luck virus struck again and the night before their SOS set guitarist Joe O’Sullivan trapped his hand in a door as a result of which he was unable to play today. Undaunted the band gave a stellar, crowd-pleasing performance once again as a three piece. Kicking off with Broken Column and D1V1DE, everyone was waiting for Heir To The Throne which is the cue for mosh pits and mayhem! Epiphany shows once again that Kyle Stanley is one of the finest vocalists in modern metal while set closer Homecoming showcases Jess Stanely’s epic drumming and Paddy Cummins guitar virtuosity. Hopefully Joe will be fit for their next show at SavFest. Back on the Skull stage the pace changes once again with the arrival of country blues rockers The Blue Lena who take us to the Last Chance Saloon in a one-horse town deep in the heart of the good ol’ US of A. With Peter Yeomans on vocals and Sarah Warren providing sugar coated harmonies, and Nick Singleton churning out some glorious Southern-flavoured riffs, it’s easy to recall the spirit of Skynyrd on the likes of Can You Feel The Rain? and Only When She’s Dancing. This is top-down, wide open space, feel good summer music designed to lift your spirits and tickle your ears in the process. In contrast, tonight’s headliners Absolva are here to bathe the hometown crowd in glorious heavy metal in celebration of the launch of their new album Justice. Brothers Chris and Luke Appleton can do no wrong as, joined by Tom Atkinson on guitar and Martin McNee on drums, they lead us through a set of triumphant traditional metal. From opener Code Red to set closer From Beyond The Light this is balls to the wall, heads down, hard riffing mayhem celebrating the music born in the glory days of the 1980s. On the new album’s title track, played live for the first time tonight, and Freedom and Glory Chris is joined on vocals by David Marcelis from Lord Volture. There is a long history between the bands, with David having helped Absolva to get gigs in Europe in their early days, so it is fitting that he joins them on stage to reprise his role on the album. Never Back Down is dedicated to fallen friends and is accompanied by a video tribute on the big screen before we return to the beginning with a rousing Flames of Justice. The crowd lap up every minute and, despite the weather threatening to spoil the fun, Absolva remain triumphant.
Opening up day 3 we have power metallers Fortune Teller who start Sunday with a bang. Vocalist Theresa Smith may be familiar to you as one of the singers with Metaprism, who played at SOS a couple of years ago. A powerful vocalist with an engaging stage presence, Theresa draws you into the fantasy world created by this new venture. They have only released a couple of singles, The Fortune Teller and Savage Seas both of which get an airing today, but these sum up their expansive style with soaring vocals, crushing riffs and epic melodies. There was quite a buzz speaking to people after their set, so it looks like they were a hit and are ones to watch. For The Forsaken offer more straightforward hard rock with a message. Their songs deal with vocalist/bassist Dan Hunsdon’s journey through addiction; but while the content is serious the performance is lively with great interaction between the band and crowd showing Dan’s sense of humour to the full. There is a grungy feel to the likes of Serenity, Project Providence and Pain which underpins the emotional depth of the stories and adds weight to their theme. Next up we have Edinburgh’s Blackfyre Rising who are the find of the weekend for me. Their cheery, energetic hard rock is infectious and they quickly win over the crowd with the groove-laden I’m Alright and foot-stompin’ Sacrifice. Guitarist Dave Taylor rocks hard, aided and abetted by vocalist James Brown on rhythm while bassist Magnus Tait is a ball of energy who seems to spend as much time roving through the crowd as he does on stage, while Tom Parker holds it all together at the back with a rock-solid beat. Collectively they are having a whale of a time as were the audience who really took to their riffy, hook-laden take on modern hard rock. Highly recommended! After that we need a rest, but The Black Hounds have different ideas as the fire up their crushing heavy metal machine on the inside stage. Defy Messiah is a riff-heavy monster while Foundations and The Rot pummel your senses into submission. If you like intense, brutal guitars and pounding rhythms then you’ll bay like a hound when The Black Hounds hit the stage.
Over the course of the afternoon, I’d been intrigued to see some Scouts wandering around the venue, so I took the opportunity to ask one of their leaders what they were doing, as visiting rock festivals was certainly not one of the activities on offer when I was a Scout! She explained that they were litter picking as part of their community service badge activities. I have to say that they looked rather traumatised witnessing a bunch of drunken rockers growing old disgracefully and feared that they may need counselling at the end of the day! Liberty Slaves rough and ready rock ‘n’ roll is certainly sure to corrupt impressionable young minds. Ryan Meehan’s vocals caress your ears like a cheese grater while Paul Brooke and Wozza churn out those dirty, sleazy riffs. This is about living in the moment and to hell with the consequences, an approach embodied by Ryan as he falls off the 4 foot-plus Viking stage mid-song without missing a beat. The song titles say it all really: Ain’t That A Bitch, Queen Obscene and The Struggle Is Real sound exactly like you imagine they will. Oldham’s youth is corrupted further by occult rockers Crowley who are channeling the spirits of tortured witches on the indoor stage. After a slight pause while guitarist Ruth Cranston quickly replaces a broken guitar string at the start of their set, the band soon settle into their dark, doomy and decidedly witchy take on early 70s heavy metal. Vocalist Lidya Balaban is a force of nature as she spins tales of magic and sacrifice, wailing like a banshee foretelling the death of a loved one. Silver Star weaves its doom-laden spell around your mortal soul, Hell Hath No Fury spits venom and set closer Pyre is incendiary. Be sure to check for dark forces lurking in the shadows on the way home tonight! Back on the Viking stage, there is another change of pace and a lightening of tone as the Ashley Sherlock Band treat us to some Americana mixed with the blues. Ashley’s guitar playing is deft and light of touch while his vocals, especially on Trouble, are exceptional when they hit the stratospheric highlights. The band throw in an unexpected but excellent cover of Floyd’s Time, with a reinterpreted solo which takes the essence of Gilmour’s original and adapts it to Ashley’s style. Dear Elizabeth is another standout moment, with its plaintiff vocals and understated melody. Continuing the blues theme, but this time with a more upbeat rock focused approach, is Jack J Hutchinson who lays out his stall immediately with Don’t Let The Fuckers Get You Down. He apologises, explaining that he had been asked not to swear but, as you will know if you have seen Jack before, that’s not going to happen! Joined by bassist par excellence Charlie Rachael Kay, who flew into the UK earlier in the day after playing a gig with Beaux Gris Gris the night before in Belgium, the two lock into an immediate groove on Constellationsand Road To Hell. The banter between songs is as much of the experience as the music itself and Jack keeps everyone entertained with jokes and stories as the set progresses towards a rousing Call Of The Wild.
