Burning Witches/Nervosa/BrainBath - Classic Grand, Glasgow Friday 15th April 2022

The opening act should have been Indian rock band, SystemHouse 33. They have been part of the tour throughout Europe but apparently visa issues prevented some of the band entering the UK. Stepping in at the last minute were the splendidly named, local old-school death metallers, BrainBath. It would be fair to describe their sound as ‘brutal’ and I’m sure the band will take that as a compliment. Vocalist Warmaster Kwondo introduced one of the songs as being based on ‘the best horror sci-fi movie ever wrote’ – ‘The Thing’, and declared that Kurt Russell is the only man who has a better mullet than him, although Kwondo’s hairdo maybe looked a little bit more ‘Deliverance’ than ‘Escape From New York’. One of the guitarists (I’m not sure if it was Kendo or Lobotomizer) was a really big unit, so much so that it looked like he was playing a Sylvanian Families guitar. Fair play to the big man though; he absolutely ruled the mosh pit during Nervosa’s set and even went over the top himself. The band don’t seem to have any recorded material but they were doing a roaring trade in T-shirt sales, as the designs featuring the band moniker proved very popular. They will be at Banshee Labyrinth on 30th April supporting the Tyrannus album release show.

Next up was the all-girl thrash metal sound of Nervosa. Originally from Brazil, only Prika Amaral remains, joined by excellent musicians from Spain, Italy and Greece in the current incarnation. It’s an absolute onslaught from the start with diminutive powerhouse drummer Eleni Nota hammering out the beats. ‘Genocidal Command’ is an early highlight and the young team down the front get heavily involved. There’s even a very young lad of about 13-years old getting in on the action and he’s lifted up and left hanging from the low rafters for a while – he loved it and was regularly back for more throughout the gig.

If your parents christen you Diva Satanica, then singer in a metal band is probably one of the few options open to you down the Job Centre. Fortunately, she’s very good at the requisite growling and there’s a lovely Spanish inflection to some of the grunting, particularly on the title track of the latest album, ‘Perpetual Chaos’ – she’s a real powerhouse performer with a great stage presence. Laura from Burning Witches pops up to duet on ‘Rebel Soul’ and that provides a bit of welcome variety by adding her ‘clean’ vocals to supplement Diva – they work well together. The band finish with ‘Guided by Evil’ and ‘Under Ruins’ and definitely leave the audience wanting more after a very impressive show. They should be destined for bigger things.

Swiss band, Burning Witches, are another all-female group who have been through some changes in recent years, with new members including Dutch singer, Laura Guldemand. They’ve definitely struck gold here and they smash through a fine set of more traditional heavy metal in a Maiden / Priest vein. It’s their first visit to Scotland and they are clearly welcome as it is no less frantic down the front with loads of energy in the room. There’s plenty of light and shade in their set and even a couple of ballady songs to balance out the thunder. Highlights include ‘Sea of Lies’, We Stand as One’, ‘The Witch of the North’ and ‘Black Widow’. Theirs is a very professional show and they should be playing bigger stages for sure.

It was certainly a bit of an alternative way to spend the Good Friday Easter holiday but the slightly contrasting styles of the bands were very pleasing and it was loud, hot and sweaty and a very welcome sign that metal gigs are coming back strong and proud.