Attica rage

'ATTICA RAGE'
Intake Club, Mansfield 1/9/2011

Review By, Diane Parkes


Attica Rage/Sondura/Orestea   01/09/2011
Location: Intake Club, Kirkland Avenue, Mansfield


When I returned home from living in the North East I was looking forward to returning to the Intake Club in Mansfield for some cracking live music; imagine my disappointment to find it had closed down in 2009 due to the recession!

Well now it has re-opened under new management, and my first visit back there was to see, and write a review about, the Attica Rage, Sondura & Orestea gig. What a return visit it turned out to be!!!

For a Thursday (work night!) gig the turnout wasn’t exactly impressive to say the least, and the last minute venue change  had not helped.  Reduced-price ticket sales had been slow, but more did turn up on the night. Let’s just say it was a small, select audience…

First Onstage were Orestea, hailing from Guildford, who list themselves as “melodic metal”.
Lisa Avon - Vocals
Lloyd Wilson - Guitar
Luke Genders - Guitar
Mike Quinn - Bass
Will Crozier - Drums

Formed in 2009 Orestea have already proved themselves popular with amongst other things, a slot at Bloodstock Open Air in 2010. But being brutally honest the band just didn’t do it for me, apologies to the “sisterhood” and Lisa Avon in particular, but female metal singers, maybe with the exception of Doro, just don’t work for me personally. The only tracks I enjoyed were when, Luke Genders, on guitar provided some awesome growling backing vocals. 

Next onstage were Sondura, a 4 piece rock/metal band based in London.
Tom Watson - Vocals/Guitar
Jack Watson - Guitar/Vocals
Stevie D - Bass
Freddie Green - Drums

Influences of Sondura include Nickelback and Rage Against the Machine. Much more to my own personal taste these guys put on a great show, with the Nickelback influence screaming through at times. Their set included 1000 Miles, Falling Free and Here and Now. I would definitely go to see them again if they were playing locally.

Finally it was time for Scottish metal aficionados, Attica Rage to take to the stage for some heavy biker-influenced rock N roll. Formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2003 by Ayrshire Brothers Jonny and Richie with Big C on bass/vocals, the line-up was completed in 2007 when the trio were joined by Stevie on guitar.
Jonny Parr - Lead vocals/Guitar
Stevie Bell - Guitar
Big C - Bass/Vocals
Richie Rage - Drums  

I was a tad disappointed not to see more *Clan Attica* sporting the now familiar black & white prison attire as they had at Hammerfest III way back in March but this did nothing whatsoever to detract from a storming set of testosterone fuelled full-on biker-metal. With tracks from the latest album “Road Dog” (plus a few older tracks) including Hacked For Vanity, Sharks, Attica Rising and Through the Inner Eye it seemed it couldn’t be bettered - that is until Bane Holland, former frontman of Isolysis, leapt onto the stage and the guys stormed into a cover of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell! I had a sneaky peek around and reckon every single person in that room was singing along! 

Ok, so maybe the scantily clad girls doing the fire eating act and the rather menacing young guys with their angle-grinders showering the audience with red-hot sparks were not present in such a modest venue, BUT at least that meant I didn’t get my hair and chest singed as I did the last time! And to be honest, it took nothing whatsoever away from their performance. 

The performance was powerful and energetic with Brothers Jonny & Richie doing their respective singing and drumming with gusto despite the poor turn-out. Big C did a cracking job on bass/backing vocals as always and Stevie Bell did an awesome guitar solo that left me definitely wanting more! All too soon it was the last song of the night, Old School, but as they left the stage we pooled our communal voices and yelled for MORE, more more……and the guys didn’t disappoint, they bounded back onto the stage and gave us a resounding rendition of Paranoid that left everyone cheering and clapping their hands raw! 

My partner-in-crime Ali Blackdiamond was also in attendance on the night, and did a cracking interview with Attica Rage, so don’t forget to have a listen to that too on Firebrand radio