The Freezing Fog album launch, Leeds 23rd January 2009 by Nathan

Esteemed users of ilovemanchestermusic.co.uk and internet personas everywhere, most probably, armed with sanctimonious opinions and devoid of all social skills: please spare the premature hyperbole but, as ‘local music’ and I have had a colossal falling out over the last few years or so (unequivocally due to the fact that my hapless ears have been confronted with absolute gash everywhere I seem to turn), attending this little gem of a shindig has started me back on the long and rocky road to be becoming a ‘glass is half full’ kinda guy.

This was the launch party for The Freezing Fog’s second outing of prog-influenced, huge riff-rock bastardness which, in itself, is an event to be much celebrated. With all due respect though, the night was much more than that.

All three bands (three most definitely being the magic number when it comes to a line-up of bands spraying out loud rock music from every orifice) were on top form and entertaining the faces right off the sizable crowd in attendance. Respectful bonus nods of appreciation must also go in the direction of whosoever was manning the sound desk – a man most certainly with his priorities all present and correct. The balance of guitars and vocals meant that both soared right to the back of the room whilst the instruments belonging to each rhythm section pounded the rib cage with just the right amount of force.

Humanfly opened up and set to bombard me with unremitting but very organised noise for what seemed like a very long time. The much welcome and sometimes pensive and intermittently calm pockets of quietness were nourished with lightly tapped cymbals and clean guitars and sat well with the seemingly randomised vocal spurts, sans audible lyrics disappointingly lost elsewhere.

Thanks to this last lot, the synapses connecting the ‘I’m having a bloody great time’ parts of my brain were sufficiently warmed up, with the next lot pushing the poor little buggers right up to firing on all fucking cylinders. The Plight had my cheeks aching due to the grinning, my neck aching due to the involuntary head movements and, most gratifying of all, my ears aching due to the sheer raw energy emanating from the stage area. If you’re the kind of person who feels like they have been unfairly stripped of their God-given right to musical enjoyment because you happened to have been born in the wrong decade, I urge you to see this band live in order to receive the restoration of the justice you so rightly deserve.
This point leads me nicely on to the final band of the night.

I’ve seen The Freezing Fog a few times now – always tight, always loud and always rockin’ on top form. Tonight was a big slice of this formula served up on a nicely warmed, no-frills retro platter. Shit metaphors aside, this band have clearly met and connected on a mutual musical level, ticking boxes for groove, authentic 70’s guitar tone, heavy low-end and hard as fuck, vest wearing ,drum shenanigans.

I’ve purposely been vague in my description of the night’s events (having nothing at all to do with the fact that I was steaming drunk by the end of it), but hopefully, just vague enough to influence that aching need you may have inside you to get off on genuinely decent hard rock music next time any of these bands play a dark ‘n’ sweaty venue near you.