Glam rockers donned their animal print, back combed their hair to ridiculous heights and put on their chains to head down for a night of sleaze down at Rock City. Uncertain as to whether the gig would go ahead, understandably their was a sombre atmosphere surrounding Swedish outfit Crashdiet after the death of their manager at the very same venue one week previous. All credit to the quartet for their appearance which was of course dedicated to Michael Sunden.

Londoners Jettblack took to the stage for their headline set first and their enthusiasm for tonight’s set was clear from the opening words of Two Hot Girls.  Leading straight into Less Torque More Thrust, the quartet ripped through a high energy, fun 45 minutes. The crowd didn’t need much encouragement to get involved, jumping around and clapping along throughout. Black Gold shows their more delicate side but still packed with a killer guitar solo and bold chorus. The anthemic Raining Rock brings their stint to an end with roars of Jettblack as they vacate the stage.

There is an air of excitement and anticipation as 9 o’ clock hits and Crashdiet walk onstage. Before they begin their set they give a heartfelt message about their tragic loss with the crowd responding to show their support. Their set is short but powerful and whilst it’s a difficult performance for the group, they deliver with great passion and sound tight. California is a particular highlight with Simon Cruz’s vocal soaring over pounding riffs with the frontman taking a second to thank the crowd for their never wavering belief and appreciation for them. Old favourites Riot In Everyone and Generation Wild get the audience pumped up before finishing on the dirty grooves of Cocaine Cowboys. The latter sounds brilliant live with it’s blues hooks and brash chorus.

Tonight was filled with varying emotions, but also plenty of gritty, punchy rock. The combination of the both bands makes for an excellent evening!

Laura Woodhead

Reunited with Will Stapleton after his spell in the touring War Of The Worlds, Jettblack are back out on the road for a couple of headline dates before their joint tour with Scandinavian glam rockers Crashdiet.

Black Water kick the night off with some punishing riffs but don’t really bring anything new to the fold and as the set wears on, their generic sound gets a little dull. Local lads The Goddamn Electric follow bringing a good following with them. Powering through the first three songs of their set with great enthusiasm, a slight disagreement with the sound man brings their set to an early finish, much to the disappointment of the crowd who try all they can to keep the quartet onstage.

On to these evenings main event and Jettblack burst onstage and straight into Two Hot Girls much to the crowds delight.On to a trio from their latest album Raining Rock including the brilliant Prison Of Love featuring a mighty crowd sing along. Black Gold is a highlight of the night and really showcases the dynamic vocal tones of Will Stapleton. Old favourites such as Get Your Hands Dirty really fire the crowd and after successfully pumping up the crowd for Motherfucker they add cheeky hidden bonus of The Rolling Stones Paint It Black. The material from both albums work really well together, creating an electric set that keeps you on your toes. The energy and passion from the band is reflected in the crowd with every person in the room thoroughly is enjoying every single minute. Ending on the bold Raining Rock, complete with audience participation, the cheers for more mean that the band barely even attempt to leave the stage before resuming their positions for a killer rendition of Dangerzone.

An evening with Jettblack is always guaranteed to be a great one filled with energy and charisma. Don’t miss them out on the road with Crashdiet this month!

Laura Woodhead

As we eagerly await the promise of Spring, here’s some gig recommendations to distract you from the cold.

The Wildhearts

The moment many of us have been waiting for is finally here, The Widhearts are back on the road! Revisiting their explosive 1993 debut Earth Vs The Wildhearts, it’s going to be a cracker!

Get your tickets here.

Jettblack/Crashdiet

Two heavy forces in the glam rock world, UK & Scandinavian quartets Jettblack and Crashdiet have teamed together for one almighty night of rock. With a further three bands to join each line up, it’s going to be a big night!

Join the party and get your tickets here.

Rival Sons

A growing force in the rock world, the wonderfully blues infused Rival Sons are back and a brilliant live show is always guaranteed.

Dates and tickets here.

Steve Conte and The Crazy Truth

Steve Conte returns to the UK with his latest project, one of punch and style, it’s sure to get you dancing!

Get involved here.

After making the executive decision to not release a new album under the Thin Lizzy name, the group then decided to make their recent run of European dates their last as to not see the Thin Lizzy status wither and die. A brave choice and one that many agreed with, so did they go out with a bang? We headed to Leeds to find out.

First up were Jettblack, currently without lead singer Will Stapleton who is touring with War Of The Worlds, Jon Dow once again took up the frontman duties. They ripped through a 45 minute set with vigour, unleashing their tasty riffs and catchy chorus’ on a very receptive crowd; a great start to the night.

As 9pm approached, the atmosphere was filled with anticipation and chants of ‘Lizzy’ began to build. One by one, the band take to the stage and burst into Are You Ready. Their enthusiasm and love for the music they’re playing shines in their performance and is soaked up by the crowd. Heading straight into Jailbreak, the room echoes with the audience singing back, particularly the memorable riff and of course the chorus. Tonight really is a celebration of how great Lizzy were and it is reflected in the setlist, with Killer On The Loose, Waiting For An Alibi, and the huge Whisky In The Jar all getting their time in the spotlight. Ricky Warwick really does a great job of handling the vocal duties. His voice is strong, charismatic and even manages to capture the essence of Phil Lynott without attempting to emulate him. Ending on The Boys Are Back In Town, audience participation is encouraged and met with great enthusiasm. Endless cheering and chanting ensue for the encore in which the band pay tribute to the legendary Phil Lynott and the late, great Gary Moore as well as adoration for their fans. Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) brings the end of an excellent evening of celebration and appreciation.

Whilst it brings the Thin Lizzy era to a close once again, tonight feels like a perfect way to pay tribute to the brilliant band they were.

Photo’s courtesy of Ed Fielding.

Laura Woodhead

So the end of the year approaching, and time for another festival, Hard Rock Hell, and the first time for the team here at LTMDTT! Recently moved to a new venue, we set out on a little road trip to Wales ready for a weekend full of rock, glam, blues and metal. A festival in December? Why not!

Things kicked off on Thursday evening with a special pre-party over at the Jagermeister stage where we were treated to a whole array of rock goodness. Sets from the brilliant Sons of Icarus, and legendary glamsters Tigertailz were a highlight, as well as TNT who served up the classic rock till the early hours. The perfect opportunity to get settled in and wet our appetite for what was to come. 

Day two at HRH for us began with the superb Blackwolf. A very promising new band who are beginning to make quite a name for themselves. Plenty of riffs, plenty of grit and some stunning vocals, a brilliant way to get the day started. Next up were a big highlight of the day, The Burning Crows. Right in the middle of a tour with Quireboys, they treated us to a fantastic set, and they are really something special. A lot of swing, plenty groove and hips swinging, keep your eyes on these guys! Electric Mary took things up a notch with their heavier sound, and the HRH crowd lapped it up, followed by Motherload who were also out to impress with their breed of hard rock. The fantastic Slam Cartel also impressed with their set full of fuel and charisma, they did the trick on winning round the people. 

The big headliner this evening was Mr Skid Row himself, Sebastian Bach. After some technical issues and a lot of waiting, he finally got himself on stage and delivered a storming set. It is safe to say, his voice is not what it once was, but you cannot deny that Bach give it his all on stage. Classic like Big Guns, 18 and Life and of course Youth Gone Wild sent the crowd…wild. I Remember You sounded particularly lovely and brought the evening to a great end. 

Saturday, day three, and after a great couple of nights already filled with brilliant music (and partying), we are beginning to feel it. Luckily, we had a lot more to look forward to on the main stage today. 

Electric Boys were first up for us today. They brought the funk and showed us they have lost none of their appeal and are still fantastic live, with Conny Bloom proving the perfect frontman. After a bit of a slow start, they turned it up and by the end of their set the whole place was singing along to All Lips N’ Hips. Bonafide brought the fire, quite literally with some unexpected pyro from The Inferno Girls. A heavy dose of classic rock, they have swagger and the right amount of cockyness and provide us with a tight and thrilling set. 

Big highlights of the day come from the legendary Quireboys. Full of charm ad wit, Spike Gray won us around with his gravelly, whiskey tainted voice, and Seven O’Clock it may not have been, but we were certainly having a party. LTMDTT favourites Jettblack were up next, another big highlight. Sadly missing Will who is off currently off on tour War of the Worlds, the band were on top form regardless and brought us some tight riffs and fist pumping moments, brilliant fun. Followed by Dogs D’Amour who were back and showed they are still on the top of their game once again, with Tyla working his way through their hits. 

Ugly Kid Joe were the headliners tonight, bringing skater friendly rock to the masses and providing one of the biggest singalongs of the whole weekend with Everything About You. A set with bounds of energy and from both band and crowd, very fun indeed. Closing the stage tonight were the ever incredible Graveyard. It pains me this band were not on earlier in the day as i have no doubts they would have wowed. Absolute perfection musically, they still managed to pull quite a gathering and remain one of the greatest live bands i have seen. Please check them out, you will not be sorry. 

And so we reach day four, the last day, and no doubt many hangovers being nursed, but we took to the main stage yet again for another solid day of rocking. 

A set we’d been looking forward to did not disappoint, the Red, White and Blues wowed us with their bluesy roots, a really great live band. Sadly Kobra and the Lotus did the opposite. Full on metal riffs that did sound great, but unfortunately we jut weren’t feeling the energy from them at all. Fozzy brought a storming set, Chris Jericho showing the crowd he has exactly what it takes to front a rock band, but it was Soil who won the evening for me. Heavy, loud and grinding metal that united the crowd into chanting the words to Halo in unison. Brilliant. 

Headliners tonight and bringing HRH to a close was Buckcherry. Drowned in clouds of smoke and blue light, they commanded the attention of the whole place from the offset, ready for a set full of all their hits, All Night Long, Next To You, Sorry and Lit Up. Something didn’t seem quite right however, the band slightly vacant, not too engaging and Josh Todd’s voice slightly tarnished, perhaps from the current tour. Crazy Bitch of course ended the evening, an anthem if ever there was one, but sadly not reaching it’s full potential tonight. 

All in all, Hard Rock Hell proved to be a great festival, a great first time for us and a whole lot of great bands on offer. One of the last independent festivals left, the guys in charge certainly know how to put on a party. Bring on next year! 

Caris Smith

(photos courtesy of Joe Winn)

Song of the day!

Jettblack - Prison Of Love

Check out their new video!

Song of the day!

Jettblack - Something About This Girl

Londoners Jettblack have burst into life with the release of their second album Raining Rock. After an electric debut and extensive touring, the quartet have built up a dedicated fan base, one very excited about their follow up, including us!

An explosive intro gets you settled in for their mix of heavy riffs, fast rhythms and punchy vocals. First single and title track Raining Rock delighted Jettblack fans and added to the album anticipation with its anthemic feel and catchy licks. Prison Of Love has the grandeur of an epic Whitesnake hit whereas Sunshine displays a more Van Halen influence from the group. Will Stapleton has an impressive vocal range that doesn’t lose control or strength in any octave and Jon Dow’s shredding guitar skills add extra energy and power. Temptation and Never Gonna Give It Up showcase brilliant vocal harmonies and give Jon a chance to show off his own vocal skills. Inbetween Lovers is reminiscent of the group’s first album which allows you to see how much the group have progressed with this second record.

Raining Rock proves Jettblack have the musical talent to grow and keep creating music bigger and better than before! With their first headline tour this winter, Jettblack is a name you are going to hear a lot about!

Songs I’d Recommend: Prison Of Love, Black Gold, Temptation

Laura Woodhead

Song of the day

Jettblack - Raining Rock

Take a look, and a listen, to the fantastic new single from Jettblack! Great to see the guys back and we are very much looking forward to the new album! If you haven’t already then get yourself tickets for their album launch in London on May 30th, look set to be brilliant.