Teesside NWOBHM stalwarts - BLACK ROSE including original frontman and lead guitarist - Steve Bardsley and Kenny Nicholson rev BroFest#1 into action
OK, here's the deal. That BroFest#1 happened at all should be whole heartedly applauded. That it was without doubt, a soar away success of previously unimaginable proportions should be met with slack-jawed admiration for it's young organisers!
What began as an idea to promote a couple of iconic NWOBHM bands (Avenger & Holocaust - as I'm given to understand) at a local pub, swiftly took on a life all of its own and before the metal enthusiasts responsible knew it, "BroFest#1" had quickly grown into a monster 2 day event at a much more significant venue, and thanks to social network chatter, was about to boast citizens of Brazil, Canada, USA, Australia, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Greece amongst its denim and leather clad crowd! No mean feat for an idea conceived over a couple of bottles of Newcy Brown, while Saxon blared away on the pub juke-box.
Friday March 1st
Arriving promptly into the main hall for the advertised 7pm start, the initial signs weren't exactly encouraging. Despite having been met by a healthy crowd of our foreign friends having a last minute 'tab' or two outside the campus bar downstairs, the hall itself was pretty much bereft of 'bangers' of any nationality! The lads from festival openers - BLACK ROSE were putting a brave face on by the bar however, but as it turned out neither they, nor I, should have had any fears!
"Wow... we've got a crowd in the room"! Beamed frontman Steve Bardsley after their initial salvo was met by a full throated roar from the hundreds of headbangers who'd quickly ascended to the main BroFest hall on hearing the Rose's thunderous opening chords.
After last years victorious H.O.A. appearance in Hamburg, our local heroes are definitely enjoying a full blown renaissance and tonight's set of rip-roaring crowd pleasing anthems drawn mainly from their earlier catalogue gets BroFest#1 off with an adrenalin fuelled kick in the crotch!
"NEW NWOBHM" minstrels - WYTCH HAZEL are up next in what it becomes quickly evident is a supremely well organised event. On time, and right on the money with their grandiose epic anthems, twin leads a go-go are the order of the day and to have the whole hall roaring along with their 'Wytch Hazel' title-choon and then meeting its conclusion with rapturous cheers, suggests a bright future for this new generation NWOBHM outfit. 
Now, at this point I don't mind admitting that with the onset of premature senility, I actually had to 'Google' SPARTAN WARRIOR and reacquaint myself with their back-tracks on You-Tube in preparation for their set and I'm glad I did. Despite being a somewhat less prolific recording outfit than some on the BroFest#1 bill, during a set that brought a genuine warmth to the heart of yours truly, the 'Warrior delivered a complete metal-masterclass to the now swollen throng. Who responded by treating the band to a home-coming heroes welcome replete with raucous roars of "Penshaw!... Penshaw!" in between each rapturously received tune. A near perfect sound gave us a scything metal attack reminiscent of peak period Accept, and as the band ploughed headlong into an overdriven rendition of 'French Girls', the absolute communion between their adoring masses and the clearly emotional band members was complete!
To say that even as Day One headliners, AVENGER were always going to have a tough job following 'Penshaw's Finest' is something of an understatement. However, for me, they rose to the task with all the aplomb of being seasoned stalwarts on the Festival circuit. Post-gig comments from a few in the packed hall were of 'sound issues' and 'set-lists', but personally, I lapped it all up! Looking every inch the 'metal gods', Avenger simply tore through their top of the bill set and sent me and 'our kid' out into the cold Friday night air with stupid grins on our faces and 'Too Wild To Tame' still ringing in our ears, eager for a Pizza and and a few hefty night-caps before heading back for Saturday!
Saturday March 2ndHangovers suitably cast as sunder, we arrived back at Bro-Fest#1 HQ to find the hall filling up very nicely indeed for day two openers - AMULET. Like Wytch Hazel from the previous evening, this young London based - Sabbath influenced outfit represent the 'new vanguard' of NWOBHM. Wearing all the original movements influences on their sleeves and seeing fit to embellish the stage with quaint little home made gravestones bearing legends such as 'RIP Disco'. Being a tad 'Spinal Tap', those little graves did make me chuckle a bit, but I certainly couldn't knock Amulet's youthful enthusiasm. With a touch more tightening up overall, they could easily become one of the darlings of this whole new scene.
With an air of palpable anticipation hanging thick and cries of 'Silver Woman' already ringing with gusto around the hall, BADGE leaped onstage and promptly turned the clock back thirty odd years with consummate ease. The end of each blistering tune was met with a resounding "Badge... Badge... Badge!" chant from the hall. A spirited cover of Def Leppard's 'Wasted' was a definite mid-set highlight and the eventual airing of one of
the NWOBHM's most enduring anthems eventually quelled the crowds 'Silver Woman' chants and sent us all into the break beaming! From the traditional delights of Badge - BroFest was preparing next for the appearance of DEEP MACHINE and the self confessed 'Priest Maniacs' from London's East End had the whole hall shaking with their furious riffing complemented perfectly by Rob Halfo.... Sorry.... Lenny Baxter's ear-splitting vocals. Highlight for me? without doubt the almighty -
"Whispers In The Black"
(In fact I'm still humming it now - 10 days later!)
Fresh from a round of Euro-Festl bashes over the last year or so, SALEM sent Bro-Fest#1 into spasms of delight with their set of tight, slightly 'prog influenced' trad-metal. I was definately moved to recall the first Saxon album, as frontman Simon Saxby led his troops through a super slick set and from the rampant riff-erama of their classic 'Cold As Steel' right through to an airing of the brand new - 'When Love Is In Your Heart', Salem definitely scored with the festival's afternoon audience big time! 
Given that even BASHFUL ALLEY themselves promote their band by quoting Geoff Barton's "the most obscure NWOBHM outfit of all time" tag-line, and given also that their 'recorded legacy' consists of just one, yes... ONE - self financed seven inch single circa 1984, you couldn't help but wonder whether our intrepid festival organisers were in danger of being wilfully obscurist, or whether the addition of one of the new wave's most mysterious power trio's would prove a stroke of genius.
Judging by the number of bright yellow Bashful Alley t-shirts predominating the crowd by the start of their set, one imagined the latter, and when the lads eventually saw off a troublesome technical issue, their set developed into one of the surprises of the weekend. The crowds response to "Running Blind" and "My My My" in particular seemed positively overwhelming to the three piece, as they proudly beamed down at the audience and their assembled families and friends from the stage.
And so, it was a case of "follow that" for North East legends - TYSONDOG, and Christ, did they ever? Rampaging through a set of high octane metal classics 'the Dog' had the BroFest faithful eating out of their hand (or should that be 'paw'?) from the off. The machine gun riffing of their bludgeoning classic - "Dead Meat" could have brought down the walls of Jericho with its relentless ferocity! They're the 'nicest hard-men of North East metal', and at BroFest#1 this dog definitely had its day! 
I'm not entirely sure which was the most inspired decision by BroFest's resident 'court jester' - SCARAB frontman Paul Britton. To raid Chubby Brown's wardrobe for a pair of stage-strides, or, to invite NE legend, Tygers axe-man Robb Wier onstage for a roustabout rendition of the classic "Suzi Smiled". Either way round, Britton and his band emerged totally triumphant from an emphatic set and complimenting their seminal "Poltergiest" with the aforementioned NWOBHM standard, accompanied by our very distinguished looking local hero on vocals and third axe, proved to be one of the days masterstrokes! 
In all likelihood, he probably won't thank me for saying this, but I do occasionally pause to ponder what exactly John Mortimer makes of Metallica? Does he stare wearily out across a murky Edinburgh skyline, or, through a steamy Transit van window on the way to another Euro-Metal-Revival Festival thinking.... "that should've been me?". To think that the man and the band who wrote and recorded the greatest heavy metal song ever, and who almost single-handedly inspired and all but wrote the first "How To - Manual of Thrash", had never played in England (let alone Newcastle) before, almost beggars belief! Even more reason then, for the wonderfully expectant atmosphere positively crackling with electricity, as the lights dimmed and their apocalyptic intro boomed out amidst clouds of dry ice. Over the next hour HOLOCAUST laid waste to the Northumbria Uni crowd with a set of stonewall doom-metal classics including the seminal "Small Hours", new tracks like "Expander" and of course a foundation shaking, full length version of the NWOBHM's 'national anthem' - "Heavy Metal Mania", bringing BroFest#1 to triumphant and cataclysmic climax! Out on campus post gig, the BroFest audience who'd travelled from around the UK and indeed of course, around the world were all unanimous in their praise for the whole event. From the venue, to the organisation, sound, merchandise, band-line up, you name it! And I hear talk that an awesome line-up for BroFest#2 is almost complete as I type! For me, and this passionately enthusiastic bunch of NWOBHM-revivalists, 2014 can't come soon enough!
REVIEW by - Mark Gregory author of - "No Sleep Till Saltburn - Adventures On the Edge Of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal". By the paperback or digital download at Amazon world-wide, just click on the book.
And for all the info and booking details on this years BROFEST from Feb 28th till March 2nd, just click here!
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