This might be the least rock ’n’ roll thing I’ve ever admitted on this website, but I listen to Radio 4 on the way home from work. Tonight there was a feature about whether men should still wear leather jackets once they get to a certain age.
Nobody’s told Asomvel.
They’re leather-clad and proud of it. They look like a gang, which makes a certain amount of sense given that some of them are family. But first, there’s the small matter of a band who haven’t come all the way from Christchurch, New Zealand, to die wondering.
Pieces Of Molly are here, as singer and guitarist Ewen Glasgow puts it, to play “fuckin’ rock ’n’ roll”. “Don’t Take Me To The Disco (You Call Rock N Roll)” opens the set after the intro and “Can’t Muzzle Me” follows. Like you’d want to. They’re at their best untamed, and “Alligator” is perfect denim-clad biker rock. Then “Dead Sky” comes barrelling in, Glasgow’s hair flying and his Flying V getting a workout.
This website has long wanted to ban the phrase New Wave Of British Heavy Metal on the grounds that it’s about 45 years old. Then the twin guitars on “Banshee” come in and I can’t think of anything better to call it. “Road Warrior” could be their mission statement and “Down A Hole” passes the starts-with-a-solo test, which is always a good sign round here. The Kiwis have just put out “Don’t Take Me To The Disco” and sound like a band bursting to get out and play it. They’re the perfect support for Asomvel and they make the most of the chance.
Asomvel should have opened for Airbourne at Birmingham’s O2 Academy back in February, but Ralph Robinson took ill and they had to pull out of that show. Tonight they’re opening their own tour. The last three bands over the PA are Motörhead, Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy. There’s some of all three here. Then comes the “Rocky” theme. They race on like prizefighters and spend “Louder & Louder” charging around the stage.
“Luck Is For Losers” follows and “Lone Wolf” is as pure as the driven slush. There’s “Your Worst Nightmare”, too, and on “If It’s Too Loud, You’re Too Old”, Ralph sings that he’s here for a good time, not for a long time. Some good time, this. The band his uncle Jay-Jay Winter started with dad Lenny Robinson has been going for more than 30 years.
“Do you think we need a fast one?” Ralph asks before “Beware The Full Moon”. Has there ever been a more redundant question? They do just about everything at a frightening speed. “Back From The Dead (It’s Your Funeral)” gets its first live outing, and “Born To Rock ’n’ Roll” is dedicated to Pieces Of Molly. Asomvel even bring out a decibel meter to see how loud the crowd can get. “Outside The Law” makes you wonder whether they’re just a gang of North Yorkshire vagabonds who happen to have amplifiers.
“Take You To Hell” is from the superb “Set Your World On Fire”, which only came out last month, and they’re already trying out songs for the next one. “Rock ’n’ Roll In Your Blood” and “Live Fast Die Last” are both brand new. “Stare At Death & Spit” is for Jay-Jay, and with a simple “one, two, three, four” they’re into “King Of The World”, which couldn’t sound more Motörhead if it tried. Ralph calls “When You’re Dead Lie Down” a nice pub rock song with a shout-along. Fair enough, if your local’s got a very understanding landlord.
“Set Your World On Fire” and “Light ’Em Up” take us back to the new record, and “The Nightmare Ain’t Over”, also dedicated to Jay-Jay, closes the set. “We’re the crazy motherfuckers who just kept going,” says Ralph. He should know.
Every November, me and my brother used to go and watch Lemmy and the boys somewhere. Motörhead are gone, and if Asomvel are going to take up the cudgels, then fair enough. The hardest-working, longest-serving overnight sensations in rock ’n’ roll are finally getting their rewards.
