It’s only six weeks since I saw Absolva. Which means two things. First, it’s difficult to find anything new to say, but second, it backs up what Chris Appleton had said when they played with Blaze Bayley the other week: they were going to be a lot more active in the future.
Not that the boys have ever let the grass grow. Six albums in 11 years rather suggests that after all. And that brings us to the other reason there’s nothing new to say: Absolva are superb. Every time.
Many of us have watched the Appleton brothers for 15 years and realised how good they are, and as they run through their set – which amounts to a greatest hits one – it only underlines that.
“Flames Of Justice”, the wonderful “Never A Good Day To Die” and “Fistful Of Hate” are quite simply as good as British Heavy Metal gets, but they are never better than on “Fire In The Sky”, where Chris and Luke Appleton play superb twin guitar.
Luke sings “Side By Side” but before that Chris dedicates it to the band, and more than many it seems like a brotherhood, while he’s at it again, hinting at personal difficulties as he sends out “Historic Year” to 2023, but it is clear that its the music that helps him through. This music – right down to Bassist Karl’s Iron Maiden tattoo – is in the blood. Indeed, they understand their influences better than anyone, allowing for that, though if “Rise Again” was a Saxon song then Biff’s putting a gold disc in his downstairs bog.
They have a run-through of their first single, “Code Red” and end on “Reflection” and perhaps, after reflecting, as it were, on their decade, Absolva have realised they have too much talent not to give it a real go.
I started this website on September the 1st 2014. On the 26th of that month, I reviewed Fury live and said: “Musically their twin-guitar attack has not changed and they remain brilliantly trad fist-in-the-air fun.”
That followed on from 2012, when I’d seen them twice and said once: “Keep an eye on these boys, they may just have a chance.” And then “Fury has a chance of being very very good indeed”.
I was thinking about that when Julian Jenkins asks if there are any “old school fans” in tonight.
They play “Prince Of Darkness” and “Lost In Space from those early days, and they are just as fantastic as they ever were but the truth is this is not the same band as then. Literally- every member except Jenkins is different- and figuratively because the addiction of co-vocalist Nyah Ifill has changed the dynamic.
A good proportion of the set is from last year’s “Born To Sin”. “If You Get To Hell First” and “It’s Rock And Roll” show that although it’s a different vibe, maybe, the class is there, and “Who Are You?” is something of an anthem to live music itself, and this band belongs on stage. Always has.
“Lost In Space” is another from the early days and the fact they never need an excuse to get on the open seas is neatly underlined by Jenkins singing “Upon The Lonesome Tide” almost solo.
Bass player Becky Baldwin is in Mercyful Fate from time to time so their “Evil” dials up the metal again, and “Road Warrior” is wonderfully clever in dealing with its harmonies.
“Casino Soliel” finishes on an upbeat note, but the encore steals the show. Luke Appleton appears for “A Tale Of Silver” a 14-minute epic of glorious OTT proportions, after which because it’s Christmas and all that nonsense there’s the Wizard one (it might be the Slade one, who cares they’re crap) but y’know bah humbug and all that.
Awful Christmas songs aside, this in many ways was two sides of the same coin.Two bands who are excellent and who maybe don’t get the recognition their talent deserves. There are worse ways to spend the Friday before Christmas, for sure.
