It’s been 30 years since Bush released “Everything Zen”, and watching them play it here tonight, it’s still the song it always was.
Yet Bush are not the band they always were. These days, Gavin Rossdale is the only original member left, but he leads this latest incarnation with real fire.
Chris Traynor’s guitar work is phenomenal, and when they hit “Blood River”, it’s clear Bush are still capable of something powerful and raw.
The new material stands up, too. The likes of “Land of Milk and Honey” from their latest album pack a punch, driven by a massive drum sound courtesy of Nik Hughes. Rossdale performs “Swallowed”, mostly alone under a sea of phone lights
He looks genuinely at home on a stage this size, prowling it like he owns it, and as they close with “Flowers on a Grave”, there’s still the spark of the old Bush — a band that once defined the post-grunge era and still has something to say.
Earlier in the set, Rossdale sneers the line “We used to be somebody, now we are nobody” during “Identity.” That isn’t true. Bush might not be the stars they once were, but tonight they prove they’re still a force with a unique sound and plenty left to offer.
About fifteen years ago, I saw Volbeat down the road at the Birmingham Academy, and it was obvious even then that they were destined for bigger stages. Now they’re the arena band they always should have been, and honestly, there’s still no one quite like them.
Michael Poulsen’s gravelly charisma makes it easy to see why they connect. He’ll talk about Black Sabbath and Johnny Cash in the same sentence, and somehow it all makes sense — because Volbeat’s sound is that bridge between rock’n’roll swagger and metal power. You don’t fill arenas unless your songs connect, and when they rip into “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” or “Lola Montez”, they’re as good as anyone in the world.
“Sad Man’s Tongue” — lifted from Johnny Cash, as Poulsen freely admits — remains a highlight, while newer material from God of Angels Trust stands shoulder to shoulder with the classics. “Demonic Depression” hits harder live, and before launching into “In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom”, Poulsen grins and warns that “the true devils are on your TV” — a perfect introduction to one of their heaviest, most tongue-in-cheek moments.
“Heaven nor Hell” brings another huge singalong, “By a Monster’s Hand” channels early Metallica, and when they welcome Barney from Napalm Death onstage for “Evelyn”, it is brilliant collision of Danish groove metal and Brummie ferocity.
They don’t let up, either – and there’s bonus points for no encore. “Die to Live” swings with rockabilly punch, “Seal the Deal” remains glorious, and “For Evigt” — sung partly in Danish and dedicated to Poulsen’s family — is deeply heartfelt.
By the time “Still Counting” arrives, the crowd is in full voice, and Poulsen takes a moment to welcome the younger faces in the audience onto the stage, those who’ll carry the torch forward when his generation eventually steps back.
But not yet. Volbeat are very much in their prime. The final one-two of “A Warrior’s Call” into “Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza” is pure adrenaline — a reminder that Volbeat belong on these stages. They’ve always belonged here, and every time they play, they prove it all over again.
