Went to see these guys last night at the Brixton Academy and they flat out rocked!
We'd actually got tickets when we heard The Answer were supporting, but didn't find out til we got in and clocked the Merch stand, that they had pulled out. So we had two support bands we'd neverheard anything by, and a headliner we knew one song by. sod it, thought we, and hit the bar. No expectations, no pressure, and nothing to stop me wandering off mid-set to go to the loo, or buy a beer, as I wasn't going to miss a favourite song - been a long time since that was the case at a gig.
First up Sevendust. An american 5-piece, black dreadlocked singer, two guitars, a bass and a strange looking drummer. They kicked up a pretty-good racket, but the sound was a bit muddy to really pick out the songs that much. I'll be keeping an ear out for more from them though as they certainly have a lot of of stage presence and potential.
Stone Gods were next, and tbh, I found them a little disappointing. They're tight, professional, look good, and play really well. But every song sounds like some other band. The first reminded me strongly of Judas Priest, we had a AC/DC sounding one, even a Wildhearts-esque one, among others, but they never really seemed to have their own sound. As I say, disappointing.
Black Stone Cherry though came out loud and heavy, clearly having a great time and sounding shit-hot. The singer/guitarist has a cool set of pipes and some smoking licks too. The other guitarist has hair like Edgar Winter used to have, only longer. He and the bassist were in constant motion, stomping, leaping, hanging over the front of the stage. But the star for us was the absolutemad-haired nutter of a drummer. His kit was mostly low level so you could see him clearly, and a good thing too cos he was a show in his own right. Sticks spinning, standing up to get a better whack of his tubs, kicking out some lethal grooves, he managed to keep some absolute juggernaut rockers on the road. In the middle of a ridiculously groove-laden jam of a song called The Key, he even swapped places with the singer and provided a harmonica solo.
In short - go see this band live - they absolutely, positively, incontrovertibly rock like very rocky things.
Please excuse me, I now have to go out and buy everything they've ever done.