Blackhole/Shotgun Riot @ The Purple Turtle

This is my first gig back after the festive period, and it get's off to a bit of a lukewarm start. Shotgun Riot look and move like a great rock and roll band, but sadly the songs just aren't quite there yet. Greatly improved with their new singer admitedly, but where as tonights headliners drop jaw dropping riffs on a regular basis, SGR's set just blends into one. There's promise there, but nothing is hitting quite yet.

Blackhole on the other hand, have memorable songs aplenty. The double edged sword of their relationship with Gallows is sadly starting to work against them I suspect, with people not giving them time of day. A true shame as the do in fact sound nothing like Gallows and more importantly sound utterly vital right now. Singer, Rick is one of the most endearing frontmen around with a self effacing charm that is brilliantly likeable. He's also a livewire, throwing himself into the crowd several times during their set to get the crowd moving. Hopefully, people will see sense and pick up on this band more as they truly are special, and deserve to step out of the shadow that looms over them.