A cold and damp Monday night sees us heading to the Motorpoint Arena for what promises to be a great show, with three great bands on the line up…
First up on stage is Mammoth WVH, fronted by Wolfgang Van Halen, who wowed audiences worldwide in 2022 with his incredible guitar playing skills at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert.
Wolf and the band played for about half an hour and delivered seven songs all from the 2021 self-titled album Mammoth WVH.
Clearly inheriting his father’s skills with the axe which are demonstrated right off the mark in Mammoth, Wolf also has a fantastic and expressive voice, and he is a talented keyboardist as demonstrated during Epiphany.
There’s a real nice mix here too, from more mellow blues rock to hard rock and metal.
Next up are a Nottingham fan-favourite Halestorm, fronted by the charismatic Lizzy Hale. The set is built around a core of new songs from 2022’s album Back from the Dead and the new material fits in seamlessly with the older hits.
Starting off with Steeples, the energy levels are through the roof. Lizzy has an incredible voice with a great range, and tonight she was on top form, belting out the high and long notes with ease.
Old favourite I Get Off gets a huge roar from the big crowd. The band leave the stage as Arejay Hale (Lizzy’s younger brother) delivers a long, and impressive drum solo.
Interacting with the crowd, urging them on to shout to the beats, Arejay pulled out the novelty four-foot-long drumsticks and wielded them with ease. The crowd were loving this!
The band returned for the last few numbers. I really enjoyed the title track form the new album Back from the Dead. The set ended with the ever popular I Miss the Misery.
For those new to Halestorm, I think they made a few new friends tonight and all in all, Halestorm brought the arena close to a boiling point ready for Alter Bridge.
After a short turn round on stage, the lights dimmed, and Alter Bridge hit the stage and it was immediately obvious, we were in for a treat!
With Myles Kennedy’s iconic voice and Mark Tremonti’s signature sound, you can’t really go wrong and that was clear right form the off, with the quartet starting their almost two-hour set with a bang with Silver Tongue from the new 2022 album Pawns & Kings.
The band effortlessly rips through a sixteen-song set list including four new songs from the current album. There’s a wonderful rendition of In Loving Memory with Mark Tremonti on acoustic guitar while Kennedy focuses on the emotive vocals.
A calming and emotional interlude from the otherwise energy-filled night. No Alter Bridge show is complete without Blackbird and tonight Myles did not disappoint. His vocal delivery of this classic was immaculate.
My personal highlight of the night was a fantastic version of Wouldn’t You Rather from 2019’s Walk the Sky. The main set ends with a classic in Open Your Eyes from 2004’s One Day Remains.
For an encore we had the title track from 2022’s Pawns & Kings, followed by the powerful, anthemic Rise Today from 2007’s iconic album Blackbird.
Alter Bridge, Halestorm, and Mammoth WVH – just wow! What a package these three make.
Although quite different and each bringing something different to the table, there is a musical harmony between them which works so, so well.
I’d be hard pressed to recommend a better night of rock and metal for you.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
