SOIL/PUDDLE OF MUDD/DEAR SUPERSTAR
Central Station, Wrexham.
16/10/2011
Tonight sees one of the biggest gigs Central Station has put on in recent years, two bands who burst on the music scene 10 years ago with songs that have since stuck in our heads and have remained very popular today. Even before the bands come on, the place is already almost full of Metalheads who want to relive 2001 all over again.
Tonights main support are British rockers DEAR SUPERSTAR who prove to be the perfect choice by churning out some brilliantly executed hard-rock. Mainly playing songs from their new album ‘Damned Religion’, they make the most of the 30 minute set and looking like they’re having a great time onstage. Vocalist Micky Satiar does a great job of interacting with the crowd as well as being top notch with his vocal display, whilst the rest of the band play the songs effortlessly, a great start to the night.
Apart from a slot at Download earlier this year, it has been a fair few years since PUDDLE OF MUDD graced these shores and judging by their performance tonight, it’s like they’ve never been away, their set mainly consists of their earlier work as well as a few newer ones thrown in for good measure. ‘Psycho’ is one of their heavier and more ‘grungy’ songs, it also the song that warms the crowd up the most before a thrilling encore of the band’s most popular songs ‘Blurry’ and ‘She Hates Me’, with the latter sends the capacity crowd into a frenzy and vocalist Wes Scantlin may as well not need his microphone as the audience are singing along to every word. It’s great to have then back.
Ever since original SOIL frontman Ryan McCombs left the band 7 years ago, it left a huge void in the band, since then, the band have released 2 more albums which were decent
but never quite matched the success of their first 2 albums, especially their debut album ‘Scars’ which tonight is being played in its entirety in celebration of its 10 year anniversary with original frontman McCombs returning to the band. As soon as opener ‘Breaking Me Down’ starts being played, the entire venue erupts into one huge mosh pit which stays that way throughout the duration of their set. There are many highlights to be taken from their performance, ‘Need To Feel’ and the catchy ‘The One’ sounds as fresh as they were 10 years ago. In between songs, it’s clear that the band are also here for a great time, other than addressing the crowd, they also like to take the mick out of each other, and for me, the best part is when bassist Tim King winds up former Staind and current Soil drummer Jon Wysocki by playing the main bassline from a Staind song (Mudshovel). At the end of the set, there is one song (Halo) that the fans have been wanting to hear, and when that particular song kicks in, the whole room goes mental, even McCombs himself joins in the frenzy, a stunning performance all round.
All 3 bands were on top form tonight, especially Puddle Of Mudd and Soil who have reminded us what it was like 10 years ago, judging by all the people’s expressions
after the show, they certainly want to live in the past more often.
Words by Graeme Williams and images by ‘The Don’
