By David O’Neill
Sunday morning dawned after some light rain overnight and started to warm up but the clear skys of the previous two days were not to be seen. Well, it wouldn’t be Steelhouse if it didn’t rain! More on that later!.
Opening up Sunday was yet another trio, this time from Brecon – Kit Trigg. Looking little more than the minimum age, he opened up confidently despite a power glitch midway through the first verse. Before the band skillfully manoeuvred into the second verse. Dedication to a recently lost friend provided the first reflective moment of the day but the confidence grew with the highlight being ‘Going For Glory’.
With influences cited as Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Judas Priest, Tailgunner were always going to be the “wake you up” band of the day. Looking like a solid heavy metal band they ripped everyone’s ears off with their set. With a lead singer who would easily pass for Kenny Leckremo’s younger sibling and a bass guitarist who has definitely watched Iron Maiden a more than a few times, they delivered a blistering heavy metal set that included their name built into the lead singer’s microphone base. This set will push them onto bigger and better things.
The Treatment, who played at last year’s Planet Rockstock, returned for this year’s Steelhouse, marking a decade since their first appearance. Kicking off with ‘Let it Begin’, they rattled into ‘Let’s Wake Up This Town‘ before ‘When The Thunder And Lightning Strikes‘ (thankfully not in this case!). They continued without hardly a break and had to finish with ‘Shake The Mountain‘. They really know how to keep the mood up.
The return of the lampshades was next up. Blues-based Southern rockers These Wicked Rivers made another welcome return to the Sunday afternoon slot. For a Sunday they definitely delivered a statement before going to ‘Testify‘ that you need to be a ‘Force of Nature‘ to ‘Just to be a man‘ after a weekend on ‘Black Gold‘, (which incidentally is one of my favourite tracks).
The next band is one whose four albums I have reviewed for Über Röck. The Raven Age is known for their dark and atmospheric metal sound. Their debut album introduced the band’s style, focusing on storytelling—a theme that has continued across all subsequent releases. The group is now established and recognized within their genre.
Having shared the stage with bands like Iron Maiden, Shinedown, Volbeat, Alter Bridge, and Killswitch Engage, this group stands out as truly impressive. With tracks like ‘Scimitar’, ‘(The) Guillotine’, ‘Forgive And Forget’, ‘The Journey Is Over’ and ‘The Grave Of The Fireflies.,’ their set left a strong impact. Fittingly, in a country where the ‘Fleur De Lis’ is a symbol, this was the closing song of their performance.
After this then the return of Nathan James and Inglorious to the mountain top was definitely a contrast. It was also accompanied by the Sunday afternoon Steelhouse rain storm, seeing everyone struggling to get waterproof gear on rather rapidly. If you have seen Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds you cannot help but be impressed by the vocal range and power of Mr James.
Despite not being together on stage since 2022 I doubt there will be anyone who won’t ‘Testify‘ that ‘The Devil Inside‘ definitely made a ‘Stand‘ alongside Nathan James. He has returned but he has some new collaborators in the return of Colin Parkinson (bass) and a new guitarist in Richard Shaw, both of whom seriously impressed alongside Nathans’ vocals. Richard Shaw is an impressive guitarist and can really shake his huge mane whilst hammering the six strings.
Never ones to miss a trick from somewhere else around the world, this years antipodean artist was Wolfmother who definitely brought a different ‘Dimension‘ to the Steelhouse stage. Having travelled through Europe from Bulgaria overnight I have to say they delivered a brilliant set despite some gear shortages developing on the journey.
‘New Moon Rising‘ followed ‘Dimension’ before ‘Woman’ was recognized by everyone in the crowd. I was surprised to hear ‘Victorious’ as the last time I heard this was from ‘Guitar Hero Live’ (when my son was playing it, I hasten to add). They really delivered a set that was well accepted by many in the crowd but it wasn’t ‘Joker And The Thief‘ that the rest of the crowd really were hooked.
“Ladies and Gentlemen ARE YOU READY?” reverberated around the mountain top for the Sunday night headliners that were 10 years in the making but were always going to get there. With four albums under their wings and the last one reaching Number One in all the ÜK music charts, last but by no means least IT WAS THOSE DAMN CROWS!
With a huge set, and drum riser that must have given Ronnie a nosebleed at this height, the production was not skimped on, other than the absence of lighting on Dave Winchurch; but this is not the first time for this, so maybe its his choice! With Shane counting out how much each effect cost, it was a visual feast. There were highs and lows, and it was a mood swing in all proportions.
Rattling through their back catalogue and the “Crow Family” were loving every minute of it. With ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Ain’t Dead’ preceding the finale of ‘When Will I See You Agai’n with multiple audience singalong moments it was a terrific homecoming headline set.
To answer the Crows’s question, we’ll see you again same time of year, same mountain top in 2026… the first 1000 early bird tickets have already sold out – and mine was one of them!
- All photos © Bandtogs/Über Rōck.