LIVE REVIEW: TOWER, THE RIVEN & TERMINATION FORCE – EDGE OF THE WEDGE, PORTSMOUTH (UK)

New York City’s TOWER hit Portsmouth on their first show in England, as part of their “Shock To Europe” tour! In tow were Sweden’s THE RIVEN and my own band, TERMINATION FORCE lighting the fuse to commence the heavy metal proceedings.

The venue for this old school endeavour was The Edge of the Wedge, a smaller venue within the larger Wedgewood Rooms on Albert Road, Portsmouth. Any gig goer in these parts will have undoubtedly attended this venue on several occasions, being a stalwart provider of gigs in the south coast area throughout the decades. I myself went to my first ever gig at this venue in 2004 for 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and TRIVIUM, and have played Wedgewood Rooms before in my other band DESOLATOR.

We were invited to open this show by a friend of ours, Dominic Weerdmeester (True Steel Promotions). Dom plays guitar in Manowar tribute act HANOWAR and pirate metallers REDRUM, and also LIGHTNING STRIKE, be sure to check them all out!

It was a sunny Monday evening, and after arriving we soundchecked and hung out with TOWER and THE RIVEN whilst the first few metalheads started to filter in. We were slightly delayed in our arrival, Neil our drummer had to chase a crackhead out of his car before we set off from Southampton! Dom had put on a mexican buffet and we introduced ourselves to the rest of the crew over jalapeños and hot sauce. All the guys in both bands were very cool and a pleasure to hang with, which always helps towards a great atmosphere throughout the night.

My band were on first, and I reckon we went down pretty well. The crowd was small but they were into it, we had a blast and it was a good start to the week, in which we had 3 gigs, 2 of them with TOWER.

Next up were THE RIVEN. These guys have sure got the look, and pleased to confirm the Swedes back it up in spades with their brand of fiery rock! From the opening note the 5 piece went into full swing, playing select numbers throughout their career focusing mainly on their latest album “Peace and Conflict” released in 2022.

Their high energy attack is truly infectious, with the small but intimate crowd swinging, swaying and fist banging throughout. The twin guitar action is showcased superbly with blazing solos from both moustachio’d players, highlighted with slower harmonised melodic moments.

These guys are not a metal band, yet their brand of heavy rock stands head and shoulders above many other metal bands in terms of heaviness and showmanship. Their set was over in a flash it seemed, with every attendee caught under their rock n roll spell.

After that heavy slab of groove, the night’s headliner TOWER began to take the stage. After a quick line check making sure amps are blasting and the drum kit still has all its pieces, the band waste no time in cutting the crap and letting the music to the talking. The band’s latest release “Shock To The System” is showcased in its almost complete entirety with mid song chatter cut to a bare minimum. The band are firing on full cylinders, all members throwing shapes and engaging with the intense crowd.

The riffs keep coming throughout their seemingly short set, each track delivered with the same energy as the last. There are no gimmicks here, just straight up heavy metal delivered with passion. The small stage barely seems able to contain the huge amount of kinetic energy flying out! The music itself, of course is heavy metal, but difficult to pigeonhole. You’ve got thrash riffs combined with NWOBHM passages, but the howling vocals set this band apart from “just another metal band”, setting them wide of their contemporaries which offers a truly unique sound.

The band finish up with a mighty crescendo and just like that, Portsmouth has been crushed!

Links:

📸 connor_cajr (Instagram)

True Steel Promotions: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093006161033

Tower Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOWERnyc

Tower Amazon: https://amzn.to/46J90zw

Riven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRivenMusic

Termination Force Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terminationforce