Fresh from a tour around the UK, Beneath The Embers return to their spiritual home of Colchester in Essex to play a very special show to commemorate the release of their first full-length studio album, Condemned. And they haven’t come alone.
Beneath The Embers – Condemned album launch
Three Wise Monkeys, Colchester – 4 November 2022
Words and Photography: Lawrence Potter
Beneath The Embers
Beneath The Embers, join the stage to the sound of gunshots and battle cries, and charge full steam ahead into the title track from the album we’re all here to celebrate, Condemned. Right out of the gates, these guys bring heaps of energy. With all the stage presence of a band with many more years of experience than they do, it’s easy to see why Beneath The Embers are regarded so highly among their peers.
At the helm of this Heavy Metal outfit is frontman Lewis Rowland, who always finds a way to get the crowd pumped and moving. Leading by example is the band’s charismatic bassist and backing vocalist, Liam Gloster. Liam is well respected in the local scene due to his well-regarded Metal nights, Impious Productions.
Alongside on lead and rhythm guitar, respectively, are Clint Bredin and Quentin Radburn, who do an amazing job as always with their brutal guitar riffs and breakdowns perfectly counterbalanced with melodic solos. And on the sticks is Spencer Churchill, who is as solid as ever and is one of the keys that make Beneath The Embers sound huge.
The band play an entourage of brand-new songs along with the ones we know and love from their extensive catalogue, including Breaking Down The Walls, Drag You To The Grave and Demonised.
To top off the night, they end on a superb cover of Iron Maiden’s The Trooper.
Regicide
Regicide opened the evening, and, as is the case every time I’ve seen these guys, they never disappoint. They had a fantastic campaign in the Metal 2 The Masses tournament a few months back, where they got to the final but narrowly lost out this time around. The band has not let that slow them down in any way, and they have been pushing hard on the local scene, playing alongside some class acts such as Ghosts Of Atlantis.
Regicide consists of Niall Byrne on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Davies on guitar, Josh birch on bass and Chris Batson on drums. At the end of the set, there’s not a single head in the venue that’s not bobbing up and down.
Some of the songs they performed on the night included Set Me Free, Spit, Under My Skin and Burnt Eyes. These guys put on a great show and are living proof that Thrash Metal is still alive and well in the world.
Beneath The Embers and Regicide provided another great night of local Metal at its finest, and both are prime examples of two overachievers in a sea of Metal bands in the region.
