To quote the title of the Oscar-winning film, the one thing to be sure about at a Ward XVI show is that there will be blood. Not only this, but plentiful other gore, torture and madness as body parts are hacked, lunatics break free, and revenge is twisted into something so dark that it will never see the light.
Ward XVI – Pulverise
The Brickmakers, Norwich – 25 October 2025
Words: Paul Monkhouse
This is Alice Cooper scale spectacle, somehow done on a budget and brought to venues across the country by a group of people so utterly committed to their craft that the blood, sweat and tears are often their own.
Ward XVI
Whilst some bands rely on spectacle to distract from the fact that their material is shaky at best, Ward XVI can boast three albums full of huge anthems and absolute monster tracks that bring into focus the story of central character Psychoberrie from a whisper to a scream.
Closing the trilogy of tales, Id3ntity was released earlier this year to critical acclaim, and this latest tour brings the whole release to visceral life.
Whilst the whole is a massive undertaking as it is, further challenges arose for this date when drummer Bam Bam Bedlam was suddenly rushed to hospital the day before, necessitating the band to have to suddenly adapt.
This meant that Psychoberrie was programming the drums from the album all night to enable them to continue on the road.
Such things would have derailed lesser bands, but such is the commitment to their audience that these Herculean tasks are undertaken to ensure that the tour goes on.
It all works brilliantly and whilst the visual aspect of a live drummer may be missing, there are so many moving parts that nothing is lost in the intensity of the show, the music and performances nothing short of mesmerising.
From the ominous opening of Regeneration onwards, the band suck you into their world as pounding hard rock blends with touches of glam while costume changes and special effects bring a cinematic element to reach out and grab the audience.
The maniacal fairground waltz What’s In The Box and a stomping Macabaret show part of their range, industrial sledgehammer Blood Is The New Black heavy enough to rattle the glasses at the bar.
Amongst the mayhem and fervent audience participation, there is a touching moment where guitarist Doctor Von Stottenstein breaks the fourth wall, interrupting the set to pay tribute to his wife, Psychoberrie, for all her hard work in making sure the show would go on, showing the very real human side beneath the greasepaint.
Soon, though, it was back to the madness as relentless riffing morphed into the sensual Darkest Desire, and by the time gang vocals and terrace anthem We Are Legion drew the show to a finish, the sense of elation was palpable.
Behind the masks, each member of Ward XVI fits perfectly. Wolfy Huntsman’s bass, the manic vocals of Rico Romero and the theatrics of Nurse Betty bring the Grand Guignol spectacle a glowing vibrancy.
Special mention must go to the vocals of Psychoberrie, who manages to convey the smallest of nuances with one phrase but also handles the big numbers with aplomb.
The good Doctor Von Stottenstein is also a master at his craft, his scorching and sublime solos never less than thrilling, bereft of flash and ego but focusing instead on the music itself. It is all well worth the effort, and you don’t just attend a Ward XVI gig, you become part of it.
What they will do next is anyone’s guess, but to miss this tour would be as great a crime as any committed by our central anti-heroine.
Pulverise
On a busy night, four acts in total crammed onto the stage, and whilst bruisers CTOAN and Uridium impressed, it was the explosion of sound and light that was Pulverise that nearly stole the headliners’ thunder.
Displaying the same groove Metal chops as acts like Skindred, Living Colour and Fishbone, the quartet add no small amount of soul and sass from singer Jojo Millward, her kaleidoscopic outfit and frenetic moves like a multicoloured tornado.
Heavy hitters Bollotics and Sulk opened the set with a bang, but there is so much more to them than this riot of sensory assault, as beneath the big riffs of Tom Fay and the juggernaut groove of Darren Johnson’s bass and the drums of Vicky Reader, the lyrics hit just as hard.
“The words are all dead serious and mean something. I just can’t help smiling when I’m up here as I’m having such a good time,” confesses Millward.
Laced with plenty of Yorkshire humour, it’s impossible not to grin, dance and get involved when the music is this good and the warmth of the band is undeniable. Liquorice Allsortz, Slam Time and Deadstock glory in their irresistible rhythms, shorn of any unnecessary flourishes and getting the audience to do a slow-motion wall of death was a work of genius.
By the time that Little Voice brought their set to a rambunctious climax, it was clear that Pulverise make music set for both clubs and festivals alike, the whole bundle meant to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
Magnificent.
