The Garage’s fancy revamp doesn’t appear to have air conditioning, turning the venue into a tropical sweatbox. Kicking off just after doors open, London’s STEAK [7] deal in laidback, fuzzed-out grooves that hark back to the mid-90s, with a good dash of both Kyuss and Nebula. Canada’s BLOOD CEREMONY [8] summon the spirits of Arthur Machen and Lord Dunsany via the sounds of Coven and Jethro Tull. Alia O’Brien’s voice soars through an Amicus/ Hammer Horror-esque world and even technical gremlins fail to ground their magical psych sounds. Utterly enthralling, as ever. Not many people can lay claim to the voice of a genre, but who can think of stoner rock and not hear John Garcia’s soulful rasp? Amusing The Amazing was a killer EP but not even SLO BURN [7] can stretch four songs over almost 90 minutes. A set that features more demo tracks than official releases flags a little in the heat at times, but set closer Pilot The Dune remains one of the greatest songs of the 90s.
Slo Burn/ Blood Ceremony/ Steak at The Garage, London - live review
The Gospel - live

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

“Justin Hawkins has got a crazy brain. He kept giving me all of these great lines”: How The Darkness persuaded a Hollywood A-lister to appear on their new album

“Our manager said Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck were in the crowd. I had to put it out of my mind and play”: The epic story of Living Colour, the band that revolutionised 80s hard rock

“We were a bit drunk, and I slurred to Ronnie, ‘Do you fancy doing an album?’ It was as simple as that”: How Heaven & Hell resurrected Black Sabbath’s other classic line-up with The Devil You Know