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According to the dictionary, heavy = “of great density; thick or substantial”. Metal = “a solid material which is typically hard”. This would mean that Heavy Metal = “dense, substantial, solid and hard”. Or you could just say: The Three Tremors.
The Three Tremors are Sean “Hell Destroyer” Peck, Tim “Ripper” Owens, and Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin. Three insanely powerful heavy metal vocalists, backed by an equally insanely powerful band made up of members of Peck’s main rock group, Cage. All powered forward at breakneck speed by the man at the back – drummer Sean Elg – who put in such an almighty shift that he finished the night half the man he was when it started! Just as well that the ultimate display of heavy metal drumming, ‘Painkiller’, was played as an encore rather than earlier in the set.
Before the seven piece headliners from America took to the stage, it fell to a trio from Manchester to kick proceedings off. Hailing from Bury, Vice play metal as it should be played – heavy, loud and melodic. The giants of metal throughout the decades never forgot about melody, and during tracks like ‘Wrath’, ‘Greed’ and especially on ‘Pride’, Vice show that they also understand the merits of a good melody.
It’s a strong mix of what you might term as “classic” metal (Megadeth/early Metallica), along with a hint of more modern metal with a strong Meshuggah or Mastodon influence. The new material aired tonight shows that the band is steadily building on the promise that 2017’s debut album, ‘The First Chapter’, hinted at. The trio, made up of Tom Atkinson on guitar/lead vocals, Aiden Lord on bass and backing vocals/growls, and drummer Connor Summers, shows a quiet confidence onstage, and it comes as no surprise to hear that Vice will soon grace the stage at HRH Metal.
With no fanfare or fuss, The Three Tremors walk through the crowd and take to the Bannermans stage. A stage already packed with four band members waiting patiently on Peck, Owens and Conklin. The atmosphere is jovial and it’s obvious that tonight is going to be quite loose, especially when Peck mentions the journey up from Bridgwater and jokes “I’m from Alaska and your Scottish snow is shit!”. After the opening track, ‘Wrath Of Asgard’, Peck jokes with the sound guy “I can’t believe that I’m saying this but can you turn me down please!”, with guitarist Dave “Conan” Garcia agreeing “Yeah, you’re louder than shit!”. If there is a more apt stage name than “Conan”, then I’ve yet to come across it!
With material culled from the self-titled debut album from 2019, as well as stop offs at various junctions in each vocalist’s individual career, it’s a glorious romp through the annals of metal. Said debut album is a belter, and ‘Bullets For The Damned’, ‘Invaders From The Sky’ and ‘When The Last Scream Fades’ make for quite an opening salvo. Each vocalist trades lead vocals with the others and, interestingly, each seems to have a different style to the others.
Tim “Ripper” Owens dips into his time with Judas Priest for a blast of ‘Burn In Hell’ from the underrated ‘Jugulator’ album, which leads back into The Three Tremors territory for ‘The Pit Shows No Mercy’. Owens introduces ‘King Of The Monsters’ by mentioning how Peck wrote it as a tribute to both Lemmy and “the best vocalist.. ever”: Ronnie James Dio. With the memory of Dio firmly in the crowd’s minds, the familiar opening strains of ‘Heaven And Hell’ bleed out for a heartfelt tribute to a true legend.
Peck takes over with a stunning version of ‘Hell Destroyer’ from the Cage album of the same name. Owens leaves the stage for a breather, and stops to say hello to Michael Schenker Fest vocalist Doogie White who is watching from the darkness. Conklin gets his shot of the solo limelight with a riotous version of the Jag Panzer gem ‘Black’, and sparks of recognition from the audience can audibly be heard. The night draws to its conclusion with the tribute to the fallen at Pearl Harbor, ‘Fly Or Die’, followed by a spine tingling version of ‘Painkiller’, before ending on, what else, ‘The Three Tremors’.
A powerful and emotionally charged night of Heavy Metal. With three lead vocalists, it’s an unusual format, but one that does work.
Next time that you see The Three Tremors listed as playing near you, make the effort as you will be rewarded. Bring earplugs though, these guys are loud!
Official website here.
Review – Dave S
Images – Dave Jamieson
