Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
You want 20 bands over 3 days at Station 18 Festival which takes place at Hangar 18 Music Venue in Swansea, South Wales? £35 for the entire weekend? At £1.75 per band, that is an absolute bargain. Throw in a well-stocked bar in an air-conditioned venue, and the only thing that is missing, my friend, is you. Here is our preview of opening day – Friday, April 29th where the action gets underway at 6 pm.
Kicking off proceedings are Cardiff’s very own Beth Blade and The Beautiful Disasters. Having just announced the Summer release of their brand new album ‘Mythos, Confession, Tragedies and Love’, as well as releasing latest single ‘Sin Eater’, Beth Blade McDonald and her trusty amigos will shake the foundations with their very own slice of hard rock that will lay down a marker for everyone that follows over the weekend. Recent dates with Thundermother mean that by the time the band takes to the stage, they will be purring like a finely tuned Rolls Royce engine.
With more of a harder, stoner edge, fellow Welsh-noise merchants Pearler will be kicking the aggression up a notch or two. Having performed at Bloodstock Festival in 2021 – thanks to winning Metal 2 The Masses – the four-piece will be shattering eardrums with some big-ass riffage and lashings and lashings of groove. Need a comparison for comparison’s sake? Think along the lines of King Creature. Tom Araya’s younger (and just-as-hairy) brother on vocals, and other big hairy guys playing loud music. Skål!
Breaking the Welsh stranglehold on opening day will be the hotly-tipped Liverpool-based Revival Black. With the golden-throated vocals of Dan Byrne at the forefront of the Revival Black sound – as well as the twin guitar attack from Alan Rimmer and Adam Kerbache – this is very much a band on the ascendancy. With the new album ‘Under The Light’ set for release in late August, the band is whetting the appetite with the corking new single ‘See You Again’ (which comes complete with a kick-ass guitar sound).
The task of closing the opening day of this new festival falls to veterans Hollowstar. Can you call guys that are still so young, veterans? We think so, yes. Regulars of the live circuit, the guys from Cambridgeshire are rewarded for their tenacity over the last several years with a festival-headlining appearance. Led by the groovy cat himself, vocalist/bassist Joe Bonson, Hollowstar wear their hearts on their collective sleeves and this headline appearance is proof that good things do indeed happen to good guys. Watch out for livewire lead guitarist Phil Haines, one of those performers that you will be talking about for days to come, he pairs up well with fellow guitarist Carl Ledger (“Kris Barras without the muscles”) to bring some crunching riffs to the occasion. Also, listen out for the heartbreaking ‘Good Man Gone’, after a few liquid refreshments you might just have something in your eye while the band brings the house down with it.
Station 18 ticketing information, as well as FAQs, can be found here.
Beth Blade photo – Rob Wilkins
Hollowstar photo – Dave Jamieson
