Meet the meritorious masters of melancholic metal

Katatonia, Stockholm’s ‘architects of existential dread’ launch a busy month for the ‘mender on November 1, and the meritorious masters of melancholic metal (their words, not ours) have had more than 30 years to ripen their sounds, from doom and death metal to soul-gripping post rock.

Sky Void of Stars, their latest long-player, is the band’s 12th album, ‘…a dynamic journey through vibrant darkness,’ the band promises, ‘Born out of yearning for what was lost and not found, the very peripheries of the unreachable, but composed and condensed into human form and presented as sounds and words true to the Katatonia signum. No stars here, just violent rain.’

Dark it will be, but deliciously so. Cobra The Impaler are up in support.

Wednesday 13 wraps up his UK tour at the venue (Nov 10) with a set dedicated to Murderdolls material, and support coming from Hardcore Superstar.

Chicago’s heavy rock mob Soil are coming to town (Nov 17) with a show that is guaranteed to give you all the Saturday night feels, but on a Sunday.

Formed back in the late 1990s, the survivors have switched up personnel and navigated a changing industry to deliver a catalogue of albums which have accrued collective sales in excess of two million. Joining artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie on early year tours pushed them before arena sized crowds, which many a band will tell you is a nice place to be.

Aside from their catalogue of own material, in 2022 the band issued the 11 track opus Play It Forward, with their take on material by artists including Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, White Zombie, The Ramones and Prong. Worth tipping your ear to, if you’ve not already.
The All Scars Set road crawl will also feature (hed) p.e, Nonpoint and The Union Underground.
It’s an early starter too – with doors at 6pm and a 10.30pm curfew.

There’s no maybe about it, tickets to see Definitely Oasis (Nov 22) are a heck of a lot cheaper than those reunion shows to see the Gallagher brothers, which was a real lesson in industry gluttony and the dark side of music.

You’ll still get all of the hits, but with none of the farce – and you’ll get to see The Complete Stones Roses in action. ‘Time Flies… 1994-2009’ are yours for £20.

Ska royalty arrives with Bad Manners (Nov 29), the Buster Bloodvessel fronted good time 2-Tone titans. Tongues out for the ladies! Tickets are selling fast for this.

Hugh Cornwell (Nov 30) walked away from The Stranglers in 1990, but he left behind a magnificent body of work; it was Cornwell who was responsible for penning and delivering numbers including Peaches, No More Heroes, Always The Sun and the incomparable, Golden Brown.
Since then, he has recorded a mass of music solo, the most recent delivered in 2022, Moments of Madness.

EXTC – featuring XTC drummer Terry Chambers – will open up the bash, taking listeners back through their own catalogue of class; from Senses Working Overtime to Making Plans for Nigel.

For tickets visit theroadmender.com