Somehow generating the same levels of heat best found on the surface of the sun, Cambridge’s Six Six Bar is a venue whose attributes echo the long gone and much missed Marquee Club when it was in Wardour Street.

The place is a dark and loud sweat box and therefore perfect for riotous shows by the great and the good of the underground scene, tonight the venue of the second night of Hearts & Hand Grenades latest UK tour. With four diverse bands on the bill, there’s something for everyone who loves a bit of high voltage rock ‘n’ roll, each act bringing their own flavours to a night packed with huge guitars and take no prisoners attitude.

Opening the show, local lads Löwdown certainly leant heavily into their mantra “all hail the riff” and it was a muscular, tattoo covered display of primal hard rock at its dirtiest. Their AC/DC meets Mötorhead material was a balls-out, no frills delight of biker metal that harked back to the golden age of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that threw in elements of thrash and stoner rock.

With its nagging buzz saw riff that suddenly bursts into sludgy heaviness, opener ‘Sleep’ threatened to shatter every glass in the bar with its low-slung punch, vocalist/guitarist Dave Runham spitting fire from his fretboard and larynx.

When the singer howls “wake up” at the start of ‘Tell Me More’, it isn’t a gentle nudge but a roar, demanding attention as the freight train slam of the tune kicks in, the proto thrash of ‘M.O.A.B.’ transforming into its soaring chorus and back into the wrecking ball heaviness that James Hetfield and Co would give their collection of platinum discs for. No mess, no fuss, Löwdown mean business.

Following on from the meat and potatoes approach of the English crew, Orlando outfit SoulSwitch brought something of a slickness born of time on the road opening arena shows for the likes of Korn and Alter Bridge amongst others.

Backs to the audience, they exploded into scorching life with a furious ‘Transmission’s Lost’, its huge hook and intensity enough to fill a stadium, the light and shade of ‘The One Thing’ that followed it embracing the highs and lows of Nu Metal but with a sharper, brighter edge that eschewed the miserabilist tendencies of that much maligned genre.

Widescreen anthems ‘Saving Me’ and ‘Change’ certainly lift things into the stratosphere, the twin guitars of Kenny Blesy and Jimmy Kwong both eviscerating and weaving as they attacked, a rocket-fuelled adrenaline surge.

There’s plenty of heart here too, the raw power never edging into bombast as the melodic vocals of Paul Mahoney keeping things anchored in the real as the blistering soul at the core of ‘I’ve Had Enough’ is full of a genuine passion and the surprise cover of Timbaland’s ‘Apologize’ is a savvy mix of sweet and heavy.

With the closing blast of a triumphant ‘Until The End’ nothing short of phenomenal, it was purely a victory lap for a set that showed that SoulSwitch have already started their ascension to the big leagues and the largest stages are their true home. See them rise.

With such a tough act to follow, South Coast team Mikey Ball & the Company are far from the heaviest band of the evening but they certainly know how to rock. Instead of face melting guitars, the quartet go for bright, upbeat New Wave infused tunes that are rammed with bounce and insistent earworms of choruses. Led by Ball, this was a display of sheer enthusiasm for the music they’ve created and it was a difficult thing not to be infected by.

In the bite and swagger of ‘Misunderstood’ and the skittering ‘Burning All Night’, complete with anthemic chorus, Ball has a selection of fine songs that gets bodies moving and fists punching the air in enthusiasm.

The boogiefied rocker ‘Runnin’’ shows their harder edges, the fretwork by the main man and Chris Collins grinding with an irresistible groove and bouncing pop rocker ‘The Morning’ was made for Summer days and FM radio. With the sugar rush of ‘One More Night’ closing their set, the four-piece had certainly made a lot more friends and marked themselves out as ones to watch.

Emanating the same sensual raw power of Lzzy Hale and with her bass slung Pete Way low, Hearts & Hand Grenades Stephanie Wlosinski looks every inch the rock star, her vocal chops as impressive as the Halestorm singer too.

With the mentoring of Robbie Takac from Goo Goo Dolls, the Buffalo four-piece already have two critically acclaimed albums under their belts and a third in the pipeline and this UK jaunt gives them a chance to gain more ground in a country that seems to have really embraced them.

It isn’t just Wlosinski who’s the draw here, the band have an armoury of crushing tunes that mix metal, punk and bubblegum melodies that can smash you to a pulp and make you dance at exactly the same time. Whilst they may be big on hooks, there is a ferocity here displayed by the quartet that shows a hunger and determination to make sure their voices are heard.

‘My Sickness’ is an unnerving and prowling way to open, a slashing bundle of fury that howls and dances on the edge of madness, the twin guitars of Mike Bress and Kenny Blesy pumping out its central riff, ‘For the Weakened’ with the wrecking ball heft of Metallica at their most primal following it.

This ethos of hitting hard and early pays dividends, the band not letting up as the like of ‘Bad Medicine’ and ‘Scream It Out’ continue to full-blooded assault, a welter of razor-sharp fretwork, the throbbing bass of Wlosinki and drumming by Cory Michalski that turned internal organs into jelly.

With the ear-splitting volume and blazing heat in the bar, this surround sound attack on the senses was one to lose yourself in, the intensity leaving room for nothing but total immersion and commitment to the cause.

Encapsulating the atmosphere of the whole night, there’s an obvious camaraderie onstage that some bands would balk at, having built up a too cool for school persona.

With his somewhat diminutive stature, Bress was the butt of most of the joking and embraced the good-natured ribbing by his bandmates, the quartet’s easy-going demeanour a wonderful counterpoint to the merciless ferocity of some of their material. Never afraid of throwing in curveballs, their cover of Rag N Bone Man’s ‘Human’ and a joyous romp through ‘All the Small Things’ with Ball, Kwong and Mahoney joining them, proved they certainly can let their hair down a bit when desired and have some fun.

With a savage run to the end of the set with monstrous new song ‘Burn’ full of Led Zeppelin dynamics and the near apocalyptic ‘Turning to Ashes’ threatening to wipe out most of the city centre, leaving just a massive crater, Hearts & Hand Grenades concluded an evening of blood, sweat and passionately won victories.

Who knows what the future will bring for them, but standing in the wreckage of the Six Six Bar it’s very clear they’re unstoppable contenders. Long live rock ‘n’ roll and always bet on the underdog.

Review by Paul Monkhouse

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)