Reviews
Hursan/ Lacerta/ Carrier/ Stealth Moose/ Blunt Impact
Arena, Torquay - 31st May 2026
Words : Richard Hayward
Photographs : Keith Conlin Photography
SUNDAY METAL SUNDAY
Arena Torquay hosts a massive Sunday night of metal, with five top-notch bands and something to satisfy every metallic taste. This is how all Sunday nights should be, so get used to calling in sick!
So… am I correct in thinking those drum heads have been reinforced with some sort of armour plating?
I love watching high-hitting drummers and Joe (Hursan go by first names only) definitely falls into that category. The punishment being handed out to those batter heads would normally be enough to trigger a phone call to S.W.A.T., but they’d probably be too scared to attend this gig anyway!
A Torquay-based band playing on home turf, Hursan hit the stage like a steam-hammer, and proceed to dole out a thirty-minute chunk of bone-crunching mayhem.
The combination of Joe’s epic drumming and Paul’s mighty bass is more than enough to rearrange a few tectonic plates, while the
heavy, grinding sound of James’ guitar, cuts through the melee like an industrial band saw.
Draped across this relentless, sludge-infested cacophony, Jarvis’ vocals force you to consider the possibility that someone may have accidentally summoned a demon straight from Hell.
At various times, the words are delivered free format, growled, hissed or screamed, presumably depending upon the mood of the demon at that moment. As we take in the bedlam unfolding before us, churches for miles around are bursting into flames, and clouds of bats are emerging from Torquay’s caves in search of necks to chew on.
At times, Hursan’s ball-busting wall of sound beats you over the head so hard it defeats your ability to process normal thoughts, and your brain starts to generate its own music videos. This is not a band for the faint-hearted, in fact, make sure the kids are safely tucked up before they go on stage, lest they learn some extremely naughty words and get thrown out of school.
I only recently reviewed Lacerta’s set at Southwest Heavyfest, so I’ll try not to repeat myself, but honestly, I never cease to be amazed by this band, they are just so unbelievably good. Lacerta’s material is a highly varied, multi-faceted feast of wonders – basically metal with a dash of everything
but the kitchen sink (unless it’s a metal sink!) To shamelessly borrow from their Facebook header, the band describe their output as, “Nu-Deathcore with elements of death, slam, nu-metal and progressive metal with a modern approach” - I couldn’t have put it better myself.
A fascinating band to watch, there’s so much going on it’s hard to know where to look next. Forcing my mind to focus, I pick my target and spend a few minutes closely studying the teamwork of Jay Sommerville on drums and John Hart on bass, only to find myself repeatedly picking my jaw up off the floor. You really do need to apply your ears AND your eyes to appreciate just how much these two are doing.
Not content with turning out some brilliant bass work, John also contributes on backing vocals, blending perfectly with Charlie Salter’s lead. Fun fact – although I don’t know it at the time, I’m actually watching Jay burn off 630 calories in 30 minutes, so if you’re considering a career in metal drumming, maybe bring some pork pies or something.
Speaking of Charlie Salter…
“Wow!” is one word that immediately springs to mind. How he does all those things with his throat, or to go all technical on you, his “supraglottic laryngeal structures”, I have absolutely no idea. He did once try to give me a brief rundown on what is involved, but I was still totally mystified.
The one thing I do know is that very few metal vocalists (if any) do it better than
Charlie.
At times, when he’s in full flight, it’s not difficult to envision Satan roaring for blood from the depths of Hell. I have to smile as he casually saunters through the chaos raging in the pit without anyone even laying a finger on him – one look at those eyes is more than enough for any sane mosher to know they need to find someone else to hit!
So how about those two dudes with the guitars?
Well, in my humble opinion, Liam Emberson and Matt Thompson are two of the very best, their respective talents and styles meshing like the finely oiled gears of a Swiss watch. One moment your ears are assailed by a haunting, soaring line of melodic magic, and the next, a blast of sheer “blow your brains out” fury comes flying in and liquifies your head!
Everything a metal guitar fan could ever wish for is right here; melodic finesse, huge aggression, chugging grooves and staccato djent chops.
How can you not love that?
Lacerta next appear at The King Arthur, Glastonbury 19th June alongside Death Brigade, ZYCIE and headliners Moon Reaper UK
The band stand unmoving, their backs to the crowd, as the atmospheric instrumental track “Exile” paints a picture of a forest scene, with gently flowing water and birdsong.
To the uninitiated, this seems innocent enough, but those familiar with the album already know that a cloaked and hooded
figure wearing a crown of flowers, stands motionless somewhere amongst the trees. We get the uncomfortable feeling that… something is about to happen!
Sure enough, a sudden explosion of dissonant guitar rips through the air as the band turn and launch into “I Will Show You Misery”, the title track of their 2026 album. The violent contrast of this transition is an absolute masterclass in how to make an impression on your audience.
As this dark, hellscape of a song unfolds, vocalist Kris Adams delivers the words with demonic intensity, growling, snarling and virtually spitting them out on to the floor. It’s brilliant, it’s spectacular and it’s exactly why we go to see bands play live!
Shifting our gaze to the trenches for a moment, we find Thomas Bromley, one of those drummers who makes hitting and kicking things look annoyingly easy when you know it’s actually really difficult. Not only that, but he also provides backing vocals with a voice that would be perfectly at home behind the centre mic of any metal band.
Meanwhile, in between terrifying high kicks and eye-watering splits, bassist Jonah Rich combines his enviable talents with Bromley’s drumming to create the unshakable foundation upon which the rest of the band’s sound is built.
The combined guitars of Matt Shiels and Seb Van Crugten are what really give Carrier their signature sound. The two work brilliantly in tandem to produce an array of textures and tones that can either cut your head off like a rusty blade or soar melodically above the chaos raging below.
As I look on with ill concealed envy, I comfort myself with the thought that I too could have played like this, had I just spent three or four decades practising instead of going to the pub every night.
By the end of the set, every track from Carrier’s 2026 album has seen daylight, with the exception of “Past Lives”, which is replaced by the one-minute song, “In Love and Faith, I Found My Vice”, from the band’s 2023 EP of the same name.
By inserting this song in penultimate position and following it with “Crown”, Carrier cunningly create a matching bookend for the set, mirroring the earlier mind-blowing transition from “Exile” into “I Will Show You Misery” - a very clever move!
Carrier are next appearing at Metal 2 the Masses D&C Final at Livewire, Saltash 4th July
Five-piece Stealth Moose may seem lighter than tonight’s other bands, but in fact they’re just “heavy with a different hat on”.
An alternative / hard rock band, employing heavy riffs, melodic passages and occasional borrows from heavier genres, Stealth Moose also throw in a self-deprecating sense of humour, which frequently shows up in their on-stage banter.
These guys are as entertaining to watch as they are good to listen to. With plenty of movement around the stage, Stealth Moose put on a dynamic show, holding the crowd’s attention while their music does its thing on their brains.
Vocalist Darren Hircock has a massively powerful voice and all of the band’s songs are delivered in classic, clean vocal style, with guitarist Pete Day and bassist Andy Westwood teaming up to provide backing vocals. Day’s guitar is joined by that of Martin Smith, doubling the number of strings working to give the band’s overall sound real depth and body. Meanwhile, underpinning the entire edifice is the super-solid drumming of Rob Palmer.
With the average Stealth Moose song running longer than five minutes, a half-hour slot means a six song set, but seeing as each piece is a sonic monster, you still feel as though you’re getting more than your money’s worth.
Take a quick look at the set list and the titles appear quite innocent, even mildly humorous. However, read the underlying lyrics and you’ll quickly discover there’s far more going on
here than meets the eye.
If you want to see what I mean, have a look at the lyrics to “Moomin Wang”, a title that raises a grin, but a song that actually addresses some pretty dark and disturbing issues.
Stealth Moose next appear at The Junction, Plymouth 6th June alongside Manipulated and headliners Ethyrfield
Picture the scene: a nice clean-living Torquay family are just finishing their Sunday dinner and settling down to a night of board games and pointless TV, when suddenly, the windows are blown in and the ceiling collapses. Is it a wartime bomb or maybe a planet-killing asteroid?
No, it’s just Blunt Impact taking to the stage on the other side of town. Long-standing government advice for such an event is to
paint yourself white and hide under the kitchen table… but that won’t help you.
This four-piece assault squad takes no prisoners, shows no mercy, and when they hit the stage, anything within a mile
of ground zero is instantly vaporised.
Lewis Bond’s heavy-hitting drumming sounds like a stick of bunker-busting bombs falling just feet away, and the thunderous bass of Clayton Graham completes the effect by shifting the ground back and forth beneath your feet.
While the earth heaves, the bone-splintering guitar of Ant Lambert reaches out across “no-man’s pit”, cutting down anyone wandering too close to the wire.
With the crowd now completely pinned down, the band unleash their most potent weapon, the murderous, face-shredding vocals of Charlie Britton.
Escape is no longer possible - this brutal pile driver of a band will seek you out wherever you’re hiding and force you to mosh until your head falls off.
Powerful, punchy and aggressive, Blunt Impact have it all - solid grooves that make it impossible to stand still, crashing breakdowns that lure you in and then take you out, and exactly the right balance of moshing and two-stepping to keep any self-respecting pit-loon completely satisfied.
Oh, and don’t worry too much about those blast injuries, once you’ve picked the glass out of them I’m sure they’ll heal up just fine!
