Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The ashes of many a phoenix has been blown and scattered to the four winds, the dust getting in the music lover’s eye and causing the bitter sting of regret and unfulfilled potential; to many a phoenix, the fire was not enough to resurrect them, the burning flame that catches the soul and gives it new life, simply went cold, started to fade and those ashes, they became another memory of what was, a golden bird in flight.
Ian Robinson, Ant Devlin, Andy Cowan and Chris Hoare are at the heart of the phoenix it seems, the feathers, a resurgent pristine and colourful affair, the soul beating as strong as it did in another incarnation, the sound produced driven, passionate and full of strength; no holds barred, a return to the stage for a first ever gig together under the reflective name of Gunmen of the Apocalypse, and it has to be said, what a storming set they produced.
As part of the evening in which the Zanzibar Club played host to Maddie Stenberg’s new single launch; the four men could almost be imagined to whistling in the wings before they came on a signature tune, a memory of the desert left behind for the reasons of their own, the gentleness of the whistle evoking Ennio Morricone’s epic musical autograph; but then a band with music to perform under their own banner need no diversion, for the gunmen stand guard, the change in nature one that the man with no name could smile upon, and the gig goer can take pleasure in as they listen.
Nobody ever says the fight to step out of the shadows is easy, but in the eyes, those windows to the stone driven souls, that is where the mark is laid down, that is where songs that have been worked upon in secret come out and devastate handsomely the audience and the expectations rise for future performances.
Armed lock, stock and smoking guitar with songs such as Mackie, Old News, Old Friend, a rather stirring cover of Free Fallin’ by the much-missed Tom Petty, Home and Marilyn, Gunmen of the Apocalypse not only stepped into the whirlwind of intrigue, but came out of it holding the Phoenix’s wings aloft and urging it to fly, telling it with a loud confident that if they can survive the desert and the dust, then there is home for a second, third and even fourth attempt to hit the mark.
A return that was unexpected but one that is so welcome, the Gunmen of the Apocalypse have come into town with polish and a newfound belief.
Ian D. Hall