The Gig Cartel - Gig guide: The Wildhearts Holmfirth Picturedrome

The Wildhearts Holmfirth Picturedrome

(featuring The Wildhearts)

Venue: Holmfirth Picturedrome

For three decades, The Wildhearts have remained at the forefront of the UK rock scene; through incendiary live shows and fast-lane frolics, they have cemented their reputation as one of the finest, most prolific, most notorious outfit’s their homeland has produced – and now they’re back with a new album, their first for Snakefarm!

Titled ‘Satanic Rites of the Wildhearts’ and produced / mixed by Jim Pinder and Carl Bown (Sleep Token / Bullet For My Valentine / While She Sleeps), the record is conceived as a belated 10-track follow-up to their classic debut, ‘Earth vs The Wildhearts’ (1993).

As always, the song-writing of main-man Ginger is signature, ambitious and not specific to genre; what he serves up here are numbers of defiance and hope, of ragged glory, of true heart-on-sleeve emotion – numbers that sound like no-one else on this planet (or the explored parts of space).

Lead single / video, ‘Failure Is The Mother Of Success’, kicked things off late last year with a spectacular eight minute lap taking in all manner of twists an’ turns, and the message of the song is plain, forged through sharp-end experience i.e. it’s never too late to make a change and take a different fork in the road…

Ginger: “‘Failure…’ is about getting back on your feet after things have gone wrong. There's an old saying, 'fall down three times, get up four’. It's about feeling like you're worth getting back up for, and that making mistakes is just an essential part of life, everyone does it.

“It’s also a really good taster for the album as a whole, and has everything any Wildhearts fan could want!”

The follow-up, ‘Troubadour Moon’, packs a more concise melodic punch, and comes complete with a video wall-to-wall with references to the early history of the band; the song is inspired by the dying art of the ‘troubadour’, someone driven to pursue a dream by the sheer love of music, and is sure to be a fan fave of the future…

Ginger: “The songs on ‘Satanic Rites…’ were written during a period of transition, from extremely negative to positive. I realised how much control I have over my mental health, and the songs came from that understanding. There’s everything here – catchy choruses, proper fuck-off riffs, anger, frustration, acceptance and revelation, with plenty of insane detours. The album starts pessimistic then ends up like ‘Ah, so I CAN turn my life around?’ It’s a hard rock album for people who love hard rock!”

‘Satanic Rites…’ – the band’s 11th studio album to date – is set for worldwide release on March 7th; it’s likely to be preceded by a third / single video, with glam stomper ‘I’ll Be Your Monster’ (featuring Shining / Emperor member Jørgen Munkeby on guest saxophone) the likeliest choice…

In support of the album, the band will be heading out on a major eight-date headline tour of the UK in March, with key European festivals to follow…

Ginger: “We’ll be taking a full evening’s entertainment on the UK tour, kicking off with party-punks Dirt Box Disco, going to rock ‘n’ roll church with Jim Jones, then being flayed alive with The Wildhearts. The party starts when the doors open, so get a buzz on and get down early. Come join the Wildhearts’ community gathering. We guarantee you’ll leave with the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll firmly restored.”