LIVE REVIEW: Fozzy @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Heavy music and pro-wrestling have long been synonymous with each other. From THE MISFITS working matches for WCW in the 90s to OZZY OSBOURNE making guest appearances with WWE, to WWE bringing the NXT brand to Download Festival and beyond. Many wrestlers have walked through the curtain to the likes of METALLICA, ALTER BRIDGE, MOTÖRHEAD, and LIMP BIZKIT blasting through the performance space. This swings both ways as All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) roster goes to prove; Jeff Hardy fronts his own project PEROXWHY?GEN, The Butcher shredded for EVERY TIME I DIE until its demise last year, and Chris Jericho fronts the band we’re here for tonight: FOZZY.

It’s an important weekend for FOZZY. Playing their biggest headlining show to date at the o2 Forum in Kentish Town on the Friday then playing their smash hit Judas to a chorus of 81,000 people as Jericho walks himself to the ring for AEW’s All In at Wembley Stadium on the Sunday. No pressure.

The crowd’s a little thin on the ground by the time KRIS BARRAS BAND takes to the stage. Aside from small pockets of devoted fans, the majority of the patrons are here to witness Jericho and sink pints. With a fanfare of big guitars and larger drums, the band walk on to a small yet warm reception.

Perhaps using this to their favour, the acapella start to Hail Mary brings the herd together and leads them toward the objective of taking in the set. Kris Barras (vocals/guitars) strides to the microphone and lets his dulcet tones to the talking. Between smokey riffs from Josiah J. Manning (guitars) and Billy Hammett’s (drums) driving beats, Hail Mary and Dead Horses sail by with ease. The now filling crowd takes to them rather well. Each song is an opportunity to tune the voices for their crowning moment later on.

KRIS BARRAS BAND have paid their dues supporting bands such as BLACK STONE CHERRY and ZZ TOP meaning they breeze through their sets without a hitch. Well, aside from one of Hammett’s stands seemingly falling apart midway through These Voices. After a brief appearance from FOZZY’s Billy Grey (guitars) and a stage tech, all is well and we carry on. While this is certainly a well oiled machine, the tracks tend to blend into one another after some time. Devil You Know and Ignite (Light It Up) are great tracks for the crowd to get their teeth stuck into but it seems to be from parroting rather than enthusiasm. Yet a cover of LED ZEPPELIN’s Rock And Roll unifies the increasingly intoxicated crowd for one last sing along into the QUEEN-esque My Parade.

All in all, KRIS BARRAS BAND fulfil their duty in bringing the crowd together and engaging them for a night of driving music. Their Southern tinged rock n’ roll sating many a desire for good tunes to drink to.

Rating: 7/10

With Kris Barras and his band of merrymen bringing the crowd to a slow broil all that’s left is to keep that fire burning without either tipping them over the edge, or losing their interest entirely. Enter MASSIVE WAGONS to little fanfare and somewhat of a quiet reaction. Not allowing that to sully the waters, vocalist Barry Mills and his brood skip on stage and launch into Gone Are The Days wasting little time putting the pedal to the metal.

Looking around at the younger patrons of the crowd, we see scrunched up faces sitting next to parents wondering just what they’ve brought their young family to. What they’re being introduced to is high octane, punk infused rock n’ roll with an ethos of Fuck The Haters which is coincidentally the next track. To his credit, Mills is one hell of a frontman. His enthusiasm for pumping up the crowd with his authentic abrasiveness, twirling the microphone stand around his head and giving people something to visually engage with is undeniable. And the crowd laps it up. What better accompaniment for many overpriced pints than brash music? Small bubbles of mosh pits and bouncing heads break out over the course of Germ’s thunderous beats.

Please Stay Calm and Generation Prime breeze by like a brick through a window. Look up subtlety in the dictionary and you certainly won’t find MASSIVE WAGONS there. It makes them a little bit of a Marmite band, you get it or you don’t. There is a clear divide within the FOZZY family tonight when it comes to this band but it’s live music and we are all here to enjoy the energy of it. The balls to the wall energy proves too much for some who use the opportunity to go to the bar or sneak in a toilet break. For those who stick around however, there is unbridled ecstasy with Bangin’ In Your Stereo and Nails. There’s also a not so subtle masturbation reference during In It Together which we are sure prompted many kids in the audience to utter “Mummy, what’s masturbating?” at set’s end. Not a chat we envy in the slightest but revel in the awkwardness nonetheless.

In the interest of honesty, MASSIVE WAGONS are the black sheep of this evening’s event – much like ESCAPE THE FATE during FOZZY’s tour last year. It’s a role MASSIVE WAGONS play up to spectacularly. They know they stick out and it’s something they’re keen on sticking to. Whatever your take on MASSIVE WAGONS, they’ve primed the crowd for the main event and had fun whilst doing so. After all, one man’s Marmite is another man’s… well, Marmite.

Rating: 6/10

We mentioned entrance music before. Its main purpose is to set the tone for what’s to come. During wrestling or MMA bouts, the impression to set is one of intimidation. For bands it’s a thread of what to expect. So when SMOKIE’s Living Next Door To Alice pipes through the PA system, there is an air of confusion. Room plunged into darkness and many people over a certain age chanting “who the fuck is Alice” our mind momentarily wanders back to the parents of young families. One that’s short lived as the lights come up and the five members of FOZZY bowl on stage to a chorus of raucous cheers.

A cry of “let’s fucking go” from Jericho launches into Sane. With vocals slightly lower than usual, we wonder whether this ayatollah of rock and rolla is saving themselves for Sunday’s main event. A slight short change if so but the main issue we run into is the volume of Jericho’s vocals which sit on the quieter side for the opening number. Though the crowd are quick to act as an amplifier. Drinkin’ With Jesus is met with joyous intoxication from the crowd as small to medium mosh pits begin to open much to the delight of guitarist Rich Ward who’s prone to throwing a few shapes of his own on the dancefloor.

Nowhere To Run bleeds into a stalwart classic Do You Wanna Start A War and it’s here where the theatrics begin. Armed with a cO2 gun, Jericho takes up his mantle front and centre and commands the attention of the crowd. A seasoned veteran in crowdwork, it takes the entertainer mere seconds to achieve the wonder he’s after. Those who can draw the eye away from the blazer donning icon are to a collective which are far more than Chris Jericho’s backing band. FOZZY are a solid unit which loves what they do and want to share that enthusiasm with everyone in the room. The band to fan engagement is astronomical with PJ Farley (bass) and Rich Ward silently interacting with ravenous fans.

The rumbling Lights Go Out brings the crowd to a fever pitch and another instance of Jericho’s crowdwork. Emulating the iconic Freddie Mercury, Jericho leads the crowd through a series of vocal gymnastics before the predominantly wrestling fan crowd are thrown a curveball. Drummer Grant Brooks leads the charge with the pulsating beat of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD’s Relax. We’re still of the volition ABBA’s SOS should have remained in the setlist as there are times Jericho struggles with this but the energy wouldn’t have been the same.

“You guys mind if I talk a little bit?” Jericho asks as the lights dim and Ward leaves the stage momentarily. “I just wanna thank you guys for allowing us to achieve our dreams” leads into the fact this weekend is monolithic for the rock band. Cliché speech of course but this is a band who has worked tirelessly for more than two decades to reach the level they’re at now. This pursuit of “follow your dreams” leads into I Still Burn. Ballad yes, but energy stopper it is not. The song is attacked ferociously, a moment to be lived in and fully present for. Which leads to the next moment Jericho speaks. Paying tribute to Bray Wyatt, a wrestler who unexpectedly passed aged 36 after a suspected heart attack on Thursday, Jericho praised his creative mind both in and out of the ring before dedicating the show and AEW’s All In to his fallen brother. The crowd falls into a rendition of the hymn He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands as many wipe tears from their eyes.

Keeping the ball rolling, Burn Me Out ushers older material Spider In My Mouth, perhaps a signal to stalwart FOZZY fans they haven’t been forgotten. Something we encounter at set’s end slightly later are those fans wondering where the heavier metal tunes of FOZZY’s have gone. We’re treated to God Pounds His Nails, and this proves to be one of the biggest pulls of the nights in terms of crowd engagement due to the chanting nature of the track. But it’s easy to see why some fans may feel slighted as the band moves on to cater for a wrestling crowd. It would also discount Purifier and decimating The Vulture Club in which Ward powers through a growl laced vocal section to the surprise of many who are unaware of Ward’s metal pedigree.

As Enemy rolls around, so too does time in the spotlight for Ward and Grey who usher Jericho to the side for a blistering five minute duelling guitar solo. A prime example that these men should be seen as musicians of incredible calibre and more than Chris Jericho’s backing band. Shredding through groove and arpeggios as if tomorrow doesn’t exist – the duo earn a chant of “holy shit” which is as loud and brash as MASSIVE WAGONS were earlier in the night. Finally it comes. The sonic boom which opens Judas. Cheers drown out the instrumental and the crowd leads Jericho through his own song. The Forum becomes simply unglued. A crowd brought together for one single moment and each body in there was fully present. What more could FOZZY have asked for?

The band finish with a cover of THE RAMONES’ Blitzkrieg Bop which we argue was unnecessary. Spilling out onto Highgate Road, the air is buzzing with jubilation. The music fan in us can’t help but be slightly dismayed at the ratio of wrestling fans to music. However it’s the partnership between the two entities which ultimately gave FOZZY one of the best shows of their career thus far. From Wrexham to Grimsby, and from Margate to London, FOZZY have more than put the work in to establish themselves as a great band within their own right in the territory which gave them their position. FOZZY are a beloved band for a reason and tonight proved that to no end.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Karolina Janikunaite here: 

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