Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals – Club Academy, Manchester – 26/06/19

When a mouthwatering line-up such as this comes along there’s only one place to be, and that’s right in the thick of it. Not only was I witnessing ex-Pantera front man Phil Anselmo tonight, but I was also catching one of my favourite bands for the very first time in the share of support act Raging Speedhorn.

Speedhorn are a band I’ve always wanted to catch live and they most certainly did not disappoint. From the moment ‘How Much Can A Man Take’  reverberated around this tiny, dark and low ceilinged underground venue, Speedhorn had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Frank Regan stomping like a man possessed up and down the divide between the stage and crowd, which didn’t help me as all my photos had to be took from the side of the stage!!

Speedhorn pulled the classics out such as ‘Superscud,  ‘Thumper‘  and ‘The Hate Song‘,  and mixed them superbly with newer material. A great set and hopefully won’t be tooling before I catch these guys again.

Mr. Anselmo owned this tiny stage tonight. In what was an immensely intense set with original material, was then galvanised by the inclusion of five Pantera covers at the end. Tight, powerful and mesmerising the crowd, I for one was glad to be in the photography pit for this one as the guys in the mosh pit were twirling like an army of ants!!

It doesn’t take much to fill this beautiful, tiny venue. And that’s what I like about it. A home from home. And what better company to be in than these two fantastic bands.

Raging Speedhorn Set-List:

(1) – How Much Can A Man Take.  (2) – Redweed   (3) – Dogshit Blues   (4) – Bring Out Your Dead   (5) – Superscud   (6) – Motorhead   (7) – Oh, How The Great Have Fallen

(8) – The Hate Song   (9) – Thumper   (10) – F**k The Voodooman   (11) – Ten Of Swords

Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals Set-List:

(1) – Bedridden   (2) – Little F*****g Heroes   (3) – Choosing Mental Illness   (4) – Delinquent   (5) – Photographic Taunts   (6) – Walk Through Exits Only

(7) – Mixed Lunatic Results   (8) – I’m Broken (Pantera Cover)   (9) – F*****g Hostile (Pantera Cover)   (10) – Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit (Pantera Cover)

(11) – Domination/Hollow (Pantera Cover)   (12) – Walk (Pantera Cover)

Links:

Philip H.Anselmo & The Illegals Official Website   Philip H.Anselmo & The Illegals Facebook   Raging Speedhorn Facebook   Raging Speedhorn Bandcamp