Go Into the Void with Sabbath imitators

With zero chance of seeing the real mccoy play live again, fans of Brummie based genre creators Black Sabbath have no choice but to embrace the tribute thing to get their live fix these days, and SBD Promotions has booked Sabbra Cadabra (March 2) to give it to you.

They will be cutting loose a fiery set of Ozzy era excellence with a two-hour long set. Get set for masterpieces including Planet Caravan, Fairies Wear Boots, Sweet Leaf and Paranoid.

“The finest of the Black Sabbath tribute bands, Sabbra Cadabra were magnificent,” said Jim Simpson, following a show, “As Black Sabbath’s original manager, I can vouch for their uncannily authentic performance, taking me right back to the ‘Henry’s’ of 1969.”

SBD hooks up with Headcharge Club (March 22) for a night of new sounds over at The Lab on Charles Street.

Dig The New Breed will deliver ‘dream pop from inner space’ from Earthworm, ‘shoegazey alt-rock’ from Rebecca, jam band Woof, and Latent Dream with their ‘ShoeTown big tunes.’

It’s a musical menu with plenty to tempt you, and if you buy them in advance, tickets will take just a fiver from your funds. You can barely buy a pint for that these days.

The same night, SBD will present Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist, C Duncan. They say that your early years inform your later years, and you need look no further than Chris for a perfect example; he was raised by two classical musicians, studying piano and viola before reaching for guitar, bass and drums while a teenager.

Later, he studied music at the Royal Conservatoire in Scotland, before working on his debut album at home. 2015’s Architect would go on to be a Mercury Prize nominated release.

In 2016, his Twilight Zone-inspired follow-up, The Midnight Sun made a shortlist for the Scottish Album of the Year.

Chris hit the road with Elbow, playing on both sides of the pond, and then headed to Elbow’s studio to work on his third opus, Health, which also made the shortlist for Album of the Year.

A fourth album, Alluvium was released in 2022. This will be a special show in the perfect intimate setting. Speaking of which, Russian psycho-rock players Gnoomes will be welcomed back to The Black Prince (March 30).

The last time they were here, Gnoomes had just released their fourth elpee, Ax Ox, which has been described as their ‘most explicitly Russian album to date,’ and they made the decision to sing in their native tongue. They made that choice to support an evolving and inspiring scene at home.

But it is also a release that tells of the band’s fractious relationship with its home country.

“The last five years before the pandemic are considered to be the golden times for our music community” said Sasha Piankov, speaking last year, “It was a beautiful embryo, which could grow into a very interesting creature, but it was simply killed by the stupid plans of the particular people. Many artists have already spoken out, and they’re not supporting this senseless war, but they get quickly shut up by the government.”

Sasha and his wife Masha were both forced to leave their country when mobilisation was announced, a scenario repeated over and over by fellow musicians and artists.

The music prevails, and you can’t fight the feeling of unity that music stirs – and it will do just that at this show, which comes with support from London quartet Holy Springs and their fusion of psychedelic influences and love of lo-fi guitars and keyboards.

AV Sunset, with one foot in Milton Keynes and the other in the ‘fampton, will bring instrumental rock to the stage, and you can hear that on their debut album, Disconnections.

Get your hands on tickets for all Black Prince gigs at sbdpromotions.com or skiddle.