MUSIC REVIEW: Manchester Collective: Heavy Metal - The White Hotel, Salford.

This reviewer has been fortunate enough to review several shows by the Manchester Collective – a group of musicians who are more of an arts organisation than a traditional orchestra. Their previous shows have highlighted less well-known composers, brought new talent to light, and re-worked older pieces (such as Bach’s Goldberg Variations) in new and intriguing ways. Their latest show, ‘Heavy Metal’, is by far their most daring to date. While the title of the performance may begin conjuring images of electric guitars playing furious, thundering riffs at speed, the ensemble from the Collective for this show consisted of a septet (although some pieces did not require all members at the same time) of strings (three violins and one cello), percussion, and electronics. Instead, the five pieces performed as part of the programme brought the gritty heaviness associated with heavy metal music and transposed it to a classical setting. It’s about as far away from the traditional settings of classical music best typified by the ‘Last Night of the Proms’ as you can get.

Kicking off the programme was Bryce Dessner’s ‘Aheym’  - a driving piece which was performed by the three violins (played by Rakhi Singh, Julian Azkoul, and Ruth Gibson) and the cello (played by Stephanie Tress). All the instruments amplified to give them a slightly distorted sound as the work kicked off with stabs of the strings which build upon one another creating a sense of frantic discord and a ‘heavy’ sense of unease. As the work progressed, this intense opening gave way to a calmer, more lyrical movement before the frantic sawing of the bows on the strings signalled a return to the intensity of the opening as the piece reached its climax which pushed all four string players into a fast and furious section where they played their instruments at near break-neck speed. As openings go, it was quite the statement of intent for what was to come over the course of the musical programme.

‘Insight’ by Dobrinka Tabakova saw the ensemble reconfigured into a trio (just two violins and cello this time) and was a piece in three sections. The first section had an ominous air about it, as the music brought fractured harmony lines in and out of the music, twisting around one another, like thoughts of doubt clouding the mind. This gave way to a more uplifting second section which seemed to draw upon the classical dance music of Eastern Europe (Tabakova is of Bulgarian heritage) and provided a stark contrast to the opening movement before the section began gaining momentum and the sounds built up. The final part of ‘Insight’ revisited the first section but whereas the original iteration had been full of twists, turns, and broken lines, the sound here was one of confidence rather than doubt and the piece ended strongly.

The third work was called ‘Serenity 2.0’ and had been commissioned by the Manchester Collective. Its composer was Ben Nobuto, who introduced the piece and revealed it had been inspired by Japanese ‘slot machines’ called Pachinko (Pachinko parlours have soundproof doors to block out the sounds coming from within, so once the door opens as someone enters or leaves then the sounds from within seem to burst out into the world). ‘Serenity 2.0’ was bravely experimental – relying on the full septet (with Joe Reiser on electronics and Beibei Wang on percussion really given a chance to show their skills) and was as far away from a ‘traditional Classical’ sound as you could get, as the piece combined fractured string lines with bursts of electronica, pounding percussion, and speech samples screaming out in a heavily postmodern, often playful, work which managed to sound both humorous and distressing often at the same time. The effect of the work was to give the audience a sense of sensory overload as sounds clashed and then complemented one another in what was an unconventional but thrilling musical adventure.

The fourth piece presented was perhaps the strongest piece of the whole programme. ‘Industry’ by Michael Gordon was performed by Tress on the cello as the sole performer. The cello was connected to an effects pedal (something one would associate more with rock/metal music) and the sonic results proved that this ten-minute-long cello odyssey was the most ‘heavy metal’ piece of the night. Powered by the drones created by the effects pedal as Tress played, the work built up in noise and intensity over its duration, getting more distorted and foreboding with each passing minute until the final moments consisted of screaming feedback, a howl of anguish. It recalled the avant-garde works of La Monte Young from the 1960s which were built upon repetitive drone noises. One member of Young’s collective, John Cale, would go on to play amplified viola in the cult band The Velvet Underground, before going on to have an interesting solo career which would see him switch from rock to classical and often combine the two; Lou Reed, the main driver of The Velvet Underground would pay homage to La Monte Young’s work with his infamous double album ‘Metal Machine Music’ which consisted of nothing but guitar feedback and was more than likely to have been an influence on Gordon’s work.

The final piece of the night,‘Squint’ by Sebastian Gainsborough, saw the return of the full septet. Like Nobuto’s ‘Serenity 2.0’, ‘Squint’ blended electronica and samples but was often the opposite of the earlier work; whereas Nobuto’s piece had been heavily fragmented, Gainsborough’s work allowed for meditative calm moments, drawing as it did upon the theme of religious ceremony (a squint is a feature in old churches which gave worshippers a view of the altar). ‘Squint’ gave Wang a chance to get creative with her percussion and provided loud, thunderous crashes in between the calmer moments, generated by the electronics and strings. The overall experience of hearing this work was one of feeling a stirring within the soul, although whether that was a good or bad sensation would depend on the individual!

While the Manchester Collective always provided interesting programmes of music when they perform, ‘Heavy Metal’ was by far and away their most unusual and, ultimately, their best to date. Bold, brave, and very much embracing the experimental, it was unlike any other live classical performance. A fascinating showcase of five excellent works performed by players at the peak of their powers made for a truly exhilarating live music experience.

Reviewer - Andrew Marsden
on - 10.12.21