Extreme
Support: Terrorvision
The Piece Hall, Halifax.
Thursday, August 7th 2025.
Having watched gigs in cattlesheds and the grounds of stately homes, Halifax – in all truth — has never really figured on the radar of being a ‘must be’ destination to watch music. Last night, the imperious surroundings of The Piece Hall, along with its stunning backdrop of Halifax Minster’s spire puncturing the night sky, changed that perception irrevocably.
As an event, everything was super slick, with friendly stewards, very few queues, a buzzing atmosphere and an eighteenth-century setting to absolutely die for; all that remained was for local band Terrorvision and headline act Extreme to do the place proud.
Neither disappointed.
Nineties favourites Terrorvision are, ostensibly, fun. They’re also ridiculously energetic, fabulously talented and deliriously self-deprecating in a manner that exudes and receives warmth in waves.
Kicking off with Discoteque Wreck, Tony Wright firmly grips the audience by the back of the neck and refuses to let go for the remaining fifty-five minutes of solid entertainment as song after song is rolled out.
Thinking Pulp meets Divine Comedy provides a fair impression of Terrorvision’s style. That said, there’s nothing cloned about this eight-piece powerhouse driven by Chris Bussey’s drums, Mark Yates’ ripping riffs on guitar, Mark Burlew’s pulverising basslines, and Milton Evans’ theatrics with the keyboards.
D’ya Wanna Go Faster, My House, Some People Say, Oblivion and – the band’s best known song – Tequila blending old and new seamlessly with each being lapped up and lauded by the four thousand or so aficionados.
A fabulous set by the Keighley boys, which served its purpose brilliantly in setting the tone for the Ozzy and Maiden bedecked throngs awaiting the main event.
Thirty-eight years together, Extreme might be thought of as being a ‘what-might-have-been’ band. Lauded by Brian May at the outset, with smash hits from their debut album sprinkling the charts, the band seemed set to set their controls for the heart of the musical sun only to find they were more Icarus than they anticipated.
The wax wings of Pornograffitti quickly melted. None of the subsequent five albums really caught on, although the popularity of the promise hardly waned. Now, here they are in Halifax playing the second of only two UK shows this year.
One thing’s for certain, from the moment It (‘s A Monster) is completed, excellence is the order of the night. Headbanded Gary Cherone’s voice is crystal clear; that of a soaring canary that’s spent way too many hours amidst the grit of a coalmine, his is everything a true rocker’s voice should have: power, passion and positivity.
Pat Badger’s napalm-fuelled bass playing, not unexpectedly coming to the fore during Get The Funk Out, is as pneumatic as ever, while Kevin Figuredo’s metronomic tub thumping drums are the wrecking ball heartbeat of the whole spectacle unfolding in front of us.
Yet it is unquestionably one of the finest guitarists on the planet in Nuno Bettencourt who excels. #REBEL, Play With Me, Cupid’s Dead, Decadence Dance and Am I Ever Going To Change are all shredded within inches of their glorious lives, with stalwarts Hole Hearted and More Than Words – precluded by the opening strains of Stairway to Heaven – being greeted with the fervour the set as a whole deserved.
Yet, while seated for the quieter bits, it is his mesmerising, five minute guitar solo that will live long in the memory. A stupefyingly sublime demonstration of how a semi-acoustic should be played, Bettencourt twisted his fingers into incomprehensible shapes and created a stream of sound from his axe mere mortals can only dream of.
Signing off with a glorious tribute to Ozzy with I Don’t Know, Bark at the Moon and Crazy Train closing the set, fans drifted into the Yorkshire night with grins as wide as the Pennines themselves shining into the night.
Halifax may not be, dunno, Las Vegas or even London or Manchester. However, make no mistake, this venue is without doubt one of the finest hidden gems in the North of England and with excitement a return visit is being looked into sooner rather than later..
https://www.thepiecehall.co.uk/culture