Gary Numan – Villa Gaiety, Isle Of Man – March 23rd, 2018

As part of his Savage UK/Europe tour, electro / goth / synth / dark wave / new wave / plumber (maybe) / industrial icon Gary Numan braved the Irish Sea to stun entertainment-starved Manx people with his latest album Savage (Songs from a Broken World).

However, first up was Los Angeles trio Nightmare Air [7/10] and while they’ve been painted as a shoegaze act, their driving rhythms and ethereal delivery also conjured heavier moments which, fleetingly, recalled the mighty Kylesa. Upbeat and full of energy, Nightmare Air were, ironically, an oxygenised blast of fresh riffs and pulsing synths and warmed up an expectant crowd with considerable aplomb.

Gary Numan and his band are an electro-charged industrial metal band of considerable power, and those in attendance who were hoping for a little jaunt down pop/new wave’s memory lane would have been left shattered by a set that revolved around Rammstein-esque riffs and no end of clanking industrial metal rhythms!

With just 4 tracks representing what is considered Numan’s golden era (“Metal” / “Down In The Park” / the obligatory “Cars” / “Are Friends Electric?”), the majority of the set, perhaps unsurprisingly, came from 2017’s Savage (Songs from a Broken World). Fortunately, Savage (Songs from a Broken World) has proven itself to be Gary Numan’s finest album since 2000’s Pure and the likes of the simply brilliant “My Name Is Ruin” and “When The World Comes Apart” enraptured a crowd who were mesmerised by a cunning sense of melody, drama and crushing riffs.

Throwing shapes and busting moves like a man 40 years his junior, Numan never stopped moving throughout; undulating and gesturing like a man possessed while his bandmates set about churning the guts of the audience with track after track of magisterial gothic industrial metal. Even “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” sounded ‘metalized’; amped up, ramped up and sounding fresher than a song which is due to celebrate its 40th birthday next year ever should!

There’s a reason why Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson etc credit Numan as a pioneering influence…..the man invented this shit and his new material and live performance suggests he’s as relevant as ever! 9/10