Dillinger Escape Plan @Brighton Concorde 2 4/11/10

Unfortunately owing to the company kept at the gig (that being your humble author) I have been able to keep a brilliant memory of this gig. Of course I’m neglecting to tell you that I would have remembered such a fucking incredible show regardless of who was there and who wasn’t. Kicking off the evening was The Ocean, who I’d previously been unaware of, admittedly I was expecting a show resembling the old Concorde2 toilets, but I remembered that they were on tour with DEP so they can’t have been terrible. And they weren’t, they were really damn good, tight as hell with some awesome tunes. Resembling a mix of The Defiled and DEP themselves, I’m sure I would have largely ignored them had they been presented to me via Youtube, but live they made a great impression. One to look out for. UK fuckingmentalyetsomehowawesome-core band Rolo Tomassi were next up and while it’s clear they are a band in their infancy, it’s also clear that they are aware of the underground fuss being made of them, after their awesome album ‘Cosmology’ was released earlier this year, their frantic blend of hardcore, metal and electronics is beginning to take the shape of something slightly more coherent with a hint of something special waiting in the wings. And if the mutters of ‘Wow she’s hot… holy shit she’s growling’ are anything to go by they’ll be getting plenty of attention anyway.

Dillinger Escape Plan burst onto the stage with ‘Farewell, Mona Lisa’ the opener from this year’s album ‘Option Paralysis’ and literally tore the place apart. (It’s really surprising how the Concorde is still standing after all these hardcore and metal bands threaten to tear it down and usually near on do). The epic-ness of ‘…Mona Lisa’ showcases their unquestionable skill in the first 5 minutes of the gig, leaving those wondering how they were going to pull off their insane songs live slapping themselves for being so stupid. They tore through favourites ‘Fix Your Face’ and ‘Milk Lizard’ straight after and then continued to plough through their set, a good mix of old and new songs, including the spectacular ‘Good Neighbour’ and the bonkers classic ‘43% Burnt’. During the hour or so they were on stage, nothing stood still, the whole place was just a sea of people going mad. Frontman Greg Puciato wastes no time in whipping the crowd up and even goes for a little jump during the last song.

Dillinger are on fine form and hopefully it won’t be too long before they come and destroy our seaside resorts again.

Come back soon, lads.

10/10

Blind Guardian Live – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, 26/09/2010

There aren’t many things that’ll take me south of the Midlands. Short of beating back the French of our shores, I make all manner of excuses to avoid nodnoL. However, the German bards make their way over for only the fourth time in their twenty five year career, so having talked to Hansi in June and dropped a nut at the new album, I figured it was only polite to go and see them live. Again.

As had, it seems, half of the known world. The venue is absolutely jam packed, sold out. More worringly, it seems oversold, there’s so many people by the time the show begins. First up though, is Steelwing. Enforcer have unfortunately had to pull out, so Steelwing jump in headfirst and deliver an incredibly solid half hour or so of classic NWOBHM, complete with arm braces, leather waistcoats and dual guitar solos. They’re pretty decent if nothing else, but all through their set the air is thick with the anticipation of the main act.

Finally, the lights dim and the orchestration of Sacred Worlds greet us and the place goes berzerk. The band are on top form tonight, third show in on the tour, and welcome us to their show in the classic Guardian manner with Welcome To Dying, swiftly followed with Born In A Mourning Hall and Fly. Any fan of any era of the band will be satisfied tonight, the a set that encompasses all points in their career, from the masterpiece Nightfall In Middle Earth, which gets a good old going over through the evening with no less than three songs, including perennial set close Mirror Mirror. In between then and now, however, we get treated to the rare Traveler In Time and the expected singalong in Valhalla which no doubt wrecked many a neck that night, to the classic folk regimen of Lord Of The Rings (and two thousand people shouting “Mordor!” at a rather appropriate volume) and Hansi’s only break in the set, The Bard’s Song, having realised long ago it’s better just to let us get on with it. The band is backed up by some awesomely cheesy light screens that have all the mystical light stuff, but also some impressive hand drawn animations using the Imaginations… and At The Edge Of Time artwork.

 

Best we could get photo wise, was absolutely packed!

The encore is none the less packed with the unexpected, Punishment Divine making an appearance, as well as the barnstorming finale of At The Edge Of Time, Wheel Of Time, before finishing us off for the evening with the monstrous Imaginations From The Other Side,  hands down the best rendition I have ever heard. This was a very special night, with the band being blown away by the audience reception, and bar a couple of personal opinions on which songs ‘should’ have been played, an absolutely faultless performance.

 

Edguy – Leeds 16/03/2010

First off let me introduce Twaddlefish to all you lovely people, those of you that read Headbang back in the day may well remember his musings but I’m sure that he’s new to many, enjoy. Mr B

Edguy are renowned for being a hell of an energetic and downright hilarious live act. While the latest album ‘Tinnitus Sanctus’ polarised many opinions, on stage there’s no doubt who the true kings of fools are.

Sadly, I had to watch With One Last Breath first.  Haircuts, metal-core/emo and annoying as piss on my cereal vocals. Having said that, they were tight musically, the instrumentation was obviously well thought out and the fact that I began to suspect the frontman’s vocals might have been auto-tuned backstage is testament to how much of a competent band unit they are, it’s just a shame that I think that style of music is about as appealing as a cowpat casserole.

Up next were US trad-metallers White Wizzard. Emphasis on the trad. This was no holds barred 1978 classic metal, from the Plant/Rodgers style vocals to the dual guitar leads, they were a very safe main support and while they didn’t bowl me over, they’re definitely worth seeing if only for Highway GTO.

And so, shortly after appeared Edguy. I maintain that their career-defining show was their headline appearance at Bloodstock Open Air in 2006, but this was bloody close.  Storming the stage with Dead or Rock, followed by Speedhoven, thus began a 90 minute assault on our ears. Tobias Sammet continues to be a fantastic frontman, charismatic and charming and looking slightly more like Jon Bon Jovi with every tour, leading the crowd through the screaming competition that led into mass singalong Lavatory Love Machine. Slightly out of place was Felix Bohnke’s drum solo, but after his kit fell apart we were rewarded with the entire band getting in on the action. There was old, new, borrowed and blue, from the sombre Save Me to the crotch-thrusting bohemia of Fuckin’ with Fire. Perhaps the greatest thing about an Edguy show is that there is never a second where nobody isn’t having fun on stage. Both Dirks and Jens Ludwig smile their way through every song, technical faults and after playing for more than an hour, finally finish the night with a left-right of Babylon and King of Fools. Having been around on the circuit for the last 14 years, it’s astonishing that Edguy are only just breaking into their 30s, and are almost like a fine wine, the main difference being they get less mature with age.  Cracking live band, Edguy should be on everyone’s ‘to see’ list.

Twaddlefish

Trivium/ Chimaira/ Whitechapel/ Rise To Remain – Portsmouth Pyramids

Right so this is kinda joint effort of myself and the new kids on the block (thanks for their contributions, actually I wrote basically nothing but in good editor form I’m gonna take the credit… even though I just… oh fuck it). Mr B

As you’ll probably figure from this review, none of us really like Trivium and missed at least some of their set for more important things (like trains home and cigarettes) but what we saw was enough to provide something of a verdict.

Although Trivium were a cop-out head-liner the support acts were more than competent and was what really made the evening so naturally I’ll start with Rise to Remain. They put on a good show and excluding that night I hadn’t heard of them before yet I couldn’t help but think their front man look familiar so when looking into the band I found out that the lead singer is none other than the son of Bruce fucking Dickinson, but I need to judge the band on their own merits so I won’t make a big deal of the fact that Austin’s daddy is a member of one of the biggest metal bands in history. Their set was the shit for a first support and I feel their a band that could really make their mark on the metal scene and their style was more than easy enough to “throw down” to (that what the kids say these day right?) and I don’t live my life by many philosophies but if I get a smack to jaw in a pit then a band is doing something right. So to summarise Rise to Remain, nice very nice. BRUCE DICKINSON!!!!

7/10

Whatever you think of deathcore bands, when they get it right, it’s fucking brutality.  With 3 guitarists Whitechapel are surprisingly tight, peeling out riff after riff as frontman Phil Bozeman whips up the crowd, using the small venue’s intimacy to get circle pits going and even drag out a wall of death to ensure the punters are exhausted at this early stage. As they depart the stage after a particularly crushing “This Is Exile”, they leave many of the people here in slight bewilderment, the rest in complete adoration. With promises of a headline tour later in the year, we may just have time to recover from this onslaught, pure brilliance.

8/10

As the end of the first paragraph may suggest that I felt that Chimaira should have been this gigs headlining act and yes they were to coin a phrase “a hoot in a holla’ ”. Mark Hunter also instantly won my affection by sporting a rather handsome Cannibal Corpse tee shirts (so extra brownie points for him), their set was definitely the strongest one there a with toe tapping number’s like Power Trip and Pure Hatred help me get into the swing of thing and personally if this gig was arranged perfectly they would be the headliners although if a gig was perfect Chris Barnes would turn up on a white stallion take me into his embrace and carry me off into the sunset, but a man can dream, a man can dream. To summarise they were the balls.

9/10

Last and unfortunately least Trivium, the biggest problem this band had been technical difficulties they had them by the bucket load and to their credit they put a brave face on it but Christ I had a night ferry to avoid (the Gosport night ferry to be exact) and the words “get on with it” were running through my thoughts multiple times. All I can say is better luck next time as I felt they do have the potential to put on a better show, but I don’t want this whole review to end on a bad note so I decided to make a fun competition, the aim of the game is to listen to the song ‘Throes of Perdition’ and walk up to me in the street with a straight face whilst the song is playing and tell between 1’35-1’40 that you didn’t hear the words “blackest balls, circling round some faeces” then you will win a special prize.

5/10

Mr Bogle/ PterryPtez/ Natureboy

Skindred/ Forever Never/ Floors and Walls – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

To say that the anticipation for this gig was high would be (ready for the cliché?) an understatement of the… day. Well maybe a bit more than that but you get the point, it was sold out and the queue stretched back quite a way. Having witnessed the headliners several times before I can assuredly say that it was justified.

First up were Floors And Walls, a band who aren’t so much love and hate but more dig and nonchalant. I ‘dug’ them to quite a degree. With a punchy sound and on stage energy that most band’s their age struggle to approach they may not have appealed to everyone but they certainly left the stage with a few more fans than before. If you like your music eclectic, energetic and aggressive (without resorting to drop-B tuning, walking like a crab and gargling) then Floors And Walls are your kinda band. (7/10)

Forever Never play, what my mate Samuelj dubbed, ‘wrestling metal’. You know, the kind of music Stone Cold Steve Austin comes into, the weird derision of what is essentially ‘nu-metal’ complete with a hench singer who makes suitable expressions and a lead guitarist who apparently looks like Obi Wan Kenobi (que?)  but that’s not the point. I’m that FN are genuinely talented and certainly have the stage presence but a muddy sound  and a half hour set that sounded pretty much the same all the way through… they failed to convince me. (6/10)

If your still unsure what I mean by wrestling metal, it’s this;

There was only ever one band that I really went for though, a band who are quite simply the finest live band currently around. Skindred deserve to be bigger, they deserve to play bigger shows and as Benji himself said in the interview (up later today) they haven’t even ‘made a proper record yet’. Skindred have never been about what goes on CD though, their live show pulls no punches but packs plenty of them. With the unique fusion of dance-rock-reggae-punk-metal-whatevertheyfeellike this band combine great music with a proper live performance. It’s not just about getting up and playing records, it’s about the atmosphere that’s created, it’s about the connection between the band and crowd and as Benji reminds us; ‘you can download every single album made but you will NEVER DOWNLOAD THE ATMOSPHERE CREATED HERE TONIGHT!!!!’ (yes the capitals were needed). There is a genuine passion in what this band do, I could watch Skindred play every night and never stop wanting more. If there are tickets left for a show near you, go and have your head blown off. (9/10)

Mr Bogle

BTBAM/ August Burns Red/ Job for a Cowboy/ Lamb of God – Manchester Academy, Friday 12th February

Academy was buzzing last night, the atmosphere was intense even whilst stood in line outside. The venue was Academy 1, the largest of the 4 Academy rooms and I’ve never seen the place so full, nor have I seen such excitement from fans before. A room of over 2000 people chanting Lamb of God (even during the support act’s sets), or starting a circle pit at any given opportunity… It was clear from the start that the night was going to be wild, and ultimately painful.

Between the Buried and Me

Between the Buried and Me are a brilliantly diverse and talented band who play flawlessly and fluidly through their complex technical songs, songs which usually last about 15 minutes each. This time they managed to knock out 2 songs before making way for August Burns Red but in the short time they were on stage they managed to impress me with their new material. I think the drummer Blake Richardson somewhat stole the show with his powerful yet imaginative playing which propelled the mad flurry of music around him, tightening and accenting the subtle grooves as well as the more obvious conventional beats. If anything it was a shame they didn’t get longer to play and hopefully open the minds of some of the more stubborn “Pure American Metal” fans.

August Burns Red

August Burns Red livened the place up with their typical brand of breakdowns and bass bombs. As the singer preached his pathetic monologue over a riff that was slowing down and petering out in an all too familiar way, my buddy turned to me and said: “I can feel a breakdown coming.” And he was right. He was right the next 7 times as well. My opinion on this band is more indifferent than negative. I don’t waste my time with this sort of thing.

Job for a Cowboy

By the time ABR were done I was half soaked in beer but eager as hell for what was coming next. The latest release from Job for a Cowboy “Ruination” is a huge stepping stone for the band, highlighting their musical maturity, this album shows how they have really found themselves and a sound which works well for them. I was a little disappointed with the sound quality for their set, whether it was due to the size of the room or the fact I was stood at the front, I don’t know. Despite this they put on a hell of a show, with exciting and energetic stage presence all round. Bobby nailed the solo to “Unfurling a Darkened Gospel” which was the moment I was most looking forward to and both guitarists played with aggression and precision throughout the show. Charn blew everyone away with his inhuman drumming and I’m sure he impressed the ladies too with his rather lovely chest piece tattoo. I got annoyed at the dickheads around me chanting Lamb of God during JFAC’s set but seeing how Jonny handled it and how they ploughed through the abuse with yet more aggression and unrelenting ferocity it seemed like they could power through anything. The band work incredibly well as a whole, especially lead by Charn and also by the excellently demented growls and screams from Jonny. This is a band that can’t be ignored.

Lamb of God

Once JFAC left the stage things took off to an even higher level of excitement. The whole room rushed to the front and the chanting began again for the entire time it took for Lamb of God to appear. I have to honor the Manchester fans for their devotion and their sheer madness. The performance Lamb of God gave reflected directly on the actions of the crowd – it was crazy. Randy told us that we were the craziest mother fuckers he’s played to in England. I don’t’ usually believe these kind of remarks from bands, but this time I actually believed him. The band are experienced and this showed, a pretty much flawless set consisting of around 12 songs, each heavier and more crowd pleasing than the last. The strongest songs I felt were the ones from Sacrement, as I believe that those are the best written and most accessable songs for a live environment. One significant moment worth mentioning was the extended/altered intro to Grace which broke up the set nicely and added a great vibe of suspense among the fans waiting for the song to really kick off, and when it did, the place literally shook and people everywhere were getting pumbled and kicked in the face and were loving it. I dont have anything bad to say about their set at all. It was simply an amazing show and I’m pretty sure the crowd thought so too.

Nevchrist – (Eyelicker’s dependant child)

Also, check out our interview with Bobby from Job For A Cowboy before the show here.

Or peep it here on our YouTube channel. (n.b the sound is mega quiet, so turn your speakers mega up, and remember to turn them back down again after before you blast yourself with Millionaires like I just did)

Decapitated/Kataklysm/Man Must Die – Moho Live, Manchester

03/02/2010

This was always gonna be a special tour. The return of Decapitated to the live arena for the first time since the tragic events of 2007 that bereaved us of both Decapitated’s drummer and one of the most promising musicians in the scene across the world, the late Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, as well as pretty much destroying the band in it’s current form. For a long time most never really expected a return, owing to just how seemingly irreparable the damage done was. But, ever the soldier, despite the death of his brother, Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka, has powered on, and brought the band back from the cusp of oblivion, and with a new powerful line up ready to pick up the onslaught where their respective predecessors left off…

That night me and my new RC unpaid intern, Nevchrist, also had a cracking interview with both Vogg and Vitek’s replacement, the king of youtube, young Austrian “Kerim “Krimh” Lechner”, who turned out to be a humble and chill young man! Anyway, I’m working on transcribing that shit right now, so expect it to drop sometime in the next week!

Man Must Die opened the night strongly, as well as closing their set pretty well too, it was just a shame that all in the middle was kina bland. They play a sort of moderately heavy death metal that can’t really settle on a direction, so ends up just being kind of nondescript. Their live performance was nothing special either. They pan out on stage like a headliner at some kind of local rock night gig, playing to all involved’s family and friends, with generic enthusiasm. There were some ok riffs, but ultimately it was lost in a sea of bland. 4/10

I always knew that Kataklysm were shit boring, but I’d never had to sit through them before. Me and my intern pretty much fell asleep. Not only are they extremely dull to begin with, and their performance is lackluster in every sense of the word, but it drags on like hell! Nothing about them or what they do is memorable in any way, and the fact they have a semi legacy is a big fucking mystery to me. Kataklysm have, along with Benediction and a choice few other extremely dull death metal bands, managed to somehow make death metal mid tempo, boring, non threatening, and just generally nondescript. They’re kind of like the useless unnecessary horror sequels that destroy all the integrity and carefully crafted image of the first. 3/10

When Decapitated begin, Moho Live pretty much explodes. Launching into “A Poem About an Old Prison Man” , with Krimh blasting his way into everyone’s hearts and minds, any doubts about his ability to fill the late Vitek’s shoes evaporate, and is lost in the swirling melee. In fact, all of the replacements chosen by Vogg manage to easily keep up with the standard set by their predecessors. Rafał Piotrowski, from Ketha, is a fucking sick vocalist, better than both the previous ones, who takes the whole sound of Decapitated to a new level with his impressive range, and notable stage presence, sending hefty dreads flinging in all directions. There is little banter as well, most of the time we are treated to zero rest before the next onslaught, save for pausing to pay respect to the late Vitek.

I could try and go on with an analysis of just how much the new Decapitated slay live, and come up with metaphors too describe this, but ultimately, they are tight as hell, and deliver crushing, thought provoking technical death metal under absolutely zero pretense. As death metal shows go, this is hard to beat. 10/10

Eyelicker

Imperial Never Say Die Tour – Manchester Academy 2

So it’s been like a year since the Altamont never say die, and Despised Icon and Architects are back, with new albums to showcase, and a host of new deathcore bands. As expected, all the usual Manchester scene kids were out in force, and the room was pretty much full of new era caps and adorable scene wiggers. I also loved the way that this year on top of the usual crop of standard deathcore acts they added both Horse The Band and IWRESTLEDABEARONCE, to add a more spazzy, synth fueled element to the proceedings. Both have also been at some point or another “my favorite band”, so finally having them in England on the same tour was a bit of a godsend for me.

The Ghost Inside got things rolling pretty solidly, with very generic, yet tight deathcore tunes that got a few people hxc dancing and moshing. Nothing memorable in anyway, but as an opener, pretty much ideal. [6/10]

Oceano on the other hand were definitely a cut above generic, their massive sounding rolling assault sounding just as powerful live as on CD. Tight as hell, and the lowest, slowest most stomach churning band of the night, they delivered a set that can only be described as “big”. Adam Warren screamed, squealed and growled through with frankly scarily deep vocals. His gigantic dark form pretty much a perfect vessel for Oceano’s massive stage presence. [9/10]

I was so syked for IWRESTLEDABEARONCE that I don’t think anything they did would really disappoint me. And while they did play a decent enough set, with all the cool songs I know and love them for, and Krysta Cameron can both sweetly sing and scream proficiently just like on record, I felt a little let down by the sound. Maybe they didn’t get enough time to sound check or something with all the other bands tonight, but with all the natural chaos and spazzy riffs in their songs, and a muddy guitar tone, it all felt kina sloppy. This, and the fact that I always felt they suited the electronic/programmed drum sound from their EP, than the organic approach from after when they found a real drummer. I heard from the scene that the new drummer refused to play an electronic kit, which is a shame, cos it suited them much better, or at least better than the drum sound that night and on anything they recorded post EP. [7/10]

Horse the Band on the other hand also seemed to suffer from the same muddy sound problem that IWABO also had, although they were tighter, which then again is probably to be expected as their stuff isn’t quite as tech. Apparently this wasn’t a good night to be a synth-spazzcore band. They did however, put on a far more interesting show, though their general witty stage banter, and the presence of Napoleon Dynamite on the keys. Hella fun to watch, and ending on Cutsman, I certainly wasn’t complaining. [8/10]

As Blood Runs Black were pretty much exactly as I expected. Tight, heavy, brutal, and kina generic. Kids love em though, so obviously they got a great reception and played a sick set. Oh yeah, and now they have a new singer, and (female, WTF!) guitarist. I’ve never seen them before, so I can’t really compare, but they were tight enough. Good, but definately not noteworthy. [7/10]

Despised Icon took to the stage in a flurry of wigger hand gestures, caps, and basketball shorts, and tore though an impressively tight set. Alex Grind is definitely one of the most underrated drummers ever, cos that man can blast like a threshing machine! As always, “In the Arms of Perdition” came out strongest, everyone shouting “GO!” on cue and pitting the hell out of the place. The tightest breakdowns of the night, obviously, and with a wonderfully crisp clear bass drum tone. I know a lot of people have a problem with their rapper like gestures, but I think it makes for a hell of a stage presence! [9/10]

Architects are fun live, and pull off enough crazy stage antics to really get a good reciprocal reaction from the crowd. Yeah, they’re probably not as heavy as most the other bands playing, but on sheer energy they more than make up for it. And to be fair, its a really good ending to a night of similar sounding breakdown laden deathcore. Plus most of the crowd seem to know them well enough to get some really good sing along responses. [9/10]

Eyelicker

Taste Of Chaos 2009 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo

It seems so long ago that I last saw Killswitch Engage on the very first ‘Taste Of Chaos’ tour. Something that has now become such a part of the autumn touring cycle that its and almost guaranteed sell-out.

This year had what can be perhaps be called the tour ‘heaviest’ line-up (not because the band’s have any more members or that those members are fat just that they are defined as ‘heavy). Opening up were southernrockmetalsludgegodknowswhattheyarebuttheysoundawesome Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Returning to the UK for the first time in nearly two years the band seem to have missed us (f**k knows why?! We have crap weather and a pain in the arse music scene) but nonetheless they certainly present an enjoyable half hour of whatever it is that they play. [7/10]

Next were the shambles that are Every Time I Die..highlighting the main problem for all the bands tonight ETID lose any of their impact in the sheer size of the venue. Whilst energetic their songs blend into one loud mess and lose all impact. [3/10]

In Flames play what is perhaps a generic yet surprising satisfying show. With the addition of ‘Architects Of The Black Rain’ to the normal collection of tracks Anders is the masterful frontman. Whilst the light-show is distinctly stripped down compared to their immense Wacken display with scenes and pyro etc the Swedes are tight and on top of their game. [8/10]

And now for the main event..well supposedly…KsE are one of the best bands of the last decade and tonight could’ve meant so much more. With a set that highlights the contrast in quality and impact between old and new Adam D’s stage banter is growing tiresome we know that he’s going to ‘f**k our mothers with a bowling ball’ he told us that last time (and every time before). The band just vanish in the immense stage. Slipknot‘s performance here last year was only as impressive as it was because of the size of the stage set-up and band members who actually knew what they were doing..As for Killswitch..[9/10] for the old stuff..about 5 for the new..Such a shame.

Mr Bogle

SOIL LIVE IN MANCHESTER

Even though Soil were Supporting, they were who I was there to see, and I was interviewing them during the headline (Shinedown) so Soil is who I shall review.

Solid and energetic, with a complete change to the Soil of old, but they don’t forget to play the song that made them famous, although, let’s be fair, it made the band name famous as the band is almost totally unrecognisable now as a four piece.

The band played well, consistently and really drew the crowd in, and for a support act this was very well done, especially since I thought that it would be a one song run, but the crowd seemed fired up throughout and there was a burst during Halo but nothing that paled the rest of the gig.

This new Soil is one to watch out for and I truly think that if the public let them forget the band of old then they have a great future in front of them.

8.5/10 – Solid!

IE