Category: Live Reviews

The Lexingon, London
12.12.08

Playing to an empty room is the character-building test that splits the wheat from the chaff in live performance. Those weak-willed or too self-conscious will crumble and fall by the wayside where those with enough attitude and self-belief will play just as well as they possibly can to compensate for lacking atmosphere and make it worthwhile for the few people who are there.

Friday night and an unexpectedly tiny crowd rattle around a room above a North London pub, looking between each other awkwardly and the stage, wondering if and when the room will fill out. It doesn’t. 11pm and Kasms finally take to the stage, greeted by a crowd consisting of the support acts, a huddle of their friends cheering supportively and a light scattering of bewildered looking punters.

Front-woman Rachel Mary Callaghan bounds onstage and lets out a shrill scream of blood-curdling proportions, her minute frame arching like a cat hissing in attack – a statement of intent. Kasms, it seems, have no intention of letting the absence of the crowd bother them.

With their influences obviously citing the dark and brooding sounds of 80’s gothic/post-punk acts as a reference, Kasms take the Siouxsie Sioux mold, paint it red and rip it to pieces. They’re more snarling and vicious, more abrasive and far more expressive and genuine than decades of forgettable acts attempting and failing to create such alluring darkness. As Rory Attwell (ex-Test Icicles and RAT:ATT:AGG) and Scott Walker do a tag-team relay between guitar and drums, bassist Gemma Fleet pouts and purrs into the microphone leaving the spotlight to the magnetic and tirelessly ferocious Rachel. She bends and flips and rolls around the stage effortlessly, flinging herself at the floor, writhing and wrapping herself in the microphone lead, all the while maintaining an innate air of control and grace.

Unleashing new never-played songs from the forthcoming album and peaking with the single ‘Taxidermy’ released earlier this year on Trouble Records (Crystal Castles, George Pringle) Kasms have got it all to come… and based on tonight’s performance, they’re not going to let anything phase them.

Trotty P.

Machine Head
Children Of Bodom

Hammersmith Apollo
02.12.08

When Children Of Bodom took English classes, they clearly stopped going after the lesson that taught them the word “motherfucker”. Littering their set came calls of “Do you want to hear some fucking metal motherfuckers” which proved quite entertaining in lieu of any great deal of stage presence. That said, the band did belt out some good tracks, the fan favourite Silent Night Bodom Night getting the biggest reaction of all and Bodom coped well with the difficult task of playing to a sea of faces who simply wanted Rob Flynn and Corey Taylor’s men on stage.

Machine fucking Head took to the stage after a solid five minutes of the expletive driven crowd baying for their appearance and tore the roof off with straight up metal. Imperium, with its military style drum beat, sent the pit into its first workout of the evening and a mixture of old and new kept the energy up throughout the set. Flynn took to drinking a sip from each drink before lobbing it into the crowd and when he looked over to the far side of the front of the venue, he implored the crowd there to start headbanging because “it’s not a fucking Good Charlotte show, man”. Bloody right too.

Then came the main event. A black curtain covered the stage and once lifted, delirium kicked in. Shawn Crahan’s percussion kit lofted high into the air, cameras on either side displaying a variety of angles of the crowd and stage on a widescreen T attached to the front of his set-up, DJ Sid Wilson hanging off the keg with one arm, fire shooting up from the back of the stage, it was as perfect a stage show as you could ever wish for. Slipknot were most definitely in the building.

Corey Taylor, a lot chattier than I expected [I was a Slipknot gig virgin], was a great frontman, demanding the crowd crank the volume up to outdo the noise level from the night before and after ripping through tracks such as Eyeless, Eeyore, Psychosocial, People = Shit and (sic), there was no way the packed Apollo could have been any louder. The highlight of the night was the legendary crowd-crouching. Standing on the balcony looking down it was a sight to behold as an ocean of fans crouched down low [save the solitary dickhead who got a pummelling a few seconds later] and, on Taylor’s say so, let carnage break loose as the maggots launched skywards for the meaty portion of the track.

Last night, the 18-legged raging machine proved that they were the most entertaining metal band around simply for their stage show alone and they show no signs of letting up. People might equal shit, but Iowa’s finest certainly don’t.

Abjekt.

London Astoria 2
5/12/08

London is a maze. A sprawling metropolis of twisting, turning alleys and side-streets just itching to lead you astray. Tonight, it seems they have claimed Former Cell Mates as their latest victims; the Sunderland quartet reportedly having got lost on their way to the venue and arriving too late to play. A shame, as their recent debut album – ‘Who’s Dead And What’s To Pay?‘ – is a superb slice of gritty Northern folk-punk that any self-respecting Gaslight Anthem fan would enjoy.

So it’s up to The King Blues to kick things off, and they do so in fine style. Vocalist/ukulele player Itch Fox has often stated that his band’s main goal is “to unite people”, and as the majority of the crowd join in the campfire sing-along chorus of recent single ‘Let’s Hang The Landlord‘, it’s clear that The King Blues haven’t lost their ability to bring a sense of intimacy to a thousand-strong audience. Be it old favourites like ‘Mr Music Man‘ (which really should have been a MASSIVE hit) or the handful of songs from new album ‘Save The World, Lose The Girl’, this is the sound of a band with purpose and fire in the bellies; and if there’s any justice, they’ll soon be headlining (and selling out) venues of this size.

The Gaslight Anthem‘s previous (and first) visit to the UK coincided with the late-August release of their second album ‘The ’59 Sound‘, which, since then, has been deservedly showered with praise by just about every man and his dog. No surprise, then, that tonight’s show is completely sold out; but whereas their previous London show (at the smaller ULU) was attended mainly by TGA diehards, tonight there’s a significant number of curious bystanders and newcomers present. In truth, there’s nothing wrong with that, but when Brian Fallon and co run through some of their mellower moments, it’s slightly disconcerting to hear the front half of the crowd singing along whilst the back half chatter distractedly amongst themselves.

Thankfully, this doesn’t detract from The Gaslight Anthem’s stormer of a performance. Hardly any of the songs played tonight are more than a few years old, but such is the band’s everyman spirit and knack for emotional resonance, that even newer songs like opener ‘Great Expectations‘ and ‘Miles Davis And The Cool’ sound as familiar as they would if you’d known them all your life. The folks down at the front go crazy throughout – let’s not forget, some of them have been eagerly awaiting the band’s arrival on these shores since their ‘Sink Or Swim‘ debut two years ago – and the smile on Brian’s face is proof that these feelings of gratitude and excitement are mutual. Sure, these are just four Springsteen-lovin’ guys from New Jersey playing a bunch of songs. But it’s the quality of those songs, and the sincerity with which they’re delivered, that will surely propel The Gaslight Anthem to greater heights in 2009.

Alex Gosman

VV Brown

Scala
27.11.08

Pushing through the doors to the Scala, it was a shock to see the venue already packed out. Having seen VV Brown‘s name around quite a lot of late, it shouldn’t have been that much of a shock, and after a couple of songs, the shock had dissipated completely.

The Londoner has a voice that will no doubt be lazily compared to Amy Winehouse, but, with the help of her animated backing group, Brown raised the roof with her soulful tones, finishing up with a swinging track which she then turned into a reggae anthem to leave the crowd baying for more. It is easy to see why she is getting all the hype, she’s surely destined for big things.

Then came the main event – the ever predictably unpredictable Ida Maria. The Norweigan songstress had fallen foul of the dreaded lurgy before the show which presented us with a somewhat subdued performance, not helped by the completely stationary crowd. Don’t let that fool you though, her stage presence, even when simply standing and singing is second-to-none and her banter with the crowd always kept the atmosphere lighthearted and fun.

“If you want, you can sing along on the chorus,” she said to her audience. “But be quiet during the verses, that’s for me to steal all the spotlight.” With an attitude as breezy and a face as smiley as Ida’s it’s impossible not to like her. And when she finally saw people in the crowd moving for her anthems Better When You’re Naked and Oh My God, she let loose herself, spinning around and giving us the energy we’d gotten used to over the past year.

The stand out moment though was the first song of the encore when a solitary Ida stood on the centre of the stage, bass in hand, delivering as gravelly a vocal as she could muster with a brilliant bluesy number. Even when she’s ill, she is a joy to watch. More of the same in 2009 please.

Abjekt.

LA2
25.11.08

Other than a brief UK visit around Give It A Name this year, Finch haven’t been here to tour proper in a considerable amount of time. From what I remember, they had a reputation of being somewhat shambolic and selfish live, refusing to play obvious crowd pleaser ‘Letters To You’ and, by most reports, failing to put on a decent performance.

As the band takes to the stage at the LA2, there are certainly echoes of Finch’s first incarnation with several setbacks in the first song. It’s almost as if it’s their very first time playing together since they broke up all those years ago with guitar tunings mid-song, guitar strap mishaps, builders’ style bums being bared to the audience and a general sense of confusion. Singer Nate seems self involved and not at all concerned with the salivating crowd he could so easily command. At several points during their set he kneels with his back to the audience and it’s as if he’s serenading a beer can on the drum riser.

Having said that, Finch have certainly grown to realise that a cunning variety of classic hits and stunning new material is what keeps everyone interested. The band plays a hefty set including all the golden oldies such as ‘Letters To You‘ and ‘Perfection Through Silence‘ and they put every bit of energy into the songs they’ve written since reuniting this year including a stirring performance of ‘Daylight‘.

Nate’s energy is almost childlike but their encore really demonstrates maturity, particularly in its selection of songs which include a beautifully understated rendition of ‘Ender‘ and an explosive closing of the evening with ‘What It Is To Burn‘. When Nate does turn his attention to the eager mass of people hanging on his every lyric, the effect is quite magical with enthusiasm dripping from every pore of every body present. It’s just a shame that this occurrence was all too infrequent during what was, despite being a tad ropey in places, an enthralling set of expertly crafted songs spanning the band’s career.

Winey G.

Hoxton Bar and Grill
London 19.11.08

I had heard a few tunes from Kenan Bell on his myspace page, heard they were doing a gig and thought – “yeah im up for that”. So I grabbed a sidekick and stepped to Hoxton Square to catch their live show. Unfortunately, I arrived early and saw a couple of ill thought out bands play, one was particularly shocking and left me looking at my watch thinking “hope I don’t miss the last tube” but I’m glad I stayed in the end.

Kenan Bell, to my surprise appeared onstage as a 6 piece band, drumkits, keyboards, guitars plus Kenan, the emcee. No messing around here, straight in to the set! The vibe was a tight mish-mash of influences. They are “band of the day” on the Guardian newspapers website, and “filed” him with KRS-1, A Tribe Called Quest and Mos Def , but to be honest, the comparison is as close to them as NY is to KB’s native LA. If they had given them a proper listen they would have heard influences closer to the The Pharcyde and MGMT with a firm nod to the essence of 80’s NewWave, but meh, that’s why your reading this on Crossfire, and not some broadsheet trying to be down with the kids!

The musical makeup here is very quick to change from a synth based sound to subtle guitar backed tracks. Lyrically I think Bell is a little depressed, well, disappointed I think is a better word, disappointed with society and covers this in Enjoy, cutting himself as the “loneliest crusader”. The slightly melancholy flow is perfect for a remix and they pull off The Smiths – This Night Has Opened My Eyes to great applause. If Morrissey was responsible for indie music in the 80s, his “I’m not happy, I’m not sad” mantra is something Kenan Bell firmly embodies on the imaginative Save your Life.

As the set speeds on its plain to see they are used to a larger crowd, but the stage presence starts to get looser and the band definitely had more fun with the crowd. The audience is now firmly theirs as they run through the tracks from their current EP. Geeking out with the sing/song structure of Celebrity and the open, honest Good Day shows perfectly his range of sound is as wide as the emotions they explore. The live show is studio tight, with plenty of adlib to keep the organic feel, the band starts to catch up with Kenan’s energy and raise the tempo a notch to finish off the night in rowdy style.

It’s definitely worth looking out for his EP and I am sure an album will follow in 2009 as this is too fresh to miss out on and certainly worth the two hours of night buses home! Get on it:

Philip Procter

Parkway Drive
Unearth
Despised Icon
Architects
Protest The Hero
Whitechapel
Carnifex

The Forum, London
15.11.08

5pm is a little too early for Metal in my eyes, so I headed to the venue just in time for Protest The Hero. Their technical riffs and intricate alterations of tempo were somewhat lost in the ether of The Forum, but they definitely set the stage for the evening through a succession of new album bangers including ‘Bloodmeat‘. Older material was somewhat lacking but a good proportion of the crowd was loving their work.

Architects were up next and they totally dominated proceedings with a barrage of gritty breakdowns and a stage presence so fearsome that everyone in the venue was rapt. They may not be as accomplished in the beard stakes as some of the metal aficionados present tonight but they know how to put on a gripping performance and the feeling was one of excitement as the only British band on the bill commanded one of the best receptions of the night.

Despised Icon were not such a brilliant prospect with their emphasis being on a churning out of pummeling bass drum excess as the meatheads in the crowd took up residence at the front of the venue. It seemed that this is a band being heavy for the sake of it and having little in the way of riff-based content, or any melodic interest at all for that matter.

Unearth whack things back up a gear with a performance that ripped through the venue like a hurricane and that was most certainly not void of musicality as was the case with the band before.

Australians Parkway Drive‘s metallic hardcore has won them many an admirer on UK shores and they are, in fact, no strangers to this very tour having been main support to Comeback Kid on last year’s edition. They certainly deserved their spot at the top of the bill this year with a hefty crowd in the palm of their collective hand. Parkway Drive culminated proceedings in the best of style with riffs aplenty, brutally intense vocals and insanely speedy rhythms pelting out from behind the drum-kit.

The Altamont Never Say Die! Tour was a must for metal fans across Europe and will go down as one of the best tours of the year in its genre. No doubt.

Winey G.

London Astoria,
5/11/08

In the early hours of this very morning, Barack Obama was announced as the new US President, and – as you might expect from a tour dominated by American bands – there’s a distinct celebratory vibe inside the Astoria tonight. Unfortunately the incompetence of London Underground prevents us from witnessing openers Time Again, but by most accounts their raw street-punk sounds went down well with the early birds.

Boston’s very own Street Dogs are nothing if not a true band of the people, and in vocalist Mike McColgan, they have an engaging frontman who clearly doesn’t care much for any kind of division between band and crowd. These guys play powerful, unpretentious rock n’ roll, and they play it like it’s the last chance they’ll ever get. By the end of their set, the sea of pumping fists speaks volumes – this is seriously life-affirming stuff.

Skindred’s multi-hued cocktail of dancehall, punk, dub and metal influences is somewhat at odds with the rest of the bill, so it’s pleasing to see their arrival greeted with roars of approval from a crowd that are clearly in the mood to party. Benji Webbe and co don’t let them down; with the Astoria arguably at risk of a premature demolition as the likes of ‘State Of Emergency‘ detonate like ragga-metal smart bombs. Sound-wise, these guys are in a league of their own, and finally their punishing touring schedules seem to be paying off.

Flogging Molly first visited the UK six years ago, and proved a surprise highlight of the 2002 Deconstruction festival. Since then, countless flash-in-the-pan chancers have sold out the Astoria on the back of one or two hit singles and a shitload of hype – but it hasn’t been such an easy ride for Flogging Molly. Needless to say, it’s great to see a band finally make it to such a level through hard work and some excellent, honest music.

It’s easy to forget just how many great tunes FM frontman Dave King has penned over the years; ‘Drunken Lullabies‘ and ‘Selfish Man‘ incite the heartiest jigging since the Pogues last played this fair city, whilst the ballad ‘Whistles The Wind‘ prompts the loudest sing-along (and some seriously drunken swaying) of the evening. In between, Dave takes the time to exchange some banter with the crowd, and to take the piss out of a West Ham fan on the balcony. It’s all good-natured, of course, and as the band rip through a finale of ‘Seven Deadly Sins‘, it’d take a churlish punter to not salute these folk-punk troopers for a job well done. Thanks Eastpak.

Alex Gosman

With SSS & Tortuga The Islington Acadmeny,
London 31/10/08

From the second I heard 2006’s debut offering ‘Black Thunder‘, Doomriders instantly became my favorite band.

Not only that but the last time they came to these shores, touring with Coliseum and Lords, they played one of the best gigs I had seen that year. Their mix of old school rock ‘n’ roll and metal instantly ticked the ‘Danzig meets Thin Lizzy’ and ‘Motorhead meets Sabbath’ boxes.

Safe to say, I had high expectations for tonight’s show. With the addition of Liverpool’s finest, SSS, to the bill this was truly going to be a Halloween show to end all Halloween shows…..unless you went to see Slayer.*

With much regret I missed Tortuga who, from what the guys at the bar tell me, were “totally fucking yes!!!”. I’m assuming that’s a good thing. After picking up a copy of the new LP ‘The Dividing Line’ at the merch table it was time for SSS to stand up and take names. After hearing only a handful of new songs before going into the show, I didn’t know what to expect from a new SSS set list.

What I got was a terrifying dose of Merseyside thrash. Having seen SSS multiple times before, I wasn’t expecting the new material to be quite so visceral. It’s good to see that this band aren’t just ‘phoning it in’ and are growing into an even bigger force to be reckoned with. New songs ‘Oil and Water‘ and ‘The Bastard Stench‘ make their London debut tonight alongside old favorites ‘Damaged Goods’ and the ever entertaining ‘Thrash With A Small Mustache‘. SSS are always going to be value for money and are one of the best bands to rise from this country in recent years.

Finally Doomriders make their long awaited return to a London stage. I, along with most there, was hoping to hear some new material from the band after such a long absence. We were rewarded for our patience as they fired out new track ‘Crooked Path‘ which instantly had heads banging. The track ‘Mercy‘ is an absolute classic. Available on their ‘Long Hair & Tights‘ split with Boris, it’s a dueling guitar spectacular between axe men Nate and Chris. This all proceeded by an avalanche of killer riffs that I’m sure reduced the nearest church to rubble.

With an amp malfunction halfway through their set, Nate takes it upon himself to flex his comedy muscle with a quick stand up routine. “How do you find Will Smith in the snow?….You look for the fresh-prints.” It’s not all rock ‘n’ roll at a Doomriders gig. You get 100% comedy genius as well. Doomriders continue a beast of a gig with what has now become the band’s calling cards, ‘Black Thunder‘, ‘Ride Or Die‘ and chaotic whirlwind of a song, ‘Fuck This Shit!‘. Everybody by this point was seriously into what JR, Chris, Jebb and Nate were unleashing. Doomriders know how to have a good time on stage and know what pleases a crowd of head bangers. Tonight we get nothing short of heavy metal glory. The boys from Boston finish as they did last time in London with ‘The Long Walk‘. With blistering licks and some filthy bass it was fitting way to end what truly was a raging set.

After almost beheading ticket holders at The Islington Academy with some serious neck breaking riffage, Doomriders saddle up and ride on through the caverns of darkness. Onward to Mount Gogorath. Once there they will pledge their reaped souls to the keeper of the damned via the swords of fortune and glory…..well, that’s what they said anyways.

Tom Lindsey

*I actually sold my Slayer ticket for that night because I’d rather see Doomriders. Yes they are that damn good. Ride or Die motherfuckers!!!

Chapter III w/ Trivium, Mastodon & Amon Amarth
The Hammersmith Apollo, London
30/10/2008

I had never seen Slayer before. As somebody who claims to be a huge Slayer fan this is not a fact that I let slip very often around my metal brethren. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to see them it’s just I have always been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I nearly got arrested at the Reading Festival once trying to break into to see them. My past failures didn’t matter anymore because on this cold, London night……my time had finally come.

Unfortunately I got there too late to see Mastodon (I’d like to say a massive fuck you to the staff of Cha Cha Moon in Soho for being so shit and slow. Pull you fucking finger out!!). Anyways, after dragging my gutted carcass from the bar to the main arena I had the misfortune of seeing Trivium. A band who seem to be more concerned with telling you to “get up!” and “come on!” than singing their own songs. Granted they were fucking loud and fast but not a band to be supporting Slayer on any day. Fact.

Then finally after all my years of waiting, Slayer took to the stage to unleashing a wall of sound on the leather clad, metal heads in attendance destroying them all. Opening with ‘Flesh Storm‘ from recent album ‘Christ Illusion’ followed by a half set full of ear bleeding, death metal, gems featuring ‘Chemical Warfare’, ‘Disciple’ and the astonishing ‘South Of Heaven’.

The main selling point of the night was that the band would be playing 1986’s ‘Reign in Blood’ in its entirety. Exploding back on to the stage with ‘Angel Of Death’ I just couldn’t resist but to jump in the pit along with every other intoxicated psycho. After almost dying trying to retrieve the phone that fell out of my pocket I decided against lowering my head below waist height again and enjoy Tom Aray’s blood curdling screams.

The band were as into it as the raging crowd as Slayer shred through classics ‘Piece By Piece’ and ‘Necrophobic’. Jeff Hanneman shred like a manic whilst Dave Lombardo pounded his drum kit harder than your average Kerrang! reader pounds his pre-pubescent wang.

Kerry King’s punishing licks on ‘Altar Of Sacrifice’ are a work of genius live. It just goes to show after all these years on the road that Slayer can still keep their sound fresh. All that combined with the fact that are such a tight band, prove they can still lay all competition to waste. Every track tonight was pulled off with ease and excellence. ‘Criminally Insane’ and ‘Epidemic’ were huge highlights and kept the crowd, now running on pure adrenaline, thrashing.

Slayer plow through the album at break-neck speed with absolutely no let up. Tonight it’s kill or be killed. The band finish their relentless set with the now iconic ‘Raining Blood’ leaving every single sweat coated, blood dripping, Slayer fan totally gob smacked.

So, I’m a mobile phone light, my ears were ringing so loudly after the gig it kept me awake half the night and I’m still convinced I have broken ribs but to see Slayer this good after such a long wait, it was more than worth it.

Oh yeah, and one more thing…………..FUCKIN’ SLAAAAYYYYEEEEEER!!!!!!

Tom Lindsey