August 30, 2006
Well we have seen all these bands once now so if you wanted to know the basic sound you can read our heat reviews….this year I am doing something slightly different! As proud sponsors of this year’s Battle of the Bands, we were asked to judge, now this isn’t an easy task but we felt up to the challenge. Having seen at least 150 bands in the last year and reviewed over 50 gigs, plus putting on nearly 50 of our own gigs, we feel we have seen some of the best bands around these parts and further a field. It is however hard to judge the ‘better’ band when you have a chilled out indie band, a energetic punk band or a dark metal band on the same stage so you look for common things that you feel all music should have, such as originality, diversity (in tempo, dynamic and influence), good stage presence and energy and also thinking about how tight the band is.
Thousand of Reflections
Now starting this first semi final off we have Thousands of Reflections, this band have a lot of good diversity, mixing influences, tempo and dynamic very well, this means that at times they aren’t always tight but considering how much their style changes, they do well. For me the one thing this band really lack is stage presence and image, their music is interesting and clever and played to a high standard but they don’t seem to all get into it that much and they don’t seem confident on stage with a lack of relaxed chatter between songs. Still the music was excellent.
http://www.myspace.com/thousandsofreflections
Zenith
So next are Zenith, a young band who show a lot of potential. I liked this band a lot as after their first heat (which I wasn’t that impressed with) they emailed me asking for advice on where they could improve which I think shows a good mature and open minded approach to their music. They straight away seemed to improve with more diversity and energy than the last heat and seem to have tightened up, getting the crowd buzzing. They could still experiment more but the good energy and nice changes in dynamic build their songs well and with excellent stage presence from all members as well as a really charismatic frontman, these guys look to have a bright future.
http://www.myspace.com/livezenith
Spirytus
So to last year’s runners up, Spirytus. These guys are very professional with a tight band and good energy both on stage and in their music. The frontman goes nuts and their songs are very catchy. I think they could be more diverse at times with some songs having similar structures and dynamic and a few more chilled moments might be nice but this was an energetic and powerful display of metal.
http://www.myspace.com/spirytus
Without Eyes
Finally we have Without Eyes, who seem to think they have already lost and it is evident that some members are a little intoxicated! This band are very diverse and mix dynamic, tempo and energy changes very well. With influences ranging from metal, grunge, indie, progressive rock and punk, they have some great ideas. They don’t always fit together that well and at times go a little sloppy but this was in fact a decent performance and if they had been a little soberer they might have had a good chance, but mistakes fell in at times but they had good presence and the frontman’s Rock City rant and chatty stag manner was brilliant, meaning I loved their set!
http://www.myspace.com/withouteyesuk
Sadly Without Eyes sloppiness and Thousands of Reflections lack of stage presence meant they didn’t go through this heat but well done anyway as both were awesome! Well done to Spirytus and Zenith who will be in the final!
Reviewed by: gaz and Steph
