February 12, 2005 Bunkers Hill (Nottingham)
Sons Of Merrick
Sons Of Merrick started the night with contemporary redneck metal, and first impressions were that it was not very original. But it was definitely done well, the vocal expression was varied as the frontman switched between angry screaming and flowing singing sections. The loud, deep guitars, fast bass and continuous but effective cymbal use, gave each of their long songs a dramatic feel, however each song was on the same tempo, and had similar structures and mood to them. During the complex instrumental sections, they really got into the performance, with lots of movement and anger in their music. The last song was very impressive, with a nice long instrumental section, followed by short verse then ended, this was a rare hint of originality by Sons Of Marrick, and very technical.
http://www.myspace.com/sonsofmerrick
ChickenHawk
Beginning as they meant to go on, Chicken Hawk, lurched straight into grinding sludgecore-esque metal, with an experimental layer of intricate guitar work. Long solos split by slow ever changing, and almost jam session interludes. The angry and creatively sparse vocals, lacked variation in tone at times, but the unorthodox patterns broke the routine. These guys knew what they were doing with their instruments, the constantly changing and continuously busy back sound for a three-piece was a clear attribute to this. Despite Chicken Hawk’s experimental sub sound, each song seemed too similar. There was no one track that really stuck out, although there were dramatic sound effects used at start of some songs, which worked brilliantly to create the mood and attitude of their music.
http://www.myspace.com/chickenhawk
Legion Of Doom
Legion Of Doom had brought with them part of their large and established fan base, namely Nottm Uni’s Bandsoc. This was a more relaxed performance than the Drop In The Ocean night, and the songs sounded different. Maybe they were different songs, maybe it was just their seemingly improvised style, or maybe it was just us not quite remembering things. With their guitars playing in harmony, each spontaneously tearing into a solo on a whim whilst the others continuously changing the crunchy riffs. The complex, wandering and flawless basslines, were never hidden under a barrage of noise from the two guitars, and were used to full effect. They employed a vocalist for the last few songs, who mirrored the dark, angry edge to Legion Of Doom, into a fully voiced rampage, but it wasn’t any where near as inventive or mastered, as the music behind it.
ThisIsTheWayTheWorldEnds
The set for ThisIsTheWayTheWorldEnds seemed altogether, more collected that last time we saw them. The lyrics were much clearer, and each section of their compartmentalised music was defined and clear, some sections were building up to something, and others were rolling and some were just frantic. As is their style, there were no smooth transitions between these sections, it would suddenly change and if you weren’t careful, catch you off guard. Just as you settled into head nodding mode, it would switch, leaving you somewhere in a past moment, and charge off screeching into a whole other genre, taking a flowing air of melodic backline with it. Collective groans all round when the set was rudely interrupted by a dodgy amp, and then the guitar…broke or something, but in that pause the drummer and bassist stepped in and provided a nice funky interlude, but it became apparent after 5 minutes or so, that they began to get a bit desperate. The set got back on track as though nothing had happened, with no skimping on the effects, and the same mixture of vocal expression that works with every kind of style they want to throw at you.
Reviewed by: Steph
