Judgement Day
Panic Cell / Warchild / Fourwaykill / Atikus / Imicus / Pitiful Reign / Scar My Eyes / Scavenger`s Daughter
20 January 2007
Hertford Marquee
Our first gig of 2007 was a trip out to Hertford for the first Judgement Day, an event put on by BritishMetal.co.uk
A late change of the line-up offered Scavenger`s Daughter the opening slot, ensuring the day got off to a flying start with vocalist Coll Matraves twirling his mic stand above his head. Scavenger`s Daughter play straight-up metal and they play it well. Matraves possesses a great voice and bounds around the stage with bags of energy. Guitarist Simon Ellis and James Hunt show of their skills with some great lead work, but it`s as a solid unit that Scavenger`s Daughter most impress. A high quality performance to start to the day.
Scavenger`s Daughter set list:
Exit Wounds / Boiling Point / Scavenger`s Daughter / Take No Prisoners / I Am Not Afraid
By contrast Scar My Eyes one dimensional metalcore bored me as rigid as vocalist Mark Lewis` haircut. His pained expressions of suffering whilst screaming out each torturous song, were akin to watching an exhibition of gurning and were about as interesting as the half hour got.
The arrival of Pitiful Reign was somewhat of a relief as they crunched through a retro thrash attack. It`s somewhat odd watching a band of this age playing thrash with such vigour in a style which pre-dates their own births. New song Video Overkill suggests they are armed to up the ante from their Toxic Choke material and a cover of Kreator`s People Of The Lie adds some familiarity to their short enjoyable set.
Pitiful Reign set list included:
Toxic Choke / Cannibal Attack / Video Overkill / Mark Of The Eagle / People Of The Lie / In The Pit
Having two bands named Imicus and Atikus was somewhat confusing and more so since they swapped places on the bill so when I thought I was watching Atikus it was actually Imicus. Both bands seemed of a similar age and hold a modern rock/metal approach. The catchiness of Inveigle put Imicus a nose ahead, however as a whole package Atikus took the honours in this head to head battle.
Imicus set list:
Isolation / Inveigle / Serenity / Shadows / Retro / Demise
Atikus set list:
Produce, Reproduce / Hysteria / Hour Glass / Old Tune / New Tune / Fallen / Eden
An hours break should have offered time to get some sustenance, but in reality just gave us the opportunity to charge our glasses a few more times to toast the arrival of Fourwaykill. Fourwaykill aren`t a band for polite cheers though. They`re the anarchic gatecrasher that knocks over the table, smashes the glasses and drinks your whiskey. Well the last part is certainly true with Chris Neighbour ordering drinks from the stage. With new bassist Dev on board, Fourwaykill are set to fly out of the traps in 2007 with their much anticipated new album, from which a good portion is aired tonight. The band aren`t making any major deviations from their brand of hammer to the skull aggressive metal, but the new material appears more focussed, whilst at the same time features more intricate guitar-work from Jay Walsh. With a trip into the moshpit Fourwaykill, quite literally, left me battered and bruised.
Fourwaykill set list:
Speedball / Pull The Trigger / Hangmandown / Curse Of God / Anti-All / Human Killing Kind / The Legalities Of Formal Hatred / Aggressor / Removing Face / Discipline / 24 Hours To Die
Warchild always put 100% into their performance and tonight is no different. The Italians have made many friends on these shores with their brand of thrashy power metal and their new material adds a modern groove to their sound, whilst remaining heavy. The sound is so blisteringly loud at the front however, it`s difficult to get a clear grip on the band`s fresh output and it`s the older more familiar favourites such as Nothing To Share and The Preacher that really hit home.
Warchild set list:
Let Your Heart Go Free / Leading The Fire / Theater Of Pain / The Dancer / Nothing To Share / Burning Fire / I Ride The Way To Hell / The Last Dreamer / The Preacher / Life Goes On
It falls to Panic Cell to close proceedings and like the two preceding acts they had new material up their sleeves. However, it`s the familiar strains of Damn Self Pity that open the set before Forced Down is presented. The song takes Panic Cell`s trademark catchy sound and beefs it up somewhat. I`m guessing "Thrash" is a working title for one of the other new songs played tonight, but it did what it said on the tin. Save Me is greeted like the anthem it is, before Rob from Fourwaykill is brought up to assist with some screaming on another new track Fallen. Away From Here fittingly brings down the curtain on Judgement Day leaving in it`s wake a satisfied crowd.
Panic Cell set list:
Damn Self Pity / Forced Down / Shallow / Thrash / Hillbilly / Save Me / Fallen / Away From Here
LINKS:
Judgement Day
Panic Cell
Warchild
Fourwaykill
Atikus
Imicus
Pitiful Reign
Scar My Eyes
Scavenger`s Daughter |
