All Hell`s Eve
Furnaze / String Theory / Demagogue / Social Head Removal / Samurai Smithy / Downcast
31 October 2004
Infinity Club, London
It`s Halloween and there`s strange goings on in old London town tonight. A group of metal-heads have been reported wandering down Saville Row of all places. No, it`s not Akercocke shopping for some new tailored suits, it`s because the Infinity Club is playing host to All Hell`s Eve, a night of metal bands.
Infinity is an intimate venue holding about 200 people and with seven bands billed, the combination of members, friends and masses of band equipment meant things were quite cosy when openers Downcast took to the stage. Having witnessed the bands London debut, I was interested to see how they were progressing.
If you were to pinpoint a Brazilian sound it would probably involve a heavy rhythmic backing. With four out of the six band members originating from Brazil, it`s no surprise that Màrio Conte`s rhythmic pounding is a major part of the Downcast sound. However, considering the likes of Children Of Bodom and Wintersun, the Finnish trend is for guitar shredding and since the last gig, Pekka Saarinen appears to have been given more of a free reign to add some embellishments to the aggressive tunes.
Invisible Cage, with vocalist Iam Peruzzo switching between clean and growling vocals, is the standout tune of the set and this multi-national ensemble continue to improve.
Samurai Smithy were just not my cup of tea at all. The bands punk/metal onslaught, leaning heavily on the punk, was topped off with pain inducing screeching vocals. Unfortunately, the guitar had gone completely AWOL in the mix and it was therefore practically impossible to decipher any songs.
By contrast, Dave McEvoy`s guitar sounded monstrous as Social Head Removal took the stage. It`s apparent McEvoy is a fan of Rob Flynn as his vocals and mannerism were highly reminiscent of the Machine Head frontman, particularly when he broke down one song with the cry of "Sloooowwww……". The likes of For My Sins also brought Machine Head to mind.
McEvoy is flanked by Maurio "M&M" Imperatori, who`s name is actually less elaborate than his appearance. With a three peaked mohawk, multiple piercings and tattoos, Imperatori doesn`t have to do much to gain attention.
A strong enjoyable set, though I was left feeling that Social Head Removal may need to be a bit less derivative of Flynn`s mob if they want to step up to bigger things.
Continuing with comparisons, as Demagogue launch into Broken Father, with it`s ever changing pace and weaving guitars, it became apparent that the UK has an answer to Opeth.
The combination of watching the extremely dexterous guitar work whilst listening to the epic prog-death metal, had an almost hypnotic effect. Usually for this type of metal it`s advantageous to have had a prior listening, though Demagogue were fortunate to have easily the best sound of the night and on reflection pulled out the performance of the evening.
Out of all the bands tonight, just two members of String Theory had made an effort for Halloween and as a result looked a bit odd for it. Drummer, Kev Parker had a painted face, whilst bassist Jake Findlay looked Slipknot like in a white dust suit and silver Jason Vorhees mask.
String Theory stood out from the rest of the bands here with a sound from a more nu-metal / alt rock angle. The key strength for the band lies with singer Dal, who possess a range and style similar to Tool`s Maynard Keenan. The band however do not indulge in epics of Tool`s nature, sticking to short, tight and catchy tunes. Closer Carrion was apparently the gathered fans favourite and indeed was the peak of their set.
I was looking forward to Furnaze having caught them once before and having been very impressed with their No Stairway to Heaven cd. Tonight the band were presenting a new line-up, having recruited young drummer James Cook. With only four practices ahead of the gig, Cook did an amazing job, effortlessly racing around his kit like he`d held the position for years. His style seems better suited to Furnaze, adding additional power, such as on the Bay Area style thrash of Marching Through Hell.
Singer and lead guitarist Olivier Vermeersch is as enthusiastic as ever trying to get the crowd to shout and punch along to Rise and speeding through some impressive solos, particularly on World Of Lies.
Soundwise, the band didn`t get the best crack of the whip tonight, but their energy carried the performance through a set peaking with Life In Vein.
Following Furnaze, Pain Control were due to close the evening. However, things were running so seriously late that it would have been 12.30am by the time their set started. Already the majority of the audience had headed for their last buses and trains home and as a result Pain Control had to regretfully, but very understandably, decide to cancel the gig. This was a great shame and perhaps the previous 6 bands sets should have been trimmed slightly to have allowed for the timing problems.
LINKS:
Infinity Club
Pain Control
Furnaze
String Theory
Demagogue
Social Head Removal
Downcast
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