DUNDEE LIVE - BANDS TO WATCH!!
RED BATTLE OF THE BANDS 2008 - SEMI FINAL #1
FIVE PAST FRIDAY + THREE TIMES OVER + HARD TO EXPLAIN + EXCELLENT CADAVER + COMA TOAST + VALENTINE PROJECT - Dexters 11-11-08
I missed Five Past Friday and Three Times Over which is a shame for review purposes, but since these turned out to be the two bands that didn't go through to the final, out of the 6 bands playing, then I guess the relevance is not altogether lost - next time, guys!!
HARD TO EXPLAIN
Rarely has a band name been so apt - I really do find it hard to explain just what it is I like about this band, yet like them, I did. Musically, they have a certain presence, a certain brooding menace to their sound that exudes atmopshere with a delivery that's more restrained than most indie bands and really pulls you in.The second track that they played epitomises this as a sea of churning guitars underpins a vocal that's more akin to the darker side of Jesus & Mary Chain as the rhythms maintain a tight and solid grip on proceeedings. The vocal is as much intoned as sung, but it's the fact that this band seem to want to create a space rather than a time, that holds your attention. Third track in was a Bloc Party cover where they veered off their tried and trusted track so far to show that they can be a "normal" band and, quite frankly, they don't need it. Their own world is a whole lot more convincing. The next track sees them return to the deep and electrifying intensity of the first 2 tracks only this time with greater vigour as shards of guitar leads light up as the band burns brighter and the arrangement leaps rather than flows. Finally, they deliver this indie mantra of a song called "999 Daddy Is Dead" which twists and turns through mesmerising indie rock and almost cyclical shoegazing only harder and louder. It's not the sort of band that, right now, will make you leap up and down and extoll their virtues from the rooftops, but it is a band that can really engage your interest, sneakily ensnaring you rather than hitting you over the head and carrying you off.
EXCELLENT CADAVER
I have to admit to bias here - as Dead Earnest Promotions, I've put this band on a couple of times now, but the problem is that you never get to review your own gig - least not very well, most of the time. So far, they've definitely been improving since a strong start several months ago. So, with pen in hand, I set about a review tonight hoping that maybe we'd see a bit more of an improvement..... but what actually was witnessed.....well, see for yourself.
With the best PA sound that I've heard the band play to date, from the moment they begin, they strike up a monster howl of churning hardcore metal riffing with a suitably decent introduction to let you know they've arrived. Then the vocalist enters and, while he roars the lyrics, you hear it all to perfection, think "hang on a minute, this is HOT stuff" and immediately listen even more as the vocalist now reverts to "normal" strong vocalising on a chorus which really hooks you in, as the riffs and rhythm decelerate until it's back to the verses, the band now hammering down as guitar chords splinter from the immense metal might that's erupting from the PA. The song now goes hell-for-leather as pace and vocalist accelerate, a massive guitar break flares up and the rhythms thunder in your skull, the whole thing positively awesome in that it's hardcore metal in a kind of Slipknot vein that really sounds absolutely professional and experienced, way more so than you'd expect a young band such as this to possess.
The second track starts as a huge metal hammer blow to the head as the band takes no prisoners, thunders into life and the vocalist lets loose a howl of a vocal of blood curdling proportions. The waves part and the band steams headlong into another gem of a chorus-as-hook, exuding this storm-force strength throughout. The remarkable part is just how amazingly good, tight and confident the band sounds, so much so that if you placed this track between any two more well known acts at a metal disco, no-one would tell the difference. Everything about this shouts "quality" at you - the muscular riffs, the titanic drumming, the stomach-churning bass and in-your-face vocals, with the lead guitarist delivering a brief but red hot lead break to put the icing on the cake, as the song roars to its conclusion.
Third track is even harder, even faster, even louder and is the most intense brew of hardcore metal but with nothing lose, wasted, over the top or out of control. It's a tight, dense, well arranged slice of raging metal that just leaves you jaw-droped in admiration. The guitar riffs climb and drive the whole thing along as the lead guitarist unleashes another electrifying solo before the vocals duel and fight to an abrupt end. The next track opens with a chugging storm of guitar riffing in furious headlong fashion as the strong holler of a vocal curs loose above the rhythm thunder, veering between sung and roared as a hook emerges above the rising and falling hardcore holocaust, once more totally in control, superbly arranged, anthemic and utterly spellbinding as another crushing series of massive metal waves washes over your mesmerised carcass.
For the final track, I left my reviewers bar spot and went upfront to watch and experience the whole thing with the headbangers, and you can but marvel at the stage presence these guys have, looking the part and playing a blinder. On a song that is every bit the perfect closing marauding metal hu8rricane of an anthem, the came to a fiery end, simply leaving you wanting much more - and that's what it's all about.
COMA TOAST
Although throughout the set, it's funk that's at the heart of things, there's so much more to this band than dance or rock with a funky vibe. The bassist is the main vocalist, although two others lend a hand. So, from the start, this funk-rock emerges as the Hetfield-esque tones of the main vocalist come into play. While there's no discernible hook or chorus as such, there's enough going on to keep your attention. But the real surprise here is when they launch into an almost late seventies Frank Zappa-esque intrumental mid section complete with searing lead guitar, accelerated arrangement while the lead guitarist also does his best "Ray White" vocal to the main guys's "Zappa", almost like a funkier version of that era's Zappa band.
The second track opens with a chopy intro as the bass continues to make its presence felt, the melody flowing under the strident sea of chopy funk bass as the vocalist now mixes a kind of crooning jazz with raucous rock as the song twists and turns between blast and bliss. Intricate arrangements take you up and down like a rollercoaster on vari-speed. Another hot lead guitar break is unleashed as the melody comes from the rhythm guitarist, the glue-like anchor from the bass and the addiction from the crunch of th drum beats, another vocal howl pured on top as the mix of funk, fusion and rock continues.
The third track opens with a more melodic intro ushering in a snatch of jazz-funk guitar as an almost George Melly-esque vocal (go check the internet, kids!!!) hollers over cascading bass runs. Then the drums crunch in as the guitars entwine in choppy fusion territory, the song very much a slice of funk-rock, Zappa-esque arrangements, energised with a sort of psychedelic rock heart. The two vocalists are at work as the track winds and meanders through rhythms that are staccato and choppy with crashing cymbal work too. The finale sort of develops into what used to be a typical Zappa styled mix of letting everyone go in a different direction, only to claw it right back on track just before the end. The final track opens with a solid funk bass against a laid-back melodic rhythm guitar and solid drumming, which is actually the part that really hooks you in first. The soaring howl of a vocal emerges as the guitar work intensifies, the song stops and starts abruptly - several times - as the band and vocalist deliver something more anthemic, the rhythm guitarists's more laid-back vocal style brielfly making an appearance before the whole song then begins to splinter but is held together by that remarkable vocal chorus, only then for the rest of the band to take it in a wholly different direction with fast-paced, choppy rhythms, equally lurching but more biting guitar, that ever present bass, a final throaty holler and then a searing heat guitar break leading into the fast, furious and rocket-fuelled funk-rock finale.
VALENTINE PROJECT
The previous, and only time that I reviewed this band live, I was less than complementary in a twisted sort of way - which was what prompted one of the guys to say to me, somewhat humorously, tonight, "you might as well go home now - we haven't changed", meaning the band's style of playing.
Well - I beg to differ. On this evidence, they have changed - and here's why - and how....
Take the opening track - a ballad-style intro with spiraling guitar leads goes into a driving slice of contemporary rock in an almost Funeral For A Friend vein as the band light up, the vocal firmly upfront, the song building and intensifying in a blaze of emo-laced melodic nu-metal. It's much more stretched out as the band's dynamic arrangements come into play, a lead guitar break coming as the song decelerates, the vocal comes to the fore then the whole thing erupts as a juggeranut towards a glorious leap off the edge, a blend of lead and harmony vocals over rolling rhythms and crushing guitars, giving testament to the definite maturity, if not exactly hook-laden commerciality, the band's undergone.
The second track opens with a roar as, altogether, the band go into Brigade/FFAF territory. Sounding strong, a bit fuzzed up, tightly arranged and strident, the song becomes the passionately delivered focus as the singer gives the impressionb that he's pouring his heart out to this one. Meanwhile, the band is a mass of storming nu-metal behind him, an adrenaline-laced emotion wrapped ina storm of angst, driven by lightning bolt energy which, through rising, falling, roaring, dynamic and muscular playing, just needs a serious hook to it and it could take on the world. The third track opens with choppy guitar tinged with a stinging lead guitar, drops back, then fires up with mighty bass and punding drums into a fury of riffing force, only for the whole thing to de-intensify as the vocalist starts to deliver a song with a serious emotional quality to it, this time the dynamics of the arrangement working even more effectively. Despite the odd lapse into a roar, you feel you've got a real anthem of a song on your hands, a clear indication that the band can write one hell of a good song, as it winds its way into your heart and soul, strngth and depth of playing welded together in perfect harmony. A duelling vocal chorus takes the song towards a fiery finale, as the melodic but powerful guitar riffs underpin an emotive guitar lead as the singer finally lets loose in a blaze of holler and hook. Intricate yet naturally flowing, this is one gem of a song, by any rock band's standards.
The final track (I think it was the final track - someone started to engage me in conversation!!) featured a suitably ferocious intro with crunchy riffing and attacking drums as the vocal takes a more "studied" approach, less extreme but still upfront, yet sounding really harmonic, too. The song maintains this mid-paced anthemic path towards a mid-point rining guitar break, continues some more, builds, climbs and finally erupts in a hurricane of verse-as-chorus as the band blazes the trail to a dynamic end.
Yes - the band has changed - and for the good, too - uphill from here, one hopes.
So, all the above bands got through to the final at The Doghouse in December - partisan or not, just make sure you're there - this is one battle you really shouldn't miss.
(For the second of the the two semi-finals, see my review here)
Back to Dundee Bands home page
Email Andy G
Home page