Gig Review: As I Lay Dying @ Barfly, Cambridge 24/3/08

Following a long delay and a seemingly endless series of sound-checks the lights dim and the crowd noise doubles in intensity. The opening bars of ‘Separation’ ring out and As I Lay Dying burst on with ‘Nothing Left’. Immediately Tim Lambesis’ vocal blows us all away as he lets rip a gigantic roar - it seems to sweep out into the room as a soundwave knocking us back a few paces. His huge frame appears over the madly devil-horning crowd and we know we’re in for one wild ride.

As has gone with the bands before, it’s abundantly clear that when the venue is full the low ceiling and stage mean that anyone back from the first five rows aren’t going to see much of the band tonight. Maybe the odd glimpse of a guitar or the top of Lambesis’ head as he stretches to see how many are in tonight, but mainly just the backs of heads. I can just about make out that there isn’t much room for them all on stage with Nick Hipa hiding behind bassist Josh Gilbert but still churning out a conveyor belt of incredible shred guitar.

‘An Ocean Between Us’ and ‘The Darkest Night’ blast out and those watching echo the words straight back. The pit opens up and the mosh begins in earnest. Tonight the search-lights are in action sweeping out across the crowd whilst the coloured strobes attempt to reduce our view of the band even further. Lambesis is up on the barrier, awash with tattoos, high-fiving and screaming bloody murder at us. As the blistering pace of ‘Within Destruction’ falls away, and the pit collapses into a sweaty mass, he leans forward and asks “Is everybody still alive?” It’s certainly getting pretty stuffy but the endless supply of water at the bar makes it bearable. As their set comes to a close not a soul leaves and they treat us to an encore kicking off with the anthemic ‘I Never Wanted’ and ending on the pogo-friendly ‘Falling Upon Deaf Ears’. It’s certainly been a treat for our ears if not our eyes.

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=440

Gig Review: Darkest Hour @ Cambridge Barfly 23/1/08

Formed in 1995, Darkest Hour have shifted through a number of genres over the years and are currently settled on a mixture of hardcore, death metal and punk. Since the release of last year’s fifth album, 'Deliver Us', they’ve been blazing a trail across the globe and Cambridge’s tiny Barfly venue is the lucky recipient of their monstrous sound tonight.

The stage is smothered in smoking dry ice and the band coughs their way through whilst simultaneously launching into the anthemic 'Doomsayer'. Looking something akin to a metal Jon Bon Jovi, vocalist, John Henry, is up on the amps bellowing at the crowd with Paul Burnette not far behind, vertically raising his bass so we can worship it. Somewhere amidst the gloom is drummer, Ryan Parrish, pummelling away at his double-kick - the whole heady mix hits us like a speeding train.

These guys mean business and they follow up with 'Demon(s)', a beacon amidst the gloom as Kris Norris, with snake tattoos winding round his middle digits, blazes out some monumental shredding that Mike Schleibaum riffs with across the stage. Only as the mist finally clears do we spot the incredible artwork of Baroness’ vocalist John Baizley. As well as the impressive backdrop he’s obviously been let loose on Burnette’s bass guitar – perhaps that’s why he’s been so keen to show us it.

The crowd, a real mixture of emo haircuts, bag-clutchers and headbanging metallers, are lapping it up. Their attempts at a circle pit, when Henry calls for one, leave a little to be desired. It quickly descends into a push-fest to see who’s drunkest. As they start playing the older material, 'Accessible Losses' gets quite the cheer, the strobes kick off and the dry ice is booted back up to invisible levels. Drummer Parrish, blind from the smokescreen, decides to go for a wander and stalks the crowd coaxing them to clap the beat out for him. In tiny yellow shorts he decides to take out his frustrations on the Barfly’s unfortunate central pillar, which has been blocking his view throughout, by trying to impregnate it before returning to his kit to beat out the remnants of the new album’s awesome title-track, 'Deliver Us', and leave us all gasping for air. The darkest hour approaches and we filter out exhausted, but utterly exhilarated.

Also online @ Music-Zine = http://www.music-zine.com/reviews/?id=405

Gig Review: Pelican + High On Fire – Barfly, Birmingham, 15/12/07

With two such wildly differing bands, tonight was always going to be about subtlety and aggression; serenity and conflict. This scenario slowly plays out before our eyes but with more passion and intensity than we could possibly have ever expected.

Pelican

The joss-sticks are lit and Pelican hit us with their instrumental brand of guitar-driven post-metal, opening with “Dead Between The Walls”; undoubtedly the star of the new album. Trevor De Brauw, strikingly reminiscent of a young Bryan Adams, is rapidly forming complex shapes with his fingers whilst across the stage Laurent Lebec pounds his head back and forth like a chicken as he loses himself in the song. “Bliss In Concrete” follows before they launch into the 11-minute epic, “March Into The Sea” in which the band impressively change tempos as one, slowing the pace to a plodding march before winding it up to a galloping roar. The two leads never seem to play the same chord at the same time, constantly harmonising over the driving bass.

Throughout the gig the boys have had their eyes closed, at one with their soundscapes and only once are they truly disturbed when the soundman inexplicably cuts the electrics to spew forth a torrent of techno music. “What the fuck?” yells Bryan Herweg. Apologies are issued and the band returns to their catatonia in which they find time to fit in “Pink Mammoth” and “Aurora Borealis” before coming back to “City Of Echoes” and a well earned roar of approval.

High On Fire are all spit and fury; grimy and unsettling – a three-piece intent on deafening us with their four amp full-stack set-up. Contrasting with the check shirts and secretive tattoos of Pelican, Matt Pike is a painted whore of a front-man. He paces the stage like a caged beast raising his fist in triumph and demanding the same of those before him. “Fury Whip” is first out and immediately the cheekiest grin in metal is displayed as Pike shows just how well he can shred those riffs. “Waste of Tiamat” really impresses as his insane 9-stringed lead creates a torrent of chiming underneath which Jeff Matz’s bass throbs with the monstrosity of a revved-up Formula One engine and Des Kensel’s double-kick beats relentlessly into you. It is seriously loud and the constant noise never abates; ever-pressing, crushing all those present against its giant wall of sound. “Cometh Down Hessian”, “Turk” and “Death Is This Communion” are all screamed along with the baying crowd.

The set ends all too soon and Pike seems to concur by raising his guitar and howling at the sky. If Pelican were the calm before the storm then High On Fire truly were that storm. Breathless and invigorated we file out soundlessly – or maybe that’s just because I have no ears left.

Photo courtesy of Rich E

Also online @ TLOBF = http://www.thelineofbestfihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift.com/2007/12/pelican-high-on-fire-barfly-birmingham-151207/