March 21 2009 - Powerplay
I had hoped to catch the very beginning of this show as
it was a birthday celebration for myself and Red but there
was a large group of us, all travelling from our hotel to
the venue together. And any group that has women (or Red’s
friend Justin) in it is going to be late. It’s a fact.
And I should have learned to accept it by now. So we arrived
just as Adust were wrapping up their set of catchy nu-metal.
Ordinarily not my favourite genre, I really liked what I
heard from these guys and would like to see a full set.
Next up on the very eclectic bill were modern metallers
Adrenaline, who proved to be the band of the night. A
four-piece, they were seriously heavy but bouncy as fuck
with lots of melody in the guitars. I would have preferred
a little more clean singing from vocalist Dave but that
didn’t stop me enjoying every second of the band’s
set, which saw them rocking out for all they were worth.
The playing was tight and precise, and very impressive
in every quarter. Big things await these guys, I’m
sure.
HOD (Hospital Of Death) are pure entertainment –
of the 80s melodic thrash variety. Think early Anthrax.
In fact, they’re a little too much like Scott Ian
and co for my liking but what they do, they do extremely
well. I’d like to see these guys push the envelope
a little and develop their own sound. It’s great
to emulate you icons, especially when you have the skill
to do it so well, but rehashed ideas lose their appeal
very quickly.
And now, as you might have heard said before, for something
completely different: a total change of pace from rising
stars Voodoo Johnson and their brand of blues-infused
twin guitar hard rock. I can totally see why these guys
are on everyone’s ‘one to watch’ list
as they play slick melodies with effortless style –
kinda Led Zep meets Quireboys. They do a nice rendition
of happy birthday, too, much to mine and Red’s glowing
blushes.
If you’ve been to a lot of gigs,
then you’ll know that bands have good nights…
and sometimes they have bad nights. And tonight headliners,
electro rockers Kik, had the kind of night I’m sure
they will want to forget. Not their own fault, they were
the band that the pesky sound gremlins chose to victimise
and their set was ruined as a consequence. Still, undeterred,
they played out their set Stoically, and I think it only
fair to them to reserve any kind of judgement until I can
see them play under better circumstances.
My thanks to Chris for dedicating this event to Red and
myself. One of the regular shows he promotes under the
Millennium Of Blood moniker, with five excellent upcoming
bands for a fiver, how can you go wrong? Keep an eye out
for the next one.
Mark Hoaksey
Original
article here
