It’s been a little while since I last encountered The More I See – in fact I last reviewed their “The Wolves are Hungry” back in 2004, so it’s nice to be able to catch up with them. Frustratingly best known as the live guitarist for The Prodigy, lead guitarist Gizz Butt (perhaps more recognisable to our target audience as the live bass player for the mighty Sabbat), returns with his Peterborough crew with another ten tracks of aggro-thrash.
Some things have changed since 2004 (I missed their 2008 album, “The Unholy Feast”), most noticeably that this is a band that sounds much more at ease with themselves, and indeed come across as a very impressive prospect. A modern thrash band without the trappings of the late Eighties now plaguing the so-called thrash scene in the UK (I mean, Christ, do we need another band influenced by fucking Exodus ?), the best lazy comparisons to be made are with the late Grip Inc. In terms of their forward looking grasp of the genre. Vocally, Pete Ellis has a fine metal voice – cleanly sung but possessing plenty of bile and venom in the attack, and making a nice change from the endless procession of atonal yelpers infesting UK metal. If tracks like “Soul on Auction” don’t get live audiences moving, nothing well. Bringing the chug with the cheer, The More I See possess a canny song writing ability, mixing the power of pure thrash with the classy atmospherics of dark rock.
Mixed by Andy Sneap and Scott Atkins, this has a wonderful clear production that leans slightly towards the guitars – though that is no band thing, as The More I See seem to be on a quest to bring back the almost lost art of the solo back to British metal. The proliferation of memorable, weapons grade guitar-abuse is a welcome touch, though there really isn’t any area of concern for the band. Drumming, courtesy Harri Wright, combined with the bass work of Drew Markwick, produce huge, bouncy head nodding moments, while the twin riff-mangling of Gizz Butt and James Cluer brings sophistication to the attack. Back in 2004, I likened The More I See to Bush era-Anthrax. This no longer applies – they are very much a band playing on their own terms, and with supreme confidence.
Rounding off the album are two very different cover versions. Firstly, a breathless, swaggering run through of the Maiden neo-classic, “Wicker Man” – Ellis not only tackling but proving his worth against the high-watermark of all metal vocalists, while the rest of the band add tiny flourishes to command smiles from the listener. Listen to the cheeky vocal harmonies added to the chorus and refuse to grin – I dare you! Finally (and regrettably, leastly), a cover of the Prodigy’s “Smack my Bitch up”. It sounds like a metal band covering the Prodigy, and alas the source material doesn’t provide the raw material for the lads to add anything other than guitar solos to the end product. Still, you never know, it might attract the curious.
A not inconsiderable piece of work then, and less derivative than many of their peers. The More I See? The more I hear, the more I believe that this lot need to reach a wider audience.
http://www.myspace.com/themoreisee
