CAULDRON & MUTANT
OLD BLUE LAST, LONDON EC2 - 18/02/09
An unexpected day off and cajoling from my better half had me trekking to the East End of London for what was advertised as “The Skill Wizard Thrash Party.” Skill Wizard are DJ’s Steve Mark and Marek Steven, and at a mere £4 a head punters were given the chance to see sets from London’s Mutant, Canada’s Cauldron, and Ireland’s Gama Bomb, all with drink on tap served in glasses at pub prices.
After being warmed up by a play list of classic bay area metal, London stalwarts Mutant took to the stage at nine fifteen, and treated the audience to 45 minutes of what they do so well; technically adept, humour filled thrash. Still to produce even an EP of there own, although their front man promised it would arrive soon, most of the tracks were familiar and beloved by the audience, and had an energetic pit crashing around in front of the tiny 10 foot square stage. Starting in with ‘Scrap Brain Zone’ and then into ‘Laserdrome’ and ‘Zombie Holocaust’, the grins of the band were mirrored by the smiling head banging audience.
Playing the crowd like veterans and with a twinkle in his eye, vocalist Tom introduced “a new one for the ladies”, ‘The Rauncher’. With a slow pounding beat, this number had the pit circling with renewed vigour, hair, elbows, and drinks flying in all directions. By the time the band finished with ‘Psycho Surgery’, they had proved once again that Mutant is a band with the talent and potential to go far. I can only hope the sadly too often delayed CD will be arriving soon.
www.myspace.com/mutantmetal
Next up were a band I’d never heard myself, but friends had raved about, Cauldron. Hailing from Canada, the three piece also looked as if they hailed from about 1989! Sporting matching mullets, hi-top trainers, skin tight jeans, and sleeveless t-shirts, bassist Jason Decay and guitarist Ian Chains looked like they’d stepped from a video played by Crusher on R.A.W. (a reference for the over 30’s there!). Even their moves, with feet planted on the monitors and guitars swung in time harked back to years gone by. It wasn’t just their look that rocked in from the past, their sound too harkened back to the heyday of Metal on MTV. The slightly clunkily entitled ‘Chained Up in Chains’ featured the sort of guitar riffs that made NWOBM take off, along with harmonized choruses and a pounding drum beat. ‘Making Noise and Drinking Beer’ was an unashamed ode to the simple ethos of fun rock that encapsulates the band’s sound.
Finishing up with what must be their signature song, ‘Into the Cauldron’, a fusion of early Maiden and the proto speed metal sound that is coming back to the fore with the revival of fellow Canadians Anvil, I was transported back to the days of my youth when music was passed around on frequently over recorded tapes and fan reviews were to be found in magazines of stapled together photocopies, rather then the MP3s and internet pages of today. The unashamed enthusiasm of Cauldron had heads banging and air guitars being played at maximum speed throughout the tiny venue.
www.myspace.com/cauldronmetal
Not wishing to pay for a taxi home from Liverpool street to the far West of London that I call home, I had to head away before Gama Bomb hit the stage, but not before a quick chat with the band to confirm their stage time at The Hellfire Fest on 20th February. Despite this, it was an excellent showcase of Earache bands, and a fine show from the organizers.
www.myspace.com/skillwizard
Spenny Bullen
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