MUNICIPAL WASTE, SSS, THE PROCESS
1in12 Club seemed to me like a strange choice of venue for this gig. Tucked away in the far corner of Bradford city centre, this was not an easy haunt to find for a non-Bradford native like myself. In fact, when we were told upon asking for directions that the club had burnt down several months back, the thought entered my head that this had all been a big wind up and that the Waste were not, in fact, playing in Bradford at all. For a gig with seemingly zero promotional effort (had it not been for a post on the www.ukthrash.co.uk forum then I would not have known about this gig) the venue was pretty full by the time I had arrived.
In all truthfulness I was not expecting to enjoy any of the support bands (bar SSS), although I decided to make the effort to see what The Process were all about. All dressed in suits, these guys could certainly win an award for smartest dressed band of the evening. Short, snappy songs seemed to hold my attention with a distinctive low end rumble, some thrashing riffs and vocals which swayed between a clean yet aggressive tone and a grindcore growl. The front man had quite a good presence on stage, when he wasn’t in the pit with his back to the crowd. Despite my usual apathy for this style of metal, I found the Process to be surprisingly enjoyable. Unfortunately I can not say the same about The Horror, whom I enjoyed not one iota.
Following The Horror came an energetic set from Mersey boys SSS whose brand of crossover thrash went down a storm. Having recently signed to Earache records, SSS are being branded as one of the “big three” thrash bands along with Municipal Waste and Evile. Their CD isn’t going to win over every metal fan and they haven’t managed to make the same kind of impact as the thrashtastic Evile, although SSS are the kind of band who really have to be seen live to appreciate, possessing the kind of raw energy that transfixes to the live environment remarkably. Killer riffs were delivered effortlessly whilst maintaining the raw quality that only a band of this genre could get away with. The bassist played as though his life depended upon it; his fingers a blur as he picked away and the aggressive vocals exuded a certain punk vibe. Tracks like The Beast and Warhorse saw some insane pits going as the crowd warmed up for the evening’s headliners.
Having missed Municipal Waste every time they have visited the UK, I had been rather looking forward to their set tonight. Playing to a now sold out crowd, the Waste were every bit as explosive and amusing as I was expecting. From the offset we were treated to a relentless onslaught of face ripping thrash attacks that worked the crowd into a frenzy! Tracks like Headbanger Face Rip and Terror Shark instigated multiple circle pits and an army of stage divers, even encouraging a guy to crowd surf his way to the bar. These guys have enough energy on stage to power an entire row of houses! Clearly they live to party and have it down to an artform. The atmosphere was immense as the crowd chanted "Municipal Waste is gonna FUCK YOU UP!" while throwing an inflated beach ball back and forth across the room. They effortlessly ripped through tracks old and new remaining unswervingly tight throughout their set, which seemed to end far too soon. If you have yet to experience a ‘Waste show then you really are missing out on one of the most exciting live bands around…and the full house suggests I’m not alone in thinking that!
Luci Herbert
BRADFORD 1 IN 12 CLUB 25/08/07