Firstly, let me put this gig in context; a couple of days before heading to London’s legendary Underworld for yet another blinding metal gig, I’d been sent a text that Mike from Evile had died, all too unnecessarily and far too early at 32. My morale had been battered by the fact that just a few days before that all too sad message I’d been swapping messages with him, apologizing that I couldn’t make the album release show in Islington thanks to a change of shift, and how many mutual pints would be sunk the next time around at the Amon Amarth gig at Koko in November. It was in this shadow that with many fellow metal-heads, I’d dragged myself out, having been awake for the best part of two days, for this show. Nothing can replace Mike and his infectious grin, but scores of London thrashers, myself included, as a chance to chat, meet, share memories, and bang to his memory congregated and shared anecdotes and pints aplenty.
The Underworld is a TARDIS like venue; a single tiny door, which leads to a surprisingly large inside, filled with strange sights and adventures in space and time. This gig was no different. Time meant nothing, and trends and styles of recent years were blasted into nothingness by an assault of time free metal.
Openers, Elimination, strode onstage like warriors from the eighties. Hair was massive; jeans were spray on; trainers were hi-tops; and tops were variously sleeveless t-shirts, leather vests, or cut off biker jackets, a staple of my formative years of thrash. Is this a criticism? No! With vigour, energy, skill, and a complete lack of pretension, Colchester natives Elimination stormed onstage to fire out track out of track from their debut album, Destroyed By Creation. ‘Straight to Hell’ blasted out with riffs that would have served “The Big Four” well back in the day, whilst the retro feel was buoyed up by ‘Nostromo’, a thrash rendition of the story of sci-fi classic Alien. With his white basketball boot clad foot placed firmly on monitor, vocalist Neil Stevens led a wind-milling audience through track after track of unashamed thrash.
Everything was in place to treat the true metal thrash fan, with blasting riffs, screaming solos, pummeling rhythm section, including a bassist who seemed to be launching his own tribute to Cliff Burton with massive flares and an exceptionally complex bass picking. It’s hard to illustrate how much fun I had head-banging away to this band except to point out that with all the freebies I’m offered; I happily paid to buy the new album and shirt. Okay the merch man was a bit enthusiastic in trying to get me to buy a patch for my jacket until I pointed out I’d filled out every spare inch in 1990 (yes, I’m that old folks!). This is a fun band, well worth catching and supporting. And with their offer of £12 for a quality (Gildan) shirt and album, that’s pretty unbeatable metal value (offers may change and are subject to status, to quote every corporation). 12th November sees them opening for Gama Bomb in Colchester, and 26th November has them in The Gaff. If I’ve any chance, I’ll be at one or both.
Next up on the night were Canada’s Cauldron, a band I’ve caught before, sandwiched between London’s Mutant and Ireland’s Gama Bomb at an intimate East London gig (blimey, this review sounds like a bit of an ego trip, but it’s nothing but true!). On the previous occasion I caught them, Cauldron were mining a nostalgic vein and nothing has changed. 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 two decades ago when they could have authentically populated an 80’s video; 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’, this time dedicated to a girl who’d refused to meet Ian Chains for a prom and ended up kidnapped and bound to a tree in a forest (classy!) 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 rock that encapsulates the band’s sound. Sadly, this time around, the Underworld’s notorious sound system did them no favours, and Jason Decay’s Geddy Lee style vocals rather faded out behind the music. Trust me, I massively enjoy Cauldron’s retro antics and would happily recommend them, it’s just on this occasion the show fell a wee bit flat.
Heading the bill on this drum tight schedule of classic metal was Sweden’s Wolf. I’d never caught this band on their own terms headlining, merely seeing them two times before on the main stage at Bloodstock (2009 and a couple of years before….check out http://www.metalteamuk.net/review-boa09.htm for details). This time out they were centre stage, and deservedly so. It seems like some sort of curfew was reigning, with Wolf managing barely an hour onstage. This included the first 15 minutes when the band spent most of their time battling a faulty PA. This battle of wills, however, did nothing to dampen their intention to treat a UK audience to all they had to offer. Despite fleeting electronic failings, track after track from their latest offering, Ravenous, blasted out, the constant and irrepressible grin of bassist, Anders ‘Tornado’ Modd drawing a metal hungry crowd into the show. An ever, their hugely present energy and enjoyment was only muted when the band dedicated the song “All Hail Caeser” as “All Hail Evile”, sharing their loss and grief at Mike Alexander’s all too early departure. This garnered a massive round of applause and a mosh to match.
Please, enjoy my maudin offerings, catch these acts live and keep metal going.
Spenny Bullen
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