en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal The Last.fm journal for Matt_Inman. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/28/42mz1y_the_four_horsemen_of_the_apocalypse Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:50:25 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/28/42mz1y_the_four_horsemen_of_the_apocalypse Mon 22 Nov – Misery Index, Arsis, Grave, The Rotted, The Last Felony

The Rotted opened up this night of death metal madness in front of an audience of around 10 people. Although they seemed not to take themselves overly seriously, they certainly enjoyed themselves as much as they could and tried to prove themselves to the crowd. 5/10

The next band to take the stage were the Canadian outfit The Last Felony. They too had not managed to attract a very large crowd. While this band certainly got into their music, the bass player was almost out of control on the stage, and in the end seemed a bit embarassing. Also, the music was not suited to a gig being headlined by Grave, and seemed to have more in common with the modern deathcore scene. 3/10

For me, and most metal puritans, Arsis' performance would be where the night really got under way. Arsis generated a much larger crowd, and burst into their melodic yet technical assault. A variety of songs were played from their career which spans 4 albums, from the thrashy Forced To Rock from the latest album, to the first song on the album A Celebration of Guilt (and arguably their best song), The Face of My Innocence. The performance only lasted around 40 minutes, but the said was very impressive. 7/10

Misery Index took to the stage next, after being falsely displayed as the headliners of the event on last.fm. They played a set featuring a fair few songs from the latest album Heirs to Thievery, which was good for me as this is the only MI album I am familiar with. They opened with the album opener Embracing Extinction, and also raced through songs such as Heirs to Thievery and Traitors. The band introduced a new member of the line-up, which was the lead guitar player. The sound was not 100% brilliant, as both of the guitars seemed quiet and muffled. One of the highlights of the set was watching drummer Adam Jarvis, whose blast-beats, fills and use of the double bass pedal were extremely tight. Overall, it was a good performance from the band. 8/10.

Headlining the night were Swedish death metal stalwarts Grave After an orchestral intro tape, frontman Ola Lindgren greeted the crowd with "Good evening London, We are the four horsemen of the apocalypse and we are here to ROCK!!" before quickly moving into opener You'll Never See. Aside from 3 new tracks, Grave played a setlist solely comprised of old school material. With classic upon classic being played from the first three albums, the band treated the crowd toAnd Here I Die..., Turning Black, and the "song for the ladies" Soulless. To end their vintage set, they played fan favourite Into The Grave, which proved that old school death metal is still alive and well. 9/10]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/24/42dcw2_exodus_at_the_o2_islington_academy Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:29:31 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/24/42dcw2_exodus_at_the_o2_islington_academy Tue 23 Nov – Exodus, Man Must Die, Shrapnel

Shrapnel opened up the night with a decent thrash assault. They were very influenced by bay area legends such as Testament and Exodus themselves, and provided good entertainment for an Exodus crowd. The sound was good quality and the performance was tight. 6/10

The next band to take the stage were Man Must Die. They had a mix of grinding thrash metal and deathcore, which wasn't awful, but wasn't particularly good either. They did not generate as much of a crowd reaction as they had thought, with the large pitting space being left as simply a space for most of the set. However, towards the end, the Scots paid a tribute to their upbringing on thrash metal by performing a vicious rendition of Slayer's classic anthem Postmortem, which did a very good job in getting the crowd hyped up, with a lot more interest and enthusiasm being shown by the fans. Overall, an average set compared to what was to come. 4/10

After a wait which was seemingly endless, the lights finally dimmed and the intro tape began to play. The venue appeared to have doubled in capacity compared to at the end of Man Must Die, and the place was buzzing and raring to go. After the intro tape had finished, the Bay Area thrash metal kings themselves took to the stage, and were greeted with roars from the crowd. The band quickly roared through the first 2 tracks on their latest album Exhibit B: The Human Condition
which immediately gained a reaction in the pit and numerous bangers all about the venue. The PA was extremely loud, but the sound was still clear and each instrument was audible. Rob's yelling vocals were on good form, as well as his banter between songs. The first classic of the night came in the form of the vicious A Lesson in Violence, which gave old school fans a real oppurtunity to scream the lyrics back at the band. The mosh pit by this stage was very large and very violent, just as expected at an Exodus show. The band proceeded through the setlist, mixing up new songs with old ones, performing the mid-paced Blacklist and the vintage Piranha. The security guards were told to "earn their fucking money" by Rob, as he encouraged fans to try to get over the barrier and onto the stage. There were crowdsurfers a plenty, and at one point Rob Dukes himself performed a stage dive and joined in with the pit in an extended riff section. At one point, a fan managed to make it onto the stage, however he injured his leg in the process and watched the rest of the show by the side of the stage. After racing through the rest of a decent setlist, Exodus said goodnight and left the stage. However, after a few minutes of solid chanting, they returned for an encore.
Fan favourite Bonded By Blood was played, and by this stage the moshing and crowdsurfing was at it's most crazy. Every person in the venue screamed along to the immortal, more-metal-than-everything chorus. After introducing The Toxic Waltz and fooling around with the crowd, the band ripped into a short rendition of Motorbreath, which was amusing. Finally The Toxic Waltz was played (accompanied with a HUGE pit), and following this was the classic Strike Of The Beast, which featured a wall of death in the trademark fast paced middle section. To close, a song off the new album was played, and the band said their farewells to the crowd by walking along the front barrier and greeting many fans. A truly awesome performance by a band who do not appear to have lost a stride since the hay day of the genre. 10/10]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/14/41narr_job_for_a_cowboy_and_co. Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:59:19 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Matt_Inman/journal/2010/11/14/41narr_job_for_a_cowboy_and_co. Sun 7 Nov – Ruination UK/Euro Tour 2010

The evening started off with Trigger The Bloodshed, a particularly uninteresting band. Their claims of presenting a performance of "DEATH FUCKING METAL" was pathetic, as their hardcore influenced set was littered with breakdowns, which pleased the earplug wearing teens, but were scoffed at by metal purists. The sound quality also suffered, as the levels seemed too high, which made it even harder to appreciate this wannabe "Death Metal" band. A poor performance. 2/10

However, TTB seemed to bare the instrumental prowess of DREAM THEATER compared to Norwich deathcore mob Annotations of an Autopsy. It was apparent in the sound check that their drummer was sloppy on the bass drum, which did not give a good first impression. From the initial hi-hat count in, a 30 minute breakdown ensued, each painfully drab chug more bland than the last. The vocalist of this band even began to rap in a gutteral deathcore fashion, which was not too difficult to comprehend due to his gangster attire. They gained a good crowd reaction from some of the toughest and most baddest muthafuckas in the venue. However, the proud barers of Morbid Angel and Deicide shirts seemed extremely unimpressed with this unimaginative and repetitive tripe. 0/10

Third on the bill were the U.S crew Whitechapel , who immediately surprised crowd members who were not aware of the band containing 3 guitar players. However, it was apparent from the very first extended breakdown that Whitechapel did not require the services of more than one axeman, as they seldom left the mosh breakdown formula. It was apparent that one of the instrumentalists had some talent, as some impressive shredding guitar solos weaved their way into the otherwise exclusively br00tal setlist. Also, it was notable that a large sum of fans vacated the venue at the end of the Whitechapel show, which would indicate that they came purely for this band. 3/10

Finally, (after a soundcheck run through of Deliverance by Opeth on the drumkit) headliners Job for a Cowboy took to the stage. The sound quality and music quality immediately stepped up, as Job For A Cowboy were clearly a band on form. Although not strictly death metal, and on paper could be viewed as much of an abomination as the rest of the line-up, they are clearly a band on form and they ripped through their set with a tight performance. The sound was top-notch, as each instrument was audible and clear. After rapidly moving through tracks from their album Ruination , the band mixed things up with a punk/thrash metal number which was different from their usual grinding death metal stylings. With only a few songs left, the band unleashed crowd favourite Entombment of a Machine, which was gained a pleasant reaction, with every fan in the pit engaging in the singalong section (AAAAAAAAAAAAH). Overall, the band impressed, and although they are not taking death metal in the most positive direction, at least they are not plagued by sub par deathcore cliches. 7.5/10]]>