Meltdown Records “The Farewell Show” - Asylum - Saturday 28 February 2009

Not a farewell to Meltdown gigs, but cheerio to the Meltdown Records label. A quality line up had been assembled to wish Chris and Tracie all the best, and on paper this looked like it was going to be an explosive gig... and so it proved...

Alunah (with a recently added “h”) got the night under way and played the best set I've seen from them. It's fair to say that I've not been the biggest fan of Sophie's frontwoman efforts in the past, however she was a lot more assured tonight and led them well. Musically they lurk in the stoner/doom domain and I can't fault any of the songs. Solid start to the evening – and I'll get around to reviewing your EP later in the week!! Set list; “Intro”, “Spend My Time”, “Living Fast”, “Circle”, “Call Of Avernus”, “Higher”, “Song Of The Sun”.

Rotunda were back to a four piece and actually sounded more solid despite my usual preference for two guitarists. A vicious set of old school punk ensued. I spent most of the time transfixed by their drummer who was fast, accurate and brutal, but played a single bass pedal for most of the night, only using the kicker for effect. Can you have a chat with a plethora of extreme metal bands please?! Their over-reliance on blast-beating and triggering has gone past the irritating stage.... Booming bass, scything guitars and aggressive vocals, added to the drummer's sterling efforts, ensured the Chopmeister was grinning constantly throughout. Set list; “10 Years On”, “My Only Weapon”, “The Game”, “Punk Rock Casualty”, “Die Die”, “Find A Way”, “Use”, “Pre”, “Watching Me”, “Tribe”, “Waster”, “N Bomb”.

Slab have been gradually introducing new material to their sets, so much so that tonight's performance only contained one song (“Vines”) off their debut album. Indeed the opening and closing songs were being played for the first time. Of the two, set closer “Human Rain” was an absolute stunner, although “Pigshifter” was also thoroughly entertaining. I seem to say this every time I see them, but this was another stunning display, quite possibly their best yet. Heavy, melodic, discordant and technical is a difficult set of parameters to juggle, yet Slab managed it effortlessly once more. Great band, let's hope the new album sells in the volumes it deserves. Set list; “Pigshifter”, “Thylacine”, “The Bite”, “Vines”, “Tetradon”, “Human Rain”.

Godsize have been playing some stunning gigs lately and tonight's was no exception. Curiously Kris kept his off-stage wanderings to a minimum, but he was still as entertaining as ever. Musically they were solid as a rock, and they too took the opportunity to air new material. Fans of doom, sludge and hardcore really need to check these guys out – consistently excellent. The usual suspect song finished their set with vocalists and musicians from other bands swelling their ranks, and provided a quality finale. Set list; “Love Glove”, “Beer Slag”, “Untitled”, “Hate Fuelled Abuse”, “Unwanted”, “Start Her Up”.

Hellfire have had more than their fair share of ill-fortune recently, hopefully 2009 will set them fit and well and producing their trademark skull crushing sets of brutal hardcore. Under the circumstances they decided to stick to their tried and trusted set list (although I'm reliably informed that they have been working on new material which will be unleashed soon) and delivered it as ferociously as ever. Their current line up as a five piece definitely suits them, with the extra guitarist adding to their wall of sound. Relentless is the only word that adequately describes their performance. Set list; “Evil Prevails”, “Hell On Earth”, “Deceiver Of The Damned”, “Forced To Kill”, “Bleed For The Cause”, “Eye Of The Storm”, “Suffer In Silence”, “Betrayal Of Silence”.

I Am Colossus played their usual crushing monolithic doom and also introduced a grindcore section midway through! They were also confident enough to play a new song (“Sky Burns Black”) which worked well. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen IAC in the last eighteen months, and this performance was as good as I've seen. Can't wait for their album later in the year. Set list; “Monolithic”, “Sky Burns Black”, “Still Life”, “Grapes Of Wrath”, “Fear Me”, “In The Name Of The Father”, “Moss Icon”.

This was a stunning gig with all the bands in fine form, and will definitely be in the shake up for gig of the year. Awesome. A night of mixed emotions though – good as this gig was, it's sad to see Meltdown Records calling it a day.