Mindless Torture – Scruffy Murphy's – Friday 15th May 2009

Events conspired against me early on resulting in me missing Left To Bleed's set. Sorry fellas, but I'll make sure I see you at the Black Horse if not before.

Mantra never fail to disappoint live, and, despite monitor issues, they again played an absolute blinder. Fluid, intricate, bluesy, call them what you will, their take on classic rock was as entertaining as ever. The set leant heavily on the new album and was flawless musically. Definitely on Chop's recommended list if they are playing a gig anywhere near you. Set list: “Judas”, “Wash Away”, “Blackened Cross”, “Broken Glass”, “Chosen/Choke”, “Fallen”, “Brother”, “River Of Blood”.

Awake By Design played the kind of formulaic, powerless, trite shite power metal that I avoid like the plague. As open minded as I am, I could stand no more than a song and a half of their set. The music was bad enough, but there were warning signs during their soundcheck – when a keyboard is teeth rattlingly loud, and you have a bass player intent on sonic destruction, you know it's time to beat a hasty retreat. Enough said...

Mindless Torture were their usual destructive selves thankfully, and nearly wiped away the mental scarring from the preceding band. If you are a fan of old school death metal they really don't come much better. If I'm picky, I'd still like to see Anil ditch the triggers and hit the snare harder, otherwise they were reassuringly brutal. Vocalist Shadie was a revelation though as he went through his repertoire of extreme metal techniques and was still , surprisingly, intelligible. Their self released EP was played in full, and the closer “Sick And Disjointed” ended their stint well. I'm intrigued to hear what their new material will sound like when it surfaces. Set list; “Ashes”, “Amputate”, “Ready Or Not”, “My Cross”, “Sick And Disjointed”.