Mothertrucker – Flapper & Firkin – Thursday 11th June 2009

My thanks to Charlie for being guestlisted and for the copy of the new CD. Three bands tonight, kicking off the show were...

Grimpen Mire. Having seen them play one of their first gigs last year at the Bristol Pear, I was intrigued to see how they had changed and what their new material was like. They still mix traditional doom with sludge and funeral moments, and they've come on a quantum leap in terms of stage presence and musical tightness. Dream Death kept springing to mind in their sludgier moments, as did Electric Wizard and Solitude Aeturnus during the majority of the set. Intense yet musical this was a superb display. Setlist; “Cross The Rubicon”, “Grimpen Mire – Part Two”, “Crawl To Cold Earth”, “Grimpen Mire – Part One”, “Foredoomed”, “Blood Of My Gods”.

Slab are working on new material at the moment, and tonight's set reflected this with only two songs coming from the debut album. On the evidence of this display, the new album will surpass the first – and I was suitably impressed with their first outing. The new material is heavier, with a harder edge, yet is still incredibly complex and fluid. I'd go as far as to say that this was the best I've seen Slab play – high praise as I've lost count of how many times I've seen them live. Let's hope the new opus appears sooner rather than later, and Slab go on to play the venues they deserve. Setlist; “Thylacine”, “Kevorkian”, “Tetradon”, “Yi Zi Er Shi”, “The Bite”, “Pockets Of Resistance”, “Devilwalk”, “Human Rain”.

Mothertrucker impressed when they supported Chickenhawk at the same venue back in April. Tonight's gig coincided with the release of the new album, so unsurprisingly all songs came off the new CD. It's fair to say that Mothertrucker don't so much play songs as launch musical odysseys – five tracks in a forty plus minute set speaks volumes. Residing somewhere between experimental, stoner, sludge, and indie, they were again in good form and were well received. The band were impressively tight and I'd recommend them if you see them appearing at a venue near you. Setlist; “Church Stretton”, “Liddell Couture III”, “Chudleigh”, “You Don't Cut Another Man's Steak”, “Sweet Mahal”.