Slab - Flapper and Firkin - 26th March 2008

Another new venue for the Chopmeister. Indie pub upstairs with a snug concert venue downstairs. Will talk more about the venue later.

Mindless Torture stepped in at very short notice, fair play guys. Wasn't overly impressed when I saw them at the Actress and Bishop recently, but they couldn't really do much with the sound they got. Thanks to the guitarist Gaz for the CD which I will review soon and also for the lengthy chat. Good to meet up with Anil (drums) too. The vocalist (Shadey) is always good fun as well, which reminds me I really need to meet the bass player... Much better sound tonight which helped immensely, although as the band concede themselves they definitely need another guitarist. Death metal is all about a wall of sound and savage soloing, they are restricted in achieving this at present purely by the lack of personnel. The musicians they have are more than capable and they write solid death metal with good tempo changes, some of the slower sections are particularly brutal. Setlist tonight showcased the four tracks off the CD, it will be interesting to do a compare and contrast exercise when I do the studio review. "Ashes" started things off with "Amputate", "Ready Or Not" and "My Cross" completing the set. Hope your quest for a new guitarist is swift and he settles in quickly. Let me know when you are up and running as a five piece and I will come and see you again.

The Inbreds. London based band just about to undertake a tour of Scotland. Huge thanks to the bass player Rhymes for rewriting the setlist in a more understandable form! Appreciate it fella. So how do you sum these guys up? Drummer hits the kit very hard, immense snare sound. Rhymes plays five string bass very well. Vocal duties are performed in a violent, barked, punk-inspired way by the dreadlocked singer. And then you have three guitarists who swap lead playing duties and rhythm work throughout the set. Stoner metal meets sleaze meets classic/power metal is about as close as I can get to describing their sound. Need to see these guys play a full set in a packed venue, think they would be explosive to put it mildly. Songs aired tonight were "Them vs Them vs Us", "Itching For A Funeral", "Smoke And Mirrors", "Connossieur Of Bad Taste", "Plastic Bullets (And Crocodile Tears)", "Demonicunt"(!!), "Night Of The Living Inbreds" and finale "Shooting From The Hip". Very clear they have been on the circuit for a while, savage set fizzed along and seemed to last nowhere near half an hour. Another band I will be keeping a very close eye on, I'll be monitoring your gig schedule so I can come and see you again soon.

Slab. Bit like London red buses, hadn't seen them before Friday and then five days later here we are again! They played a superb set at Scruffy's on Friday, tonight's was better. The improved sound quality helped for starters and the changed setlist was inspired. Their recent CD is stunning mixing a myriad of influences incredibly skillfully, they are nothing short of amazing live. If you were blindfolded you would never guess they are a three piece, great musicians they conjure up an immense and very complicated sound. Delicate one minute then immensely brutal the next they are hopefully on the verge of making it big, they certainly deserve to. "Facebreak" straight into "Chaos Bastard" was a sensational opening. "Vines", "Conspiracy", "Tetradon" and "Devilwalk" were all played with devastating efficiency and panache. A new song "Shot In The Street" was again made to look as if they had been performing it live for years. "Yi Zi Er Shi" and "Bury My Dog" rounded off another quality set.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to believe that nights like this are so poorly supported. Three quid for three bands is incredible value for money; I know I go to a lot more gigs than most and get to hear about them in a lot of different ways, but quite frankly the turnout was pathetic. Still those that were there were treated to a great evening. Very contrasting performances from the bands tonight who collectively gave their all, I look forward to seeing them all live again soon. The Flapper is a good venue too, although I will warn fans of any height to watch out for the low ceiling! The slope by the bar is a bit weird too. That said the sound is excellent, with a mixing desk like that it should be! Another excellent night of live music and thanks to all the bands for putting on a great show.