Meltdown Records Christmas Gig - Scruffy Murphy's - Friday 19th December 2008

Chris and Tracie's end of year shindig was also a birthday bash for Laura (who it turns out shares her birthday with a certain reviewer!). On paper this looked like it could be a Christmas cracker! Now the groaning has subsided I'll get on with it...

The Rampton Release Date were the only band on the bill I hadn't seen before, but I'll certainly be going to see them again. Think a quick introduction/biography is needed here. Formed in 2005 they have been conspicuous by their absence on the live scene, mainly due to a series of mishaps. Their debut full length CD is out now (review to appear shortly on the CDs section) and follows several EPs which have been well received. Ray is the vocalist and guitarist, Si plays bass, and Tim completes the line-up on drums. Essentially they are a punk band, although there are clear metal influences in their work too. This was a quality set, very tight as a band, with good songs to boot. Hopefully their string of mishaps will be a thing of the past in the New Year, with a few gigs under their belt they could cause quite a stir. Tonight's setlist was; “Go Home”, “Damage Limitation”, “Violence”, “Hell Is Self Made”, “Ball & Chain”, “Arseholes”, “I'm Hit”, “Give Them What They Want”, “Detonate”, “Bullet” and “Wrong Life”.

After TRRD it was a case of three respected and much watched bands taking to the stage, with Slab up first. It's far from a secret that I rate these guys highly, basically if they are playing I'll be there. I've seen them a lot in the past six months or so (double figures at least) but this performance was their best yet. Launched into their set with a vengeance, although the subtleties were there too. Brutal at times, then almost hypnotic in the quieter moments, surely it's only a matter of time before they break through and get the acclaim they deserve. Jake screamed his lungs out whilst playing an intricate set of rhythm and lead guitar (not sure about the Michael Schenker barnet though chap!). Big Jim treated us to a fluid and complex bass workout and Kimbo showed remarkable touch and timing throughout with a startling display on drums. Poon from I Am Colossus and Kris from Godsize started the theme of stage invasions (which escalated dramatically as the night progressed) sharing the vocals on the encore. Stunning display fellas, hope work on the new album progresses well!! Setlist: “Thylacine”, “Vines”, “Kevorkian”, “The Bite”, “Devilwalk”, “Chaos Bastard”, “Tetradon”, “Yi Zi Er Shi”.

Hellfire's change of formation to a five piece looks set to be a winner. They were good before, but the addition of another guitarist, Greg, has taken their sound to a new level of brutality. Tried and trusted set was delivered stunningly well, again this was probably the best set I've heard from them. They had planned a change around of their setlist tonight but things conspired against them, aside from the Godsize cover it was a familiar set. Something I know the band are working on for 2009, it will be interesting to see how things get juggled around. This was the third time I'd seen them in a couple of weeks so I'm at a loss really for anything else to write – other than if you like hardcore or extreme metal go and see them. I warn you though in advance, they are not for the faint hearted – few can match their level of ferocity...

There's been a lot going on in the I Am Colossus and Meltdown Records camps of late, so it was good to see Birmingham's finest purveyors of monolithic doom back on stage, and delivering another jaw dropping performance. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen them (well into double figures); the recent changes of tuning and timing have added to their stripped down savagery. Intriguingly they served up a couple of hardcore tracks for the encores, which worked surprisingly well. Incredibly tight musically this was a stunning end to a quality evening. I hope that the finishing touches to the forthcoming album result in a CD that captures the essence of your live work – best of luck with the album launch and for 2009 in general. Setlist; “Monolithic”, “Revelations”, “Still Life”, “In The Name Of The Father”, “Moss Icon”, “Grapes Of Wrath”, “Fear Me”.

Save the best until last, so they say, and this gig was an absolute stormer. Looking forward to the Meltdown gig in February, but no doubt I'll see tonight's bands well before then!!

As this is probably the last gig I'll attend this year it leaves me with the usual 'Thank You's duty. To all the bands, both on this bill and throughout the year, thanks for the quality entertainment and friendship. The New Year sees my diary filling up rapidly and it promises to be quite a year. Horns, claws or whatever sign of musical acceptance you prefer, at the ready!! See you at a gig soon....