Reanimator Thrash Night - Bristol Pear - Saturday 26th January 2008

The evening after the mayhem of the night before... four up and comers for a fiver, what a result.

Doctor Death from London got things underway. Chatting to their drummer at the end of the night confirmed my suspicions - pedals and kit were moving (a blanket/carpet underneath was all that was anchoring it) which caused him no end of problems - he's been drumming for 8 years (not continuously!) so knows the ropes. That said it was a loose set in general - the overall sound wasn't great for them but you couldn't really hear the one guitarist and the tempo changes were a bit sloppy. Let's face it a lot of thrash relies on a choppy sound and precision changes especially to the slower chuggier parts. I'll reserve judgement on tonight's display and give them the benefit of the doubt - hopefully they will be higher up on the bill next time so I can give them a fair go.

Hospital Of Death. Thanks to the bass player Kevin for the CD. As it happens I had borrowed a copy prior to the gig so had a rough idea of what to expect. As their name suggests they play hospital thrash with their tongues firmly in their cheeks (oo-er!). Let's face it a thrash band opening with the intro music to "Casualty" and wearing theatre whites/blues (except the lead singer who was wearing a vicar's dog collar) would tend to suggest a collective warped sense of humour. Thought the CD was a bit hit and miss to be honest, although I will give it another play or two before my review appears soon on a new section of this site. From the intro they launched into "Down That Hatch" and nailed it and the crowd were theirs from here on in. The rest of the set was "I Am A Tiger", "Eyezabeams Of Osiris", "Death Shed", "Fear The Ambulance"(!!), "Hogs Of War" and the cheap cider inspired "White The Lightning". Well executed precision thrash played with an enormous sense of fun - great entertainment!

Crowning Glory. Had been hearing good things about these fellas. Completely justified. Very tight musically they play classic/power metal most clearly influenced by Judas Priest/Iron Maiden and their modern contemporaries. Great musicians but I would have to single out the vocalist as the star; staggering voice especially the high ranges and incredible control. Set started with four originals, "Other Side", "In My Head", "Crime" and "Souls On The Run" before they played a superb cover of "Holy Diver". Back to originals with "The Devourer", "Winter In Our Blood", "Dead Mans Paradise" and "Sea Of Dead Dreams" wrapping up a truly incredible performance. Just time for an encore and a tremendous cover of Maiden's "Children Of The Damned". Thought at times that they could have done with a rhythm guitarist but that would be picky. Hopefully I will be able to give an unbiased album review soon!

Enforcer. Left with the unenviable task of following that. Swedish speed metallers attacked with fury from the off. "Evil Attacker" was the only original I can remember although they did play a great cover of Maiden's "Purgatory" during which the Paul Di'Anno lookalike bass player swapped roles with the vocalist. Didn't quite cut it for me, bit samey really, but the crowd loved them so to each their own.

No point in me giving my band of the night award, think the review says it all. Another quality evening with thanks extended to Billy and Graham for their sterling efforts; see you in a couple of weeks time for the next instalment!

Photos of this gig are now online - check out ww.myspace.com/number_chruncher - top effort Bill!!