Taking my time getting to the Wulfrun Hall tonight,
and I still end up waiting half an hour for the
first band to come on, normally its a rush to
make the first band, once i was inside out of
the rain, the room was filling up nicely, but
not sold out tonight, but still had a really decent
turn out for this legendary band!
First up were, October File, a mid paced grinding
heavy metal band, with typical metal vocals, that
are abit on the flat side really. Theres not much
in the way of melody in the music and the bass
is really OTT, in fact so much so, that most of
the time I cant hear the guitarist over the bass
or the drums. It is a good solid sound though
from a 3 piece band + Vocalist, its very full,
the drumming is solid but very repetitive and
lacks imagination, the guitar when it can be heard,
is ok, but you cant really hear it over everything
else. The whole act seems a bit middle of the
road really, theres nothing really adventurous
about it, the songs seem to be very repetitive
and bludgeoning, a new direction is a must.
Main Support are Sylosis, a much faster paced
metal band than the openers, the bass is still
way over the top, everything vibrating, walls,
floors, drinks, rib cages and grey matter! The
music is fast paced and melodic for parts, having
heavy break downs that you can bang the head to,
before launching back in to the full paced finishings.
The vocals again a bit on the cliche metal side
but its pretty decent stuff, the stage presence
is good and they put on a good show to watch,
full of energy and vigor. Not sure of any of the
songs played tonight, as I'm not really a fan
and after the performance tonight I may change
my mind but I'd have to hear a wider range of
songs to sway me properly.
Fear Factory a band I've been a fan of for some
time, since the late 90s I think, but for one
reason or another, never seen them live, until
now, it was worth the wait, as tonight, it was
heavy as FUCK! About half way through I developed
a headache either from the overkill bass or the
headbanging! probably both! The one thing you
cant mistake, is the vocals, I don't think no
one sounds quite like Burton, its distinct! Im
also glad Dino is back in the band, don't think
it would be right if he wasn't in fear factory.
They open there set with Mechanize, the title
track off the latest effort, which was followed
by Shock and then the excellent Edgecrusher, being
blinded by the strobe lights above the crowd was
fun, which made it a nightmare, moving through
the pit, as stuff kept moving an dodging security
the crowds arms and crowd surfers made for good
times! Songs that featured in set were, Smasher,
Industrial Disc,Acres of Skin and one of my all
time favorites, Linchpin, well I guess that can
be said for any fear factory or metal fan. One
song I'd like to have heard would have been Invisible
Wounds, from the same album as Linchpin. Another
song off there latest effort was Powershifter,
that just bludgeons you to death with its sheer
nonstop brutality. Other songs from the mid set
included Fear Campaign, Marytr, Final Exit Demanufacture
and Self Bias. They Closed there set with Zero
Signal, the superb H.K and set closer Replica.
The stage performance was fantastic, worth the
decade wait for sure. Then it was back out in
to the bloody rain for the last train home.
October File - 3/5
Sylosis - 3/5
Fear Factory - 5/5
Robet Lawrence
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