ROOM 2 + INDICA + FAKE + CORE - Hustlers, Dundee 23-02-08
Tonight was proof positive that Hustlers is really set to become the home of rock and metal in this fair city, as Core and their support bands, attracted another sizeable audience after last week's season debut from Mermaid Rock Promotions. The crowd witnessed four excellent sets from four great bands.
Rom 2 kicked things off. A trio who played a strong song-based rock set that was predominantly founded on the great god, riff, with the bassist in particular leaping around the stage as they pumped out these hulking storm-force rhythms and a wall of sound that really enshrouded the songs in rock riffing so tight it was almost claustrophobic. By that, I mean that, on first hearing, you teneded to notice what they played and the effect it was having on you, rather than the actual song itself, but I daresay that the more you see these guys, the more of the actual songs are gonna hang around your head. That said, they played well, moved around well, and were certainly a band you'd want to go see again. Musically, we're talking something between the contemporary nature of FFAF and Foos but at a more basic songwriting level - but expect that to change!
Indica came on - again, a trio - and the bassist/vocalist apologised for not being up to scratch as he felt unwell - all of which makes the fact that they played an absolute belter of a set, all the more remarkable. In front of a packed Hustlers, the band fed off the energy of the crowd and, through a loud and clear PA that was made for metal bands, they struck gold right from the off and never loked back. The band play a mix of stoner rock and almost Kings X-esque songs, only without the syrup, and at a volume that brought out the best in their songs, they each played superbly. With the rhythm section laying down this wicked yet not overpowering rhythmic strength, the guitarist sailed through all manner of solos with electrifying intensity and yet a clarity that was breathtaking, while the singer soundedd on fine form as his almost restrained way of handling the songs only added to the overall effect. That their brand of this satyle sounds fresh and purposeful is a mark of just what excllent writers and arrangers the band are, letting nothing outstay its welcome, while at the same time folowing the rules and allowing the excellent lead guitar work to be the feature of what is a band that's really hitting the spot right now, if this set is anything to go by.
Fake are, for me, an unusual band in the metal stakes. They play as tightly knit a brew of roaring metal as it comes, but the relatively short songs' focus is the song itself. Rarely during the set does any overt soloing enter the proceedings, and wehat there was, kept relatively economical. The plus side of this is that they write some really strong songs in which you could seriously get wrapped. But I did feel that there was almost too much to take in, wanting a bit more variation in the set as it just seemedd to be like rifle-fire, only good rifle-fire, as song after storm-force song, was unleashed on what is a seriously powerful set. The band played well, the songs sung well, but it needs something more - that extra ingredient which will take the band onto an altogether higher plane. But for now, they rocked - intensely, admittedly, but rocked, nevertheless.
Core headlined what turned out to be the launch gig for their new CD-EP, and proceeded to justify every bit of that, with a set that had to be one of the best they've played to date and showing just how big a potential this band has got in the metal world out there. Right from the start, the thing that immediately separates this trio from the others, is a razor sharp sense of dynamics in their arrangements. Their riffs are the sort of thing that metal and rock fans kill for, the sort of riffs and rhythms that prove utterly irresistible to the potential headbanger. But, throughout the set, these core riffs are surrounded by a sense of light and shade that only succeeeds in making the roar erupt even more into your consciousness than it's already doing. The trio played so strongly you'd have thought there might have been fivce of them on that stage, the guitarist belting out the vocals with a whispering venom and a mad-as-fuck holler, as song after wondrous song just poured out of that PA system with the force of a wrecking ball and the intensity of a tornado. The songs themselves are memorable, the riffing undercurrents, even more so, and as "real metal" goes, this is Classic stuff, the sort of thing that would have the writers of Metal Hammer reaching for the phones to find out more about this band. Right down to the wire attack of "Take The Power Back", the band provided an incredibly powerful set of well thought-out, arranged, played and sung rock attack, sounding positively evil at times, and always allowing the emotional density of the playing to let loose with a vengeance. As they hammered out a stunner of a set to a large and enthusiastic audience, you become acutely aware of how quickly this band is improving and what enormous potential they've got in the wide world of metal and rock - and they're not even anywwhere near a peak yet. As metal bands go, one of the best in the UK right now.