Eyehategod - Live at The Well, Leeds, 7th April

"Heroin and pussy...HEROIN AND PUSSY!" Mike Williams drawled into his mic, backed by dirty discordant guitar noises. If I haven`t sold this to you already I think you`re in the wrong place, because for an hour an a half on that Wednesday evening this is what the New Orleans sludge legends typically coughed up in a surreally beautiful manner.



Thanks to a well documented natural disaster, the resurrection of one of guitarist Jimmy Bower`s other bands, Down, and Mike`s affinity with needle related activities, this is the first time since 2002 that Eyehategod have hit these shores.

Playing an awesome greatest hits set with a few new numbers thrown in, the crowd at The Well went sufficiently mental, and for me it was one of the best gigs that I`ve seen in quite a while. Bower and fellow guitarist Brian Patton of Soilent Green fame were on fire, while Mike delivered his drug fuelled misanthropic rants to awesome effect. Its hard to believe that dude`s clean, his eyes looked a million miles away and a shard of glass from a bottle he smashed nearly took my eye out - he played a brilliant frontman mind.

Last gig review for some time - might be popping over to Portugal for Barroselas Metalfest, featuring Dying Fetus and Immolation, at the end of the month.

Jack

Opeth - Live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, 5th April 2010

Stumbling into the Royal Albert Hall to the opening strains of "The Leper Affinity" reminded me of when I saw Strapping Young Lad, at my first ever metal festival, Download 2005. It all felt totally surreal and out of place, but at the same time, just perfect. What a venue - it was a beautiful sight to turn around and face the four tiers of fans, hundreds and hundreds of eyes transfixed upon the five Swedes on stage, and the acoustics were perfect throughout.

The event was nearly let down by some shamblic organisation - it appeared that a large proportion of the gig-goers were completely unaware that Opeth were to start at 7:30pm - and rightfuly so, seeing as the ticket specified that a support act was to play before the headliners. Thus, hundreds of fans missed out on the opening few songs, and like us, were left feeling flustered and unprepared for what was to come.

The gig itself was predictably special. Listening to the whole of Blackwater Park played live in its entirity was as awesome as one would expect, and there can be no complaints from even the most die hard fan, as the band played a song off every album in a storytelling, chronological order. Props to the band - I admired the fact that they played some tunes that hadn't been heard for years, such as "April Ethereal" and "Harlequin Forest". It wouldve been easy for them to hash out "Demon of the Fall" for the 500th time, but the setlist consisted of almost entirely different tunes as to their last appearence in the UK - and not to the detriment of the enjoyment of the show at all.

The band added a visual element to their show for the occasion, but for the most part it seemed to me like the band had sent someone into some bleak coniferous forest with a handicam and told them to do their worst - hardly Tool or Mastodon. But who really cares when the music is so damn good?

One bone of contention on my part, however - the fans. For many forms of entertainment, a crucial factor of enjoyment is the relationship between the fans and the act on stage. Although the masses lapped up all three hours of the gig, at not one point was there any real fervour or moments of teeth gnashing intensity from the spectators - pretty fucking disappointing considering that Opeth have some of the heaviest, most circle pit inducing riffs out there. Its such a shame that there's a far bigger beard stroking nerdy prog contingent than death metal followers at Opeth gigs. Consider yourselves ashamed!

Right now my ears are bleeding and my head is throbbing after Eyehategod last night, which for the record was probably the best gig this year. More on that later...

Jack

Open your ears to these three...

After a month and a half the manehead has returned! I'm sure all two readers of this blog have missed it. But the blog hath risen and will once again feed you with the best and most vital musical information. I thought I'd show you some artists you might not have heard of that I think need to be listened to.

Mithras
Late last year I attended the Damnation Festival in Leeds. Apart from the subterranean insaneness of Electric Wizard, who's stature and prowess speak for themselves, there wasn't much to get excited about. Apart from a band called Mithras. I'm not one for hyperbole, but listening to that devestatingly twisted sonic attack for the first time reminded me of the first time I heard Morbid Angel. It seriously was that good. The band is fronted by the erudite Leon Macy, who plays not only all the guitars on the studio albums, but the ultra-technical drums as well - a pretty admirable achievement (in addition to being the managing director of extreme metal mag Zero Tolerence!). Far from being one of the myriad of Azagthoth-worshipping death metal clones that are all too apparent at the moment, Mithras build upon the work of their forefathers and add their own twist to proceedings. The two latest albums, "Worlds Beyond the Veil" (2003) and "Behind the Shadows Lie Madness" (2007) showcase copious amounts of technical but tasteful riffing, ethereal instrumental passages, and vocals delivered with a Glen Benton level of conviction. Imagine a Nile who don't have a fixation on Egyptian and Lovecraftian matters, and with a little more breathing space, and you're not that far off the mark.
Check out a divine example of their music - live in Edinburgh 2009 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhT6Yki9PeM&feature=related
I'm hoping to catch them and another criminally underrated British band, Taint, at Barroselas Metalfest in Portugal in late April. Needless to say I'm warming up my neck muscles already...

Terry Reid
During a conversation about Neil Young and Jethro Tull a mate recommended that I listen to a bloke called Terry Reid. Upon checking out his album "Seed Of Memory" (1973), I was instantly taken with his soulful voice and gorgeous vocal and guitar harmonies. The title track is probably the best song that I've had the pleasure of hearing this year - and it goes to show that a simple acoustic three chord song can still have a resounding powerful effect, no matter how many times you've already heard those chords. Jimmy Page was so enamoured by Reid's earlier work that he asked him to front his embryonic musical project in the mid-60's. Reid declined, but recommended some guy called Robert Plant to Page. Whatever happened there eh?

Saniteria
Since April last year I've had a deep and obsessive fixation with whatever musical endevours Dax Riggs (Acid Bath, Agents of Oblivion, Deadboy and the Elephantmen) has ever been involved in. This led me to scouring through his website (http://www.skeletalcircus.com/) and coming across a fellow Louisiana act, Saniteria. Apparently consisting of two ex-mental patients, and a few other social pariahs, the band have a beautiful southern rock feel to their tunes without being cheesy or boring. I totally recommend them and anything found on the above website, for that matter. Here's their myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/santeria777

There you go for now, hopefully the next installment will be sooner in coming...
Jack