» metal

The importance of organisation

biodagar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:49:30 +0000

In the last week, my music collection is the most organised it’s ever been. And I’ve only now realised how important this is.

For years (actually, nearly all my adult life, to be exact), I have existed in a sea of hardcopy music: music I’ve bought, music I’ve got in promo format. While my jewel-case CD collection has, for the most part, been 75% in order, I’ve never known exactly what I have.

Now, I have all of my hardcopy music in order. That is, in artist order, and in release-date order (god bless Encyclopaedia Metallum!). This week, I separated all my jewel-case and box-set CDs from my promo CDs, put my tapes in order, and so on.

The hard work was in cataloguing every single release in a spreadsheet, which I then swiftly turned into a functional database in FileMaker. Only after every item was appropriately catalogued did I put them on my shelves. Pre-existing databases didn’t work for me, as good as they are. So I built one. I have the skills, so why not do the damn thing the way I want it?

What this exercise taught me is that I have almost an equal number of jewel-case CDs and promos; and while the CDs fill something like five and a half shelves, the promos (of course, being caseless) all fit on one shelf. All 300+ of them. The second thing that this exercise taught me is that I have releases I never knew I had, that I have multiples of many releases, and in some cases have multiple promos of releases.

My catalogue is organised by artist, then by title, then by format. I didn’t bother putting genres, or release dates, or labels into it, because if I want to find something, I’m going to want to find it by artist or by title. I’m not enough of a geek to go the distance with the remainder.

The best thing about all of this is that now I know what I actually have!! I won’t go and buy things I wasn’t sure whether I had or not, thus ending up with multiple copies in some cases. And the wankiest (read: coolest) thing about it is that now I know exactly how many discs I actually have. It’s not bad, really, considering how many releases I wish I had. It’s over 700.

What about you? How does your music collection look?

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BOOK REVIEW: No Regrets, by Ace Frehley

biodagar — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:35:06 +0000

No Regrets by Ace Frehley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had heard many, many good things about Ace’s book prior to actually getting around to it myself. My other half, a *massive* KISS fan, devoured it as soon as it arrived on my doorstep. His nonchalant “excellent book” was kind of neither here nor there.

What you discover, with No Regrets, is that Ace Frehley is an honest, forthright, downright funny dude. The book traces Frehley’s journey into rock’n'roll, his foray into what became KISS, what it turned into, and the hows and whys and wherefores of his multiple departures from that band.

Given all of the bad press that Gene Simmons in particular has given Ace, the lack of malevolence in this book is striking. Frehley lives out a ‘no regrets’ perspective; he lives and lets live; so if you expect any bombastic argument against KISS from him, you will be disappointed.

Instead, what you find is a simple, yet brutally honest point of view about his life: from his addiction, to his dealings with the band and other people. It’s completely refreshing.

My only misgivings are that some of the more personal stories are missing from this text. Ace’s first wife, Jeanette “decided to move on”; we can infer the reasons why, and we have to, because none are proferred. After such detail about his family in the early chapters, they drop out of all existence until deaths occur. And Ace never dwells on his daughter’s wellbeing; she herself was an addict, and this we only hear about in passing.

The inclusion of such stories would have taken away from the book’s focus on the Rock, but it would have given it slightly more depth. For while No Regrets is an intriguing, beautifully written work, in the reading one feels like the story ‘skims’, without going into the deeper waters.

Nevertheless, outstanding book. I highly recommend it to everyone; even those who have no idea of who the hell Ace Frehley even is.

View all my reviews

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RELEASE REVIEW: Lamb of God – Resolution (Roadrunner)

Raymond — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:11:38 +0000

“There are metal bands and there’s Lamb Of God” … “In 2012, Lamb of God remain the pre-eminent metal band and not by default”… “Everyone else is left to watch and marvel, and choke on their dust”. This is just a random selection of quotes from the enclosed biography for Resolution, the latest LAMB OF GOD album. Talk about bloated mindless PR banter.

On to the music then. Wrath, the previous LOG album, left me pretty cold. It was aggressive and full of the usual vim and vigour, but the lack of dynamics and depth made it a fairly one-dimensional listening adventure. This time around, the guys from Richmond decided on a slightly more varied and experimental approach, just as they did on Sacrament. Don’t expect any frolics in vein of King Crimson, Cynic or Mastodon, but just enough nifty details to keep the music fresh and exciting.

The doom metal references in “Straight For The Sun”, the blues/southern rock-styled intro of “Ghost Walking”, the creepy atmosphere on “The Number Six” and the accentuated bass-lines in “Invictus” are all examples of why Resolution has more to offer than its rather one-dimensional predecesor. The punk rock oannotations on “Cheated” and the use of female opera vocals on “King Me” are further indications that Blyth and Co aren’t afraid to look past their musical boundaries from time to time. Don’t worry, Resolution still has enough typical LOG stompers to offer in the form of “Desolation”, “Guilty”, “Insurrection” and “Terminally Unique”.

The wolverine-styled vocals by Randy Blythe and the impeccable drumming by Chris Adler are once again the main attractions. Mark Morton and Willie Adler still showcase their guitar prowess from time to time, but it doesn’t get quite to the level of Ashes In Their Wake or Sacrament. A shame really. Another point of critique is the relatively long length of the album. With fourteen(!) tracks covering almost an hour worth of music it takes a lot from the attention span of the listener, especially with this type of engaging and ferocious style of metal. Perhaps cutting back to 45 or 50 minutes would have been a smarter idea.

Despite this, I do consider Resolution to be one of the finer moments in the LOG catalogue. It showcases enough new elements to keep the album fresh and exciting, yet retains the trademark aggression and blue collar working ethic to keep the core fan-base happy.

Whether this album justifies the ridiculously bloated statements in the PR material remains to be seen. Regardless, Blythe and Co are still the real deal and Resolution is a clear sign that they won’t slow down any time soon.

About the Author

Raymond is an occasional contributor and guest blogger here. He heads up the Dutch magazine Alternative Matter, which is growing in leaps and bounds and makes me all excited about the future of rock journalism. You can find him on Twitter @HomeNucleonics.

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Girls Don’t Like Metal

biodagar — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:31:18 +0000

This is one of those GO READ THIS OTHER SITE things.

The very lovely, super talented critic Natalie Zed, has a new column over at Canada Arts Connect. She’s called it Girls Don’t Like Metal. Wondering where the title comes from? Go read this piece.

In her first column, Natalie has interviewed one of my most favourite female metallers, Kim Kelly. Known as “Grim Kim”, this gorgeous young woman is actually an old, snarling black metaller reincarnated. Her knowledge is phenomenal, her writerly skills fantastic, and her love of metal unsurpassable. She is also one of the very best publicists I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

Here’s a bit of a taster for you:

How would you define your role/job/niche within the context of heavy metal music?

Some heretical amalgamation of scribe, entrepreneur, road warrior, merry blasphemer, masochist, blue-eyed devil woman, mercenary and firebrand, if I were one to wax poetic. More tangentially speaking, I am an opinionated extreme metal journalist and writer for a number of print and online publications (Terrorizer, Invisible Oranges, The Atlantic, NPR, Metalsucks, Hails & Horns, Loud! and lots more).

I’m also the publicist and sole owner/operator of my company, Catharsis PR, an occasional blogger, NYC gig promoter and merch slingin’ road dog for Corrosion of Conformity, Black Tusk and Saint Vitus (to name a few). I was 15 when my first piece of metal-related writing was published, and in the ensuing almost-decade, I’ve fought tooth and nail to make that scrawny, Bathory-obsessed kid’s dreams come true. So far, so good.

YOU SHOULD GO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE. Now. It’s well worth your time. And keep your eye on it, because Natalie is going to bring us the goods. I’d put money on it.

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Australian metal… where to begin

biodagar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:03:29 +0000

I’ve been asked to write an article about Australia’s best metal acts. Best, mind you. Not the most notorious, not the most signed to major labels. But the best. I take this to include pioneers of genres, too.

It’s a right tough gig, doing this. So what I’ve done is write a list; ask the biggest metal geeks in my life for input; and then file them down into genres. Before I go any further than this, I wanted to share it, because it is well impressive! Please note that bands like Mortal Sin, Destroyer 666, and Sadistik Exekution are on a previous article written by someone else, so they aren’t included here.

Enjoy!

HARD ROCK
AC/DC : metal pioneers, super influential. Can’t not be on the list!

THRASH
Hobbs Angel of Death
Armored Angel
Bezerker (not The Berzerker, very different band)

BLACK/THRASH
Gospel of the Horns

DEATH/THRASH
Vomitor
Sacriphyx

DEATH METAL
Acheron/Abramelin
Corpse Molestation
Necrotomy
Innsmouth
Impetuous Ritual
Grave Upheaval

DEATH/GRIND
Blood Duster

AVANT-GARDE/PROGRESSIVE DEATH
Alchemist

EXPERIMENTAL DEATH/BLACK
Portal

BLACK METAL
Woods of Desolation
Ruins

BLACK/DEATH
Stargazer
Cauldron Black Ram
Martire
Anatomy
Destruktor
Bestial Warlust
Grenade

PROGRESSIVE BLACK/DOOM
Misery’s Omen

FUNERAL DOOM
Mournful Congregation

DOOM/DEATH
Disembowelment

DOOM/HEAVY METAL
Demon’s Gate

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Shrapnel: Bits and pieces of metal

biodagar — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:07:59 +0000

Welcome to the New Year! Here’s a bit of news to keep you happy.

SPAWN OF POSSESSION: Album Details And Artwork Unveiled

Swedish tech-titans SPAWN OF POSSESSION have announced the final details for their upcoming third full-length, Incurso — the band’s first album for Relapse Records — which is already one of the most anticipated death metal releases of 2012.

Now confirmed to infest North American audiences on March 13th, Incurso was recorded with engineer Magnus Sedenberg at Pama Studios in Kristianopel, Sweden, and offers up nearly an hour’s worth of the band’s layered death metal urgency.

Utilizing devastating riffs, jaw-dropping time-signatures and improbably complex songwriting, the members of SPAWN OF POSSESSION have vowed to their diehard fans that their already internationally renowned technical wrath will be displayed at its finest and most demoralizing to date on this opus. Check out Incuro’s track listing below. The album’s striking cover art is by graphic artist Par Olofsson (Immortal, Immolation, Dying Fetus, etc.)

Incurso Track Listing:

Abodement
Where Angels Go Demons Follow
Bodiless Sleeper
The Evangelist
Servitude of Souls
Deus Avertat
Spiritual Deception
No Light Spared
Apparition

HATCHET DAWN @ House of Rock (Melbourne) this Saturday 7th!

Hatchet Dawn roll into the other side of 2012 kicking off a new year of toxic horror rock with a special one night only show at Melbourne’s House of Rock held at the Palace Theatre playing a live set sequenced to the song layout of the ‘Rebirth’ album from start to end. The set will also include special guest shock burlesque performer Miss Nic adding her interpretation and acts for key moments during the set on the night along with introducing the ‘Sexy Shock Dead Gals’ for the first time on stage with the band live. Even your goose bumps will have goose bumps!

Do not miss this one night only event for a special relaunch of the ‘Rebirth’ album in Melbourne for Hatchet Dawn’s first performance in 2012. Run out merchandise deals and the 3 page digipak ‘Rebirth’ LP containing the bands 13 new horrifying hits will be available for sale at the merchandise stand at the show.

IMMINENT PSYCHOSIS support Toxic Holocaust @ Fowler’s on 7 Jan

Adelaide’s best thrashers will be out supporting Toxic Holocaust in Adelaide this weekend.

The show is at Fowler’s Live… for all details hit up this previous post, which also has other Aussie dates for Toxic Holocaust.

CAULDRON BLACK RAM release The Poisoner Maxi-EP and Official Website!

Underground black death’n'rollers Cauldron Black Ram have released a limited run of digipacks of The Poisoner Maxi-EP. This digi is only available for a short time (only 200 copies were released!), only through Abysmal Sounds (check CBR official site front page for details and links).

The jewel case CD and vinyl will be released worldwide later this month.

And they have also just launched their official website, which will gradually replace their MySpace. For all official CBR news, releases, details, and forthcoming tours (yes there are tours in the works!) hit up www.cauldronblackram.com.

EVILE embarking on Euro tour on 14 Jan

British thrashers EVILE are currently gearing up for a headlining European tour in support of their critically-acclaimed new album, FIVE SERPENT’S TEETH.

The “Five Serpent’s Tour” is due to kick off on January 14th in Prague, Czech Republic, and includes 12 shows in Germany. Supporting EVILE on the tour are PORTRAIT and DR. LIVING DEAD.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Don’t miss EVILE on tour in Europe at the following shows:

Jan. 14 – Prague, Czech Republic – Modra Vopice
Jan. 15 – Rostock, Germany – Alte Zuckerfabrik
Jan. 17 – Munich, Germany – Backstage
Jan. 18 – Milan, Italy – Bitte Club
Jan. 19 – Aalen, Germany – Rock It
Jan. 20 – Wangen, Germany – Jugendhaus
Jan. 21 – Aarau, Switzerland – KiFF
Jan. 22 – Cologne, Germany – Underground
Jan. 24 – Paris, France – La Scene Bastille
Jan. 25 – Weinheim, Germany – Cafe Central
Jan. 26 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013
Jan. 27 – Enschede, Netherlands – Atak
Jan. 28 – Randers, Denmark – Midwinter Meltdown
Jan. 29 – Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang
Jan. 31 – Osnabruck, Germany – Bastard Club
Feb. 01 – Saarbrucken, Germany – Garage
Feb. 02 – Braunschweig, Germany – Schweinebarmann
Feb. 03 – Vosselaar, Belgium – Biebob
Feb. 04 – Bamberg, Germany – Live Club
Feb. 05 – Essen, Germany – Turock

Get tickets for the German shows now from MetalTix at http://bit.ly/ADUnJM

The End Records Acquires Rights For Music For Nations Record Label

Music For Nations was a British indie record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. They were a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records and eventually got acquired by Sony Music UK.

The End Records recently secured 50+ titles from the now defunct label for North America. The physical versions will be issued over the course of several months starting January 31.

Andreas Katsambas spoke to Billboard about this exciting and seminal deal. Click here to see it.

RISING: New Track Streaming Via Pitchfork As Album Nears Release

RISING’s debut full-length, To Solemn Ash, is nearing North American release via Exile On Mainstream Records on January 17th, the Danish trio’s thunderous melding of sludge/stoner rock and straight-up classic metal captured on the LP with amazing production. Having already pillaged the Danish press as well as dozens of major metal/rock mags and zines across Europe, To Solemn Ash is starting to heavily root itself in the North American scene as the stateside release of the album nears.

Today Pitchfork is hosting a stream of the opening track to the album, “Mausoleum.” Check out the worldwide public premiere of the newly unleashed anthem RIGHT HERE.

To Solemn Ash boasts nearly fifty minutes of RISING’s solid doom-and-groove heavy metal thunder over ten tracks, produced by Jakob Reichert Nielsen, mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Mastodon, High On Fire, etc.) and bearing artwork of Jakob Printzlau aka Plastic Kid (Lack, Volbeat, BMTH, Kashmir, etc).

To Solemn Ash will be available in a 4-panel digifile CD, gatefold 180-gram LP and digital download.

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Biodagar’s Top 10 of 2011

biodagar — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 06:37:25 +0000

I hate doing Top 10s. I really do. Somehow I have always gotten away with avoiding it, but this year I have seen so many abortions of lists that I couldn’t avoid it any more.

I agree with GrimKim’s statement, “there’s more to life than Mastodon”. But I’m not as far down the depths of blackness as that gorgeous woman, so much of what you’ll find here isn’t so obscure that you won’t have heard of it. What you will find, however, is a list that is personal to me, in terms of what I dig; but I also ain’t gonna suck up to anybody. I would have included Mastodon on my list; but I’m not enough of a fan. Their release was awesome, but more stuff beat it to the post for me.

2011 has been an ace year. There have also been some startlingly godawful releases (ahem, Loutallica and Morbid Angel…). Maybe I should do a “bottom of the barrel” list as well.

Without further ado, here’s my list. It took me ages to pull together, because I couldn’t remember exactly what came out this year. I had to go back through demos, promos, iTunes lists, and release schedules. When I went back through things, there was a whole lot I hadn’t given the time to. But there is also a whole lot that I didn’t realise was this year.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS LIST IS NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER, and is not numbered for a reason. The albums on this list are simply some of what I consider the best, sliced off the top of a whole lot more.

While Heaven Wept – Fear of Infinity (Nuclear Blast)
Quite simply, this is the most beautiful, emotional, epic power/doom release of the year. I adore While Heaven Wept, and even though they are now on a new label, with a new singer, and lots has changed for them, they are still producing extremely excellent work. While Heaven Wept is a lesson in how to write, and their work should make young musicians stand and pay attention. Fear of Infinity easily ranks among WHW’s best work for me, even though for a start I wasn’t sure whether it could compete with Vast Oceans Lachrymose. It doesn’t compete, it stands alongside.

Mournful Congregation – The Book of Kings (Osmose)
I have to include one or two local releases in my list this year, and if I’m going to do that, then I cannot not include Mournful Congregation. Earsplit PR are pushing these guys as the “grandfathers of funeral doom”, a genre classification which I know they dislike, but it’s true. Mournful are forerunners of this genre. I really loved The June Frost, their previous release, and while I haven’t given The Book of Kings the luxury of time that it needs, it’s already way up there. Beautiful work.

Assaulter – Boundless! (Metal Blade)
The second local inclusion on my list this year is Assaulter, thrashers from the NSW central coast. I was privileged to see them play Evil Invaders earlier this year (they’re excellent live), and got home to find myself pleasantly surprised to see them on Metal Blade. This album’s production could be better, but as far as blackened thrash goes, these guys are world-class. Of course. This album is right up there for releases this year.

Vomitory – Opus Mortis VIII (Metal Blade)
On first listening to this release, I was all grins. Vomitory presents, with Opus Mortis VIII some nicely written, fast-paced, catchy, riff-driven and rocking death metal. It’s not often you find a release like this any more. It has some fairly typical hooks, some reasonably common song structures, and if you listen to it too much, you run the risk of getting bored. But when this album hit my desk, it was like a small reprieve from some of the other wank that’s out there. Because sometimes you just want some straight-up death metal and Vomitory deliver what they promise. Nice work.

White Wizzard – Flying Tigers (Earache)
I do love classic heavy metal. People seem to have forgotten White Wizzard in their lists this year. I fucking love this album, and I can’t see how Anthrax’s new piece of boring can beat this! Yeah, fair enough Flying Tigers gets a bit waffly in the middle, but it’s hard-driving, head-banging, fist-thrusting, sing-a-long, heavy metal of the absolute best kind. I’ve never been disappointed by White Wizzard and this album is no exception. Lately it’s been the only album on my stereo. On repeat!

Cauldron – Burning Fortune (Earache)
That other traditional heavy metal band that I’ve been spinning this year is, of course, Cauldron. Canada, can you ever do wrong in metal? Nope! Cauldron is a young band playing traditional heavy metal like they were there in the beginning. It took me a while to get into Burning Fortune, after Chained to the Nite was such a classic, awesome album. But it got there in the end. Like many of 2011′s growers, once it’s under your skin it’ll take over. I love this release.

Anvil – Juggernaut of Justice
Readers of this blog already know that I’m a big Anvil fan. I was so excited to get Juggernaut of Justice. It’s the typical Anvil sexy riffs and big grooves that we’ve all come to know and love from these oldest of the old-school thrashers. What more can be said? I honestly think that Juggernaut of Justice stands alongside Metal on Metal as an Anvil classic: just with better production and more maturity. Score!

Burzum – Fallen (Byelobog Productions)
I am a right sucker for beautifully written music, and I suspect that it comes from the fact that I am a classically trained musician myself. Enter Burzum’s latest release, Fallen. And if any band is writing music that hits this chord with me, it’s Burzum. I’ve always liked Varg’s music, but this release gives me shivers along my arms. I really firmly believe that, with age, Burzum is simply getting better. Like many of the oldschool, I loved earlier works by Burzum, too, (Det Som Engang Var, anybody?); but Fallen exhibits a maturity of songwriting and presentation that is damn near unsurpassable. The second track, Jeg Faller, fucking well blew my mind when I first heard it, and it continues to do so. The structure, the placement of the vocals, the performance of the vocals, the writing style… Amazing.

Iced Earth – Dystopia (Century Media)
I got to Iced Earth late, with their Something Wicked series. But I fell in love with this band. Of course, power/thrash is also something that makes me slightly uneasy, so I listen to new releases in the genre with a little bit of reserve: so easy to fuck ‘em up and make one’s life boring. Not with Dystopia. This album is a grower. Not like some albums ago, that grab you by your (in my case, imaginary) knackers and don’t let go. Dystopia takes a while to get under your skin, and the more you listen to it, the more you love it. I CAN’T WAIT to see these guys in 2012. So fucking excited.

Trivium – In Waves (Roadrunner)
I have, my entire life, dismissed Trivium since the band’s early days. I never liked their work, I refused (typical “nah fuck ‘em”-style) to listen to them. And then I was played some of their instrumental works and I couldn’t deny their musicianship. And then I was drawn to In Waves because of its concept, tying visuals and music together. And I heard the album and hated myself for liking it. And sat through an entire DVD and enjoyed every minute of it. And now In Waves, simply for making me sit up and take notice of Trivium, absolutely must rank in my Top 10. Well done, guys, took a lot for me to notice what you’ve done, and what you’ve done has blown me away.

Autopsy – Macabre Eternal (Peaceville)
Autopsy came back to life, and the band’s first full-length in six years blew the world away (including me) by being the Autopsy we remembered from years ago. It couldn’t not be included here, it is absolutely fantastic. Every time I’m asked what the new Autopsy is like, my answer is, “It’s amazing, go buy it”. Because it is, and you should. Very few bands bring out something new after so long, and after splitting up and reuniting, and do something this good. I’m jealous of all you cats who have seen them.

EDITORIAL NOTE
Yes you got me, this list is of eleven albums. I had to add in the Autopsy release. I was out drinking last night, and talking about Macabre Eternal, and thought, “fuck me dead, it’s not on my list!!” Well, it is now. I can relax back into my hangover.

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Find me on Reverbnation

biodagar — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:30:32 +0000

It might seem like a vaguely odd thing to do, but I set myself up at Reverbnation.

No, I don’t have a band. But I’m cranking up the publicity work for a couple of bands, and figured that I may as well go and rep things over there too. The other plus? Gives me a way to manage my media mailing list a little more easily, with nicer emails.

To find me over at Reverbnation, click here. And if you want news of the bands I’m repping, scroll down a bit and have a squiz at the left-hand sidebar. You’ll find a signup form right here.

Too easy, right? Hope to see you in one place or the other – or maybe both!

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GIG REVIEW: Hidden Intent @ Squatters Arms (Adelaide), 23 Dec 2011

biodagar — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:34:17 +0000

Hidden Intent play their first show, and prove that the future is in good hands.

I went out to see my one of the bands my other half plays in last night – IMMINENT PSYCHOSIS – which I roundly believe is Adelaide’s best thrash band. They were second up on the bill, and when we got there, discovered that the running order had been pushed back by something like half an hour.

Up ahead of them was a young band – HIDDEN INTENT – playing its very first gig. Always a tough show, your debut; but they had quite a crowd of supporters. What surprised the shit out of me was how good they are. It shouldn’t have, though. Hidden Intent came together in 2011 after their other bands fell over; so it’s not like they’re total newbies.

Watching this young three-piece, I was kind of like, oh yeah fairly standard stuff. The reason I wasn’t initially impressed was that the mix was muddy. It was at the Squatter’s and Forrester’s Arms Hotel in Adelaide, where the sound is usually wanting. Once I stood there, concentrated on what they were playing, and actually paid full attention, I realised what was in front of me. It was the future of good metal in this town.

Hidden Intent play thrash. Lots of people commented that it reminded them of SLAYER, but to me that is the most obvious and most boring comparison possible. Oh it’s a thrash band, oh they’re like Slayer. You know what large elements of their sound caused me to think of? SKELETONWITCH. It’s thrash, but dark. Everybody last night who thought of Slayer probably hasn’t even heard Skeletonwitch. I say this after talking about Skeletonwitch and getting total blank faces. Oh yeah, people only listen to things they know. Thaaaat’s right.

But back to the point. Hidden Intent play thrash, but it’s clear that they have some strong, and solid influences, from rock’n'roll, to old-school thrash, to new-school thrash, to black/thrash, to others in between. It’s clear in their song structures, in the way the riffs are built, and in the clear and careful placing of vocals (with the occasional twin-vocal attack). They do not sing over every riff. They do not play long, wanky, and unimportant solos. They do not resort to tactics used by many young bands who are merely imitating. These guys are writing, and they are writing original work, and doing it well.

One of the other big plusses for me was their lack of awkwardness on stage. They were having fun! I spotted a few fuck-ups, wrong parts of songs played: but I only spotted them through looks of amused anguish. I kind of thought ‘oh that sounds odd’ – and it was, because it was wrong. But it didn’t even trip them up or slow them down, and that’s something that more experienced players still occasionally have trouble with.

A mate of mine, Paula Rowe, who’s a metal connoisseur and metal researcher of excellent standing, commented to me: “The future’s in good hands!”. Absolutely, couldn’t agree more. I’d love to see Hidden Intent in a venue with a good mix, because I think they need to be given the justice of good tools to highlight how good they really are.

I have a couple of criticisms. The first is that they played for way too long. I can’t stand it when people play sets that are too long. And you know they’re too long when people start saying to you, “are they still playing?”. Keep it short, keep people keen. Don’t make them start yearning for a fag or a beer, or a conversation.

The second criticism I have is, despite how well these guys did for themselves, I could see that if they aren’t careful they are likely to fall into that trap of having song structures that are too similar: solos at similar times, riffs that kind of repeat, vocal patterns that become common. If Hidden Intent can objectively listen to their set (I say this, because I hope they record something fairly soon), and structure it in such a way as to avoid any kind of same-same, then we’re on a winner.

Well done, guys. I look forward to seeing you next time, because if you develop and progress at a rate of knots, you’ll very quickly become one of this town’s best thrash exports.

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