Up-Load UK, Gigs News & reviews Do-mini-on

Lets Do The Time Warp Beside The Seaside….

Tumble weed rolling desolately across the road. Not the best introduction to a town but this was what greeted Doom/death metallers Black River Project as they drew into Withernsea for the Do-mini-on Metal Festival, the follow up to last Octobers “Dominion Autumn Assault” held in Hull’s Piper Rooms. Unfortunately for the masses of under-18’s who queued up in vain outside that adults only venue they were denied entry, hence the “mini” in Do-mini-on for this 14 & over event.

After driving up and down the main street looking for the Victoria Tavern we started to wonder if we were actually in the right ghostly seaside resort or if we should have taken a left at the remote junction some 10 miles back. Eventually we found the venue and it donned no pub sign – no metal crowd outside – no vans unloading equipment and totally no sign of a metal festival! All very random and quite spooky…

Entering the venue was like stumbling on another dimension – this was the void time warp. The bar was strewed with metal heads and heckling locals propping up the bar. Not much in the way of the “youth” the event was intended to cater for, but no matter. The stage is set and the onslaught of metal is about to begin. We had unfortunately missed the opening band Leaden but heard great stories of the set, don’t worry lads we will catch you out on the circuit soon.

Thankfully we are in time for last minute stand-in Amenti. These young Stoke lads were a pleasant surprise and set the pace early for the day. The gauntlet was thrown down for the rest of the bands on the bill to take up as a barrage of relentless and inventive tunes pound out, the guitars shredding precisely and brutally. These lads not only deliver a good show but their song writing is ahead of the game for such a young band. Their set is over all too soon as they break into the huge bone crunching riffs of “Massacre of Humanity”. A Good solid set

Mutant step up to the plate and demonstrate that the standard has not yet been set for the day. Guitarist & vocalist Atom Luchtenstein bounds and bounces over the stage, gurning like a good un as the band delivers a high octane dose of no nonsense thrash. “We’re gonna rip ya a new face” he grins, adding “No – make that a new neck. This one’s about headbanging” before delivering the perfect headbanging chug-a-chug riff to a flurry of hair from the front row. “Thanks for supporting British Thrash Metal”.

Black River Project are received on stage with devils horns raised and bodies poised to thrash. This is Death metal served up with a healthy side dish of thrash. Shredding guitars and hook laden bass lines coupled with front man Paul McGlennon demonic eye-rolling presence make for a menacing and vicious execution on stage. ‘Its great to get together with so many metal fans on a Sat night’ growls front man Paul, slipping into another possessed reverie as they break into their signature song ‘Let the rivers run black’. Another great performance thus the barrier is raised again for this metal night of mayhem.

Served up next is Killer of Saints, dogged with internal band problems and direction recently but tonight they stand solid and deliver a good set, their new drummer Beubo looked part of his new found metal family and delivered some intense bone crunching riffs till his snare drum bites the dust! More at home playing their more complex material, they suffer in comparison to the seemingly endless energy of most of the other bands, perhaps due to the lack of live gigging and 4 months of studio work. They will get their hunger back and promise a heavy summer schedule of gigging.

Headless Cross picked up any metal gauntlet that has been cast aside and held it high. This young thrash metal band stormed into their set growing mobs of metallers in the audience pick up the battle cry with a frenzy of pits and hair swinging windmills. An onslaught of incendiary fret work, tenacious riffing and bone crunching drumbeats cut through the room challenging anyone to deny them their attention. Headless Cross deliver a superb tight set with an out of control mayhem of fury, much to the delight of all.

An intense barrier of groove-laden metal fused with an undertow of blues-laced groove and melodious raw rock, the vocals of Attica Rage’s Jonny Parr resonate through the small but rammed pub. Attica Rage are a tight outfit, switching between their own material and Iron Maiden/Metallica covers with ease, although there is a certain static aspect when new songs are delivered as lyric sheets spread at Jonny’s feet testify. With the aptly named Colossus delivering incredible bass hooks and intense effortless fretwork by Changer, Ritchie Rage’s bone crunching drums do more than enough to satisfy this thrash hungry mob.

The stage has been set the gauntlets thrown and the crowd challenged and the bar raised along with many horns. If you like your face shredding metal brutal and delievered in a frenzy of fret work slammed with cast iron riffs against the noise barrier then Pitiful Reign are here to fulful just that. The convincing double act of in-your-face Josh Callis-Smith and laid back yet brutal Matt Walker, lead and bass guitar respectively but sharing the vocal duties lead us through a performance that along with Amenti, Headless Cross and Mutant hammers the message home that Britain has a vital, alive and very contempory thrash scene. With new and old material being traditionally based yet enlivened with their own spirit, the ghosts of Metallica and Slayer were last seen nodding appreciately and standing to one side. Downright dirty fretwork grabs you by the throat to unleash the beast within. I’d hate to think how everybody’s necks are going to feel in the morning, but at this stage the only thoughts are the here and now. It all ends in a big sweaty mess as the breathless audience become indistinguishable from the performers.

With such vital and electrifying performances from Mutant, Headless Cross and Pitiful Reign, it’s suddenly obvious that British Thrash Metal is on a course to grab the UK rock scene by the balls and squeeze until it cries uncle. Not that it overwhelms, the other acts on today’s bill more than held their own and join in the spirit, everyone getting carried away in a wave that is rapidly turning into a tsunami of talent. And as we stagger, dazed and breathless to the beachfront, hoping that our car hasn’t been washed away in the musical torrent, a familiar refrain can’t help but run through my head; “Oh I do like to thrash beside the seaside…”