This review was submitted by: Gavin Mcinally on 20 November 2005 Band name: Gutworm Support Band: Sweet Zombie Jesus Venue & date Seen: Dumfries, The Venue on 18 November 2005 Bands Website URL:
MINUTES before the end of a crushing night of metal, sweat soak headbangers stand shoulder to shoulder, limbs locked tightly together and courage draining quickly...
Exactly
how the sleepy town of Dumfries came to host the brutality of a Gutworm 'Wall
of Death' isn't entirely clear. What is all too apparent though is that with
the opening melee of shredding guitars and tortured vocals of 'Incineration',
two columns of fans collide with terrific force, bruises and scars are indiscriminately
dealt out and a Scottish town
recognised only for its Rabbie Burns connection is officially welcomed onto
the UK metal map.
Three hours previous, with dozens of kids without ID being turned away from the over 16s gig, local support act Turbyne cancelling in protest and the show being one major row away from a write off, such a spectacular conclusion appeared hopeful at best. But Whitehaven bruisers Sweet Zombie Jesus take the stage amid the chaos and do a remarkable, if not overly exciting, job of getting the evening back on track.
Vocals
from the throat down, backed by a solid slab of metal you'd expect to find
on a Raging Speedhorn b-side, SZJ prove to be perfect fodder and set the stage
for the mighty Gutworm. Three new tracks, noted as 'My First', 'Fires' and
'Rape' on tonight's set-list, are aired in a bid to appease the patient crowd
and the relentless 'Blind From Truth' is resurrected for a rare and well deserved
outing. The Northampton quintet launch straight into the aural fisting that
is
'Below Within' and a 45 minute master class of extreme metalcore follows,
with a brief and somewhat unexpected 'lighters-in-the-air'moment for the melodic
tinges of 'Obscure Devotion'.
Frontman
Neil Hodgson has a nonchalant on-stage persona but howls like a man who has
just lost his family in a car crash when he gets going. Supported by the machine
gun drumming of Wayne Minney and guitars and bass which plunder through several
extreme genres without ever dwelling long enough to be pigeonholed and Gutworm
are a considerable and compelling live force. 'What You Are', 'Saturate In
Sadness' and the aforementioned 'Blind..' stand
out as highlights on the air-tight set list and prompt a monitor-bashing response
from those either lucky enough to be over 16 or smart enough to have fake
ID.
"Dumfries, do you know what a wall of death is?" Enquires Noel, before wrapping up tonight's set.
There will be no question about it the next time a band stumbles into South West Scotland.
Up-Load
(UK) Ltd 2005 |
© Matt
James & Kate James |