This arrived on the doorstep having winged it’s way all the way from the States. And it’s the first time I’ve received something like this. All professinal, in a folder. Bio, photo, CD. The works. Very professional. Makes me feel unworthy of receiving something like that given that bios etc usually get tossed away. Still, I had a read. And it does sound impressive. Names like System of a Down and Snot are thrown in as bands they’ve supported. Venues like the Coconut Teazer and The Troubadour always sound so much more exotic than The Vic or The Old Angel (fine fine places that they are.) It’s like, it always "sounds" so much better when it’s from elsewhere doesn’t it? But that’s of no relevence. Because the proof they say, is in the eating. So I sat down with a knife and fork ready to devour. But I couldn’t cut the CD. So I put it in the player instead.

Musically it’s a fairly heavyweight 6 tracker, feeling to me like it’s leaning towards yer common or garden Machine Head’s of this world. This Head opens with a wah drenced effect before the pace picks up and the guitars settle down to bay area chug with slightly rapped vocals over the top. It’s a tried and trusted formula now. Did I type tried or tired there? Whichever.

Next up is Low which continues the blueprint. There’s more of a stop start feel to the riff, and the production sounds fine. Snaps sees those Machine Head like guitar squeals rise to the fore as the guitars just do the detuned crunch in the background. I’d really like to see a band like this once, just once, take this sort of thing and pop it into an uptempo thrash based thing. Just to see what it sounds like when bands play at anything other than a grinding speed. I mean, there’s no problems with this, it all sounds good. But so many do. I want something that helps me remember after the song has ended. Or even to know when one has ended and the next started.

Maybe I’m being harsh again. This really is good but oh, there’s another Machine Head riff again to start up Respect The Differences, though there’s a little funky bass thing just been snuck in there. Doesn’t fit, and you wonder if the bassist just got that past the others on the mix. But it’s such a tiny thing that stood out. That’s all you need, something to standout. And at the moment, the rest doesn’t.. I don’t like saying that all the time, but maybe it tells you what you need to know. If you like Machine Head and that sort of thing, then your time would be pretty well spent checking this out. A damn fine scene demo. Time will tell if it manages to pass on to being anything more important.

Quite funny, well at least to me, was that this was submitted for inclusion in the publication Flat 1, which is actually where I live. Still, it’s actually a better name than Yaz. Maybe I should take up the idea?

The CD is a very reasonable $4, which apparently includes postage from the States. If interested, International money orders or chequesmade out in dollars payable to: J. D'Ambrosio. Or well hidden $$$s (it’s the one I go for, but shh, don’t tell ok. Change some money to $$, then send as need, much easier than IMO’s or cheques.). Include an e-mail and they’ll contact you to let you know it’s on the way. Apparently.

PO Box 13446, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406, USA.

Hail metal brother. Er yeah. Ok, so for my very first ever foray into the live world of black metal, I set forth in the trusty chariot Murc, (so called apparently due to it's number plate and not having any other name for it at the moment) to the climes of Bradford, expecting to see plenty of corpse paint wearing metal muthers. Well, I got to Bradford anyway. Very little corpse paint to be seen, though plenty of hair, lots of black and quite a bit of leather. And that was just me. See, the point is, as this is my first dip into this particular cesspit of music, I don't know what to expect. So I'll run with the cliches. Remember, you can and should take the piss out of just about everything.

But I did catch all of Limbonic Art. Well no I didn't, cos they didn't jump from the stage into my arms. You know what I mean. Three people, two guitarists and a keyboard / sample operator. The drum machine set on kill was a a star. Don't know how it managed to play so fast. Yeah. Uh, it was kinda strange. This sort of music is supposed to be extreme, yet it didn't seem it. The perhaps over use of keyboards meant it was almost like having a movie soundtrack going on, mixed with guitars that weren't overly heavy sounding on the riffage, and backed by twin grunt vocals, which occassionally also went for that deep singing thing. I actually quite enjoyed it, as did a lot of people judging by the response, but not sure I'll be investing. The best sight though of the evening, were the three plastic swords being held aloft in the middle of the crowd, in homage. Hail, and indeed, woaaaaarggggghhhhhhhhh.

The spectacle then is relatively minimal, the music atmospheric and bordering on the out of control fast at times. Vocally it goes from shrill to deep operatic, but you can still make out some of the stuff. You can sort of understand how this band may be able to make a minor breakthrough into bigger leagues. From the words being spoken, and the reaction around me, there's a fair mixture of old as well as the new, which seems to make most devotees pretty happy. And there's even an introduction where the guard is dropped just for an instance and a normal speaking voice is used. Pah, the sellouts goes the cry.