There’s actually a common them running through these next four demos. One which might surprise you. They were all supplied to me by someone who does some work for Kerrang! Aye, I know. My favourite magazine. "Sell out Dave". Yeah yeah. My opinion on the magazine remains as it is, but I’ve said that I’ll review whatever I’m given, and am always after new demos. So there’s no difference here. Though it is a shame that as there actually appears to be at least one person at the magazine checking and listening out for demos, that they don’t kind of cover them. But still, you have to start somewhere, and maybe this is the start of the magazine actually doing what it should be doing for music in this country. Well come on, you didn’t expect me to do this without some kind of dig did you?

First band then are Black Not Green who are attacking from the dance / techno / rock crossover thing. At the moment Pitchshifter and BlowHoly have this genre sewn up for me, and this doesn’t manage to quite reach the quality of either of those two outfits. But to be fair the songs are growers and settle in after a few plays. Highlight is probably the second track Disco, though it’s refrain of "let’s go loco" is probably unwise. Someone else got there ahead of them on that. Angry Young Man is the opening track and is another song that although after it’s over you can’t really remember it, while it’s playing it sounds right, familiar. If they could just manage to get the songs to stick in the mind at the end, then we could be on to something. I’d certainly like to hear whatever they come out with next. The final track on offer is Pump It Up which is more guitar driven than the previous tracks, but again, the chorus is closer to something Kiss would sing than I’m comfortable with, although the song itself is musically nothing like them, and has a discordant saxophone part in there somewhere in the middle. Just that Pump It Up reminds me of something Kiss or Whitesnake would sing, and you don’t want to walk away from a demo thinking of another band, you need for Black Not Green to be stuck in your mind. Probably one to keep an eye on.

Writing a song about Pamela Anderson is I guess one way to gain attention. Could’ve picked someone who was good looking though instead of some overrated media creation. Still, it’s what The Saffs have chosen to do, and the song is actually quite good and catchy. Not the greatest thing, but still better than the subject matter. Nope sorry, not a PA fan. But the Saffs must be, as the sing "Pamela Anderson I wanna by you". Either fans then or they want a sex change. Whichever it is, it’s the standout song both for the chorus and the music. That kind of pop punky sort of thing, but there’s more an edge to the guitars than on the remaining tracks Falling Down and War Not Peace which just tend to drift by me no matter how many times I play it.

Next we have Enmity who up the tempo and inject a bit more metal into the proceedings, with a hardcore / new metal crossover sort of vocal topping things off. Spoken is the first of the three tracks on offering, and it has all the ingrediants, and the double bass drum is a rolling and the guitars grind away in obligatory fashion but somehow it doesn’t grab you in quite the way it should. Enemy Within follows on and again, there’s nothing wrong with it, but with the entire demo I’m just not getting excited by it either The last track, I Think You’ll Find is the same, although there is one riff half way through that makes you look up and is different enough to what they’ve been doing, yet fits in well. It’s the sort of thing that makes it standout, and they need more of that. Maybe it’s subtlety, maybe variety, but in a crowded world, something a little different is needed to stand out. And at the moment I don’t know that Enmity have it. ,However, if you’re totally into music that borders the metal / hardcore edge, though with it’s leanings more definitely in the metal ground, then take a listen and make your mind up for yourself. I may be missing something totally obvious.

Last band up are Fog Donkey, which is a name I’m not utterley convinced by. But then, I still think Yaz is a crap name yet I still use it, so what do I know? Anyway, Big Outlandish Tropical Mother is an awesome title for a song, and it just screams Red Hot Chilli Peppers at you, from the laid back funk at the start, to the frentic punk style mid section, and the slightly off key and flat vocals, a bit reminiscent of Kiedis. He got away with it, and they matured, so there’s no reason why Fog Donkey can’t. Except their British of course. Next is Pencil Case, althogether more fuzzy and jangly, and a little lower on the funk, but with a familiar sounding chorus, and it’s got a guitar solo that if it was doused in distortion would’ve been pure metal going for that eastern sound. But it’s not doused in distortion, so it just ends up sounding like the token gesture that maybe bands like Offspring have sometimes leant towards. Not The Same is next and is altogether more punky musically, and it has a 1 2 3 4 screamed out in true punk style. Possibly. It’s ok, but not strong enough to stand out against the rest. And the final track on offer is Lunch which drops the pace back down, at least initially and sees the band singing "I am a part of the food chain that’s all I am". Kind of thing that reminds me of the sort of lyrics that Biafra would sometimes come up with in the Dead Kennedys, though not quite as cynical and biting (sorry, had to do that one!) Oh, and there’s definitely a very metal guitar solo in there to finish things off. Nice.