The Islington ‘Carling’ Academy 2 is situated in a shopping mall. That sentence almost defies belief. The rampant commercialisation of live music in this country continues apace and perhaps reaches it’s nadir in the concept of going to the shopping mall to watch bands in venues sponsored by piss weak lager.
Once resigned to living in these days of rampant capitalism and making a mental note to bring about the downfall of the government and major corporations at the first opportunity (I’m free next Thursday if anyone fancies it) the venue itself is a pleasant surprise being suitably dingy and very small.
BLOOD VALLEY are already on stage as we arrive, cooking up a small storm of ferocious, bass-heavy metal. They are energetic, tight and fierce. A four piece, the singer is roughly seven foot tall and bears more than a passing resemblance to Guy McKnight from Eighties Matchbox whilst the bass player looks like he’s seen better days as he whirls round the stage like a man possessed (there’s a back handed compliment in there somewhere). Shambolic in presentation they may be (they crash into each other on more than one occasion) but musically they are on the button and the guitar player in particular produces some unholy noises. Information on the band is a little thin on the ground but certainly worth checking out should the chance arise.
THE VAULTS inhabit that overcrowded point on the musical spectrum marked ‘bluesy hard rock’. There is a little known by-law in certain London boroughs that states every third band should plough the well worn furrow of 70’s hard rock and 80’s hair metal. The Vaults are filling Islington’s quota tonight and although far from bad they are rather dull. When executed with panache, talent and charm this much tapped vein can still produce the goods as demonstrated by recent rave reviews on this very site for Young Heart Attack. In such a crowded field however just covering old ground just won’t suffice and The Vaults lack that certain something that separates them from the scores of other bands currently vying for your attention.
No such problems for MINUS. Once you have seen Minus (pronounced Mee-nus, they’re from Iceland) once I doubt you could ever forget them. Metal is inherently narcissistic, for such a testosterone heavy scene there are far too many military caps, leather trousers, tattoos and bands in love with the clichés and legends to be anything else. In a sense this is one of the saviours of metal, it defies fashion as it thrives off of it’s own past. Make no mistake, Minus are a metal band. A metal band with vision perhaps and a metal band prepared to explore other genres but at heart a metal band.
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Bass player, Johnny (no surnames for Minus) may have the physique of a brickie but that’s not going to stop him wearing a leopard print jacket with no shirt. Singer Krummi brings to mind a younger Axl Rose especially as he’s shirtless from the off and wearing a military cap and skin tight strides. There are tattoos in abundance. The other three members may be less striking but the five combined are a powerful proposition. Musically they utilise the muscle of hardcore whilst remaining grounded in hard, hard rock. It’s a bludgeoning sound, ferocious, confrontational, unrelenting and not a little thrilling. New single ‘The Long Face’ shows they are prepared to slow things down slightly and it proves to be one of the highlights of the set. The newer material in general leans more to rock than the older harder sound. Although not overly familiar with their recorded material I get the impression some of their subtler moments on record may be sacrificed live.
Krummi and Johnny are charisma overloads and it’s difficult to tear your eyes away from them. Johnny in particular resides in the middle ground between the New York Dolls and Rik Mayall in Bad News. At one point he even licks the neck of his bass guitar. Metal! After a frenetic 45 minute set they return for one encore before calling it a night.
These boys certainly know how to make an impression and it is obvious why they are beginning to make a name for themselves (3 albums in). As one of the more inspired heavy bands around at the moment it might just be their time.
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