Luz said:
I am, Alex.
I haven't heard Arkhon Infaustus, so I'd like to know.
PM me, post it here, I'll be waiting.
OK, remember it was done for the local newspaper and readers that are not familiar with the style of music, rather than readers that are into metal...
"Vader, Deranged, Arkhon Infaustus and Arise: The Soundhouse, Colchester (28th April 2003).
What could be better for any self-respecting extreme metal fan than sinking a few pints of Dublins finest beverage in a small venue in your home town, with some major musical talents for company? I shall tell you
the realization that your often all-too-critical expectations were naïvely inadequate!
Arise were the first of the four bands on the bill and took the stage only 15 minutes after the doors opened. The diminutive front-man, a fresh-faced Mustaine-a-like (without the Megadeth frontmans trademark arrogance), with a vocal style not dissimilar to the new and much celebrated vocalist for fellow countrymen, Arch Enemy, looked a little uncomfortable in front of the growing small crowd. Their typical twin guitar assault and tight performance set a high standard for the evening to come. It is a real shame that many of tonights attendees will have missed the excellent opening performance.
After a brief changeover, the imposing figures of Arkhon Infaustus came out to deliver an impressive far more guttural, heads down thrashing dark and twisted affair. The contrast in the dual vocal delivery was at times reminiscent of Deicide and At The Gates combined. The quality of the musicianship from the matching BC Rich Warlock guitars and basses, the blast beats and tempo changes brought to mind another of Floridas success stories. These tall Frenchmen may be controversial, but they are very at home on even a small stage and provide a great set.
Next up Swedish three-piece, Deranged, hit the stage running. Unfortunately the bassist lacked variation in his one-dimensional guttural vocal (not that Iniquity would be the least flattering of comparisons), but the vocals were also too low in the mix. Musically they were very tight and developed a real groove towards the end of the closing track. With the vocals being taken care of by the bassist, the guitarist really makes the most of his freedom to shine. This boy knows how to work the crowd and definitely knows his instrument.
Having been so impressed by the quality and diversity of the support bands, I was interested to see how the headliners would respond. Afterall, ignoring the duration of the support sets, the quality of the first three performances would have been deemed as more than acceptable for much larger headline slots. It is a few years since I last saw headliners, Vader, and I am embarrassed to say that I had forgotten just how good they are in the live environment. When Doc started to sound check his drum kit, one of the bar staff appeared to be suffering from open-mouthed astonishment!
The fact that Vader are one of the hardest working bands in extreme metal circles, the first band to break out of Poland during the colder years, along with the benefits of maturity, age and experience are as clear as ever. They deliver a literally blistering performance and are equally as comfortable here with this sub 100 crowd as they are in much larger venues. They took material from all eras, going back as far as the first album
they were the band of the night and we got lost in the splendor of their performance. A certain blonde haired vocalist from Extreme Noise Terror was observed to be indulging in a little bit of a mosh too!
This night was a brave move by the new Management of this small venue, a better turnout would have made the evening perfect. This was truly a privilege.
Alex Guinness
29th April 2003."
