Tin Omen / Backup / Product - Wolverhampton Little Civic, 20/08/2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Take even a vaguely half-hearted saunter through the live review archives (such as they are) here on Ultimate Metal, and it probably won't take you long to notice that yours truly has written several appraisals of Wolverhampton's Tin Omen over the years. I've scribed reviews of their last two EP releases, been out drinking with them, and was even recently invited back to the Tin Omen house to check out the instrumental rough mixes of the tracks that make up their new album, drink copiously and watch Old School on DVD. So, you might think that I've conceivably written all that could possibly be said about the goth-tinged industrial metal trio.
You'd be wrong.
Tonight is the launch party for their first full length album. They're going to play a set consisting entirely of the tracks on said platter (some of which are the choicest cuts from the two EPs, most of which are originals), and from the moment they step onstage, their determination to give their best performance yet is evident.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, there are the support acts. First up are Product - two guys, both wielding guitars, one be-spectacled and singing, backed up with drum machines, synths and synthesised bass. The mix isn't fantastic at first, rendering their electronica-cum-angsty-rock somewhat impenetrable, but what can be distinguished is fairly catchy. Then, the singer opens his mouth, and unleashes a helium-pitched wail that makes Brian Molko seem butch and gives you greater appreciation for Chuck Moseley's range. So, not great. There's a funk-infused, largely instrumental track aired towards the end of their poorly-received set that shows that instrumentally, the band have something to offer - but the promise of the track is obliterated noisily once the singing re-joins the fray. Get someone else in to sing next time, and we might get on better.
Next up are Backup - apparently featuring the DJ from some other band I've never heard of, and mysteriously (and, no doubt, infuriatingly to the headliners) the most heavily-promoted band on the bill tonight. Turns out they're pretty damned good though - imagine Dub War with a very, very faint tinge of Calypso and some tasty riffage, an infectious charm and an amiable singer who can barely contain his mirth at the sight of the largely waist-coated, corpse-painted, coffin-bag-packing Goth contigent of the crowd trying gamely to adapt their spaced-out swaying to the uptempo beats of this rap metal quintet. A pretty good showing, then.
Finally, though, Tin Omen are up, and it's clear that the majority of the audience are here for them alone. Most of these guys, like me, have seen the trio before, but nothing quite prepares us for the ferocity of the set that follows. It's plain, right from the beginning, that the aggression and 'metal' quotient of Tin Omen's music has been upped considerably for the new album - 'Goth Idol' in particular seeths with furious, bared-teeth riffage and a far more in-your-face attitude than we've previously seen, for instance. Kelli's vocals have a more indignant force, and keyboardist/guitarist John's stage presence suggests that when his hands are unoccupied, his anchor to reality has slipped. Bryon, the other guitarist in Tin Omen's two-pronged axe assault, has also lost the amiable air he usually carried, hacking at his guitar with concentrated intensity.
By the end of the set, the audience are pretty much lost in wide-eyed, rabbit-caught-in-headlights awe. Copies of the album fly off the merch table, praises are sung, and my other half and I emerge into Wolverhampton's cool night air. After every previous Tin Omen set, I've felt energised and glad to have witnessed it. But after this one, I feel like I've witnessed something special.
By Philip Whitehouse
Take even a vaguely half-hearted saunter through the live review archives (such as they are) here on Ultimate Metal, and it probably won't take you long to notice that yours truly has written several appraisals of Wolverhampton's Tin Omen over the years. I've scribed reviews of their last two EP releases, been out drinking with them, and was even recently invited back to the Tin Omen house to check out the instrumental rough mixes of the tracks that make up their new album, drink copiously and watch Old School on DVD. So, you might think that I've conceivably written all that could possibly be said about the goth-tinged industrial metal trio.
You'd be wrong.
Tonight is the launch party for their first full length album. They're going to play a set consisting entirely of the tracks on said platter (some of which are the choicest cuts from the two EPs, most of which are originals), and from the moment they step onstage, their determination to give their best performance yet is evident.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, there are the support acts. First up are Product - two guys, both wielding guitars, one be-spectacled and singing, backed up with drum machines, synths and synthesised bass. The mix isn't fantastic at first, rendering their electronica-cum-angsty-rock somewhat impenetrable, but what can be distinguished is fairly catchy. Then, the singer opens his mouth, and unleashes a helium-pitched wail that makes Brian Molko seem butch and gives you greater appreciation for Chuck Moseley's range. So, not great. There's a funk-infused, largely instrumental track aired towards the end of their poorly-received set that shows that instrumentally, the band have something to offer - but the promise of the track is obliterated noisily once the singing re-joins the fray. Get someone else in to sing next time, and we might get on better.
Next up are Backup - apparently featuring the DJ from some other band I've never heard of, and mysteriously (and, no doubt, infuriatingly to the headliners) the most heavily-promoted band on the bill tonight. Turns out they're pretty damned good though - imagine Dub War with a very, very faint tinge of Calypso and some tasty riffage, an infectious charm and an amiable singer who can barely contain his mirth at the sight of the largely waist-coated, corpse-painted, coffin-bag-packing Goth contigent of the crowd trying gamely to adapt their spaced-out swaying to the uptempo beats of this rap metal quintet. A pretty good showing, then.
Finally, though, Tin Omen are up, and it's clear that the majority of the audience are here for them alone. Most of these guys, like me, have seen the trio before, but nothing quite prepares us for the ferocity of the set that follows. It's plain, right from the beginning, that the aggression and 'metal' quotient of Tin Omen's music has been upped considerably for the new album - 'Goth Idol' in particular seeths with furious, bared-teeth riffage and a far more in-your-face attitude than we've previously seen, for instance. Kelli's vocals have a more indignant force, and keyboardist/guitarist John's stage presence suggests that when his hands are unoccupied, his anchor to reality has slipped. Bryon, the other guitarist in Tin Omen's two-pronged axe assault, has also lost the amiable air he usually carried, hacking at his guitar with concentrated intensity.
By the end of the set, the audience are pretty much lost in wide-eyed, rabbit-caught-in-headlights awe. Copies of the album fly off the merch table, praises are sung, and my other half and I emerge into Wolverhampton's cool night air. After every previous Tin Omen set, I've felt energised and glad to have witnessed it. But after this one, I feel like I've witnessed something special.
