Tin Omen, Conspiracy + Hanging Doll
Wolverhampton Little Civic
27th November, 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
It's been quite some time since I was able to put something in this section of the website - I've been largely unable to attend gigs with any regularity due to the ridiculous overtime requirements currently imposed by my stress-tastic place of daytime employment. So, I'm happy to report that my return to the world of live performances was largely an extremely enjoyable one!
First up, Birmingham-based goth metal quartet Hanging Doll. I've heard of them before... although admittedly, this was through chatting incoherently with local promoter Daz in a nightclub after several bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale, so we might as well assume total ignorance on my part. Initial impressions point towards a morose, droning experience, but thankfully, judging the group by their corpsepaint and the singer's choice of a wedding dress as stage costume turns out to be fallacy in the extreme. From the first chords, powerful, driving metal billows out from the amps, wringing the clearest and most powerful sound I've ever heard from the Little Civic's system. From the offset, I'm hearing traces of 80s classic thrash, some epic sounding Creed-esque stadium guitar choruses, and the bludgeoning but downbeat heaviness of Madder Mortem at their most captivating. Tastefully-implemented bursts of double-kick drumming help to vary the pace, the guitars surge and swell, the bass counterpoints the rhythms perfectly and the stunningly melodic and plaintive vocals make for an incredibly impressive performance delivered with a tightness and punch that belies the group's relative youth. Cracking stuff. 8/10
Next up are Conspiracy, an electro-goth trio featuring a vocalist who looks sort of like a more effete David Bowie with long red-and-blond hair and two keyboard/synth players. Occasionally the singer brings out a guitar and throttles some power chords out of it, but generally this is a guitar-free experience, all pouty-PVC-cod-poetic-posturing and little musically to speak off. Maybe Russell would have gotten more out of this than me... However, I have to admit that the singer's occasional predilection for randomly hitting the single Technics electronic drum-pad in front of him with what looked suspiciously like a riding crop was possibly the most amusing thing of the night, particularly as the pad itself was utterly inaudible. 5/10, for comedy value if little else.
Finally the headliners, Tin Omen, take the stage. Those who check these live reviews fairly regularly may have noticed that I've reviewed this band a couple of times before - well, that's because they're one of the few electronically-leaning goth rock bands that have ever managed to make an impact on me. Their stage attire is suitably neo-goth, avoiding that usual cheap-Mega-City-One-gear look, and their performance is commanding - vocalist Kelly leaning into the audience and fixing their attention with piercing glares, cheeky winks and exhortations to join in the choruses to crowd favourites, Bryan tearing impressive riffage from his guitar (which, contrary to usual Tin Omen performances, is thankfully clearly audible tonight), and John attacking the keyboards and occasionally joining in guitar duties. As usual, the crowd are eating out of the palm of Tin Omen's hands before long, Kelly's powerful voice filling the venue, the music causing waves of increasingly-amusing dancing to emanate from in front of the stage. 9/10
By the end of the gig, I've had a natter with Gordon from The Dream Disciples, who is to produce Tin Omen's forthcoming album ("More guitars!" I exhort him before we lapse into a discussion about the levels of mid frequencies required for a powerful guitar tone in a recording...), blagged copies of both of Hanging Doll's EPs from guitarist Daniel (a thoroughly nice bloke, I might add), and laughed even more about Conspiracy's unintentionally comedic performance. I should do this more often...
Wolverhampton Little Civic
27th November, 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
It's been quite some time since I was able to put something in this section of the website - I've been largely unable to attend gigs with any regularity due to the ridiculous overtime requirements currently imposed by my stress-tastic place of daytime employment. So, I'm happy to report that my return to the world of live performances was largely an extremely enjoyable one!
First up, Birmingham-based goth metal quartet Hanging Doll. I've heard of them before... although admittedly, this was through chatting incoherently with local promoter Daz in a nightclub after several bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale, so we might as well assume total ignorance on my part. Initial impressions point towards a morose, droning experience, but thankfully, judging the group by their corpsepaint and the singer's choice of a wedding dress as stage costume turns out to be fallacy in the extreme. From the first chords, powerful, driving metal billows out from the amps, wringing the clearest and most powerful sound I've ever heard from the Little Civic's system. From the offset, I'm hearing traces of 80s classic thrash, some epic sounding Creed-esque stadium guitar choruses, and the bludgeoning but downbeat heaviness of Madder Mortem at their most captivating. Tastefully-implemented bursts of double-kick drumming help to vary the pace, the guitars surge and swell, the bass counterpoints the rhythms perfectly and the stunningly melodic and plaintive vocals make for an incredibly impressive performance delivered with a tightness and punch that belies the group's relative youth. Cracking stuff. 8/10
Next up are Conspiracy, an electro-goth trio featuring a vocalist who looks sort of like a more effete David Bowie with long red-and-blond hair and two keyboard/synth players. Occasionally the singer brings out a guitar and throttles some power chords out of it, but generally this is a guitar-free experience, all pouty-PVC-cod-poetic-posturing and little musically to speak off. Maybe Russell would have gotten more out of this than me... However, I have to admit that the singer's occasional predilection for randomly hitting the single Technics electronic drum-pad in front of him with what looked suspiciously like a riding crop was possibly the most amusing thing of the night, particularly as the pad itself was utterly inaudible. 5/10, for comedy value if little else.
Finally the headliners, Tin Omen, take the stage. Those who check these live reviews fairly regularly may have noticed that I've reviewed this band a couple of times before - well, that's because they're one of the few electronically-leaning goth rock bands that have ever managed to make an impact on me. Their stage attire is suitably neo-goth, avoiding that usual cheap-Mega-City-One-gear look, and their performance is commanding - vocalist Kelly leaning into the audience and fixing their attention with piercing glares, cheeky winks and exhortations to join in the choruses to crowd favourites, Bryan tearing impressive riffage from his guitar (which, contrary to usual Tin Omen performances, is thankfully clearly audible tonight), and John attacking the keyboards and occasionally joining in guitar duties. As usual, the crowd are eating out of the palm of Tin Omen's hands before long, Kelly's powerful voice filling the venue, the music causing waves of increasingly-amusing dancing to emanate from in front of the stage. 9/10
By the end of the gig, I've had a natter with Gordon from The Dream Disciples, who is to produce Tin Omen's forthcoming album ("More guitars!" I exhort him before we lapse into a discussion about the levels of mid frequencies required for a powerful guitar tone in a recording...), blagged copies of both of Hanging Doll's EPs from guitarist Daniel (a thoroughly nice bloke, I might add), and laughed even more about Conspiracy's unintentionally comedic performance. I should do this more often...
