Thrash Thursday - Shrapnel, Citizen Death & XXXX - 7th April 2011

So, I finished work and raced up to Camden to meet Ty "The American" and spend a pleasurable evening sampling the delights of Steve Loftin's toils at Thrash Thursday. Wow, that doesn't sound dodgy at all... Anyway, we get to The Unicorn in good time to get a couple of beers in before the show starts. I love The Unicorn, it's always free and has a great space for bands out the back (it has a Tardis-like deception). Also, it's pub prices all the way. Basically, a quality venue. Just to top it all off the sun was shining before the show and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, sitting outside and totally up for it.

The show kicked off at around 8pm with XXXX. Like I said before, XXXX are excellent! The did a cracking job again and were thoroughly entertaining. Props to Steve for organising the whole thing, hopefully this will be the start of many to come. I took some video so you can check them out below for yourselves.

Boojay & Razz (Citizen Death)

Between XXXX and Citizen Death I noticed John Blunt from Abadden loitering around so felt obligated to say "hi" considering that I believe Abadden to be one of the best new thrash bands to come out of the UK at the moment. Little did I know that this is a very dangerous person to go drinking with, particularly if you have work the next day... Enough of that and on to Citizen Death. These guys had travelled all the way from Scotland to play this gig. What a commitment! I have to applaud them, their show was ace and they seem like genuinely nice guys. They're definitely worth checking out if you happen to see them playing near you.

Finally, Shrapnel. These guys are serious pros. Their set was tight, and their performance energetic. The crowd, which was a good size considering the new night and venue, seemed really up for it. There was enough argy bargy to make it a really fun set to be a part of.

Boojay & John Blunt (Abadden)

The night didn't end there though. Somehow (and again, I blame John Blunt for this) we all ended up at the Hobgoblin. Fuck knows how I got home, although I do remember waking up on a night bus going in the wrong direction at first... As previously stated, however, the night overall made the mission home worth it. So, big up Steve for a stompin' great night!

Boojay

Metal To the Masses (Heat 10) - 27th March 2011

I thought I should write a few quick words about a gig I have seen recently. It was round 10 of the "Metal To The Masses" Competition for The Road to Bloodstock. Read more about that competition here. The main reason I was here was because my friend Steve's band was playing, XXXX. So I recruited my oldest friend Sam and his girlfriend to join me and of course my trusty girlfriend, Toes. The gig was being held at Nambucca on the Holloway Road in London. I have never been to this venue before and was suitably impressed with it for a small place. We arrived a little early, lined up a few pints and wished Steve and the boys good luck with their set.

I can't remember the name of the first band, unfortunately. However, it was a strange sort metal band, that looked a bit wrong for some reason, I think it was the singer, he didn't look metal at all. At the end of their set they asked if they could play a cover and apparently the rules stated that they couldn't, so they proceeded to play "Killing in the Name of" by Rage Against the Machine. Muppets.


The second band was a metalcore band called Hopeless Hero. They were OK. I'm not hugely into metalcore/screamo but they seemed alright. They were in the same ilk as Heart of a Coward but definitely not as good.

Want For Destruction

Next up were Want For Destruction. What a great band!! They're metal, hardcore bikers really. Really aggressive stuff and instantly likeable. They had come from Norfolk and obviously brought a few of their local fans in the van with them. I also think one or two bottles of Jager had joined them on the journey. There were three guys totally mashed, falling all over the place in the audience during their set. Normally this would go against a band for me but they were so good that I couldn't care less about the lads dribbling and stumbling around at the front, it turned out to be quality entertainment. Worth checking out for sure.

XXXX

Fourth on stage were XXXX. I am obviously going to biased with my review but whatever... First off I'd like to say that the name of this band is brilliant. It completely sums up these guys. They are old school thrash with a not too serious attitude. They look the part and definitely sound the part. They kicked off fast and hard and didn't stop throughout the set. An interesting addition to the performance was the introduction of Moshbot. This is probably their most insane fan dressed in a Blue Peter style robot costume who was unleashed from back stage half way through the set and went completely mad. It was awesome! I asked Steve later how hammered the Moshbot had to have been and to my astonishment found that he hadn't touched a drop!! I had not seen the band before and I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm not just saying that.

Seed of Detest

Finally, Seed of Detest. Fucking hell these guys are good. If you like Death Metal then definitely, definitely check these guys out. They are one of the tightest unsigned bands I have ever seen. I actually had a chat with their singer Itami after the show and discovered, again to my amazement, that they'd only been together for six months! Unbelievable! (Thanks for the CD by the way) I can't stress enough how much this band need to be listened to, so check their facebook page. They won hands down and go through to the next round. A well deserved win in my opinion (sorry Steve!). I really look forward to seeing them again.

Overall an excellent night, one worth missing the last tube home for...