Grey Waters, Below The Ever Setting Sun

First track proper, Say Goodbye wastes no time dashing through its riffs which lead into some urgent sounding vocals. There are hooks here, plenty of them but still little in the way of compromise.

Below The Ever Setting Sun is a remarkably enriched and textured effort, as edified intensely on the title track.

It’s a gorgeously layered listen and effortlessly draws on grand airs for its tremendous and extravagant climax. Meanwhile, The Truth In Your Eyes is a seemingly calmer amble, gently gliding through its soothing riffs and vocal melodies.

Then closer, Broken propels through heaving rocky verses before breaking down similar to the title track, but into breathtaking meanderings only to build and build once again towards a stunning conclusion.

Below The Ever Setting Sun, in a sparse five tracks, is an EP that will, or at least should, raise Grey Waters’ profile and interest in their impending debut album. An album that now is something you should most definitely endeavour to become immersed in.

Drop-d Rating: 9/10

Grey Waters

Peter Gabriel, Scratch My Back

Gabriel has a career that has spanned various styles and trends from his prog beginnings with early Genesis to his wide reaching solo work. But one thing he hasn’t done until now is an orchestral covers record. Surely that’s on all our to-do lists?

However, in a welcomed development he’s ventured into tracks both new and old. But there’s a reason behind this album title, as each of the artists covered here will be included on the Peter Gabriel tribute album I’ll Scratch Yours, due for release at some time later in the year.

It’s Peter Gabriel –a veteran and a legend, having fun (perhaps?) but also not fearing to do something different

But for Scratch My Back, the air remains quite solemn throughout with all the instruments complementing each in an enthralling fashion, Gabriel’s voice inclusive. His gentle croon weaves from the hypnotizing to the surreally motivating and uplifting. This can be heard lucidly from the instigation with a stirring version of Bowie classic, Heroes.

Much of the orchestration has made for some toying about with the renditions. Bon Iver’s Flume sounds completely different and new, being light years away from its folk tinged original. Meanwhile Elbow’s Mirrorball has several gorgeous new layers applied to it, much like all of the material here. It’s sombre and grave yet still beautifully welcoming.

Taken for what it is, Scratch My Back is a wondrous trek for the ears, providing for a relaxing listen. It’s Peter Gabriel – a veteran, no hold on, a legend, having fun (perhaps?) but also not fearing to do something different, as every cover here has had a fresh and brave new life breathed into it.

Drop-d Rating: 8/10

Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel Myspace

Peter Gabriel Wiki

Vadar

As You Drown then bring the beatdown. Despite some of the crowd not becoming too enamoured by them, the Swedes are tighter than a nun. With having only one album, debut Reflection to work from, their set is an impressive one.

Final support act comes in the shape of Dublin’s own death metal outfit Warpath, who punish with their bludgeoning onslaught. Their set is comprised of solid new tracks from their forthcoming new record which all meld well with older tunes from Gorefare.

But when Vader’s Peter Wiwczarek walks out on stage, Whelan’s truly comes alight, as the floor in front of the stage crams full and becomes a battlefield. The Poles, with zero reluctance, tear into a visceral set of their seasoned death metal.

Their death classics, like Dark Age (from 1993’s The Ultimate Incantation) still retain that biting ferocity of their conception. But simultaneously, they’ve morphed into stronger entities as airings from last year’s Necropolis give them a good run for their money.

While Peter Wiwczarek is the centre piece of Vader, drummer Paul Jaroszewcz though becomes a glorious shining light out of the set delivering ruthless blast beat after ruthless blast beat. It’s made one guarantee for the night – all heads are banging. Vader are loud and brutal, there’s no give in their hour long set as they do exactly as it says on their proverbial tin, and that’s playing some fucking death metal.

Vader Myspace

Here’s the blurb, supplied by the ever-competent MCD:

Stone Temple Pilots Website

Robb Flynn, Machine Head

Maintaining a similar tone, California’s metalcore finest Bleeding Through waste no time when front man Brandon Schieppati lunges into the front row. There’s no let up from their set as it’s all straight for a jugular, this is proven by the rapturous response for tracks like Orange County Blonde And Blue from last offering Declaration. But it’s Schieppati that’s the star of their set.

He’s become a stronger front man in recent times and that’s encompassed in this short but sweet set. A deafening rendition of Kill To Believe then wondrously closes their vicious performance.

Next though are Hatebreed who completely step it up a notch, in fact to a whole new level. Their time on stage in just straight up, no frills aggression as Jamey Jasta is on top form – his bellow as thunderous as ever. He effortlessly gets everyone involved with a myriad of fists pumping to be noticed up and down the venue. Whether it’s I Will Be Heard, Defeatist or In Ashes They Shall Reap, the reception is the same every time, that of utter energy.

While every band so far slayed their sets and gave each other a massive run for their money, nothing could prepare anyone for Machine Head. Opening, unsurprisingly, with Clenching The Fists Of The Dissent into pit friendly Imperium, the entire floor is plunged into chaos. Saying they’re on top form again is clichéd of course but it’s completely true. Tracks like Ten Ton Hammer and live rarity Bite The Bullet all sound equally punishing.

But it’s the variety of the set that really stands apart. The title track of The Burning Red sways all into a beautiful sombre mood, another rare airing. Meanwhile, Bulldozer, though a debateable choice fits in well. But it’s the mix of Machine Head’s finest old and finest new that makes the show – as Blood For Blood and Beautiful Mourning will attest.

Then, an encore of a rapturous Halo and the as expected Davidian has each throat ferociously shredding in unison of that now legendary lyric. Top to bottom, Machine Head simply owned this night. But is anything else to be expected at this stage?

Machine Head

Machine Head myspace

Machine Head Wiki

Therapy?

Here’s the blurb:

Therapy? are pleased to announce 3 special London shows running the 29th, 30th and 31st March 2010.The shows are in the famous Monto Water Rats theatre and will be recorded for the bands first official live album release. Each gig will feature a different setlist drawn from the bands extensive recording career so expect a diverse selection of songs.

Needless to say, with twenty years, twelve albums and a veritable treasure trove of B-Sides and rarities to be mined, not to mention a fearsome live rep, this one ought to be quite the stormer.

Here’s a rarely-seen slice of the boys in black live in 1997, with a Paddy’s Day appearance on MTV (Click to the vid on YouTube to find the subsequent parts).

Buy Tickets to the shows

Therapy? website

30-seconds-to-mars

Street Drum Corps followed. After a very cool introduction of a three man drum band display the performance went decidedly downhill. Their performance was plagued with technical difficulties with constant gaps in sound for all but their guitarist. What made this worse was the fact that they didn’t seem to notice and kept pouring their hearts and souls out to the audience who couldn’t hear a thing. It was the same for Fox Avenue before them though, with their guitarist remarking at one stage “my guitar’s fucked but it’s okay”.
After a quick reshuffling of the stage 30 Seconds to Mars came on to play their set which got off to an interesting start when singer Jared Leto called for the O2’s security staff to stop breaking up mosh pits and for telling people in the balconies to sit down, joking that if the security guard didn’t leave them alone he’d “come up there himself”. Understandably the O2’s staff didn’t seem to find the joke as funny as the audience as at one stage it looked like they were taken aside and given a stern talking to.

He wasn’t joking about coming up to sort them out though, and mid way through the set Leto disappeared for a few minutes only to pop up next to a few lucky fans in the balconies to play an acoustic set of a few of their songs and to chat up some Irish ladies. He joked about a chat with one fan telling the audience “this woman just asked me to marry her, and she still has her arm around her boyfriend”.
For the band’s encore they played Kings and Queens with a little help from some lucky fans who joined them onstage including fm 104 contest winners who won the opportunity to be onstage with the band. Fans were also invited up onstage if they had a 30 Seconds to Mars tattoo. They were encouraged to “carefully” crowd surf their way to the stage and the band-security conflict continued as they tried to send them back.
The band was formed by brothers Shannon and Jared Leto (of Fight Club and American Psycho fame) and have received numerous awards and accolades including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV EMA’s, an MTV Latin and Asia Award, a Fuse Award, and three Kerrang! Awards. Since A Beautiful Lie was released the band have played more than 500 shows winning fans over and founding Jared Leto’s career as a musician in his own right rather than an actor dabbling in music. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel joking that acting was a fall back career. Well for Some.
The bands set list on the night was:

1. Escape
2. Night of the Hunter
3. Attack
4. Vox Populi
5. From Yesterday
6. A Beautiful Lie
7. This Is War
8. 100 Suns
9. L490
10. Capricorn (acoustic)
11. Was It A Dream? (acoustic)
12. A Modern Myth (acoustic)
13. Closer to the Edge
14. The Kill (Bury Me)
15. Buddha For Mary
16. The Fantasy
—
17. Kings and Queens

30 Seconds to Mars

30 Seconds to Mars Myspace

30 Seconds to Mars Wiki

Gorilla Manor

The confused-face inducing album title is in fact an homage to the building in New England in which they recorded the majority of the album, and strangely enough the title suits it. As a whole it is both wild and polished, a mish-mash of contradictions which somehow link together to create balance and a perfectly acceptable and refreshingly new indie-orchestral sound.

Gorilla Manor is incredibly well-rounded for a first full offering. The first track Wide Eyes opens the album on an optimistic note and sets the tone for what will follow. Guitarist Ryan Hahn himself said of the track “It’s about people’s obsession with the miraculous and disastrous…with witnessing extraordinary events.” And the listener can’t help but feel that we ourselves are witnessing the birth of something extraordinary as the album builds in pace. Wide Eyes is a big, anthemic track which raises the bar for the rest of the tracks.

The second track Airplane shows a deep understanding of musical structure. It opens with the jarring sounds of the group yawning and groaning. This track is almost the epitome of the album as a whole. It encompasses the growing energy that will come as the album progresses, so it is almost apt that the opening of it acts symbolically as the post-hibernation awakening of the group into the summer of the album. Like this track, the entire album is peppered with enveloping and uplifting tracks with complicated melodies which are all instantly memorable.

Other major high points in the album are tracks such as Sun Hands which is hauntingly akin to Straylight Run with its chant-inducing chorus, Camera Talk which, vocally, is eerily Rufus Wainwright-esque and is addictively catchy. It combines simple subject matter and complex melodies and creating the perfect summer road-trip anthem.

The second half of the album does slow down a bit, but appropriately so. Rather than a jarring intervention of calm, the album follows its natural progression and slows and matures just enough to remain catchy without becoming boring. The album is somewhat structured like the seasons, giving us hot and cold, energy and calm. It leaves us, in the end slowly emerging from the calm lament of Who Knows Who Cares, squinting and confused into the rebirth that is Sticky Thread, and there it leaves us.

As a whole, Gorilla Manor is intelligent and well-structured, bubbling over with a cheery effervescence which is little seen in the desensitized media world at the moment. It is an album which takes pride in its vocals and refuses to let them be overshadowed. The perfect structure of each song is indicative of the group’s pedantic mode of composition, having spent just as long on arranging the vocal harmonies of the tracks as on the rest of the process.

Local Natives are an astounding find who are destined to only mature further and grow into their sound. Luckily enough the group will be gracing our little island with their tour in March so be sure to follow the links below to get more information on the tour and album, you won’t regret it.

Drop-D Rating: 8.5/10.

http://www.myspace.com/localnatives

http://www.thelocalnatives.com/home.html

The one downside throughout some of the songs, is that the climax that the listener is brought to can be cut short.  Rather than these of the songs twist and turn to an exhausting level. Yet they still play to their strengths and have clearly mastered the careful art of ‘The Heavy Breakdown’.  That part in the song that drops to a primal, throbbing rhythm begging you to at least nod your head has been blended well with their style.  These guys are rhythm masters rather than guitar virtuosos.  But who needs lead guitar wizardry to enjoy a good metal album?  Not while I’m listening to this, I don’t!  Roadrunner should be taking an interest in these fellas.

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Highlights on the album include the hypnotic and rythmic drumbeats and guitar of Get Out Freakie, the persistent looping piano hook and almost imperceptible guitar distortion of Go Rotten, and Your Drab Eyes which features the bands looping piano sounds before cuminating in an echoing bass-heavy outro. The mournful Eighty-Sixed features more slow and melancholic piano before breaking into a standard rock guitar sound, which is perhaps an example of where the bands post-rock influences are most obvious.

There are times however when the album can feel as though it is trudging along, and there is a fine line between a slower take on things and just being a little bit boring.  For example, Cheerful Girl has a long pondering intro which starts out delicately promising, but after nearly two minutes of false starts and stilted build-ups, when the vocal finally kicks in the song has drifted into an unremarkable territory.

We Only Said does demand a bit of patience on the listeners part, and for those whos attention span is a bit on the short side some persistence is required for it to really grow and its charm to be fully realised. However, in a 2010 of polished electronicly produced pop and gaudy music videos, it is good to be reminded that not all music has to clout you around the head and dance you into a breathless daze before you have had time to comprehend what the heck is going on.  Fun as that can be, sometimes it is nice to have music that drifts around on the periphery of your consciousness, and allows itself space to seep into your mind and leave you feeling all warm, dreamy, and as though you are pondering on profound or important matters (even though you probably aren’t).  This is where We Only Said ultimately succeed with this subdued but shimmering debut album.

Drop-D Rating: 7/10

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