It's no wonder that the first show review I feature covers three progressive styled bands, right? I mean, if we're going to throw simplicity out of the window we might as well go at it with a full package! So, for anybody who's not interested, I suggest you go back to your unpretentious lives and hit resume on that Nina Simone record you were listening to. Just kidding, Nina Simone is awesome of course :d
First band that goes up and about the stage is Blame Hofmann, a Tool tribute outfit, which can only mean cover songs that attempt to stay as close to the original as possible. And boy, did they pick an 'easy' muse to try and duplicate, right?
And they did it right for the most part, I think. I say 'I think' because, even if I've listened to my fair share of Tool throughout the years, I can't say that I'm a dedicated fan, as they don't fit my playlists as frequently as they should be.
Going back to Blame Hofmann, I saw a strong start to their set list, with top notch vocals over what seemed to be an unsettled instrumental package. Trouble is, as the minutes passed by, the instruments became more in sync while vocals lost focus and thus came out a tad overshadowed. Tonality switched back and forth for a little bit as well, but I guess that's to be expected when one is trying to emulate Maynard's renditions.
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| Blame Hofmann |
Overall a good performance for a new band and I consider they've acquitted themselves rather well considering the stupidly huge shoes they chose to fill. Should they work on the vocal delivery a bit more, their shows could get even more enthralling. You know, so as the public can forget they're not listening to the original outfit.
Middle part arrives with Mindcage Escape. Not a new band in town and for that, one that I have listened to before, these fine gentlemen choose a less subdued path to their songwriting , mixing old-school vocals with the intricacies of modern prog.
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| Mindcage Escape |
I'm grateful to see a lot of improvements since the last time I saw them live; the sound has become tighter and more focused and with a mix of well thought out riffs and vocals that range from baritone (I think? my theoretical musical knowledge is equivalent to jack squat) to high pitched heavy metal screams, plus a good dose of growls, Mindcage Escape is anything but boring on stage.
Backing vocals also felt more at home this time, never detracting from the performance and most importantly, in sync with the frontman. I'm still not sure about the verses that are sung mid-range, they seem to become the downside as they're likely to be buried in the mix and hard to decipher. However, as an overall analysis, this might actually be a problem with the melodies themselves - future compositions could eliminate this issue with some intelligent song writing.
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| Mindcage Escape |
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| Mindcage Escape |
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| Mindcage Escape |
And guys, what's the deal with the police arriving during your set? Did you wanted an extra instrument on stage, felt that you didn't make enough noise? Heh, j/k, you did good enough even without them :)
Third and final performance of the evening, Axial Lead, and you'd be hard-pressed not to figure out that a different kind of show is just waiting to happen. Already with a debut album under their belt, these five enthusiastic blokes show up on stage and, shortly after some technical squabbles with uncooperative equipment, they jump start they performance with album opener Salva D'Or; after which they pummel through the next songs with enough sustained energy in order to not make me take a break for any hydrating beverages.
First impression? Pretty much seemed like a bunch of early 18'th century pirates got together and decided to play metal. Fun, detachment and a general 'We make our own damn music' attitude is what I liked about Axial Lead, a band not afraid to take a different approach to song writing, which for the most part pays off.
Downside? Well, the novelty soon wears off and by the time their set is over it becomes clear that, for the many different shenanigans they throw in instrumentally, it all would have worked better with an over the top, crazy vocal performance in the vein of, let's say, Protest The Hero's frontman Rody Walker. But we all know there aren't so many Rody Walker's walking the earth, right?
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| Axial Lead |
Overall a balanced performance, however I found the recorded version of the album to be an easier approach for a first time listener. This seems to be the case with concept records, though, you kind of need to know them in advance in order to appreciate better what the artist is trying to accomplish. Maybe I'll see them again and go for a second opinion, right?
And that's it. No fancy outros, no philosophical speeches, no overly pretentious bull. Just listen to the music, man! Oh, maybe one piece of advice I tend to give to every small band out there:
Don't sell yourselves so cheap!
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