Bald-headedly riffing their way onto the opening slot of the night, the rhyming-based vocal assault and "Old English"-fonted logo of
Vendetta serve to pretty much perfectly set the tone and attitude of more or less every band on tonight's bill at The Barfly. A walking catalogue of
Biohazard merchandise, the members of
Vendetta really wear their influences on their sleeves... And chests, and backs, and guitar straps...
Despite not exactly brimming with
originality in the name, image and sound departments, the five lads from Peterborough more than make up for this with an abundance of raw aggression, precise playing ability and a knack for well-structured songwriting that is a rare find in a style of music that is often too focused on churning out constant chugging metal rage to ever stop and consider just
how well one brutal riff is connecting to the next. Don't get me wrong,
Pink Floyd they ain't, but
Vendetta's barrage of brutality is presented to the listener in a manner that
makes sense, and helps to carve songs out of their callous but consistently first-rate crossover style that stand out as among the finest that the genré has seen since the mid-90s.
The second band of night are hometown boys
Psyko Dalek, and FUCKING HELL has this band got UGLY since the last time I saw them!
"Kidding" aside,
Psyko Dalek's presence on the bill almost made me consider saying "no" when asked to review this gig for AltNation - not because they are a terrible band or anything, but because I couldn't see myself writing-up an unbiased report on a band that I was actually a founding member of before parting ways in less than amicable circumstances.
Two whole years have passed since my departure from
Psyko Dalek, however, and right from the first chord of opening song
Dead To Some it becomes instantly apparent that today's
Psyko Dalek is a very different 10-legged beast from the monster that I poured the blood, sweat and tears of my teenage life into helping create. Not only different in terms of physical lineup, with four-fifths of the current group not a part of 2005's
Fuck What You Heard demo CD, but there is also a marked difference in both attitude and style from the five kids who enraged every moron in Scotland who cared to call themselves "alternative" with our appearance on BBC One's infamous "Glasgow Goth Kids" documentary. Although definitely lacking the youthful energy of the
Psyko Dalek of old, and the crowd-seizing stage presence that came with it, the five men who comprise modern-day
Psyko Dalek substitute theatrics for an increased focus on synchronicity and professionalism that results in a tighter performance on this one night than the band that I played in ever achieved in more than three years of gigging. Not only more in tune with
each other on stage, the band are also clearly much more in tune with
their music, and where they want to take it, than ever before. Shedding the more aggressive hardcore and thrash metal influences of old school classics such as
Pure Vitriolic Hate and
Of One Truth, emphasis has been placed on melody and mainstream accessibility. No incarnation of
Psyko Dalek has never denied its proud Nu-Metal side, and it has never been more prominent now as frontman Div rides from Limp Bizkit-esque rap verses to angst-ridden Taproot-like clean vocal choruses on top of simple but effective groove riffing.
Combine all of the above listed factors with a setlist made up of
almost entirely new material, and I wonder why I was ever concerned about writing a fair review of this band in the first place. The fact is, today's
Psyko Dalek simply is NOT the same band that I was once an integral part of. That band died in July 2005, and from its ashes has risen a much more polished and concentrated form of what came before it.
The last support act of the night comes in the form of Exeter's
Idiom, who the tired and impatient crowd would perhaps have welcomed with more open arms had they been in the opening slot of the night rather than being the last of three obstacles on the path to the headline band.
Providing some outstanding examples of crunchy, aggravated staccato riffing,
Idiom unfortunately seem to fall short when it comes to marrying suitable vocals to their militant metal assault. Although vocalist Matt occasionally emits a scream powerful enough to rip the skin from your bones, it is very rarely put to effective use.
BoyHitsCar, early
Incubus or
Alien Ant Farm are perhaps decent reference points in attempting to describing the bland vocal style that
Idiom seem to prefer using, although they are musically much heavier than any of those bands and so this vocal style works
even less for them, in my opinion. With only a year and a half of songwriting together under their collective belt, perhaps a little refining of their musical/vocal cohesion is all that is required to help these four extremely talented musicians shine a little brighter.
After what seems like an eternity – so about as long as it takes to read one of my reviews, then – the sound of a
2Pac track blares over the PA system to serve as an introduction to headliners
(hed)pe.
Anyone who read
my review of (hed)pe's most recent album, Insomnia, is no doubt already fully aware of my gripe with this band's lack of consistent lyrical focus. It comes as some surprise, then, that vocalist Jahred uses the live environment as a forum to spouts some unexpectedly impassioned political viewpoints between songs that he unfortunately tends to fail to express correctly via his band's lyrics. Not that I am particularly praising his oft-elsewhere-treaded rantings on subjects such as George W Bush and the "Illuminati", but it is good to see in the flesh that this ranting lunatic clearly
really cares about something that isn't just "pussy" or drugs. In saying this, however, it is still pretty difficult to digest his opinion and take it even remotely seriously when it's presented alongside such lyrical gems as "ooh, I, need some head" and about eight different songs that each feature a unique and interesting way to say the line "I/we don't give a fuck". Maybe he should do a spoken word tour or something. I wouldn't
go to them or anything if he did, because I think his conspiracy theories on terrorism and censorship are pretty batshit crazy, but I think EVERYONE should make the effort to get their opinions across in a credible manner. Even if they ARE fucking mental.
Perhaps it is not entirely fair to focus on such things as the credibility of the band's opinions on politics and their lyrics in general here, however, as in the live domain – no matter who the band may be - these points take a substantial back seat to raw energy. And
(hed)pe provide more bounce per ounce than a kangaroo on a pogo stick. With the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, Jahred's crazy but likable personality takes absolutely every person in the room by the hand and masterfully leads them into each and every sing-a-long chorus, before throwing them into the moshpit for each and every hardcore-fueled "G-Punk" chorus.
It is not until the charismatic frontman announces "when we play this next song, we will have played at least one track from all six
(hed)pe albums" that it really sinks in just how deep a back catalogue this band has. This extensive library of songs is put to great effect, as the group deliver fan-pleaser after fan-pleaser from 1997's
self-titled disc all the way up to this year's
Insomnia release, stopping off at such hits as
Killing Time and
Bartender from 2000's breakthrough
Broke, as well as a performance of
Blackout's title track with some vocal assistance from
Idiom frontman Matt who puts that gutteral shriek of his to excellent use when providing assistance for the song's chorus.
Although it seems doubtful anyone in the world still considers
(hed)pe as "hot up and comers", like they were dubbed by many at the height of the Nu-Metal craze at the turn of the millenium, and the band's best chances at ever achieving true mainstream success has no doubt already passed them by, tonight's performance showcased an energetic and heartfelt side to the rap-rockers. Waiting to meet fans after their performance was over, the band are clearly very appreciative of those who stand by them even though they aren't likely to ever be "flavour of the month" again. Jahred and the boys have been rocking together for more than a decade, and high-octane performances like tonight ensure that they will keep what dedicated fans they still have around to support them for many more gigs to come.
http://www.hedshop.com/ http://www.idiomuk.co.uk/ http://www.myspace.com/psykodalek2005 http://www.myspace.com/ukvendetta
![<!-- google_ad_section_start -->(hed)pe, Idiom, Psyko Dalek + Vendetta - Glasgow Barfly [18th September 2007]<!-- google_ad_section_end -->](/forums/geek/gars/images/3/2/1/8/hedpe.jpg)
(hed)pe, Idiom, Psyko Dalek + Vendetta - Glasgow Barfly [18th September 2007] 
