Brand Talanas

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the concert of Talanas and My Dying Bride at the Islington Academy on 7 December, 2012. The Talanas set was well attended, the music sounding a bit like Opeth without the tunes on the way to Augury, the bassist sporting what looked like an 8 string bass, and the singer most personable with a passable Johnny Depp or Russell Brand impersonation. I will certainly be looking for some more stuff from them. My Dying Bride played very slow and rather heavily for a long period, in a rather gloomy vein; the most interesting sections musically were duets with the two guitars. It lacked the blues-based vibe and the riffs you find in say, Black Sabbath or Electric Wizard. The few faster songs, such as the final one, were the most effective, to my mind. They sounded rather like Katatonia, but rather less flexible (who oddly are playing there on Monday). Maybe an acquired taste, then, but without doubt serious doomsters.