Orange Slab of Goblin

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, did attend the gig of Orange Goblin, The Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, and the Earls of Mars, at the Academy, Islington on 15 February 2013. The Earl/s of Mars were very interesting and somewhat progressive to listen to, with a notable keyboardist playing solos, and an electric double bass. They could have played a little longer. The Magnificent Name of the Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell cannot be doubted, indeed a few weeks previous I almost picked up their CD on the strength of that alone; fortunately I did not, since their music was a sort of loud three-piece rhythm and blues, though Respect To The Sideburns. The Orange Goblin laid down what can best be described as a great, solid, steaming slab of metal, like a not so fast and slightly more melodic motorhead, and without perturbaition; Melachi finds it difficult to comment more, other than to remark at the bravery of those teenagers who remained in the pit following the advance of the balding, topless, ex-military!

Sold on Devil Chimp

A Chimpspanner

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the gig of Sylosis, Devil Sold His Soul and Chimpspanner, at the Academy Islington, London, on 24 January 2013. When Chimpspanner started I groaned, as they appeared to be a vocal-less 3 piece playing jazz fusion, but after a while a deep metallism came through, matched by great and well-structured virtuosity, without any pointless guitar solos. But probably half an hour of this was enough, as it is difficult to concentrate on a band without a lead and obvious themes for much longer than that. Nevertheless, excellent supporting material.

He sold his soul

Next Devil Sold His Soul, the singer giving a fine appearance of a chimp, leaping and screaming. Initially again I was not impressed, but gradually began to remark the strange slowness of many of the songs and the frequent almost processional passages, as though he were shouting incantations, against a funereal beat with swirling synthesizers, also with no guitar leads, despite numerous guitarists. Though I have no idea was he was screaming about. Won over, I picked up their CD next day at HMV. But I think the repetitive sections would benefit from more sophisticated modulation. Some of the "clean" vocals were painfully out of tune.

Sylosis and shorthairs

Sylosis played for a bit under an hour and a half, the sound quality was excellent and the vocals were much stronger than I heard previously, and the guitars seemed this time in tune throughout. The material from their new album seemed more aggressive but with less of an epic quality than the rest. Curiously some resembled the folk metal bands, more like a jig, I suppose this follows from playing complex figures quickly. All in all, I, Melachi, found this a most satisfactory evening.

No pain (au chocolat)

View in cracked mirror

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did stay at the Mirabeau hotel, Brussels, in January 2013. The hotel is located in a sort of gay Arabic district on the grimy boulevard to the Gare Midi, though next to the tram stop; in all a location probably not recommended for those of nervous disposition. Presenting my booking, the clerk gave no signs of recognising it, and asked for payment in advance, though he did take a credit card. I climbed the steps to the fifth floor, rather a mistake since the intermediate floors seemed under construction with wires hanging from the walls and lights in the very narrow stairwells going on and off intermittently. The room itself was small but acceptable, and appeared recently refurbished, though the mirror had a long crack, and the flush required judicious fiddling with the cracked button-panel to stop it running continuously.
There was no bath but the shower worked. The TV channels were all in foreign languages; the beer glasses were a thin plastic. The room was not very warm, though the heating was set to maximum; there was snow on the ground outside, which may explain this. I was woken at 4am by drunken people shouting from the street below, shortly followed by rubbish collecting vans, and did not get much more sleep. Descending for breakfast I found that the elevator did in fact work, it was just that the summoning light did not illuminate. For breakfast there was self-service with several pieces of not terribly fresh bread, one type of cheese and small packages of jam, with coffee and tea. There were no croissants or pain au chocolats. But for that, I would stay again, at least during the financial crisis.

Winter in Scala with Karnataka

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the concert of Winter in Eden and Karnataka in Scala, London, on Thursday 13 December 2012. The gig was not otherwise well attended, and rather cold. The first band were muddy sounding, with a murky mix, and the singer saying she was recovering from a throat problem. They sounded a bit like Mostly Autumn, but without the guitarist. Though they had a guitarist. The headline band, Karnataka, were quite similar with a better sound mix, though I could not hear the synthesizer well. The singer, in gesture and temperament, seemed rather large for the stage and the rest of the band; though certainly no problem on the eye, particularly in the Christmas dress. Her hair indicated a pleasing pre-Raphaelite; though the music was not particularly Celtic, and the songs were long and developed. The guitarist was quite good, though some of the solos seemed a little pedestrian and would have benefited from greater rhythmic flexibility and a more sensitive axe, like a Stratocaster. Unfortunately, the band finished with a Led Zeppelin cover, which rather showed up the rest of the compositions. In total, it would be a "ho ho hum" from Melachi.

Katacurious

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, did attend the gig of Junius, Alcest and Katatonia at the Academy, Islington, on 10 December 2012. The venue was full for both the support bands, and Junius played a solid, slow and somewhat grungy set that was well received. Alcest played similarly slow and more atmospheric music, with rather long songs, sometimes sounding trancy, like a heavy Enya, with the celtic vibe. The vocals were too low in the mix, felt I. Katatonia seemed better than last time I heard them at Koko (when they kept stopping), and were notably, well, loud. Although I liked their performance, I feel there is something lacking; possibly it is the rather unimaginative rhythm section, or the monotone emotional delivery, the lack of melody, or the way very many of the songs end oddly. Pleasing, yet curious, in the mind of Melachi.

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.

IQ Medium to High

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did attend the IQ concert at the O2 Islington, London, in December 2012. For reasons unknown to me, this annual gig seems to attract a certain type of balding, rotund old people, who stand around the bars drinking and talking loudly, and this was no exception. Even listening through this, the vocals seemed a bit rough to the ear, particularly towards the beginning of the evening, though less so than in previous years. We were spared a saxophone. The most effective songs were the more recent ones, such as Ryker Skies and Harvest of Souls, which tended to allow themselves a little more time to develop. Well, nothing much new here, but I will probably go next year as well.

Pentatonic Bar and Project Mayhem, Chiang Mai

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did visit the Pentatonic Bar, Chiang Mai, Thailand, in November 2012. Walking back to my rather dire hotel, I wandered past an open disco bar, and determined to leave this dismal city as soon as possible. Then I heard what sounded like the strains of Iron Man from a nearby shed. Entering, and finding it decorated with vaguely rocky, sprayed murals, I found a dozen patrons, young Thais and few foreigners, and a four-piece band, Project Mayhem. Ordering a beer at about 80B (1.50£), and reclining at the back on an armchair apparently retrieved from a dump, I remained to listen; this band played numerous rock standards, they were really smoking, literally and figuratively, with greatly fluid lead and bass guitarists and fine drummer and singer. Even their cover of Stairway to Heaven was goosebump-inducing. Thinking perhaps the town was not so boring after all, I dropped in a few days later, to see them again playing for friends and some beer. Anyone planning a transcontinental flight to see a band could do much worse than travel to see Project Mayhem at the Pentatonic bar in Chiang Mai.

Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I, Melachi ibn Amillar, being of unsound mind and body, did visit the Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh, on Street 51 by the Walkabout Hotel, Cambodia, in November 2012. It is small and narrow; there were about a  dozen patrons on a weekday night. I sat at the bar and spent the evening opposite a picture of a moody Ozzy, listening to deep cuts from 70s hard rock, many of which I had not previously heard. I drank beer and spirits alternately, in keeping with the vaguely American ambience, managing with some effort to ring up a total bar tab of ten dollars. There were two waitresses, looking about fourteen, though they may have been older; joined at 11pm by a young man looking about ten, though may have been younger. They were efficient but not terribly communicative. Despite the wall of vinyl, the proprietor played entirely from his computer; on enquiry he said that he had copied some of the vinyl to digital, though other tracks played from an original digital source. Well, what can I say? Clearly one of the truest and best bars in the world.