Fury UK, Kyrbgrinder, Imicus and Inferno @ Derby Old Bell 29/10/10In days where Take That can crash ticket buying websites with the weight of numbers vying
to spend £75 for the privilege of watching a band trying to wring the last few hundred thousand
pounds out of their fans, it's nice to know that for much less than that (£4 to be precise) you
can have an evening of excellent musical entertainment with bands who are just there to make
music.
|
The first band to grace the stage of Derby's Old Bell were Welsh three piece Inferno, who
got our evening off to a rocking start. Bassist / Vocalist Joe Harvey channel's Lemmy's agression
and style with the Bass being played as a 'lead' instrument giving this band a distinctive sound. Oh
and he can sing a bit too.
Inferno grabbed the crowds attention and by the time they got to their second track The Suicide
Pact they already had the audience well and truly onside. The Motorhead influences are clear but
these guys also cite their influences as QOTSA and Down, neither of which we can argue with. This
is proper heavy Rock'N'Roll and Inferno are certainly a band worth catching live if you get the
chance.
|
| Imicus are a band we have been trying to catch live for a while now and on the back of some very
positive reviews we were expecting good things. The band took to the stage wearing topical Halloween
masks which looked good on most of them but did make singer Miller look like an extra from Phantom
Of The Opera.
The mask had come off before the band got to their second track, the impressive single Visceral
which was performed with an impressive emotional intensity. This is clearly a band who are putting
heart and soul into their music. It shows on their debut album Animal Factory and it certainly shows
live. With tracks like the aforementioned Visceral and Veiled Odema in their catalogue they can't
really go far wrong.
|
|
We weren't sure if the next band on the bill were going to be able to play tonight after they
cancelled the previous nights gig after their bassist had to return home for personal reasons.
Luckily the band were here, and after listening to their debut album almost non stop since it
arrived we were delighted to finally get to see Kyrbgrinder perform.
Cold War Technology is a very good album (ok, Nirvana cover aside) and Kyrbgrinder promised
to be an interesting experience live, not least because drummer Johanne James also handles the
vocal duties.
|
Johanne's drumkit was duly set up front and center and flanked by Guitarist Tom and Bassist Albi
the band proceeded to take us through some of the highlights from their latest album. Opener Cynical
World got things rolling nicely and it was immediately obvious that, although stuck behind the kit,
Johanne was a more animated and engaging front man than many who are free to roam the stage.
Our highpoint of the set (and our favorite track on the album) was People Of The Free World,
a high octane blast against the 'paranoid American'. It's nice when a band don't let you down and
tonight Kyrbgrinder were everything we hoped they would be. We sang along until the voices started
to go and can't wait to see this band again. Loved it.
|
|
All that remained was the small matter of headline act Fury UK. This is a band we first saw
supporting MSG where they were very impressive, and the couple of times we had caught them since
had done nothing to lessen that impression.
Fury UK are pretty much at the forefront of the UK classic rock scene, a position cemented by
their excellent new album A Way Of Life. The band play no bullshit straight up hard rock regardless
of fads or fashions. They have an excellent frontman in the form of Chris Appleton who, along with
guitarist Luke and drummer Martin never fail to put on an excellent show. The band have worked hard
to get where they are and certainly deserve the success they are starting to enjoy.
And so the gig came to an end. We'd had 6 hours of excellent music, which is less time than some
people spent on hold today trying to get Take That tickets.
We win.
|
|
|
