Ex-Nihilo + Scar My Eyes + Shogun + Killer Messiah - 20th February 2009
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton
Tonight, Bedford Alternative Music presented an evening which centred principally on the launch of Ex-Nihilo's new album. However, for starters, I was more taken aback by the astounding sounds of first band Killer Messiah. Recruiting musicians from the Biggleswade and Hitchin area, the band sets the tone with its pounding drums and screaming vocals. It's immediately apparent that we are being treated to a band who seem like true guardians of metalcore ethics. These youngsters ply their no-frills breakneck brutal style. With "Incinerated memories" crushingly followed by "I call traitor", it's brotherhood machismo bny the bucketload! "Eternal fate" delivers an infinitely more darker punch. Although the set seems to over run slightly. it's an impressive Esquires debut.
Shogun are a six piece male/female young ensemble who, for twenty minutes, engage me in the most turgid experimental rap-metal noise. They totally exasperate, and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, totally out of the blue and probably for the first time, Shogun stopped trying to be clever and the result was simply stunning. As the band performed "The last one", it is, I feel, the best song of the entire evening. It's a euphoric multi-layered tune with an utterly pulsating guitar back drop. With Shogun, it might have been a long time arriving, but the wait was certainly worth it!
In an evening when all the sounds urge people to make those silly devil horn gestures, Scar My Eyes continue down the same path. Heavy and brutal, it's sad that there aren't more metal tasting youngsters in attendance to gorge on the fare provided. The passion and power that this young band exude should have garnered more support. Perhaps lack of finance, or just that at the moment metal is not the chosen genre as far as the youngsters of Bedford are concerned. It was their loss as the band powered out their set, especially on "The game" which is their myspace offering at the moment.
Ex-Nihilo also certainly make a heavy racket and probably seem to draw a certain inspiration from anything that unsettles. A thick slice of all things metal is dissected and fed into a hardcore blender for the ultimate brain scrambling effect. I felt that they just about saved it from the natural clutches of monotony that this relentless evening could produce.