Mendeed, Hekz, Blackout, Paroxysm - Saturday 1st April 2006
Reviewed by Christine Miller

Saturday 1st April and a big night for Bedford Esquires, with a particularly special 'One For The Underground' headlined by Scottish quintet, Mendeed, regarded by many as the future of British metal alongside the likes of Welsh metallers, Bullet For My Valentine. Thankfully, Bedford's metal fans did themselves proud tonight, turning out ready to rock and prepared take advantage of all four talented of the bands on offer.

Milton Keynes five-piece Paroxysm started the night in true metal style, coming straight in and serving up the musical equivalent of a punch in the face. Influences from bands like Machine Head and Chimaira are evident as Paroxysm violently brawl their way through their set with bone-crushing brutality, employing equal measures of frantic drumming and menacing vocals. Esquires is already teeming with people as vocalist Barry Neilson screams and growls like a beast in pain, while chugging guitars and bass coupled with pounding drums to build to a climactic rumble.

With the absence of Hell Above, Blackout are up next, taking the stage for what was to be a landmark performance for the Bedford-based favourites, as it marked the band's final show before the departure of their singer and guitarist, Chris Short. Blackout begin with more heavy, rumbling rhythms before launching into their first number, full of Metallica-esque guitar shredding, penetrating drum beats that are almost painful, and screams that make your eardrums tingle. There's a frenzied look on bass-player Martin Lewis' face as the band really begin to find their metal groove in 'Inside the Man'. You can tell that the band are relishing this final performance in front of such a packed venue; tonight, Blackout are every inch a convincing metal band, making it seem even more sad that it's all about to come to an end. The only disappointment was their choice to cover System Of A Down's 'BYOB' as their final song of the evening; while it certainly sent the crowd crazy, it was without a doubt the weakest link in their set, and you can't help but feel that one of their own equally exciting compositions would have been a more appropriate final salute to Esquires, and the Bedford music scene in general. But minor worries aside, as Chris says his final 'thank you and goodnight' to the audience, the applause they receive indicates that this is a band who will be sadly missed.

Mix Iron Maiden with an equal measure of Dragonforce, add a dash of Dio-style fantasy metal and just a pinch of Justin Hawkins and you get somewhere near the lethal concoction that is tonight's final support band, the hotly anticipated quartet, HeKz. Soaring guitar twiddling, stunning technical ability and a deliciously over-the-top vocal performance sets the crowd on fire. Frantic and brutal, yet without loosing any of their whimsical melodies or technical precision, in spite of their youth there is something spell-binding about HeKz. Their captivating and commanding stage presence sees hands raised on demand, while guitarist Dan Young is lifted from the stage and carried through the crowd, still soloing furiously. A truly epic performance – when you see these boys in an arena somewhere, remember that you saw them here first.

Still reeling from the excitement of HeKz the heaving club is suddenly plunged into darkness, quickly followed by a distorted rumbling. Chants of 'Mendeed!' from the crowd are drowned out as the noise grows louder, made even more terrifying by the haunting sound of the bagpipes (seemingly a nod to the band’s Scottish roots). The tension builds and the chanting grows louder before Mendeed finally take to the stage to deliver a truly breath-taking performance. As lead singer David Proctor stands, foot on monitor, glaring intimidatingly at the audience like an army general preparing his troops for battle, the rest of the band deliver a stunning display of soaring guitar work to a sea of saluting devil horns. As the performance draws to a close, 'The Reaper Waits' is a perfect example of Mendeed’s ability to blend modern, classic, hardcore and power metal seamlessly to create a classic metal sing-a-long that shows them at their heaviest and most melodic simultaneously. Tonight, Mendeed prove that they can be just as technically precise live as they are on record and leave the crowd shell-shocked and seemingly too exhausted to call for an encore.

Tonight was the second time Mendeed have visited Bedford and after their phenomenal success this time was even bigger and better than the last; certainly a night that Esquires will remember for a long time to come.

(You can read Chrissie's interview with Mendeed in our new 'Features' section. Ed)