D.R.I @ The Owl Sanctuary
Killer Hurts, Back Down Or Die, Shrapnel and D.R.I go hardcore.
Four bands for a tenner was the deal, so no wonder the Owl was already filling up by the time first act Killer Hurts took to the stage at 7.30. Despite being a local band I’d never seen them before, but was immediately impressed with the brilliant level of musicianship and technical prowess on show. We’re talking thrash metal here, proper old school thrash – think Testament or Forbidden, played at fearsome volume. Next up were Back Down Or Die who added a more hardcore edge to their sound, with a rap-metal touch of Zack from RATM about the singer. Having a proper frontman added to the performance and the band were tight and very loud, although for my tastes the first band just slightly edged it. The last warm up act was another local band, Shrapnel, who I’d also never seen before and were the most straight ahead metal of the three with a sound that reminded me of some of the great German bands of the 80’s, especially Kreator. I had pretty high hopes for these guys but I’m sad to report that I was disappointed in their set. They certainly didn’t lack passion, the lead singer gave it his all, but for some reason it didn’t entirely click for me. Two of the guys from Killer Hurts are also in Shrapnel and on this evidence I would suggest Killer Hurts are the way forward.
Then…well then it all went a bit weird when there was a power cut! I’m not sure exactly what happened; it looked like the band inadvertently caused it but it did kill the buzz somewhat as we stood and waited for 25 minutes for everything to get fixed. A real shame because the bonus of having three supports is the gaps between bands is short and there is a real sense of momentum. At 10.25 though, D.R.I finally started to play and although it took me a little while, eventually all was forgotten and we were back on track for a curfew busting 1 hour show – as advertised.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles started out in the early 80’s playing short sharp blasts of hardcore punk before their songs got longer and they started to fuse punk and thrash metal to create the genre we now know as crossover. Still, with guitarist Spike Cassidy and singer Kurt Brecht in the band they absolutely delivered the goods; loud, fast and heavy with the punk influence always to the fore, even on some of the longer songs. For such aggressive music Kurt was a surprisingly mellow but captivating frontman; Spike’s guitar work was brilliant and he looked in good shape despite his recent health issues. Highlights were numerous but Thrashard, Manifest Destiny and Violent Pacification were my picks. There was lots of moshing down the front, buckets were sweated and hearing was destroyed. They played as long as they were able to and the last bunch of tracks became one long song as they strove to deliver their full set.
I’ve certainly seen better gigs at the Owl, although the technical problems really didn’t help, but it was still a great night of hard and heavy music headlined by a band than can genuinely claim to be legends of their scene.
@StuPres
