Silas @ the B2
Ho. Lee. Crap.
B2 is no stranger to hosting heavy bands and tonight there were no less than five playing. Four local names had been lined up to support out-of-towners Silas on their tour and despite the fact that US metal giants Soulfly were playing the same night elsewhere in Norwich, B2 had a bloody decent sized crowd. After being grilled by a middle-aged dude about my piercings in the bar next door, I took what was probably my fourth pint of the evening and watched Rolodex Of Gods. Their name notwithstanding, they were impressive. A kind of Tea Party-esque grunge trio who, I later found out, were making this their live debut. I think you could safely say it was a debut to be proud of.
Back Down Or Die were on next and took things up a notch. Definitely more hardcore in their influences these guys didn’t pull any punches and must have impressed me as I took zero notes. I do remember wondering whether frontman Rytch ever got annoyed with his dreads whacking him in the face the whole time as he leapt about the stage. Well worth seeing if you like your metal angry and in your face. Soulborn followed with the most unassuming frontman. For a guy who looked like he should be fronting the Goo Goo Dolls his voice was immense. How does that sound come out of that person? A heavy-as vocal, sounding like it came from the bottom of his soul, emerged from this slim, blonde guy. Not to be outdone bassist Gamble whipped his red locks around like an angry Pantene ad. A few technical hitches but a solid metal performance none the less.
Now on my seventh pint (I’m small but as my dad would say I’ve got hollow legs) London boys Silas took the stage. I’m glad I had already been told two members of the band were identical twins, who liked to swap instruments part way through sets, or I might have thought I was seeing things. I’m not going to lie, by this point my notes had become illegible but I did make out that I wrote ‘Ho.Lee.Crap.’ in my notebook. Twice. With an impressive, tight performance and a new song or two Silas proved to be fitting headliners to steal some of the Soulfly crowd. For a little guy frontman Dave Runham sure had some stage presence. Us Norwich folk were definitely impressed with their mix of vocal harmonies and intricate-yet-heavy guitars that would occasionally throw in a funk riff for good measure. This is a band that B2 will look back on, privileged to have hosted, when they’re centre stage at a festival somewhere. Who are Soulfly again?
