Post by Darby on Apr 14, 2006 21:46:13 GMT
Review from Battle of the Bands Reviewer Majere:
First up, a confession of possible bias on my part. Musically, Shotgun Divorce are so far up my street that I suspect them of nicking my milk. So it’s fair to say that I was looking
forward to the appearance of the biggest metal frontman in Yarmouth and his cohorts with some anticipation. Mixed in there as well was a little anxiety, though- here is a band that have built a reputation on being able to cover ‘Bodies’ and ‘End of Heartache’ to crowd-pleasing effect, but there’s that 50/50 rule lurking in the depths ready to swim up and bite the legs off their score. Would the originals be able to stand up to their illustrious company? I shall venture a humble ‘Hell yeah!’
Opener ‘Bleed for Cheating’ makes it pretty clear that Shotgun Divorce can come up with a solid track, but after a brutal cover of Slipknot’s ‘Before I Forget’ has raised the bar- or at least caused a few bottles of WKD to shake loose of their shelves on it- it’s the soaring ‘Execute’ that really stands out. Frontman Darby, who is sporting an intriguing mohawk tonight, gives the track everything he has- and that, let me tell you, is quite a lot. Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Bat Country’ is neatly de-camped by Darby’s roar before Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’ hits like a sack of lead sledgehammers falling off the Blackpool Tower. A trio of decent originals fill out the rest of the set
before things come to an appropriately insane conclusion with a cover of ‘Seek and Destroy’ that has half the pit getting their chance at the vocals. And what a pit it is, brimming with hugely entertained and alarmingly energetic bodies, some of which probably do indeed hit the floor. With some force. With Darby’s looming presence dominating the stage, it would be easy to forget the contributions of the rest of the band, but ex-Idle Hands bassist and fan idol Ozzy and Definition stalwart Pep do sterling service both with their respective instruments, and with their backing vocals and showmanship. Lead guitarist Dom is perhaps a little more reserved, but his playing is excellent whilst drummer Jason keeps everything under control and moving at a fair old clip. When Darby makes a foray into the crowd at the end of the set, Ozzy and Pep make gleeful use of the extra space that has become available without missing a beat. Musically, this is a performance that is at the very least good, and often excellent. In terms of showmanship, it’s getting near genius level, with Darby using every trick in the book from singalongs to ludicrous gurning and a mid-set Birthday Club. If anything can keep this band from the top slot, it’s that lurking 50/50 rule, but it’d need to be pretty brave to mess with this lot.
Extracted from : www.lockandload.org.uk/page56.html
First up, a confession of possible bias on my part. Musically, Shotgun Divorce are so far up my street that I suspect them of nicking my milk. So it’s fair to say that I was looking
forward to the appearance of the biggest metal frontman in Yarmouth and his cohorts with some anticipation. Mixed in there as well was a little anxiety, though- here is a band that have built a reputation on being able to cover ‘Bodies’ and ‘End of Heartache’ to crowd-pleasing effect, but there’s that 50/50 rule lurking in the depths ready to swim up and bite the legs off their score. Would the originals be able to stand up to their illustrious company? I shall venture a humble ‘Hell yeah!’
Opener ‘Bleed for Cheating’ makes it pretty clear that Shotgun Divorce can come up with a solid track, but after a brutal cover of Slipknot’s ‘Before I Forget’ has raised the bar- or at least caused a few bottles of WKD to shake loose of their shelves on it- it’s the soaring ‘Execute’ that really stands out. Frontman Darby, who is sporting an intriguing mohawk tonight, gives the track everything he has- and that, let me tell you, is quite a lot. Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Bat Country’ is neatly de-camped by Darby’s roar before Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’ hits like a sack of lead sledgehammers falling off the Blackpool Tower. A trio of decent originals fill out the rest of the set
before things come to an appropriately insane conclusion with a cover of ‘Seek and Destroy’ that has half the pit getting their chance at the vocals. And what a pit it is, brimming with hugely entertained and alarmingly energetic bodies, some of which probably do indeed hit the floor. With some force. With Darby’s looming presence dominating the stage, it would be easy to forget the contributions of the rest of the band, but ex-Idle Hands bassist and fan idol Ozzy and Definition stalwart Pep do sterling service both with their respective instruments, and with their backing vocals and showmanship. Lead guitarist Dom is perhaps a little more reserved, but his playing is excellent whilst drummer Jason keeps everything under control and moving at a fair old clip. When Darby makes a foray into the crowd at the end of the set, Ozzy and Pep make gleeful use of the extra space that has become available without missing a beat. Musically, this is a performance that is at the very least good, and often excellent. In terms of showmanship, it’s getting near genius level, with Darby using every trick in the book from singalongs to ludicrous gurning and a mid-set Birthday Club. If anything can keep this band from the top slot, it’s that lurking 50/50 rule, but it’d need to be pretty brave to mess with this lot.
Extracted from : www.lockandload.org.uk/page56.html
