NICALS, BODMIN (5TH JANUARY)

OBSYDIAN TEARS

Headlining tonight`s charity gig at Nicals, (in aid of the Cornish Air Ambulance - what a good idea!), Obsydian Tears had little to prove to their hardcore fans in attendance. As the first chord was struck, the heads came down and hair flew in the air from the audience to the band. With the exception of Todd the drummer and Adam on vocals, the band instigated and joined the audience headbanging with every power chord they struck. Like a cat fight in a heavy metal hairdressers, the follicles flew and even those cranially challenged gave it a fair crack!

With influences coming from areas such as Pantera, In Flames and Chimaire, the Penzance based Obsydian Tears were obviously heavy as hell. The hypnotic pounding aura around the band`s performance is surely indebted to the combination of the duel guitars of James and Tim bouncing off the band`s engine housed in Todd`s drums and Andrew`s bass.

So what else do you wanna know? Obsydian Tears are heavy as fuck and your tattoos will slip off if you stand too close!

STALKING NORTH

Organisers of tonight`s charity fund raising gig and all round good eggs, (they didn`t even put themselves on as the headliners!), Stalking North took second billing and control of the crowd that started to fill Nicals at this point in the evening.

Then the lights went down and darkness was all around, when suddenly the lead guitar of Joe Pamplin literally lit up! Little blue lights along the fret board gave a continued Christmassy feel to the occasion as the mad guitarist thrashed his fingers and led the band into their set : Limmer on vocals calling the audience to their feet, Gooch`s Flying V battling with the taught rythmn section of Rowse on drums and Dan on bass - it was a powerhouse performance from a band at the top of their game. With influences rangeing from Iron Maiden, Slayer and Metallica to Trivium, Stalking North are seriously crowd pleasing and tonight was no exception. With drum solos, guitars played behind heads, (can you guess the culprit?), and screaming vocals, this is a band that demands your attention.

More fun than you can shake a sticky thing at !

SOLD IT ON THE SOFA

Hailing from Newquay and celebrating the lead singer`s birthday - it was destined to be a good night for Sold It On The Sofa as they took the second spot on tonight`s gig. Playing a mixture of original and covers, the band put in a professional performance that illustrated a confidence that only comes from regularity or arrogance. Luckily it was the former in this case and the atmosphere went up a notch as the band ripped into their set.

Clearly influenced by Nirvana and The Misfits (illustrated through a combined cover), but with a bass tom pounding drum pattern, I started to hear Ramones influences and a sixties/Cramps style in their own material. Twangy lead guitar suddenly distorting into heavy riffs, confused initially until the style became recognisable as truely their own.

A birthday treat for all concerned.

BREATHE

As this was the incredibly young band`s first ever gig, you would have expected a few shakey starts and general cock ups to occur, however Breathe produced a startlingly good performance in front of proud parents and friends as they raced through six original numbers to start this charity evening in style.

A damn fine guitarist was backed by an equally good bass, running lead riffs across the pounding drums. With hints of Metallica, Breathe`s own material is strong and melodic, anthemic and in your face. Unfortunately the volume of the vocals was far too low to hear and this was annoying because clearly this is a band with a strong future and I for one, would like to hear what they`ve got to say for themselves.

Breathe deeply.

(Photos by Lord Itchfield)