Since I know a few are curious as to what to expect from such an artist, I figured I’d do a more formal review. Set in the dark and dingy depth’s of Camden “Purple Turtle,” where capacity is reached at 285 (assuming we include the small upper balcony and the space around the corner), and the slightly sticky floor becomes a good thing when you realise how aggressively people play table football in the corner. Greeted friendly by fellow Ascendance Records artist “Pin-Up Went Down” whilst I waited, expecting the first support act, my pleasant surprises were yet to begin.

Triaxis – 3.5/5

And so the support emerges. Billed incorrectly as ‘Life of Agony;’ a Swedish hardcore punk band that sounded like they were trying to be madball (but with less creativity), the sight of two women walking out onto the stage caused me to scratch my head slightly. From the country famous for that-welsh-joke (what do you call a sheep tied to a lamp-post in Wales? A leisure centre), soon the feelings of confusion disappeared. Getting into full swing the resulting sound perhaps best likened to a more power-orientated ‘Iron Maiden,’ with a hefty 80s feel emerged. With a delicate balance of concentration and youthful vigour that – whilst shows their inexperience in a live setting – had a certain honesty about the manner they performed, lending a somewhat intimate feel.

In terms of musicianship, they all proved capable of performing live, the vocalist with a power to put many to shame, the drummer capable of performing aptly and even a word in from the bassist; it was still the guitars that stole the show. The rhythm on occasion managing to keep up with the acrobatic display of the lead, which is intended to be taken literally; for watching this guy work is a truly mind-bending experience. With strong neo-classical leanings, the complexity of many of his solo’s – often multiple times in each track – from the sporadic jumps up and down the neck, somehow combining sweeping and tapping, using his guitar lead as a makeshift pick for chords and a blistering pace; he has the ability, but despite looking for a slight bit more melody to his performance, his youth (roughly mid-20s) leaves plenty of time for improvement in the future. This Welsh quintet may be relatively new on the scene, only recently releasing their debut album, but they already have the technical aspect down and I expect I’ll be visiting them again before long.


Diablo Swing Orchestra – 4.5/5

Yes, the headlining band consisting of an electric cello, two guitarists, a bassist, four intermittent vocalists, a drummer and some prominent saxophone and trumpet work; this wasn’t a very large stage they were performing on. The fact they fit all eight members (two session musicians were used for the trumpets and saxophone) on at one time is a miracle in itself.

Personally, an integral part of a live show is the crowd interaction; a bit of fun that goes beyond merely re-creating the sound on the album. This was an aspect they performed superbly, and all apprehensions of whether its ‘metal enough’ go out the window when you realise how everyone in the room reacts in a different way; from the cellist doing rapid almost robotic movements and the lead guitarist dancing like its still the 70s, the headbangers, skankers, swingers and even that required unenthused old man with a look that doesn’t need to him to say ‘back in my day…’ to get his point across, were all present in this small but unusually wide demographic of both genders with diverse musical interests.

The guest musicians at times sounded a little off, at times not performing as well as I would have liked, and at others they were off-stage and the track did without it which occasionally became distinctly noticeable in the end result, perhaps not overtly so but simply ‘not sounding right.’ The actual musicians however were a joy to watch perform if for no other reason than the fact that they all appear to be doing something different. The bassist jumping forward, crouched down low to smile into the camera’s as he either slapped his funky bass-line, or the lead guitarist jumping forward to deliver his Russian accent. The cellist even managed to find the time to drop his instrument, get up and dance something between a skank and a swing dance, singing his own part when required. And yes, the lead vocalist manages to hit every single note. Don’t mistake this band for a pro-tools production; they can perform it all perfectly (if perhaps they managed to sprout extra limbs to play all the required instruments).

The feat of performing such a style of music was never going to be an easy one, but the success at balancing all the sound levels, the fact that only once was there feedback (which was quickly covered up by an earth shattering display from the vocalist anyway) and the level of energy as they bounced back and forth across the tiny stage, arguing amongst each other, bantering with the crowd and yelling at the headbangers to swing dance all ended up proving that what they once considered virtually unplayable live is not just possible, but pretty damn good. Just whatever you do, don’t use the bathroom