Reviews

Another week and another gig is taking place in the confines of the St Margaret's Lodge, a venue that is becoming a real Mecca for the younger end of Guernsey’s music scene.

Tonight four bands took to the make shift stage in the Corbiere Suite to deliver what turned out in the end to be a thoroughly entertaining evenings music.

Charlie of Another Sinking Feeling.

First up were new comers If All Else Fails, featuring a former member of Firefly in their ranks and generally sporting the traditional 'emocore' look I had certain expectations of this youthful five piece before they even took to the stage.

The band, however, surprised me during their short set as while they did play a style of music that could essentially be described as emocore or lighter end metalcore, they seemed to add their own edge to it and, though the majority of the band lacked the necessary stage presence, for a first outing they were very impressive, especially as they played all original material tonight.

I would like to give special mention to the bands bass player, Charlie, as he seemed to be a ball of raw energy on stage, if only he'd had the space to use it.

Ben and Nick of Perpetual of the Blinding.

Next up came Perpetual of the Blinding, the last time I saw this extremely young 'alternative grindcore' quintet I failed to make any real connection with them and their music. Hoping that was a one off, I was looking forward to seeing them again tonight.

Once again, however, I failed to entirely get what it was this band were aiming for, as, it seemed, did a majority of people in the room because no matter how many times the band attempted to get the audience going, no one really went for it.

It seems to me what the band really lacks is the necessary bite and threatening nature that the style of music they play really requires and the moments where they try and put this across they really just come over as a bit cocky and arrogant.

Ben of The Escape Fall.

That being said all four musicians really do seem to have the ability to play the music well, they just somehow don't seem to quite gel on stage together, and vocalist Clinton Millard has displayed his voice is capable, even if it seemed to be suffering the ill effects of a sore throat this time out.

The third band of the night was also seemingly the most out of place. Wedged between two blasts of extreme metal in Ferox and Perpetual of the Blinding, The Escape Fall's emo-pop just didn't fit in with the rest of the line up.

Matt of Ferox.

That being said they put on a hell of a show, vastly improved in presence and confidence since I last saw them play, their pop-rock stylings, in the vein of My Chemical Romance, The Used and even Fall Out Boy, really won over a section of the crowd, especially the girls in attendance.

Tonight The Escape Fall displayed all the skills and potential to make a big impact at the 'poppier' end of Guernsey's rock scene, even if they did have their critics tonight, but lets face it emo and death metal are never really going to mix.

Finally the extremity levels were upped to their limits as death metal titans Ferox once again attempted to blow a hole in the roof of St Maggie's. If it's possible the band were even heavier tonight than they were last week with vastly improved clarity of sound thanks to a different PA system really adding that extra something to their performance.

Jonny of Ferox.

On top of the clear sound, Matt's stage presence and confidence were once again increased, even since last week. This confidence coupled with his screaming, roaring and growling (and the accompanying facial expressions) really makes him fit the bill of a great extreme metal front man.

Not only is it Matt's stage presence that's on the rise, however, as his young protégé, and bass player, Jonny is also growing in this area, alongside his fantastic musicianship. And this backed up with Pierre's ever top-notch drumming and fantastic original songs like 'Cannibal Ferox' and 'Insides Out at the Mortuary Gates' makes Ferox the extreme band to beat at the heavy end of the scene at the moment.