Reviews

For the first time in as long as I can remember the ballroom of the Carlton Hotel tonight welcomed four of Guernsey's top live bands to its stage, and all celebrate the birthday of well known face on the local scene, as well as sometime band member and DJ, G.

Ryan of Vietnameasles.

The evening got off to a fairly inauspicious start as the usually intense and insane Vietnameasles took to the stage. With one member suffering from the flu and the other two at points being out of tune and out of time, tonight was, it's safe to say, not the band's finest hour.

However, amidst all the chaos a few of the bands tunes shone through, especially the ever eloquent 'Emma is a S**t' and through all the problems the band seemed to retain the sense of bitingly sarcastic humour and charisma that has set them apart from the other acts they usually play with.

Things really got into a good groove next as stoner rockers Teaspoonriverneck filled the large room with their Motorhead meets grunge sounds. With Erneck really evoking the spirit of Lemmy at several points tonight and the rest of the band backing up his roaring bass perfectly the band really came into their own much more than when I had previously seen them play in the cramped confines of The Plough.

Erneck of Teaspoonriverneck.

The band's combination of old time rock 'n' roll, 70's style hard rock and heavy metal really benefited from being blasted through a proper PA set up like it was tonight and it succeeded with getting a few of the more eager crowd members head banging along.

Particularly successful tonight were the songs 'Eaten By The Devil', 'Blonde Witch' and 'The Ballad of L.B.' during which Erneck, particularly, came into his own as a front man. I just can't wait to hear these songs on record now as they have been hinting at the release of an album for some time and tonight suggested its appearance may be close at hand.

Phil of Darker Shores.

Following Teaspoonriverneck things really took a turn for the intense as three of Guernsey's most extreme musicians returned to a local stage in the guise of Darker Shores.

Playing a unique combination of thrash and black metal the band really upped the ante in the most extreme act in Guernsey stakes. With insanely fast precision drumming from Daz, nostril rumbling bass from Bob and roaring, screaming vocals from Phil the band really managed to combine the death metal blueprint most famous for coming out of Florida and the black metal ideas of Scandinavia to great effect.

The crowd really get into Darker Shores.

With a sound like no other band in Guernsey, and a speed only matched by death metal favourites Ferox, Darker Shores succeeded in getting the first real pit of the night going and while this came in short bursts a small but dedicated group had assembled at the front to head bang along to every song.

Finally this evening, and with quite an act to follow, metalcore heroes My Last Victory hit the stage. With an even more intense performance than I had seen previously the band really seemed primed and ready for their upcoming shows in the UK. And while guitarist Josh Fletcher may not have seemed totally happy with tonight's performance the crowd were lapping it up.

Josh of My Last Victory.

With vocalist Jack Fletcher spending as much time on the floor screaming face to face with the assembled throng, as he did on the stage, his stage persona has really been honed into that of the supremely confident but not arrogant front man. And with the back up of the superb band that My Last Victory are they have the potential to go far.

This could clearly be seen tonight as they had a constant pit going throughout the set which culminated during the bands last song with one of the most ferocious moshes I have ever seen in the island, which even included a stage dive from Jack!

Once it got going tonight presented itself as one of the most intense nights of music I have ever experienced in Guernsey and, if they keep growing like they seem to be, all four bands have the potential to do even greater things than they are doing already.