Kill II This Tours

Breed 77 are a sorta low rent Tool with more metal leanings. The crowd seem enthusiastic, but I wonder if the young white kids would find anything loud enough worth slamming into each other for. This intriguing band however are a welcome break from the usual growling, I only wish the vocals were a bit cleaner so I could make out what they were trying to say.

Kill II This are completely at ease in places like this, and in fact shine even brighter here than in front of the larger crowds. Still missing a full time bass player, they launch into a set which offers much to a following that have obviously seen these boys many times before. Solid performances of old favourites 'Another Cross II Bare' and 'The Flood' are peppered with newer tracks 'Figure of 8ight' and 'Plan B'. All find a happy home. Special treats are debuting 'Frames of Mind' and the remixed 'Spineglass'. It is cut down, hardened up and hints at a fresher, more up to date sound that will hopefully launch these guys into the stratosphere where they belong, as no other British band is combining hard beats, samples and melodious vocals with such passion. A roaring rendition of 'God On Drugs' and their work is done here for another evening. It would be worth your while to catch them in a basement near you.

Review Glasgow Garage 16th April 2001

You think the curfew at your local venue is bad? This evening all three bands had to be done and dusted by 10pm. So it was a swift start barely after the doors opening for Apartment 26. So early in fact that many punters, and in fact me, were still drinking in the bar. As I made it into the main room, there seemed to be many young fans keen to get an autograph, so they couldn’t have been too bad.

Kill II This have had a traumatic start to the year. They recently lost their bassist of three years, Caroline Campbell, and have recruited Pete Stone, the original player for this tour. Would he add to the band or just fill in the spaces? I must admit to it being more towards the later. It is difficult to claim your territory when confronted with the awesome on stage presence of guitarist Mark Mynett and singer Matt Pollock, who have formed a rock tag team over the years. He could play though. The crowd seemed lacking in established fans, but what there were gave it their all. Crashing through tracks like ‘Figure of 8ight’, ‘The Flood’ and ‘Faith Rape’ it is true to say that Steve Rooney, who only joined the band on drums last year is fully integrated and adding to the experience. The set was truncated due to time restrictions, but the high point would have to be the new song ‘Plan B’. A maturation in song writing, and a move towards a more modern sound, things can only get better for these boys.

Fear Factory have reached almost legendary proportions in heavy metal circles, not only for their anthemic tunes, but also for their powerful live performance. Tonight was no exception, the reproduction of the songs was a testament to practice and programming, and the preacher like Burton C. Bell on vocals, handling the crowd like a gospel meeting, very appropriate for the time of year. In places the group seemed a little patronising, but this was all forgotten in the wake of the grinding ‘Edgecrusher’ and genre breaking ‘Resurrection’. Old fans were also treated to the almost decade old ‘Scapegoat’I swear that I have never seen a mosh pit so big, I think it took up half the entire venue at one point. This shows that their music is great to jump around to, but I feel it sometimes lacks the melodic complexity, which is ever increasing in the scene today, to project the band to true international and chart fame. Their new album ‘Digimortal’ is out next week, so maybe time will prove me wrong. All things considered it was still a cracking gig, and it’s going to be a legend in Glasgow. And yes, before you ask, Dino is still the fattest bastard in rock.