Live Review- Soundgarden and Graveyard at the 02 Dublin- 16/09/2013

                               

I must admit, I felt a certain amount  of trepidation about seeing a reformed Soundgarden live, especially at the cavernous 02 in the heart of Dublin's docklands, which embodies everything that's shit about arenas.Six euro for a pint,sound of ,to be kind, variable quality depending on where you stand in the arena, and of course that horrific blue light emanating from the ceiling that puts one in mind of a Burger King toilet.Rest assured, whatever else happens in those ridiculously overpriced balcony seats, it's unlikely to involve any intravenous drugs.

Then there's the small matter of my ridiculously high expectations.Ever since the moment a decade ago that I picked up 'Superunknown' from the racks of my local Golden Discs store(don't look for it, its not there anymore) and decided to take a punt seeing as it was only eight quid and I liked 'Black Hole Sun', I have been a massive Soundgarden fan.One of the few heavy bands apart from Mastodon, Alice In Chains  and Clutch that even my Radiohead loving 'indie' mates agreed were fantastic, Cornell and co's body of work, in particular 'Superunknown' and 'Badmotorfinger' ,were afforded a most lofty position  in my pantheon of musical idols.

Then some stuff happened.Audioslave stuff.Timbaland stuff.More, even crappier Audioslave stuff after that, and my hero worship of Cornell faded a little.At least,I assured myself, Soundgarden would never be tainted for me, being as they swore that they would never reform, and no amount of money could tempt them to say otherwise.Except,of course, they did reform, and lo and behold,we have 'King Animal' ,a record which has proved divisive among many hardcore fans, myself included.Brilliant in places, in others it sounded weak, and like a band trying too hard to recapture former glories.However, when  it was announced the Seattle quartet would be playing a rare Irish date, I didn't hesitate, not even for a second.If they're shit, I told myself, at least I can say I've seen them.

Irish public transport being the unreliable farce that it is, we arrive a little late to The Venue Formerly Known AsThe Point,  just in time to catch Swedish retro rock luvvies Graveyard tearing through 'The Siren'.Grabbing a quick(expensive) pint, quickly perusing some(even more expensive) merch and quickly walking away when we see how much we'd be paying for it, we wander back over to catch the latter half of Graveyards's set.And it's mostly good stuff, the band acquitting themselves well, in particular drummer Axel Sjoberg, who channels the spirit of John Bonham so convincingly you have to wonder did Bonzo drop a couple of  illicit love children on a long forgotten Swedish tour.The band as a whole are slick, never really blowing you away but impressing all the same with some solid musicianship and some well crafted, proggy blues rock songs.Usually touted as the best thing since sliced Sabbath by stoner  rock fan boys,Graveyard don't quite live up to the hype, and they don't quite nail the retro-rock vibe as well as, say, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, but they appear to win a few fans tonight all the same,and one wonders how they'd fare on a smaller stage and as headliners.Their light show is also, and I'm not being sarcastic, pretty awesome. . . .well I liked it.


And so on to the main event.And to be brutally honest, at least to start, Soundgarden kinda suck.Or at least the sound does.Combine  the fact that the first two or three songs are all but unlistenable, and the bulk of the crowd are more interested in filming Cornell on their iPhones,and it's quite possibly the most underwhelming,flat start to a gig I've ever witnessed.A little voice, small but getting louder as things progress, keeps muttering "Please don't let this be shit, please" in the back of my mind. But things soon pick up.Cornell greets the crowd  after the band have run through their first couple of numbers, and then introduces the next song:'Flower',the very first song off their first full length, 'Ultramega Ok'.And all of a sudden, every thing's right with the world.The sound sorts itself out, the crowd wake up(a little, let's be honest, no one was expecting circle pits) and for the following ninety or so minutes,Soundgarden proceed to rock the fuck out.

Ok,  so the set isn't perfect.There's a little too much of 'King Animal', almost nothing from 'Louder Than Love' , not much more of 'Badmotorfinger' save  'Outshined' and a feral 'Rusty Cage', and the band seem to lack much chemistry or energy on stage(save of course, drumming demi-god Matt Cameron).But when the set is stuffed full of songs like 'Spoonman', 'My Wave', and a rare live outing of 'Limo Wreck', one tends to forgive a band an uneven set very quickly.Highlights include a thunderous 'Mailman', the deft complexity of choice 'King . . .' cut 'Non State Actor', and perhaps best of all, a final, crowd slaying stomp through  'Beyond The Wheel', bookended by a sickening wall of noise, Kim Thayil and Ben Sheperd standing backs to the crowd, lost in the primeval,perfect  howl of a wall of amps feeding back.

All in all, it's not a perfect show by any means, but neither is it a cash in tour or a sorry  attempt to reclaim past glories.Soundgarden tonight are loud , in your face and at times ludicrously brilliant.Cornell is charming, self effacing, even funny at times, and while he no longer possesses the god-like howl and imperious range of old, he's still in fine voice.The real stars though are guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron, the latter anchoring the band superbly  and playing out of his skin, the former proving to all and sundry why he's still the thinking man's guitar idol,his combination of bizarre chorus-heavy guitar tones,oddball tunings and monolithic riffing still instantly recognisable.

Six quid for a pint is taking the piss though.

Rating: 7.5/10

Stephen O' Connor, Born Again Nihilist

Live Review - Facemelter Music@ The Thomas House, 24-05-13 wi Marabou, Beltbuckle Overdrive and Snowblind

Entering Dublin's Thomas House for tonight's Face Melter extravaganza, it's not readily apparent that there's any kind of metal gig going on at all , at least not straight away.For those unfamiliar with the south inner city venue, it's one that has in the past been home more to rockabilly,punk and trad gigs than ear raping metallic noise, and as we stroll in from the haze of an unusually bright and warm Irish summer evening, we are initially a little puzzled by all the friendly , be-quiffed and tattooed  folk bopping to what sounds like Tiger Army.Directed downstairs by the cheery barman, all becomes a little clearer as soon as we push upon the door, to be greeted by some wicked noise from the evening's openers Snowblind, not to mention an enthusiastic hello from tonight's masters of ceremonies, one Aaron Gaffey of Kerouac fame, who proceeds to stuff Nihilist's pockets and various other orifices with glowsticks and merch til we're nearly weighted down.The vibe tonight is all about cutting loose and having a laugh while listening to some killer bands, and we're definitely game.Cold, frosty pints of lager at the ready, we head for the front . . .

Snowblind in action.

Unfortunately due to various public transport balls ups(well not really balls ups, just Dublin Bus being shit)  and my general lack of direction, we miss about half of Snowblind's set, but what we hear is pretty impressive. Billing themselves as a thrash band, Snowblind are actually a far more eclectic bunch than that tag normally implies.Owing more to bands like Voivod and latter day Entombed than Metallica or Slayer, the young trio forge a sound that's progressive but accessible, managing to fit in some bizarre arrangements and pin-wheeling through time changes like nobody's business.An excellent cover of Metallica's 'Blackened' rounds out an excellent set,one which  marks Snowblind as ones to watch.

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Snowblind.Melting faces.

Beltbuckler Overdrive are next, and waste no time getting into the party spirit . Frontman Matt Smith is an engaging presence, riling up the crowd and getting down on the floor to get in their faces once or twice, and the band's driving,Southern-flavoured  hard rock is the perfect accompaniment to some beer-doused head banging. The band themselves are , as ever, tight as hell, and blast through their set like men possessed. The highlight, for this Nihilist anyway, is a cover of Kyuss' classic 'Green Machine', drummer Alejandro Cruz nailing every one of Brant Bjork's fills expertly.

Beltbuckle Overdrive:just out of shot, loaded war machine.

And so on to the head-liners. Looking around the tiny basement venue, everyone seems to be wearing a Marabou hoody or shirt, and the anticipation as the Wexford Three-piece take the stage is feverish to say the least.Not at all acquainted with their music,our curiosity is piqued , and we edge a little closer, wondering what all the fuss is about.It takes roughly one song for everything to be cleared up.Marabou are, as they say in my neck of the woods, the business.

Marabou, do they even riff?Yes, yes they do.

Filtering the bellicose energy of  sludge  through a prism of post-hardcore, crust and progressive metal, the band's serrated riffing cuts through a slightly muddy sound mix and rips heads,  with a blend of off kilter aggression and killer hooks.Much like Snowblind, they're a difficult band to pin down, but if you can picture Tool at their most aggressive jamming Nausea tunes while Poison Idea knife-shank The Melvins in the corner, you're halfway there in describing their sound. This is a band that has to be experienced live, and the only complaint we have about their set is it's far too short.Everyone gets involved in the carnage too, with our promoter tonight himself lobbing glow sticks around and leaping off speaker stacks ,while a small but still fairly vicious mosh pit breaks out just in front of us at a few random junctures.In a word:mental.

The rest of the night disappears in an alcoholic haze, but it has to be said, it's been a long time since I enjoyed a gig quite this much.The relaxed atmosphere and friendly vibe is a throwback to the teen years of yours truly, and to gigs organized in church halls and school basements, with the emphasis on the music and having a laugh as opposed to getting just shit faced(though there's plenty of that as well).A cracking night had, and we're eager to see what Facemelter has in store next . . . .

Pictures courtesy of Aaron and Fallon/Facemelter Music Nights.


Stephen.

Check the bands out here:

Snowblind
http://snowblindireland.bandcamp.com/album/demos

Beltbuckle Overdrive

http://www.reverbnation.com/beltbuckleoverdrive?page_view_source=facebook_app

Marabou

http://www.reverbnation.com/maraboumusic?page_view_source=facebook_app

Stephen

bornagainnihilist@gmail.com