DownTuned

Never let it be said that we only cover gigs in London. We find ourselves on the South Coast in a pub where it cost only £1 to see Death Metal in a multitude of forms, drinking jagermeister and avoiding a pair of dudes who seem to have got naked for some reason.

First up are Hampshire’s Bloodshot Dawn. They play something between deathcore, thrash and techy death metal, or at least I think they do, because missing their second guitarist, plagued by technical issues and (at the risk of sounding like sound quality wanker) having a bloody godawful mix, it’s hard to tell. I’d like to give them a proper review, but it would be unfair to judge them on this performance, because this was a shambles.

Part metalcore, part glam and part haircut The Defiled look a wee bit out of place on the cramped pub stage. They look like they should be tearing up the Sunset Strip in the mid eighties, rather than entertaining a pub full of half cut greasers. In fact the look is at odds with their sound too. Obviously a lot of work has gone into creating a look somewhere between The Misfits, Nikki Sixx and your local gathering of emo kids down the park, and yet they play a very angry form of glammed up metalcore, full of venom and bile. However I find it hard to believe that you can be that angry and spend that much time on your ‘look’. They have the moves, and if you’re an angry teenager they have the songs, but they don’t have the conviction to impress me, but I am a bastard.

Speakin of conviction, Ted Maul have it in spades. Their drum and bass elements are pushed to the back, allowing their feral, aggressive death metal shine through in its dirty, gritty glory. No showy stage outfits, just shouting, riffing and blasting. They sound like a product of their environment, grotty London streets, overcrowded towerblocks and permanently stinking pubs. Not the ideal place to raise kids, but a great place to make metal. Unpretentious, ferocious and fun, it’s nice to see Ted Maul back on the scene.

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