If you want to do a review of a concert you've been to recently, please email it to us at kevin@burieddreams.com. Please include the lineup, venue and date of the gig.

Extreme Noise Terror, Medulla Nocte, Confusion Corporation
Dying Sun
Waylander
Hard Resistance
Summer City Live '97
U2, Seahorses
Hybrid, Brown Eye Superfly, Pumpkin Nuts
Next Issue:

• Strapping Young Lad
• Entombed
• Misery Loves Co.
• much more...

After sitting through 20 dull minutes of ENT soundcheck, first up were Confusion Corporation. I had heard they were good, but for various reasons doubted they would be. But I was wrong. They are heavy as shit, but yet not a wall of noise. They had different styles of music within individual songs, and all were played well and very tightly. The drumming usually ruins this style of music but not this time: it always seemed to fit the mood. The music was in a way original, no other band I've heard sounds like this, but if you combine Carcass, Napalm Death, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse you'd have a fair idea of the sound. Carcass style leads at points, vocals switching between Glen Benton, Chris Barnes and 'normal', and ND guitars. It's not quiet as limited as it may sound from that description though. Go see them if you can.

I didn't really take much notice of Medulla Nocte, and sat down on the floor through the whole set. Basically it seemed to be a similar sort of music to the previous band, but without the variation: what you would expect them to be like. It's a shame there are more bland bands in this genre than good ones.

It was really weird when Extreme Noise Terror took the stage. I'd obviously heard of all the hilarity between ND and ENT swapping vocalists, and I could have sworn that when they first came on Phil sounded like Barney when talking. It was like, "Oi, Barney! I thought you'd left!". I'm not a great ENT fan (I've only got the song 'Damage 381' and don't think much of it), but they were OK. From the point of view of someone who likes them they were obviously good, cause I could see people were enjoying themselves. I'd quite like to hear their new album in full all the same, as I know someone who thinks it's great.

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Kevin

I got into the Rat Trap and grabbed a drink just in time to catch some of the rehearsals. Ordog were not suited to the venue at all. They had a fast heavy sound which the soundman turned up too far, blending the guitars into one another drowning out the vocals, so it just turned into a noise and was lost on you.

Then Dying Sun took the stage. I only wish they had had someone else as their soundman, because for a band of their ability he did not do them justice. To add to that the audience were too pretentious and gutless to get up and dance to some good metal. Dying Sun shrugged these problems off nicely and got up there and enjoyed themselves.
By their second song, "As The Snow Falls", I was up and dancing. The acoustic-ish duet between Mark Keddie (vocals) and Graeme Duff (rhythm guitars), "Cold Blood" was a welcome rest after moshing myself towards the local casualty dept. Then they kicked in with "Faithless" and the final song "Betrayal", an angry asauly on the senses that grabbed my by the throat and threw me round the dancefloor.

By the time I left the Rat Trap early Friday morning I had found out three things:

1. Dying Sun are waiting to happen.
2. The soundman couldn't do his job.
3. Irn Bru is addictive (But that's another story, Kirk out...)

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Steve

The support band was very late in arriving. One of the planned support bands pulled out earlier in the week and they were supposed to provide a great deal of the equipment, hence a rather bare stage. The audience was "entertained" by a lengthy soundcheck by Waylander due to the resident soundman's extreme fussiness. There was ten minutes of the snare drum being hit over and over and over again. At least there was a pretty groovy drum solo at the end of the drum-kit testing which received rapturous applause from the rest of the band. After the soundcheck we waited and waited for the support band to arrive. There wasn't exactly a crowd (it was as busy as Lossiemouth beach at Winter solstice -- or a meeting of the Scottish Conservative Party), so I don't think the Rattrap itself made that much extra money out of the bar.

At ten, the support finally started. They were loud, heavy, moshy hardcore, and very proficient, looking as tight as a Goth's jeans. Great if you like that kind of thing or are very drunk and up for a good brutal hard... er...(where was I?)... mosh. Applause from the crowd (?) was subdued, but sincere and no-one actually got up there and moshed (I was a bit drunk by then, but feeling quiet and non-energetic).

Waylander was introduced by a tape of one of their songs which started off quietly, slowly building up to the "moshy" section, where the band themselves came in. The boys had very little equipment (teensy guitar amp and bass plugged into PA -- I think) and, of course, the famous tin whistle. Yes, Waylander are a heavy metal band with a tin whistle. Oh, and they had painted their faces blue, each with a different pattern (I would say a la Kiss, but I'm not that bitchy -- believe that and you'll swallow anything, which may result in an increase in your popularity). They weren't what I expected at all. All I knew was that they were "Celtic folk metal". Immediate thoughts were of a heavier Runrig or Capercaillie or something like that. I was surprised; they were extremely heavy metal pervaded by a very Celtic feel brought in by the tin whistle (obviously),the traditional rhythms of the drums and bass, and the fiddle-style guitar riffs, reminiscent of good old Irish jigs and reels. Vocals were a mixture of straight singing and death grunts, giving the whole thing a contemporary mondo heavy metal feel.

The set was brilliant and the tiny audience loved it, although head-bobbing was restricted to the seated position by a a brave few (two that I could see, anyway). My personal favourites were the instrumental "King of the Faeries" (a traditional tune re-worked in metal style -- it rocked completely and made me homesick for the Highlands, reminding me of ceilidhs where you hop, skip and spin each other round and round and don't give a stuff that you're making a complete bloody fool of yourself... sorry I've gone all nostalgic) and the Thin Lizzy cover they did for an encore (something about whisky -- for which the singer substituted "Buckie", referring to the infamous Buckfast Tonic Wine, which the band are rather partial to -- which I instantly recognised, but am too young to know the title of, honest).

In conclusion, Waylander fucking rock!!!! The three quid entry fee was worth every penny and the gig would have been perfect with a bigger crowd and better organisation.

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Wolfbitch

Jamie was supposed to be doing this review as he is a hardcore fan, but being lazy as he is it's been left to me. Hard Resistence are a Belgian hardcore band and I didn't really expect to enjoy them: I don't actually like hardcore much. This was great though. At first I thought thay sounded a bit more like Entombed than any hardcore I've heard, but their stage presence and tightness are definitely typical of their trade with plenty of movement and showmanship. The songs seemed very powerful and enjoyable, and even managed to persuade a few of the regular Rat Trap dwellers onto the dancefloor for a mosh frenzy. Sorry for not saying more, but it was a while ago. If you get a chance to see them, go along.

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Kevin

As I entered the venue with three others, twenty minutes after opening, we were greeted by 'Congratulations, our first customers!' or something similar. Up the first set of stairs and we were asked who we were, obviously the guy assumed that we must be one of the bands playing. After we got past him and up the next set of stairs there was another couple of security people. 'What are we supposed to do with you?'. Eh? They had to radio downstairs and get someone to come up to say we should go in!.

With twenty something bands playing I obviously can't mention them all. The first band on were ghijk (geek) who played to a total of about 8 people. The expected 'please try not to crush those at the front' quip came after the first song. I can't actually remember much about the bands music, just that they are a three piece with a female bassist (seemingly fashionable at the moment) and that they play some quite good guitar based pop.

The Alkahounds sounded great live, if a bit lacking in variety: each song basically goes slow-fast-slow-fast-slow. The excellent vocals switched between a subdued Nirvana style to a more angry shouting one. All in all I was quite impressed, and they looked like they could go far with the right backing. They don't come across so well on tape though, see the review of their demo.

I think this was the third time I've seen Brown Eye Superfly, and despite being a bit slow for my taste, I quite enjoy their updated mellow 70s rock music. They play well, look as though they're having fun, and that's what counts really, isn't it? A great band for local pubs/clubs/events but I don't think they'll go much further than that. Go and see them play somewhere, it'll only cost you about £3 and if you appreciate good music you'll probably enjoy yourself. Music for anyone of any age.

A friend came up with an idea for a t-shirt. "All I want for Christmas is a Rebel Sweetie!". That'd sell in bucket loads. If you've not seen them (Rebel Sweeties), they are three young girls who any man (and probably lots of women) would want in the sack (their Christmas sack obviously!).
For some reason their jaw length blonde haired drummer and vocalist insists on standing up, I'm sure her left leg must be twice the size off her right. At the front of the stage are two bum length dark brown haired girls: a guitarist/vocalist and a bassist (Gillian). Unfortunately the drummer, who is the main vocalist, either can't or won't sing. She insists on letting this horrible piercing wail emanate from her lungs. Thankfully the guitarist has a reasonable voise which she occasionally uses, I just wish she'd take over (much) more often. Apart from the vocals, they are musically quite sound. After I saw them the first time (last month) I didn't really like them (mostly due to the vocals) but I'm getting more into their metal/alternative sound.
They probably got the best response of the night up to that point, purely due to the fact that they are stunning! Sorry but I'm a man, and so were most of the audience, which showed. Me and four others were standing at the back, and by half way through the first song we were all up at the front silently drooling.

T.A.I.N.T. are a three piece whose music is mainly produced through a computer. Infact, musically that are not all that far removed from another Glasgow band, Gentech although the vocals and the atmosphere is commpletely different. While Gentech are an industrial/goth band (Rob, their guitarist, says his metal roots come through, but I'll be damned if I can hear them), T.A.I.N.T. have a much more aggressive vocal style with high pitched death grunts. Not like Cradle Of Filth though. Hell, I don't know, but it's damn good. (Unfortunately one of my friends disagrees, he thinks they were the worst band of the night). Also see their demo review.

I saw Incarnate about three years ago at the old Cathouse (now the Rat Trap), and I thought they were absolutely brilliant. They were supporting Hellfire and Trinity. To be honest, I thought they were the best band of the night. If I remember correctly, they have got a new vocalist since then, but the music is basically the same. Unfortunately it didn't seem nearly as good now as it did then. Probably I've just had my musical tastes change over the years. Maybe not though, I don't think they are as good. Basically it's very early 90s death metal, and although it is good for what it is, it's a bit dated. They must be reasonably good though as I've been dying to see them for the last three years!.

Hybrid (see my other review of them) were also really good, but I can't remember much about them, sorry.

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Kevin

Before anyone starts slagging me off for being at this gig, I DIDN'T PAY! I was helping collect money for a charity raffle and so got an All Areas pass, I wouldn't have gone otherwise.

I didn't really see the Seahorses because I was selling the raffle tickets, but I heard them. All I can really say is that I quite like their first single, but every song seemed to be the same as that.

I came here thinking that I would know more U2 songs than I thought I did, but it didn't turn out like that. I only managed to find five songs I recognised out of about 15 or 20, and there was only one song that I actually enjoyed most of, 'In The Name Of Love'.

After quite a good intro track the music went rapidly downhill, turning into what sounded like a rocked up one and a half hour techno mix. The first half hour went by before they actually spoke to the crowd for the first of about three times. During one reasonable song whats-his-face dragged a girl from the crowd into the stage and danced, kissed and sung to her throughout. One of the only highlights I'm afraid. They seemed to have some strange obsession with stars and stripes umbrellas.

Just when I thought they were about to break out into Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax', on came 'Streets with no name'. Cool intro, shit song druwned out by drums. For some strange reason there was then about three minutes of female sexual imagery on the video wall, just before the big yellow lemon turned into a silver one which moved along the stage before opening up with the band inside. If you have to ask, don't. Anyway, crap.

The visual show was however excellent and fun to watch. Definitely more credit to team handling the visuals than to the band however. There were only about three songs which actually got the crowd going properly. Having said that, I've heard a couple of other people that were there say it was excellent. Take their word or mine, I don't care.

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Kevin

The first band were the Pumpkin Nuts. Weird name, which is probably about the most exciting thing about them. They were a very competent, but bland band, playing 70s style rock, borrowing heavily from Led Zepelin. In fact, they did a Led Zep cover which sounded exactly like the rest of their repitoire. We had they misfortune to have sat next to the band's friends, who loudly greeted the end of each song with much clapping, whistling etc.

Next up were Brown Eye Superfly, which are a similar band in style to the one one which preceded them, but were much much better. They had far more stage presence and looked like they were actually enjoying themselves, despite the apathy of the crowd. Theirs was a much heavier, funkier brand of 70s rock and was very enjoyable. [They looked very experienced and confident - K]

The final band, Hybrid, came as a bit of a surprise. They played a, well... er.. hybrid of 70s rock and punk. For me, this didn't work at all. My consort, Kevin, disagrees and he liked it. They did one quite cute silly country punk song which was quite fun. Basically, if you like 70s rock/punk fused together you will enjoy Hybrid, otherwise you'll get a headache. [Heavy with a reasonable stage presence - K]

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Wolfbitch