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| Let's Go Friday - all pics Gareth Hughes |
If the Arctic Monkeys have proved anything it's that bands can start extremely young and still accrue critical and commercial success. The average age of gigging local bands is getting lower by the day; adding up the combined age of some of those playing at The Maze on Mansfield Road on January 10th might make some of LeftLion's editorial team weep. With two of the bands so youthful they're practically foetuses, much of the sadly undersized audience is made up of their friends. As such, there's a bizarre mix of the perfectly-groomed angular haircuts and defiant metalheads who lend the venue a mighty stench of body odour.
Let's Go Friday, first band on and all yet to lose their puppy fat, show their age substantially. They're clearly well rehearsed and several of them are decent musicians, but they have a long way to go before they truly find their own sound. No less than two of the covers they played were by Paramore, while the original material they play sounds like Paramore b-sides - compounded by the fact that the underbitten, Mississipi-ish vowls of vocalist Charlotte Eastwood were clearly culled from Hayley Williams. It'd be unfair to treat them too harshly, however, as it's early days yet and the talent is there - the real question is what they'll sound like six months down the line.
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| With Silent Eyes |
In an odd choice of sequencing, next on was With Silent Eyes. Without doubt the best act of the night, from staggering opener The Calm onwards they utterly demolished the venue, showing a power that belied the size of the stage and the room. It's a crime that this band have yet to receive more attention, as despite a recent line-up change leaving Joe Lau to handle both melodic and screamed vocals, they're as potent as ever. The attention of every single person present was commanded immediately from start to finish, and the dedication despite the small crowd was admirable. As tight as the band behind him were, Lau brought the real star potential, recalling the dangerous edge of Gallows' Frank Carter while thrashing around the would-be moshpit.
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| Apparently We Fly |
Post-hardcore five-piece Apparently We Fly followed, and despite it being only their third gig they sounded like seasoned veterans. Although they opened with what was easily their worst song, from their second song onwards their set picked up, gathering so much momentum that it seemed like barely a minute had passed by the time screamer Rob Knowles announced their final tune. Britain's post-hardcore scene a few years ago produced a clutch of amazing albums but never really gained as much momentum as it should have - with the predominant trend in modern culture being revivals, maybe Apparently We Fly have a bright future ahead of them leading the next wave of post-hardcore. They certainly have the chops for it.
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| Laceration Of Fate |
Making Let's Go Friday look positively ancient, thrash metallers Laceration Of Fate are mostly under 18 and look even younger - a post-gig conversation reveals that most of them have school the next day. This makes it all the more surprising just how impressive their set is. The audience finally starts moving with their arrival, with a tiny but enthusiastic mosh pit opening up. Although their sound was completely derivative, their grasp of metal riffs, song structures and dynamics was astounding - but much like Let's Go Friday they've really yet to find their own sound. The linchpin of the group is their fifteen year-old bass player Lewis Brade. Apparently only having picked up a bass five months ago, his skill is limitless, taking in chords, tapping, slap bass and a heavy funk influence that skirts the band towards more original fare.
Let's Go Friday, With Silent Eyes, Apparently We Fly and Laceration Of Fate played The Maze on Monday 10 January
Let's Go Friday website
With Silent Eyes website
Laceration Of Fate website
The Maze website
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