The Rotted + Malefice + Anterior + Forlorn @ Birmingham Barfly – 7th April 2009

I really love it when I turn up to a gig with few expectations and come away later buzzing with a new found respect for a set of bands I have barely even heard of prior to the night — which is exactly the sensation that tonight’s line-up at the Barfly have left me with.

Walking in to the sounds of Oldbury based four-piece Forlorn I had an inkling I was in for a good night of solid metal — it is a shame I only managed to catch their last song ‘Mindless’ in full; however I have made a mental note to track them down on one of their forthcoming tour dates to see the whole set.

Anterior kick off the next section with ‘The Silent Divide’ and ‘Seraph’ both ferocious and powerfully pounding songs aptly demonstrating drumming skills aplenty — no mean feat as later in the set, vocalist Luke Davies informs us the drummer is a last minute stand-in!

There are no flies on these guys from South Wales with their tried and tested metal formula of a fast & furious attack intermingled with periodic melodic marvel…. and perhaps a pending world record for epically long songs — with them only managing to fit four into their 30 minute slot, the set climaxes with ‘Dead Divine’ — in my opinion their best track.

The first thing that hits me about Malefice is the professionally polished sound in sharp contrast to Anterior’s rawer offerings. Well, that and the fact the boys from Reading would not strike me upon first sight as the finely honed metal act that they clearly are — a lesson that an individual’s visual image often belies the musical personality underneath.

Malefice have a chunky chopping sound and cleave their way through a top-notch set, with gems such as ‘Risen Through the Ashes’ and ‘An Architect of Your Demise’. It is hardly surprising that this band are becoming more and more popular and gaining the recognition they deserve. (I am also extremely pleased to see they have their priorities right with what can only be described as a ‘beer roadie’ who runs onstage to pour alcohol down the guitarist’s throat mid-song!)

If Malefice’s manifestation was more of a clean slice with a precision sword to your senses, then The Rotted are more of a constant hacking through bone and sinew with a slightly rusty pick axe sort of experience — and I do mean that with all due respect!

By the end of the first couple of songs, I confess I was mightily confused by the seemingly haphazard mishmash of styles I thought I could hear — maybe I was hallucinating but I am sure there was some sort of ska-style influenced punky extreme metal hybrid sound emanating from the stage which begs the question – are The Rotted deliberately doing their damnedest to be so diverse as not to be pidgeon-holed into any particular genre?

Now I would not want you thinking that I am about to dismiss these guys without probing deeper into their psyche because I am not! Frontman Ren McCrow definitely has the prickly punk attitude and vociferous vocals to match — most great bands have a truly pushy personality up-front — so they are bound to do extremely well. The Rotted also have a full on tight, slick metal sound and the fact that they do have a myriad of merged styles just seems to give them more of an edge.

Something truly magical happened for me with the midsection of their set where everything seemed to slot into place and make sense — the hilarity of ‘Only Tools and Corpses’, the frenzied ferocity of ‘A Return to Insolence’ and ‘Fear and Loathing in Old London Town’, the strange concept of ‘Kissing you with my Fists’, the sheer execution of ‘Pain as a Prelude to Death’ and Ren’s genuine gratitude to the crowd for showing their appreciation. Overall, an enjoyable eye-opening experience from start to finish.

One sentiment which was echoed throughout the evening from each band was their belief in supporting British Metal and local bands. The irony of this statement was not lost on me when looking around the venue to see barely forty people dotted around the room. This is the most disappointing part of the night for me — the pitiful turn-out. Still all credit to the bands for putting on a great show and departing safe in the knowledge that they have at least left a lasting impression on me.

Review – Amanda Jones
Photos – Steve Gerrard

Aside — if you want to check out any of these bands for yourself look them up on their respective myspace pages, details as follows:

Forlorn — www.myspace/forlornmusic
Anterior — www.myspace.com/anterior
Malefice — www.myspace.com/malefice
The Rotted — www.myspace.com/therotted

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