Claymore Anniversary Gig

Apathy Is The Killer took the stage to open proceedings and set the stage with an exhilarating mix of metalcore and latter-day Today Is The Day-isms. Despite having been only their second show they have already carved out a sound that is verging on unconventional. In short; very promising indeed!

Next up was Self Made Man whose name, when uttered, almost feels as if it carries with it an aura of caution and disdain for anything George Bush-related. Nevertheless, tonight was all about the music. Although they sound like they are fermented by an uncompromising beverage merchant happy with his tried and tested brew, the older material sounded convincing with the two new members on board. If you don’t like traditional Metal, you probably won’t like Self Made man and that, quite frankly, is tough titty.

A Written Apology have been well missed during their semi-brief hiatus if crowd response was anything to go by. Their sound is fresh and vibrant and their new material does exude more modern elements. That said, it doesn’t nullify the fact that the octogenarian Judas Priest fan at the bar was not alone while revelling in an AWA guitar solo (Yes, tis true!). The likes of “Catharsis, Chlorophyll, Consume” don’t take long to kick things off these days and if the two black eyes and sore toby I had after their set are testament to beauty, then they did braw.

It was also a welcome homecoming for Man Must Die who quite literally devastated the last time they played in this neck of the woods. Being able to behold Scotland’s fastest and possibly most intense live band from a mere matter of feet was an exhilarating experience. Rattling through the “Start Killing” favourites and newer tracks was simply awe-inspiring. They continued by exhuming some of their more abstract numbers such as “Indulge In Genocide” and “Faint Figure In Black” which was surreal, but nevertheless beautiful in its art.

Claymore Promotions set out to 12 months ago to express the compatibility of extreme music with bands of a more contemporary nature and Saturday October 1st was a welcome reminder that extreme metal is alive and well in Scotland. It was not only the Claymore Promotions first year anniversary, but also the culmination of a promising year for extreme metal in Scotland. And here is to another year of progress...