Live Review

Absolence – O2 Academy, Liverpool

• 27th May 2010

As I entered the O2 last night I was met with the sight of a small entourage, whose T-shirts passionately stated ‘THEY ARE FUCKING METAL’. Well all I can say is they better be fucking metal because that’s what I fucking came to see. Absolence, who apparently underwent their foetal stages in the glamorous setting of “a shed in Moreton” a few years back, were the first of two supporting acts for Misstallica. As of today they are unsigned and only managed by one of their guitarists, Steve Gill. They began their entirely original thirty minute set with a declaration of “We’re Absolence”, before launching into the ballsy ‘Give In’ – its thunderous riff demanding the attention of the audience. Unusually vocal duties were more or less equally assigned amongst drummer Mike Black, as well as between guitarists’ Steve Gill and Chris McGinley. Throughout the gig the band managed to successfully shift between guttural and harmonious singing, as the more thrash songs were broken up nicely with melodic chords.

Their second song was ‘Left Here’, the opening of which brings Martha and the Muffins’ timeless classic ‘Echo Beach’ to mind; if a more evil, darker and distorted version of it existed that is. Just to clarify I am pleased to confirm, as far as I can tell, that none of the band members resembled front woman Martha Johnson… or her horrible perm. ‘Left Here’ later developed into a rage-fuelled guitar duel with thoughtful interludes. By now there were signs of approval from the crowd, as more were lured away from the bar to suss the band out, and traces of movement started to appear. Still, Absolence seemed a little wary of them, apart from a brief moment where Gill jumped down from the stage to get closer to the action. I am happy to say that the Marshall stacks were cranked up during the whole set, but not to the point of ridiculousness were the whole thing becomes a diarrhoea of white noise.

Another aspect worthy of mention was the sheer force behind Dave Evans’ bass sound. Much in contradiction to his quieter off stage presence, his thumping bass lines were truly made to shine with the use of a trip switch, adding additional weight and power to the music where needed. Moreover the steady and pounding rhythm section provided a sufficient buzz, further proved by the temporary tinnitus I experienced afterwards. One criticism I might add, was that I felt the lead guitar was too deeply buried in the mix. I was disappointed that it did not cut through as much as it could; it was either down to the sound man or overly swamped in bass, hopefully however it was just a one-off error.

In my honest opinion the highlight for me came halfway through, when Absolence played the wonderfully titled ‘The Affected Suicide’. This featured an insanely catchy melody and was brought to a perfect end with an ace guitar solo. It would certainly be nice to hear a few more solos like this one appended to their current catalogue, or possibly over the course of future compositions. Overall their performance passed quickly, finishing with the dramatic rising swell that is ‘Carpathian Resolve’. This contained a beautiful, yet melancholy, middle eight and had me wondering why they were not further up on the bill, as they walked off to a few whoops and some applause.

Zuprowski Connection, the other support act, ensued, announcing their arrival with some weird creepy-sounding pre-recorded effects. Although I didn’t rate their blatantly Alice in Chains inspired grunge-metal too highly. They dressed the part and walked the walk, however their average set was fairly dull after a while and they failed to make a lasting impression. It appears that Zuprowski Connection have been on the scene for a good few years, which begs the question: if they are any good, why have they continued to not achieve any notable success within the music industry? Truthfully I believe that Absolence were more deserving of Zuprowski Connection’s place in the line-up, because it was obvious the quintet had more of that youthful ambition and fire in their bellies, and were in all honesty dedicated to their art.

By and large Absolence stick in your mind and are pretty tight together as a group. They have distinct hints of the likes of Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine in their music, and it is the first time in a long time that I have seen original material from a metal band that doesn’t completely suck! The band seem like a nice bunch of guys and have the potential to grow, but first need to become more sure of themselves and confident in their own skin. I would love to see how they have evolved in a year or two from now; if they keep at it I’m hoping they will reach great heights someday.