Live Review

Sevenyearsdead – Roadkill, Liverpool

• 22nd Nov 2007

Roadkill can be the scene for some serious mayhem, when it wants to be-hand drawn flyers and pop art posters adorn the walls and car seats have been removed and book end tables with retro arcade games set into them, the main stage is fronted by a large metal railing similar to those found on the hard shoulder, no that’s not true it is a hard shoulder railing-if you look closely you can still see where Jeremy Clarkson’s hit it during a top gear challenge. Maybe.

Unfortunately tonight the stage and crowd area represent an actual hard shoulder of a motorway-bereft of people, devoid of life and stoic.

It’s only after talking to Isotopia that you realize they are happy to call themselves ‘Metal’, with a new album out soon and just finishing recording they are full of the proverbial bean.

A young band, one minute transfixed by a ‘House of the dead’ cabinet-and why not? – the next moving with abandon; dealing with being the first band on is always difficult but clearly Isotopia don’t give a fuck.

Its short sharp precision strikes that they create a wide scope with which to grow into and it’s simultaneously controlled and without restraint.

Then disaster. String breaks. Guitars switch and absolutely no momentum is lost or sound suffers – how did they manage that? A really strong performance which only hinted at what they could do.

The only thing bigger than the smiles on Colombia’s faces is the sound they emit-massive Killing Joke movements and when they announce that the next song is called ‘Go to Hell’ the thought that it could be a rendition of the Megadeth song are quickly dashed as an altogether different sound emerges, hope immediately raised by the falling down a staircase and landing on your feet riffery.

Colombia have that off the beaten track sound, like a badly translated letter, it allows them to create some extremely interesting takes on modern metal sounds and ideas.

It all comes together with a cover of ‘Walk’ at the end and Colombia do it justice, even if they seem to have more fun than the minimal audience.

It’s always the case that you can be left wanting, particularly after hearing such a promising record as Sevenyearsdead have produced, in a live situation it either doesn’t work or struggles to maintain the bite and urgency.

Sevenyearsdead have avoided this by taking the original source material and tattooing it onto an almost bombproof set, from Portuguese drummer Nuno’s absolute attack to Pete’s- difficult to get a credit card in-between the riffs onslaught.

Singer Jez is the epitome of what a modern metal front man should be-self effacing and confident-at one point singing Devin Townsend during the sound check-he has complete faith in the material and his fellow musicians allowing him to throw timed shapes that actually accent the music.

Here’s the secret-respect for your past, with a little bit of Slayer, Metallica right to Skid row and a whole host of other influences, they cover their predecessors ground with out invading it and then build on it- twisting it with complicated structures and a strong sense of purpose – ‘Postrendgeneration’ just rips and feels like you been told the ending to a movie and desperately want to tell everyone else so you can say you’d seen it first-how often do you feel like that?

‘Chosen’ is just the right side of interesting to at the same time be complete insanity and massive to boot. The strongest title on the album ‘Ill of the dead’ is tonight the strongest here to, and caps off a performance more should have seen-lord knows what these guys will do with a bigger crowd and its testament to the band that they played just as hard as if the place was full than if no-one was there; which unfortunately tonight was the case.