I
don't know if the planets have aligned or darker forces have been
making mischief, but tonight's Halloween gig inside Leeds' Brudenell
has been truly off the hook. Toronto's furiously heavy and
uncompromising trio Metz have just given a valuable lesson in how to
do punk/hardcore/noise-rock at its very best.
Topping an incredible
bill put together by Dirty Otter that has already seen five bands doing there thing in the main
room, the Canadian's have sent this place into a wild frenzy for an
hour or so as they arrived on stage at 11pm, dressed in monk robes
and chimp masks. Neither of which stayed on either front man and
guitarist Alex Edkins or drummer Hayden Menzies for more than a
couple of songs. Edkins is completely soaked in his sweat in no time,
wrestling at the guitar and playing through glorious walls of
feedback whilst somehow belting out the lyrics. Menzies plays like
his life depends on it, all flailing hair and huge thumps like a
certain Nirvana sticks-man. Bassist Chris slorach completes the power
pack and pogo's back and forth, still wrapped in his cloak.
The
band deliver such an intense display of raucous energy, played at
earsplitting volume from opener 'Headache' through to the finale of
the stretched out 'Wet Blanket'. With a standard Metz track clocking
in between 2 and 3 minutes, the bulk of both 'I' and 'II' albums are
savagely let loose on the ghouls and zombies in front of them. The
Brudenell crowd feed on it like the bloodthirsty horrors that some are
dressed up as. It's relentless too, no easing on the gas or slower
song to rest up for a while in a Metz show. Last time they played
here, it was to a relatively smaller crowd who they played to from the
floor in front of the stage. This area tonight is pure carnage, in
the nicest possible way. 'Spit You Out', 'Nervous System' and
'Wasted' are personal highlights but there's not a song in this set
that doesn't kick the shit out of the night. They even squeeze in a fast and furious version of The Damned's 'Neat Neat Neat' with a guest
vocalist to lend more ammunition to the onslaught.
I
doubt whether few could match Metz on this performance. Quite how
they recover so quickly from such an intense performance to make it
on to the next night and do it all over again is beyond me. Sub Pop
have a real gem here and Leeds have just succumbed to a proper
thriller of a night.
Words - Pete Jackson
Metz official
Brudenell official
Dirty Otter official
Sub Pop official