Kill II This - Live Review

A Thursday evening and there are a couple of hundred or so crazed loonies waiting to see the band of the night, of course "Kill II This". The band from Manchester have amongst their claims to fame played support in mainland Europe and in the UK for Megadeth, Entombed, Stuck Mojo, Soulfly and Skinlab. Not bad for starters!

For about an hour or so the support bands had played, (except the proposed openers, who's name I cannot remember, but who split-up before the gig, aka Bad News/Spinal Tap). Instead "Depth Charge"(?) opened and for a youthful band they played really well with loads of enthusiasm and massive respect for "Kill II This". There was "Mindlapse" who were the middle band and I think a mindlapse is what they all had. It is not often my comments become negative, but this band all looked so miserable and they just did not work for me (the female vocalist's efforts was comical) and after twenty minutes (as that was about all I could take) we had sheltered in the sanctuary of the bar.

Then, there was the band that the crowd had been waiting for all night, "Kill II This". The atmosphere of the venue changed immediately as they took to the stage. It was quite strange, like the difference between the amateurs and the professionals, their presence just took command as their superior musical abilities became apparent.

The band is made up of Mark Mynett (Guitarist & Songwriter), Matt Pollock (Vocals), Caroline Campbell (Bass) and Ben Calvert (Drums). Mark seems to be the main man in the band, not that the other didn't give their all, but you could tell from his constant emotional outbreaks and perpetual body mimes of the lyrics as he explained the story, that he had written the songs. Picture a tall (6' 6"), thin, gangly geezer, towering over the audience, looking menacing and with continual facial contortions in his desperate attempts at telling you his messages. Quite an experience in itself, he demanded attention. I had spotted him milling around in the audience earlier during the evening, along with most of the support bands, it was kinda hard to tell who was on the bill and who the punters were! A refreshing change in these egotistical days of the musical untouchables.

The band gave a very powerful performance, solid and tight, they played with confidence and passion. The set covered most of their first two albums, with the highlights for me being 'Crucified', 'Freedom of Speech', 'Another Cross II Bare', 'Faith Rape' and the massive 'Kill Your Gods'. However, they did play a couple of new songs from a new album, and they sounded different again. Unfortunately, according to Matt, due to backroom stuff it will not be available until April next year!!

"Kill II This" have such an eclectic mix of musical styles, the diversity weaves it's way through hip hop type samples to dance and soul from female opera and sampled dialogue through orchestral pieces to powerful rock riffs. This is all mixed together to produce an undefinable, but irrefutably extreme metal assault, most excellent. A crossover of sounds that make the band fresh and different, yet somehow retaining their traditional rock influences fused deep in the encounter.

It's good to see that there are still good bands coming out of the UK. I had not heard much of "Kill II This" before this performance and I had none of their stuff, but I made sure that I got a copy of the superb "Deviate" album before I left. Now that is the sign of a satisfied punter and a good gig.

Rigsby.

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