Tinnitus + Crydebris + Olmec Diagram + To Every End - Messclean @ The Frog On The Front, Portsmouth. 04/11/05.

It's a busy night as those attending a Bloodhound Gig upstairs at The Pyramids pop in for a pre- gig cheap beer and once again when their expensive PA packs up and the gig is cancelled they come crawling back to see some decent bands play great music through a cheap PA; some of them look a bit gobsmacked that anything so good could be happening on such a small scale. On first are To Every End making their debut; they weave their way through three impressive numbers that stretch out and bend back on themselves with melodies dripping through blastbeats as guitars grind away for all they are worth. It's progressive but in the best possible way, retaining a hardcore metallic edge while still being experimental; it's an impressive debut and bodes well for their future.

Olmec Diagram have ventured up from Poole and there are a fair few people here to see them with much interest having been whipped up via MySpace. The music is technical brutality, a burst of what I shall call 'lunge-core', music that makes you want to bend over double and headbutt the floor as you lunge back and forth to the ever building layers of noise. There is no riffing as such, fingers work up and down the guitars in a blur of activity as the drums pummel away like there is no tomorrow and with a strong frontman on board they are a formidable group. They produce a tight, well drilled set that is impressive to watch and I for one look forward to their next visit and seeing what unfolds for this noise machine.

It would take a special band to follow OD and London based Crydebris are just the chaps to do it. The first thing I have written down in my little notebook is "Fucking amazing" which is all I need to say really, one of the best bands I have seen grace the stage at Messclean. Crydebris are a quite excellent five piece that play what can only be described as My Bloody Valentine play Jazzcore via thrash; I'm sure there is some technical name for it, experimental post hardcore or such like but some bands go beyond such labels and as their intense wall of sound develops into mutating forms you realise that they are a special band. The music is intricate but joins together to create MBV type noise waves only with less of a dreamy feel as hardcore rage and metal noise take a hold and the members whirl and flail as if possessed by demons as they crank out this awsesome noise jazz freak out. Quite what the Bloodhound Gang fans thought of this I don't know but I hope it opened up their eyes as to what heavy music should be about and made them realise just how lightweight their metal heroes are.

All of this kind of leaves Tinnitus in an awkward spot as they would have to be fantastic to overshadow the previous two bands; they do a grand job but frankly their chugging metal sounds flat and one dimensional after the lively textures that have gone before. There is nothing particularly wrong with them, on any other bill they would hold their own and any metal head would find themselves nodding along but they just lack that extra something that really grabs your attention tonight.