The Enigma, Bungalow Zenn, Blackout, Black Moses.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 22nd July 2005.

Thank Christ – a young band that actually wants to rock! Musically, THE ENIGMA take a bit of Anthrax and a bit of Mother Love Bone (though probably not literally – I’m just trying to be vaguely obscure in a bid to sound cool) and add a vocal style very reminiscent of early Metallica. Loads of promise here – some nice fancy guitar work that simply demands the odd lick of the fret board, a bass solo, and a lead singer who looks like Ice Man from Top Gun; great things could await!

What a perfect review this is turning out to be – first Mother Love Bone, and now the opportunity to comment on how the lead singer of BUNGALOW ZENN looks a bit like Dave Mustaine from Megadeth! Anyway, you know when you walk into a pub and there’s some rubbish covers band doing The DC, The Sabs, The Purps or The Smith (as in Steve Tyler, not Morrissey)? Well, that’s what this lot are like, except they’re talented enough to write their own classic rock and then play said classic rock absolutely superbly. Dirty, sleazy, beautiful!

BLACKOUT started out with an axe solo – how cool is that! There’s lots of hair on display, Slayer T-shirts, angular guitars, alice bands… hang on, for a minute I thought this was going to be metal at its most pure! Actually, it is. Nice heavy riffs, powerful vocals and an effortless stage presence. All that’s missing, aside from the aforementioned alice band faux pas, is a double kick drum – get one!!!

THE BLACK MOSES drummer is just like Keith Moon! What a shame that, as usual, almost everyone that actually did turn up this week has buggered off before the headline band. I guess there was something good on Radio One like the Busted Top Ten Greatest Hits Ever or McFly in session. Or maybe Blackout and The Enigma could only club together enough to pay rent-a-teen until 10.30.
Right then, Black Moses are fantastic. They know everything that’s ever happened in the history of rock, all the way back to some forgotten boat on its way from Africa, then stick all that knowledge into a vaguely garage style. And that’s about as close as I’m going to get to comparing them to anything else because they are better than that – rock ‘n’ roll, punk, glam, psychedelic, prog, The Stones, The Who, MC5 and Led Zep is all there somewhere. An exquisite song writing talent that, once again, I saw and you probably didn’t.
Please stop making me write that!