Isolation, Device, Emm.

Esquires Bedford Lev 2 11th May 2006.

Headline band ISOLATION endured a tortuous three-hour plus journey from their hometown of Cheltenham and full marks for the show they put on for us tonight. An Isolation banner is pinned on the wall backing the band and Paul D (drums), Shane (guitar) and Paul B (bass) walk out clad in bright orange boilersuits whilst vocalist Al wears what looks like a straitjacket, although this is soon discarded. They produce great theatrics which is backed up by some hardcore metal sounds. Their mic stand is a novel sight, a thick long metal chain which has been welded to stand upright - very original.
Isolation could be best described as Slipknot without the masks and these guys should either be sectioned or quarantined! Songs include older track 'Burning Angel' while 'Stay' is performed for only the third time. Their cover of Drowning Pools' 'Bodies' impresses whilst 'Playing Dead' cops a refrain of 'Dead, Dead Etc'. 'Shut the F**k' Up' is a crossover punk metal singalong before Isolation take time out to dedicate 'Cease to Exist' to a close friend who died in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. Closing song 'Another Level' includes a 'It's in yer face' metal tirade chorus.

Playing prior to Isolation was firstly singer/songwriter EMM who produces a melancholic acoustic set. From an artist who made his debut on Level 2 recently, with his long dark hair and his lean and bespectacled frame he is every inch the 'Folkie'. His set is taut and angst ridden with never a flicker of a smile let alone a laugh.
On of the features of showcase Thursday evenings has been the rich vein of acoustic musicians on display and this man's best song has to be 'Powerlines' which is a total 'The World is going to end, We are all doomed' mantra.

Following were the 4 piece prog-stoner rockers DEVICE. Nick greets us by declaring 'We're the first noisy band of the evening' and 'Whilst we're on the Subject' makes from an exciting start. With his mop of brown hair completely covering his face, drummer Murray is the perfect reincarnation of The Muppet's Show's Animal! With good vocal interplay between Joel and Nick, who compliment each other well, the songs 'Public Show' and 'Scattered Full' are strong and most impressive. The latter features a quiet mid-song interlude which is suddenly broken by a guitar sound much akin to machine gun fire. Final song 'Slow' is a real opus of contrasting sounds.