Atakku, Dilate, Bilker, Alpha High.

The Well Music Venue, Luton. Saturday March 26th 2005.

By lil’ Tron

This is the first night put on at this venue for almost a year by Luton based ‘The Weight Promotions’ and, judging by the rumors flying around the building tonight, is to be the last. Although at the start of the night we are led to believe this is down to the venue, by the end of the night I find myself questioning whether it is indeed down to the ineptitude of the ‘promoters’ themselves.
Anyway, enough with the cynicism, and on with the bands…
AsALPHA HIGH take the stage my attention is immediately drawn to the colossal afro adorned by their bassist, but alas, this does not appear to be the house that funk built. They start well, with an instrumental piece, but soon their sound begins to fall apart. Admittedly they are interrupted twice by microphone problems, but I can’t help thinking that this is a band that has rushed into gigging before they are ready? They lack any tightness, the vocalist appears bored on stage and sounds like he’s struggling, and they play one song twice. However, in their favor, they occasionally stumble upon a decent hook, and their guitarist has some clever ideas. Back into the practice rooms for a few more months, and they might re-emerge as something listen able.

Next up we have BILKER, who I’ve heard good things about, but have not yet seen, so I’m ready for a treat – and I almost get one, almost. They have a fairly tight sound, and when their vocalist opens his throat and screams they certainly show a lot of promise.
Unfortunately, he also has a tendency to ‘sing’, which doesn’t seem a strong point, as he seems to be tone deaf! Once again we are subjected to a large gap in the middle of the set, as the ‘Sound Engineer’ seems to struggle with the simplest of tasks, and after much faffing about and swapping of microphones, they get back under way. They put on a good show, get the crowd going, and certainly create a lot of energy – as is evident by the sweat pouring off of their vocalist, but I feel that, maybe if they played to their strengths, they could be so much more.

DILATEare probably one of my favorite ‘local’ acts, and I find myself looking forward to their set, knowing I’ll get something good – I was wrong. I’m probably coming across as harsh, but I want to get a couple of things clear – the sound quality tonight is awful, so bands are really struggling to sound like they should. And tonight, let’s be clear on this, tonight Dilate are abysmal. If you’ve ever watched a ‘pub cover band’ you might catch my drift on this one, you know the songs, know how good they should sound, but for some reason there is a band on stage murdering them. Their vocalist seems tired, their guitarist is complaining about a sore hand, and the whole set is really, really loose. It’s a shame, but they still manage to put a smile on everyone’s face when their vocalist is almost hospitalized by an overexcited fan in the pit, but emerges grinning from ear to ear.

Final band of the night are ATAKKU, hometown boys who have been getting a lot of attention in the rock press about their recent tour and upcoming album ‘Dark Acts Of Friendship’. From the moment they step on stage you can sense the experience in them – they are tight as hell, they are full of energy, microphone troubles are dealt with without breaking up the flow, and they have a fantastic vocalist who comes across as the personification of rage. I will be looking forward to the album, as their sound does not let up throughout the entire set – it is shear brutality, never letting you catch your breath. The set is however disappointingly short, and you can see their frustration with certain over zealous people in the audience. By the time they walk off stage you get the feeling you have just watched a band ‘going through the motions’, and I was left wondering what the experience would be like if they were truly on the ball.



Review by lil’ Tron - www.bedfordmetal.tk