F S I, DEPRAVITY, SKULLFUCKED.

Holy Molys Lev 1 Esquires Bedford. Saturday 25th June 2016.

Tonight for a rare and refreshing change, the patrons of Esquires were treated to a night of pure, undiluted metal. We are situated in Holy Molys and as way of an extra bonus, its free admission.

First on to the small raised stage are SKULLFUCKED from Stevenage. They totally blew me apart when I saw them here a few short months ago and tonight? Well, they were even better. Detonating like an aural nailbomb, they were on utterly devastating form.

Every beat, note and guttural scream is unleashed with the utmost malicious intent. Their collective anger is so palpable, that it makes some of their peer group band rivals just seem mildly annoyed at best. These guys emanate musical fury and rage. Every word, every lyrical line that is torn and wrenched from the vocalist’s throat is drenched with a raw lacerating violent passion. The adrenaline that is infusing the room is overpowering. While this is undoubtedly metal at its fierce and purest best, Skullfucked thankfully don’t get bogged down in any kind of tough guy posturing, which sometimes sadly beleaguers so many of their contemporary’s. necrofucker gains from such a heavy intro. Another song is played in breakneck ala Napalm Death style. (Well, slightly longer as it clocks in at nearly twenty seconds) Sluts is a new one and because of this the band urge the audience to “Go easy on us.” Their self-titled finale is for this reviewer, the sweet icing on their musical cake. Skullfucked came across with collective galvanised depth, humanity and sincerity, imbued with accessibility. Their arsenal of songs were so addictive, as was the blistering pace of their performance. For the all too short thirty minutes, nothing else in our world really mattered. (And after the recent Brexit vote, we certainly have had a lot to contend with) never mind a star player of the night, Skullfucked were my star band of the night. Brilliant!!

DEPRAVITY , well what can I say about these mad metallers, except this comment, ‘spin kick 4 Jesus.’ For those people curious or not in attendance tonight, that logo was emblazoned on their T-shirt merchandise stall. Quite appropriate in Holy Molys with our two dearly departed rock stars looking down from their lofty fake ‘stained glass window’ portraits. This melodic metalcore five piece arrive on stage with a requesting message for all the attendees. They urge everyone to get close up. Real close as its their “ First time in Bedford” and they are keen and eager to create a good lasting impression, I believe they succeeded. The interaction in the room is good and special. Depravity offer up a huge veritable feast of watertight riffing and face frying vocals. Hit List is a song about “Being pissed off about someone.” A rap metal element is incorporated. Samples are periodically utilised at various times and add a fine dimension to their commanding set. A promising introduction.

From London, FSI (Four Sex Idols) return to Esquires. They display overpowering conviction and as a result, exuberant chaos consumes the room. This four piece seriously mean business. Hair, lots of it and humungous riffs dominate. Infused by amongst others Mastodon FSI purvey such an excellent doomy epic and hypnotic sound. Even from this tiny stage it synthesises the grandiose bits of say Tool to virtually embrace everything between a pain fuelled soul wrenching brutality and the kind of ambient bliss that makes it all drift and go away. Awe inspiring to watch and digest. Their wiry frontman cultivates such an excellent rapport with the frenzied moshing crowd. The vocals are grippingly good, infact they are amazing enough to get a sheet of sandpaper moist. Tight knit and destructive, the set is immense, compelling and above all its timeless, to a reviewer of advancing years a performance that merits an overall comment of FSI = startling scope and mastery of the metal baton. This genre of music now seldom gets a look in at Bedford’s premier music venue these days, so when it does occur, its great to see it embraced so fantastically. A superb atmosphere and credit must go to its organiser Amy Mason. The sound, which is so important was overseen expertly and well by James Parrott and Willow Mayes.