Saturday 5th January 2002, Bedford Esquires.
As I watched Esquires fill up, I thought the influx of people was never going to stop! The night totally sold out, which just goes to show how fucking strong the scene has got. Whatever faults nu-metal/rock may have, it has got a lot of much needed new blood into the local scene. Bedford didn't even have any metal bands except for Moolie several years ago, but now there are several very promising bands on the scene. Unfortunately, Alterica couldn't appear tonight, but they will play the grand final, so all is not lost!
Diem are a brand new band on the scene, with only a couple of gigs behind them, but they delivered one of the best sets for a new band that I've seen for a long time. Their music was very well written and well delivered, and the frontman already has very good stage presence. The band plays a kinda nu-grunge hybrid, which carried very well, and got a decent pit going. It may not have been what I'd listen to at home, but they are a very good at what they do. My only real gripe (I always fucking have one don't I) was that they often sounded too much like a typical grunge band. If they insert some more originality into their music, with maybe some heavier influences and livelier dynamics, they could become extremely good.
The Film have been quite active on the scene since their inception, playing at one or two Bedfordmetal nights as well. They have always been extremely promising, delivering passionate and rough edged sets of original Nu-Metal. What makes them stand out for me is the lack of extremely cheesy numetal cliches that new bands seem to love to indulge in. No second rate rapping here - just impassioned sung or growled vocals. They were good as usual tonight, although they did not seem to be as enthusiastic at the start. That was probably due to not being totally fucked as they always used to be onstage - the delivery was tighter tonight, although the sound could have been better, thorugh no fault of their own. Carl's vocals were more in tune, and he has got better at growling too. They finished their set with that live favourite with the intense harcore part, during which Carl did his trademark stagedive straight into the centre of one of the most vicious moshpits in Esquires recently.
Enthusiastic applause greeted Insomnia as they strode onstage into atmospheric lighting, all clad in black. They were probably the lightest sounding band tonight, but they were also the most polished and promising one. The impressive atmospheric sections and the passionate choruses of their songs were captivating, although sometimes they did go too far into quiet atmospherics too long for my liking. Even though the vocalist is a great singer, he does need to move onstage a bit more - he is far too static and doesn't have enough stage presence. It was still a very good set, which won them the competition - they may not be that metal, but they do their style very very well, and probably have quite a good chance of getting signed eventually, if they just refine their sound a bit more.
And now onto the headliners... Where the fuck did Rare Breed suddenly come from? A polished, cliched-as-fuck nu-metal band that seem to think of themselves as rock stars already... Basically, they sounded like a typical nu-metal band - and sometimes seemed unbelievably smug. Well, the only reason they headlines was because they were the heaviest band on the bill. A large part of the audience seemed to really like them, but I thought they were shit. The Film have raw passion and a natural intensity without descending into corporate nu-rock bollocks and idiotic onstage posturing. This band typifies all that I hate about nu-metal - the arrogant overconfidence and the stupid musical arrangements. However odious I found the last band, the night one the whole was fucking great. All the bands put in good performances onstage, and if the scene continues turning out great bands like these, 2002 shall be the best year for Bedford's metal fans for at least 5 years. Keep making metal motherfuckers!
Pete Burov