BUTTERFLY FAN THE INFERNO
VFTI are a fairly unpretentious hard rock band
who've netted their riffs with hi-hat heavy beats
so as to lock down a groove. It works pretty well,
and even the slightly monotonous vocals slide
smoothly across the top, engaging with the
rhythm rather than delivering any evocative
melodies. Bringing to mind the excellent Chrome
Hoof (for some reason) the simplicity means
attention is on the undoubtedly danceable
elements fed from the distorted guitars and
percussion. Though it's not a particularly ambitious
demo, this still has potential to develop into more
interesting territories in the future. It's a fun little
EP and definitely worth a bit of your time.
THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT -
Dig Your Grave
Pretty sure I've seen stickers of these guys with
gushing press quotes on the toilet walls of the
Intrepid Fox in Central London. This may give you
an indication of the level of metal we're dealing
with here. After a drawn-out solo intro the first
track hurtles into Dragonforce cheese metal
territory then straight into chugging boringness
with awful scratched vocals. The playing is top
notch, naturally, but originality and creativity is
devoid throughout. Flurries of notes and blast
beats attack you from all sides but clich� rides
high. It's perfectly admirable to want to play to
this sort of level but unless you're saying
something worth saying, pushing music forward or
creating something memorable, this is as
disposable as the chart pop they no doubt claim
to despise.
MERCURIUS - Come On In
The problem with Mercurius is that their sound
seems to thrive on indifference. There's nothing
here that expresses dynamics or flow, just an
endless mush. There are little riffs and melodic
lines that pop up as the album goes on but this
generic effort is all over the place, and almost
makes no sense. It's generally got pop highs and
dull lows but there's no unique signature � no
intriguing guitar tones, no especially insightful
lyrics and a pretty uninteresting vocal. It just peters
along, not really harming or offending anyone, but
neither making them jump for joy. Mediocrity is
such a terrible blight and I wish Mercurius a
speedy recovery.
FALLEN CHILD - Zero Point Five
This is "Grunge funk", apparently. (*shudders*)
Having recently spent an entire evening defending
my opinion of grunge (which I'm not getting into
here) it seems Fallen Child want the thick sound of
Jane's Addiction and RHCP but without any of the
rhythmic trickery or melodic suss. To label this a
new genre with such a hackneyed name shows a
real lack of foresight or self analysis. As you've
probably guessed by now, the music is a drudgery
lacking inspiration or spark. There's nothing here
to get excited about or even angry about, which is
perhaps the harshest criticism you can dish out
without getting into name-calling! PM
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
FIRST
play
www.ld-systems.com
READ THE DEMO OF THE MONTH ON PAGE 82
BY BRAD BARRETT
74 pickup
Brad Barrett: So handsome he'd make
a guide dog change direction...
TO BE REVIEWED BY BRAD BARRETT IN FIRST PLAY,
SEND YOUR DEMO TO
PLAYMUSIC, FIRST PLAY, WEBSTER HOUSE, DUDLEY ROAD,
TUNBRIDGE WELLS, KENT, TN1 1LE

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