'Kerrang/Relentless Tour'
Rock City, Nottingham
MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
BRING ME HORIZON
DIR EN GREY
BLACK TIDE
IN CASE OF FIRE

Review by Metal Mick

I was not quite sure what to expect from this gig, having lost faith in Kerrang myself along time ago, as I think they strayed from their rock roots, but that’s a personal thing.
The gig however did have a draw for me and Metal Gods TV, as Black Tide were on the bill, a cracking young band, with classic rock influences.
First up though were In Case Of Fire, I have to confess though that with the chaos of actually getting in the venue and the strict time table, I only managed to hear their last track, unfortunately from what I heard I am glad I missed the earlier part of their set. They are yet another one of the screamo metal type bands that are jumping on the band wagon of the popularity trail, but not actually having any talent. I myself am not a massive fan of this type of music anyway, but have managed to train my ear to the good and bad of this genre and In Case Of Fire come under the latter.
Next up were the guys I had come to see, and after their great set at Download I was looking forward to it. They started off really well but as they got into their third track, ’shout’, they realised as much as I did that they were playing on the wrong sort of bill, and this showed as they lost heart towards the end. They even said to the audience that just because they don’t have the same haircuts as them and don’t scream, it doesn’t mean they can’t have a good time to their music.
I love Black Tide, but unfortunately, due to bad management, I don’t think they should have been here. The audience wanted screamo noise, not talented musicians. Kerrang were showcasing the full spectrum that they cover tonight but Black Tide should be opening for Maiden or Priest, not sandwiched between screamos.
Dir En Grey were next and all I can say is that they have something but they are weird to say the least. Their lead singer, and I use that term loosely, screamed like a woman in a horror movie, it was bizarre. They did seem to go down well, although they failed to interact with the audience at any stage of their set. The jury is still out for me on these guys.
Bring Me Horizon followed next, yet another inaudible screamo band, but they were from Yorkshire which puts them way up there as far as I am concerned. Seriously though they do put on a bloody good show and really get the crowd involved, so I can see their appeal. I will leave the final verdict on the quality of their music to our sister site MetalGods Xtreme and Mr Hammond, our resident screamo expert!!
Finally Mindless self Indulgence, I thought I was really going to hate this band but I went away feeling the opposite. These guys put on a hell of a show, it’s all camp tongue in cheek stuff, but you go away feeling happy and warm inside.
I would say that MSI sound more like an old school punk band than a metal band, but are fantastic showmen. They said that the crowd were “all individuals, even though you all dress the same” and we were asked to pray to the god Milee Sirus at one point.
These guys were highly entertaining and their music isn’t half bad either. They wrapped up their set with a classic camp mime to Judy Garland.
I would recommend MSI to anyone; they were my surprise favourite of the night.
The show as a whole was a good showcase for Kerrang as they were showing the whole spectrum of the music they cover these days and if you can catch their show next time around I can recommend it as a good night.