Live Review: Summer Bash 8 hosted by Mercury’s Well (Part #2)

If you missed it the first half of this live review saw us talking about the thrills and spills of performances by Kia from The Amazing Tiger Band, In Maluum, Halloran, Bobby’s Midnight Elite and Maxwelltheband so if you want to relive the moment, you might want to check that out. But for now, we’re going to crack on with the other five bands who graced us with their presence at Summer Bash 8, a one day festival hosted by Mercury’s Well at The Facebar in Reading. Are you ready? Then lets do this!

Brighton trio Monovoid [9/10] absolutely rip with poly rhythmic six string bass, seven string guitars and thunderous percussive battery creating a wall of noise, their dual screamed vocal approach adding even more depth and texture to their weighty crushing sounds. They’ve promised us their debut album “Dissolving The Brain” will be out this summer and with neck snapping songs like “Antibirth” and “Conspirator” that cross borders and boundaries between Death, Sludge and Progressive Thrash they’ve whet the appetite for destruction. Together they generate an intensity to hot it burns, the force of their songs like a concrete slab to the face. We just hope their bassist didn’t get any splinters off the stage while playing barefoot because unlike those members of SikTh who do the same thing, they haven’t put out a rug first.

It’s the fourth Summer Bash in a row for which we’ve had the pleasure of thirty minutes in the company of Masquerader [9/10] whose high energy output is so high calibre that it will put a hole in your chest. For those unfamiliar with their sound, the Math Punk three piece noise boys have a powerhouse rhythm section with which to inflict the damage, the bass grooves from Chris Fry occupying the space the drums usually would. They then embellish their sound with synths and knob twiddling as vocalist Danny Molyneux screams his way through the tunes like a man possessed. The barrier might be there to stop the audience from getting on stage but it sure as hell ain’t going to keep Danny out of the pit because he’s got a leap on him like a frog and isn’t afraid to use it to get up close an personal with the audience. They’ve brought with them some extra inflatable palm trees and encourage the crowd to vent their frustrations at the world by bursting them, which is like introducing candy to a baby. Tonight they may not have “Pressure” in their set but they do have a sing-a-long Enter Shakari cover and their eponymous song “I Am Masquerader” both of which are not only balls of fire but see Mercury’s Well bassist James Tiffin screaming along front and centre.

There has been an unsubstantiated rumour floating around that after debuting one new song during last year’s Summer Bash set hosts Mercury’s Well [10/10] are going to be playing three in their forty minute slot. After a rousing rendition of “Blood” the Progressive Death Metal trio are joined by a saxophonist this evening as they do exactly that, playing all three parts of “The Haunting” back to back. A fully fledged additional member of the band, George Knowlson adds another texture to the sound in a similar way to the likes of Rivers of Nihil, sweating and head banging between passages and while he lacks a little bit of stage presence, that will come with the fullness of time. It’s bassist Tiff’s birthday today and he’s loving every minute, enjoying the fact that the band are able to use this opportunity to give us something both soul stirring and captivating at the same time. Whether its a cathartic release of negative energy or not Simon Mowvley-Davis vocals feel harsher than usual tonight, his storytelling capabilities as masterful as ever. The most impressive thing is that while each part of the twenty five minute magnum opus flow together incredibly well together, they also work in isolation, which isn’t something always achieved in compositions of such grandeur. Despite calls for them to play “Fire” the band finish their set with the bleak and cathartic “Nadir” which finds the crowd screaming the line “let the darkness swallow you whole!” back at them. How long we have to wait for the new material to be committed to tape remains to be seen but if the songs are half as good as the bands performance of them is tonight then the record will be a complete and utter triumph.

There is a real buzz around the presence of Grunge, Math-Rock and Post-Hardcore inspired trio a-tota-so [9/10] being in the building tonight, their live shows notorious for having seen them joined by almost a hundred guest vocalists at this point. They’ve got a new album in “I Told You So” arriving in September and so treat us to a couple of new tunes in a set that also sees them joined by Danny from Masquerader, Simon from Mercury’s Well and James ‘Bart’ Barter from Butcher Bird to increase that body count on stage a little more. “Death Rattle” is potent, Simon’s savage vocals adding a spice that’s nice while also being the first time he’s done live vocals before without holding a guitar. As a trio the band have the ability to captivate, they tales of anxiety, depression and grief resonating with everyone in the room. They have an aura about them that natural performers have and with songs like “When the Waves Come“, “Choke” and “Form of Mass” they’re going to be gracing bigger stages than this in the not too distant future.

Cinematic DJent pioneers and lovers of Progressive Metal Vanitas [10/10] have travelled from the Midlands to play Summer Bash and have been spotted checking out the competition at various points during the day. If they were nervous before hand when they step up onto the stage they don’t show it, their stage presence and incredible musicianship making for a performance as enthralling as it is captivating. Guitarist duo Mitchell Barlow and Elijah Storer have in their armoury a collection of impressive riffs, leads and tapping sections as they play a collection of songs including “Your Demise” and recent single “Nobody“, the band performing like a well oiled machine. Bassist Jon Willingham and drummer Jackson Cann make for a powerful rhythm section, driving the band forward with poise and purpose, while vocalist Jade Maris impresses with her incredible range. Her achingly beautiful clean vocals are augmented by brutal harsh unclean ones, the transition between the pair completely seamless. The energy that the five piece have is electric tonight, each song performed with a verve and swagger, the confidence they have in their compositions shining through. As they bring the curtain down on this years Summer Bash, its safe to say we will witness them on bigger stages than this, their presence here helping the event be the triumph that it is.