0N THE EDGE

From page 10 of Classic Rock Magazine August 2003



Cover of August 2003 issue.
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The next big things, as predicted by our inside man.

IT IS WITH A HEAVY

heart and a blues guitar wailing somewhere in the ether that I must break the news that Mahumodo, the Sarf London five-piece with the all- enveloping sound – are no more.

They’re not buried yet, but they’re not breathing either.

If you’re a (proud) owner of the band’s critically drooled-over ‘April’s’ EP (Shelsmusic), with all six tracks making it clear that power and passion can indeed be happy shag-fellows, then you’ll know what a loss this is. On a more positive note, Mehdi Safa, the man behind the ’Modo, will doubtless soon be back in action...

Take one step forward Welsh quintet Funeral For A Friend (currently recording their debut album for Infectious with Colin Richardson), Staffordshire brute- rockers Charger (recent acquisitions by the Peaceville label, and with the new, Billy Anderson-produced ‘Confessions Of A Man [Mad Enough To Live Amongst Beasts]’ recently on release) and many more besides.

Cross my palm with silver, and I would quite happily predict a bright future for Londoners Million Dead (whose debut album should be with us soon via the Integrity label), Jarcrew (a new signing to Gut Records, with a remixed version of their debut release in the pipeline) and, above all, the musical coiled spring that is Beecher, the Manchester outfit who, with the help of Converge’s Kurt Ballou and his celebrated Boston studio, have gone a long way towards capturing their full fire-power on record.

Titled ‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’ and available via Calculated Risk, this latest Beecher release pulls absolutely no punches - check out opening track ‘Let Them Drown’ if you want to hear what a bear with a splinter in its paw might sound like if it was fronting a rock band.

Of course, all of the above is extremely good news, especially if you’re of the opinion that our island is soon going to throw up an act of true international worth.

I’m not going to name any names yet, but Lost Prophets (currently getting to grips with that all- important second album) will certainly be high on the list. And there’s no earthly reason why Landmine Spring (now featuring former Matter drummer James Burt) shouldn’t be pushing to make the cut too. ‘Are We The Culprits?’ (Loudspeaker), the band’s latest (burnt) offering, sees them growing into a sound that’s a good deal more their own, staking claim to some serious metal credentials along the way; but then we (ie those brave souls at the forefront of this Newest Wave Of British Heavy Metal) have to be on our toes to compete with the non-stop invasion of quality US outfits.

One US group whose pic has been everywhere of late is San Diego cult quartet The Locust, partly because their latest release, the 23-track, sub-30-minute ‘Plague Soundscapes’ (Anti/Epitaph), is a bona fide ground-breaker in an age when success and sounding like somebody else are very often synonymous.

If you like your music to be challenging, intense stuff, with no excess flab and song titles longer than the latest Harry Potter book (eg ‘The Half-Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office’), then you’ll want The Locust in your life as a matter of urgency. You’ve heard of Beatlemania. Well, prepare for Locust-love.

You have been swarmed!

BY IANTE BONUTTO

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