Why are metal bands of such a high quality when playing live? We've lost count of the mind-numbing quantity of indie bands we've seen over the years that sounded passable on record but dreary once they sheepishly shuffle onto a stage.
Benji Webb knows how to work a crowd and Skindred are an amazing vehicle for his talent. The self-styled ?ragga-metal? [Jesus fucking Christ, really? – Ed.] band understand completely the musical forms with which they are playing.
Webb?s versatile vocals (roots crooning, rapping, metal roaring) allow the songs to change tempo all over the place so they are free to drop drum and bass rhythms without it sounding in the least bit contrived. Extra bonus points for getting a metal crowd doing the robot.
We love listening to Clutch records. Neil Fallon?s backwoods bark and those tight rhythms just fit together like simultaneous roars from the same beast. But as soon as we turn the album off we can never remember a single song. That super-cool sound just turns to smoke. They make a far greater impression here though with a set as convincing as it is too short.
Down pull a surprisingly unresponsive crowd. Maybe they're offended by the band playing the riff from Walk by Pantera but not seeing it through. Phil Anselmo seems to be having a ball. Not that he has ever been in shortage of balls. His masculinity intimidates us.
Avenged Sevenfold are just too much for us. The rest of the crowd clearly think they're nothing short of triumphant, and there's passion at work, but their brand of operatic bombast just seems silly to us and the pyrotechnics too affected.
Much has been made of the importance of System of a Down?s current tour. The word is that it's make or break, and all eyes are on them for any indication. It's like watching a Dickensian rock opera with two Fagins (one of whom, guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, is absolutely mesmerising).
Intense as they are fascinating to watch, they are still utterly unique. No-one else does anything approaching this. Radio/Video may be the one that rocks the most but Lost in Hollywood is the highlight and, alongside Tool?s Aenema, the best ever poison-pen letter to LA.
Part three of this review comes tomorrow. You must be wetting yourself in anticipation.