Venue: The Unicorn
Date: 27 September 2008
Website: myspace.com/snakeeyesuk, myspace.com/kalebuk, myspace.com/emeraldrock
MySpace: See above.
Label: None
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks Exclusive!
This gig was my very first trip to The Unicorn in Kentish Town and I can promise you that it won't be my last! This venue/pub is everything a metal/rock pub should be! Free gigs, alcohol and a great atmosphere - what more could you want?
The festivities started with Emerald - a band I'd never heard of before, but certainly a band I'll never forget. The songs seemed to be really well written and very memorable. The band themselves were really tight (and the guitar solos were awesome!) and the vocalist is almost on par with Bruce Dickinson. I mean, this guy can hit (and hold) some brain-melting notes! This is the perfect band for anyone who's into that Traditional Metal sound. This band deserves to have backpatches made so that they can be worn on leather and denim jackets up and down the country. Emerald are releasing their first album in December, so expect to hear a lot more from them very soon.
The next band were Kaleb and I hadn't heard of them either. That didn't stop me from being impressed... for the second time that evening! This band successfully combined the optimum amount of melody and aggression to create their sound. Somehow they didn't seem to be as confident as the other bands, but don't let that fool you - they're a band worth checking out.
Snake Eyes weren't what I expected... They were better! I'd bought their album, "Soul Stealer", the week before and was utterly hooked quite a few songs from it. So, therefore, I was really looking forward to this gig and witnessing some of these songs played live. The band stormed through a selection of songs from "Soul Stealer", some older songs and a couple of covers - including "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath and Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law".
Snake Eyes already have a fair-sized fanbase judging by the amount of people who turned up to the gig and sang along, and I hope it won't be long before Snake Eyes become an unstoppable force. Both they and Emerald have proved (without a single doubt) that Traditional Metal is alive and well... in fact, it's thriving.
I also hope that all of the bands featured tonight can be tempted to play a gig or two in sunny Croydon!
Below you'll see a video of Snake Eyes from the gig:
Snake Eyes from Lou Yardley on Vimeo.