Wasn't really quite sure of what to expect from Biomechanical. I think I may have seen a music video of theirs somewhere down the line, but in the 5 mins prior to their starting their set, the 2 guitarists were attempting to outdo each other playing intricate super fast leads, so I was really put in 2 minds. Their name suggested some sort of techno/metal, which I was thinking could be along the lines of SYL/FF, but the leads had me thinking Hammerfall (cos that's what they did every time I've been subjected to them at Wacken). Well I guess Starting with what I think was "The Awakening", they pretty much placed themselves in either camp. The drumming was fast and tight, and the kit took up all available space on the stage, owing to Paul Bostaph's kit also being on stage. The guitars were heavy, but subject to going meandering through long sustained solos and the vocals ranged from the odd low growl to predominantly Halford like screams. Their show was pretty good, primary owing to the fact that they appeared to be having such a good time, and their enthusiasm was contagious. They managed to get a couple pits going every now and then and revelled in the adulation. Other songs they played included "Enemy Within", "Assaulter" and "Truth Denied" from their latest release. They ended their evening with "Painkiller", which went down a treat and showed everyone where their main influences lie.
Exactly a week shy of a year since the last time they played this venue, after the mandatory intro music, Exodus attacked the Underworld with "Bonded By Blood", and the moshing truly ensued. As quickly as "Raze" was followed by "Deathamphetamine" the guys on stage were being pelted with the bodies of stage divers being hurled back on stage by the crowd. The battle of wills between the stage crew trying to forcefully remove them and the crowd wanting to be on stage to catapult themselves back into the melee went on unabated all night. We got a nice selection of older material in the form of "Piranha", "A Lesson in Violence", "Brain Dead" and "The Last Act of Defiance", so it would appear that Rob Dukes’ had a year to brush up on more than 'Bonded' and 'SHKM'. ;-) He's also sporting longer hair and about 6 times as much agro. I don't think Paul Bostaph misplaced a hit, back there in the dark where you wouldn't see anything more than a whirl of sticks and shaking cymbals. "Blacklist" went down a storm with the mic shoved into plenty of faces in the front row. There were plenty of shouts by Rob to get the whirlpool going and I quietly stood my ground in its eye so I could continue to watch the band on stage. Another track from 'Tempo' was aired in the form of "War is My Sheppard" which had that maelstrom in full effect. During "I Am Abomination" a petit blonde was lifted above the heads of the front few rows and appeared to offer Jack Gibson a kiss, which he declined with a smile. The final two tracks off 'SHKM', namely "44 Magnum Opus" and "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" which nearly saw the aircon unit directly above the foot of the stage torn from the ceiling as the feet of divers whacked against it over and over again. Throughout the night Lee Altus and Gary Holt traded leads flawlessly and still kept the heady riffs rupturing unprotected ears. They finished the night with "Scar Spangled Banner" and ultimately "Strike of the Beast" as they were expected to.