The mystery of the missing audience...yet Fuckhammer and Altus still deliver

THERE comes a time when as a journalist and reviewer you simply scratch your head and wonder what the hell it takes to get some people off their asses. At a sparsely populated Limelight2 on Saturday, March 22nd Fuckhammer and Altus still managed to deliver two intense sets of heavy metal...yet there were too few present.

True the full-on assault of Altus and the downright extreme delivery of Fuckhammer may not to be the taste of, for example, those that helped sell-out the Foreigner show, but there are more than a few who like their metal delivered full-on.

Despite the mystery of the missing audience the Distortion Project gig saw two performances that were enjoyable, in as far as giving your ears a kicking can be enjoyable; which in the right hands is a pleasurable experience.

Altus were concentrating on their recently released ep, (available here) and played what we saw as an intense set of metal. The last time we reviewed them we spoke about a band in transition. It seems that the transition is now complete. Particularly the more doom-laden tracks seem to be where the band are comfortable.

Fuckhammer are perhaps one of the enigmas of extreme metal - members play in other bands and range across the border. But they have their own identity and style.

Abortion Addict, Drone and Dead in the Gutter were stand out tracks in a tight set. And, the storming, full sprint of their cover version of Symptom of the Universe flayed body parts of those present.

Bagsie and Dave McCallum kept the momentum rolling along with a DJ set that was as varied as it was entertaining, something that would be a good addition to nights like these.

With so many gigs coming down the path it is perhaps understandable that some may be trying to ration their metal and rock, but the Distortion Project offers a £5 gig most Saturday's and  bar staff are on hand to ensure you get your drink offers speedily down yer necks.

For those present on March 22nd, whether they were drinking or not it is fair to say that they were 'Hammered to Fuck' by two great acts.

Now, kiddies make sure you save up yer pennies for future gigs from local bands laid on by the likes of James Loveday and Derwin at the Diamond....and give them a hug for keeping the rock and metal scene alive.

Limelight properly fucked up by triple terror of Zombified, Ceseless Blight and Fuckhammer

LET'S face it, when the headline act is forced to cancel because of their van breaking down in the nether regions of nowhere, and one act down a member then Saturday's Distortion Project had all the recipes for a disaster.

Instead there was a glorious triple header trip into the dark regions of the psyche on Saturday (November 30th) evening at Limelight2.

Zombified, Ceasless Blight and Fuckhammer played like harbingers of coming Armageddon, horsemen of the apocalypse and just downright noisy bastards.

Fuckhammer took to the stage without their bassist, but still managed to deliver a relentless pounding with tracks from their Hammered to Fuck release standing out, especially Abortion Addict.

However, it would be remiss of us not to mention their hyper speed version of Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe. Stripped of acoustic sections and with a faithful rendition of Bill Ward's drum madness it was just a great take on this classic.

The black metal persistence of Ceaseless Blight then came forward, silhouetted on stage almost throughout their set; this was a full-on onslaught of riffing, with a particular emphasis on bass lines in the mix. However, the drums were off, with the snare beats completely missing at times. Fix that flaw, and add a bit more variety to the twin guitars and this could have been a great set rather than just a good one.

As to Zombified...Who doesn't like a wee bit of extreme metal now and then to help cope with a world gone mad; death metal extravagance to push away the worries and strains; total noise attack and full on assault always help...

By far this was the best Zombified set we have witnessed recently - killer from all parts, delivered with panache and power.

It's hard to pick up a stand-out track when so much was total grace in growls, gorefest guitars, bastard battering bass and drums beating out primal pounding. The Forgotten Art of Strangulation and Human Cull were awesome, however, along with Grind and Immolation.

So, no headliner, Fuckhammer a man down...did this deter any of the bands? No. Was it, nevertheless a great Distortion Project show? Yes, of course it was.