You’ve probably heard one of those classic drummer jokes: Why
do bands need Roadies? To translate what the drummer says etc. but tonight
the twin drum assault of And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, and
more specifically drummer/guitarist/vocalist Jason Reece, the ritual trashing,
twin skin bashing and music merry ground teeter on the epic. Behind a literal
smokescreen they’re a blur of white light and volatile silhouettes as And You
Will Know Us.. bring the thunder. Wrought with Conrad Keely’s biting
vocals, Reece’s abundant energy and guitarist Kevin Allen’s cool cigarette smoking
aloof, the onstage chaos is the perfect foil for the blaze of music emanating
from the milky distance. It’s a sound practically perfected. Their ability to
create a sense of distance heightens a nervously excitable fascination without
forfeiting the menacing potential that you’re about to be totally enveloped. A
sense of anger and bitterness remains, but is now tempered by a feeling of melancholy
delivered with intense splendour. To feel the reverberations in your chest cavity
and then hear the echo as they ease into a lactic induced calm is testament to
the consistently masterful layering of delicate melodies with a vastly powerful
sound. Amidst the moments of clarity and the hammer of dense grass roots rock,
Reece continues to run amok with the destructive potential of a great Dane with
ADD, as he does everything bar piss on the mic-stand. The impressively
diverse set sustains a tempo so furious that the even the musings of ‘Another
Morning Stoner’ is forced through in quick time by an adrenalin fuelled drumbeat.
Guitars were smashed, drums were trashed and the bass was thrown into the crowd.
To say they’re big on finales would be an understatement but it doesn’t matter
when the aftermath feels as glorious as this.
Sherief Younis for Crud Magazine 2005©
Janauary - March 2005 - News Archive | |
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