Pain Control / I.C.O.N.
1 April 2005
Ruskin Arms, London
When I previously saw I.C.O.N. they had no drummer, relying instead on the regimented beats of a drum machine. I had said then that their big guitar sound would benefit from the grooves provided by a drummer, but despite the stool now filled, I`m afraid it just wasn`t happening for I.C.O.N. tonight.
You wouldn`t think it would be too difficult to balance the sound of a straightforward metal band with a guitar, bass, drum, vocal set up, however the likes of Blindside were rendered a challenging listen. Brandishing his mic stand, vocalist Mark Sagar does his best to encourage the crowd asking to see hands in the air during Grindin` Wheel which featured the dirty bass sound of Jay Shuttleworth.
A couple of covers of Led Zep`s Communication Breakdown and Metallica`s For Whom The Bell Tolls kept the Friday night rockers happy, but I couldn`t help but think that I.C.O.N. had not matched up to their Ruskfest performance here last year.
I.C.O.N. set list included:
Full Circle / Blindside / Grindin` Wheel / Communication Breakdown / Fixation / 7 Second Warning / For Whom The Bell Tolls
A new record deal and the re-release of debut album Subvert seems to have provided the perfect fillip to push Pain Control up a gear, as tonight`s set proved to be the finest I have seen from them to date.
Similar to their own Ruskfest appearance, a cover Machine Head`s Davidian early in the set provided a wake up call to those in the other bar to get their arses in to the main venue. New song In Vein followed and its Slayer-esque sound was highly impressive.
The set was cleverly paced with 5:12am once again providing a brief respite from the aural bludgeoning. Adrian Carloss stands arms outstretched, absorbed in the songs menacing build up and provides a cackle from hell at the songs climax.
Master Of The Sands provides a short sharp shock like a billy-club to the back of the head before the punky Child Love, complete with gang back-up vocals, gets heads nodding.
The band have recently started a run of live dates across the country and Purity proves them to be tight as the proverbial already. Raining Blood was another crowd pleaser, but the following With Extreme Prejudice is not overshadowed by the Slayer classic.
A suitably impressed crowd aren`t prepared to let Pain Control pack up their gear just yet and the band oblige with the fittingly titled Pure Aggression.
Pain Control set list:
Subvert / Davidian / In Vein / 5:12am / Master Of The Sands / Child Love / …Of Purity / Raining Blood / With Extreme Prejudice / Pure Aggression
LINKS:
Pain Control
I.C.O.N.
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