LIVE REVIEW: Neshiima @ Lounge 41, Workington
It is a very rare occurrence that Workington acquires a date on a band’s touring schedule but Monday night was blessed with the appearance Glaswegian double header NESHIIMA and TITAN BREED. As an added bonus local stoner outfit DRUDGE served as the catalyst for the festivities as the intimate venue was beginning to fill nicely.
Lounge 41 has been like a second home to the Cumbrian quartet since their inception and with them being fresh off the back of a successful performance at Bloodstock Festival, DRUDGE settled into proceedings very quickly. Rattling through tracks from their recently released Cosmic Goddess EP the dual vocals courtesy of frontman Pecker Woods and drummer John Branch (of NECROMANDUS fame) seamlessly meshed together providing both ends of the spectrum to great effect. Guitarist Andrew Fitzsimons displayed a variety of nostalgic groove infused riffs reminiscent of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and ORANGE GOBLIN whilst bassist Unyan supplied the crunchy backbone of the arrangement. Some may say that the stoner genre lived its best years back in 90’s but DRUDGE are continuing to proudly fly the flag and were a solid opening act which have the potential to push on and play larger venues.
Rating: 8/10
As another successful band that battled their way through the Metal 2 The Masses qualifiers TITAN BREED have gone from strength to strength on the back of their victory in 2017 and provided the perfect companion to their Scottish counterparts. They even managed to kill the power on two separate occasions which led into a bit of comedic banter and an acapella rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight before normality was eventually resumed. This abrupt disruption of their set had zero effect on their stride as TITAN BREED shrugged it off and picked up where they left off. Treating the crowd to tracks from their Edge Of The World EP the quintet bounded between modern metal guitar work, energetic drum fills and melodic chorus bursts topped off with adept bass lines and gritty vocals which when combined resulted in an engaging, entertaining performance.
Rating: 8/10
Lounge 41 has long been a dependable venue for live music where the sound has been rarely questioned but tonight NESHIIMA fell victim to the audio gremlins as their set was riddled with technical issues due to the inadequacies of the personnel on hand. Despite this hindrance the quartet persevered and proficiently powered through an abundance of tracks from their Purple and Orange EPs with a couple of deep cuts for good measure. Their energy never wavered throughout as they bounced around the venue climbing on furniture and throwing in impromptu dabs whenever the mood saw fit. A particular highlight of NESHIIMA‘s set was when they unleashed a cover of the ever popular floor filler in LINKIN PARK‘s Papercut. The charismatic Liam Hesslewood had the crowd in the palm of his hand for the entirety of their set with his soaring highs and spine tingling screams leaving an emphatic statement that NESHIIMA are destined for bigger things. Their inviting blend of electronica/hip hop and bouncy metal riffing is a formula for success and will appeal to a wide range of listeners. Hopefully the remaining dates of this tour will provide an opportunity for them to gain a host of new fans.
Rating: 9/10