Guardian Alien / Horrid / The Osiris Club @ Islington Mill, Salford, 10 July

Live Review by Edward Bottomley | 15 Jul 2014

Following a well received weekender in May (headlined by Melt-Banana), Fat Out Till You Pass Out – seasoned promoters specialising in the seriously noisy – return to Islington Mill to deliver yet more transcendental ear-bashings. Promising a mix of horror movie soundtracks and prog-metal, The Osiris Club open proceedings (while wearing what appear to be black polyester masonic robes and plague doctor masks) with a patchy set of King Crimson-style chugging intercut with eerie synth drones. Despite some hefty and satisfying riffs, some sections feel extraneous, while a reedy and bloodless vocal lacks impact.

If Islington Mill have a house band, then Horrid are surely it, having regularly contributed their dark psychedelia to the Mill’s audio-visual Video Jam events. Going for anonymity, but sparing the theatricality of The Osiris Club, all five members sport jute sacks on their heads to avoid individual identification. With their rolling, iterative rhythm section, shifting textures of squalling wah-wah guitar and electronics – combined with a half murmured, half yelled vocals that are introduced towards the end of the set – Horrid create something genuinely nightmarish, but at the same time seductively cinematic.

Having previously collaborated with the Fat Out collective at The Silent Barn in Brooklyn, the time has come for Guardian Alien to pay a return visit. Bringing death metal tropes into a musical approach developed in avant garde improvisation and free jazz, this band have an intensity and experimental drive reminiscent of Thrill Jockey labelmates Boredoms. Three desks of samplers and pedals and a ghostly female voice all serve largely as support for the drumming of bandleader Greg Fox. Consistently establishing patterns then throwing in variations to surprise the captive audience, these embellishments build up to breakneck blast-beats and Fox’s hands are a blur beneath the bespoke live projections of the Mill residents. While this may sound abstract and formless, Fox has complete control of his instrument and no beat feels out of place. Although the supporting noisemakers at the back of the stage could do more to compliment the dynamic contours of the drumming, a regular gig-goer of omnivorous taste could go a year without seeing an instrumentalist half as skilled, imaginative or captivating.

http://thrilljockey.com/thrill/Guardian-Alien