The real tragedy of the British music scene is not that it lacks character or bands who are both innovative and interesting but rather that, on almost any given night in towns and cities, bands are giving their all in pubs and clubs with only a smattering of interested punters. There seem to be a lot of reasons for this; the price of tickets dissuades the casual voter; the plethora of live music available on any given evening provides an overwhelming array of choice to those who are interested; the cost of going out has climbed considerably in recent years; record company interest and support is almost wholly lacking of any artist who hasn’t sold enough records to add a new bathroom suite to the manager’s holiday villa and the rise of complex home entertainment has seen almost a whole generation banished to the life of a couch potato. Any of these elements, and undoubtedly more besides, could explain the creeping malaise that has appeared throughout the British gig going public, but it doesn’t make it any easier for the bands themselves who can choose to either pack it in and go home or keep fighting, channelling all of that rage and frustration into making the sort of music that long-signed bands, rather more worried about fighting expanding waist-lines than crowd apathy, haven’t made since their debut days.
It is into this category that Martyr De Mona fit – a band who know the frustration of playing to under-capacity crowds but yet who should bring the rock and metal fans scurrying from their holes when they roll into town. Ostensibly playing a grunge sound there are myriad musical references I could point to – hints of Alice in chains (whom the band cover in their live set), a touch of Bruce Dickinson in the vocals, a flash of nu-metal’s down-tuned riffing amidst the raging guitars and tight drums all combining to make an alluring package for people who bemoan the state of British metal.
Opening with the heavy riff-fest that is ‘Eva’ Martyr De Mona’s debut EP has a crushing production courtesy of Russell Tite (Blue Whale studios, Birmingham) and some great moments suggesting that the band have a bright future ahead of them if they continue to make music of this quality. ‘Am I sorry’ is another belting track musically, with a tightly harmonised vocal which sounds amazing but which stumbles lyrically, feeling less developed than the previous track. The solo that kicks in over the bridge, however, is nothing short of sublime – fluid and heavy and you can see the band have spent a fair deal of time on stage and in practice rooms honing their sound. There is also a great contrast between the clean vocals of singer Louis and the screams of guitarist Simon, something that really adds bite to their live performance.
‘Identity’ is the third track and it’s a grungy ballad that sits somewhere between Stone Sour and Nickleback but which is nowhere near as bad as the mention of the latter might suggest. Alternating between a looser, heavy tone and a more acoustic feel, it’s a slow-burning track that gives Louis Hale’s voice a chance to shine without the guitar pyrotechnics distracting the listener although there’s a mighty fine solo towards the end. The final track is ‘try to mend’ which has a more System of a down (via ‘aerials’) feel, and it’s probably the best track here along with ‘Eva’, thanks to a darker tone and some great production tricks on the vocals giving the track a more individual feel.
Overall this is an excellent EP from a band who are soon to release an album and who obviously poured their hearts and souls into the recording. My only criticism is that in places it’s almost too polished, subtly taking away from the raw edge that the band presents live but that’s hardly a major criticism and what is clear is that Martyr De Mona have both the skills and the songs to go far. You can find out more at http://www.martydemona.com/ and for goodness sake, the next time the boys are in your town, go and see them.
