The Hunter Club, Bury St Edmunds June 4 2022
by Paul Mace
The proceedings at this excellent venue get started with Rascade – and even a broken drum pedal in the middle of opening track Sinner doesn’t slow them down.
The band has been together for only three months – a surprising fact as they look and sound like an established unit with plenty of attitude, energy and clear vocals from a charismatic frontman. Great start.
Final Transmission are next to hit the stage with some heavy mosh monsters much appreciated by their loyal fans in the audience.
With vocals going from an all-out scream to almost a whisper, the power of this five-piece is immense, and tracks such as Crescendo, Angels and Smoke Screen leave us looking forward to hearing more from them in the future.
Fuze are up next, and while they immediately look out of place with their short hair and youthful appearance, their music proves to be light relief for what will follow.
The sound is American pop-punk with a dash of Franz Ferdinand and the band – fresh from the final of Bury St Edmunds Battle Of The Bands – are full of teenage spirit, creating a fantastic vibe.
The next act to take to the stage already have an album behind them.
Even louder than their Hawaiian shirts, Brazen Bull may have pushed the volume to the limit, making the sound a bit distorted on their hi-octane power metal set, but this is soon overcome – or we stop noticing – as they’re having such a great time on stage, with Final Transmission even coming back to join in the fun.
By contrast, headliners Norwich outfit Clown Smash Everything appear very angry – especially vocalist and guitarist Gav Thomas, who rages with fury as these metalheads blast out their songs. He, Jay Freeman, Chris Peters (reminiscent of Nikki Sixx) and Zak Whittaker proceed to obliterate the Hunter Club with their intense set including their new single, Animal Feeder Too.
Their performance is full-throttle metal and they bring the evening’s fantastic entertainment to a crescendo.
This is a real value-for-money evening, displaying so much local talent and a real crowd-pleaser, which is what occasions like this are all about.
