Seethe,Crossburner at The Craufurd Arms 8/3/2014

Crossburner
Seethe
Craufurd Arms 8/3/2014
Words By Kev Griffiths 
Pictures By Aaron Francis 

Milton Keynes is a strange town for music. A live music scene on its last legs and generations of live music fans crying out for a live music scene... both thriving and suffering in equal measure. With venues being changed or shut down left right and centre  (more on that later) it’s always nice to see established bands putting on a good old FREE SHOW just in order to show a bit of faith in the local scene, one of these was the Crossburner and Seethe show on Saturday, which I (and the rest of the usual Bleak team) were present for.

Crossburner and Seethe are both bands that have been mentioned a few times on Bleak by virtue of being accessible, not only in terms of their music but also in the fact that they don’t have the air of pretentiousness so ripe in this age of daddy’s-boy-bands and post-teenage arrogance.
Don’t get me wrong, though. My town has produced some great bands throughout the years, some of which are now treading international territory and causing a fuss around the world but it’s something about playing a free show in your hometown that you get from bands such as these that you wouldn’t expect to see from the globetrotters.

The Craufurd Arms is one of Milton Keynes’ leading live music venues - of the few that remain - and boasts an event hall and also a set up for bands in the main bar, which until recently I’d only been seen used for Open Mic nights and the weekly pub quiz. The lads in Crossburner and Seethe decided to forego the use of the event hall and instead opted to put the show on in the main bar, a decision which may have produced some skepticism at first but ultimately, I feel, paid off.

So, before a packed room, Crossburner took to the stage. Celebrating the release of their self titled EP (Jay put a review up of that a little while back, check it out) the boys put on a show with the same intensity and passion that we’ve come to expect.

Breaking through the rabble of the expectant crowd with the EP opener ‘Burn the Saint’ and, without losing momentum throughout with barely a moment’s pause between tracks, the guys mixed a few old songs with the entire EP tracklist. The room was packed and the ceiling was low, this is how music is supposed to be enjoyed. The sound in what is clearly considered the secondary of the two stages was surprisingly good and a post show discussion with a few others yielded the same level of surprise from other spectators.
With the EP now available on Footloose Records I recommend you grab yourself a copy and get down to one of their shows, these guys won’t disappoint.

Pick up the new Crossburner 10" From Footloose HERE

Crossburner  Bandcamp HERE
And Facebook  HERE




Next up was Seethe. A band who have been around for years and have developed a very solid and defined sound, true metal with blistering riffs, battering drums and now with added vocalist. The vocal duo of Dan ‘Nukie’ and Connor have brought a new level to the music they are making, complimenting one another in back and forth vocal bursts that really cover all bases with the rest of the (seemingly ever growing) band providing the perfect backdrop. Really talented bunch this lot. Their most recent album ‘Through Conviction’ is available on their Facebook page, or if you’re like me and money is something you heard about in a film once but never quite understood, they’re also on Spotify.

So anyway, they came on and tore open the room with ‘False Hope’ and the crowd responded in kind... then something began to not sound quite right. Turns out Connor’s mic had cut out towards the end of the track. Bugger.
Responding to James from Outta Luck’s suggestion that the duo share the mic ‘like Robson and Jerome’ they, well... did. It was going well until the second mic also went and you could then see the Craufurd sound crew scrambling about, with great efficiency, fixing the situation pretty quickly.

After maybe one or two minutes both vocalists were good to go and the lads went on about their business as usual pumping the crowd full of adrenaline and the metal we’ve grown to love from these guys.
They played a mix of old material off of Through Conviction and a few new tracks off their up and coming release, including Final Cry an exclusive for Metal Hammer released last month. This band live and breath music, they are always working hard to achieve what they want and all credit to them. It's hard to put your finger on the soun these guys create as there is so many different influences in this band. Not a bad thing at all. It all comes together and hits you in the gut on their live performances. A good mix of hardcore and metal runs through this band and I have said many times about the likeness of Seethe and Malevolence and even Unearth. Even through the technical issues the band maintained focus and put on a top show. It was a packed intimate venue and both bands played to this by stepping into the crowd and commanding movement. Which is hard to do on a beer soaked wooden floor.

  
Seethes Debut album Through Conviction is available on their Bigcartel    HERE

Bandcamp   HERE

Also Available on Spotify.






While I’m here... I touched on Milton Keynes’ ‘stagnating while striving’ live music scene briefly earlier on but, since the show on Saturday, a matter has come to my attention that I feel needs to be spoken about.

MK11 - The Kiln Farm Club in Milton Keynes, a live music venue that boasts a reputation as one of the town’s finest, on par in many an opinion with the Craufurd, is now subject to a ‘noise abatement order’ despite being located on an industrial park on the edge of town.

There’s a petition going around to save it and I highly suggest that you sign it, even if you are not from the Milton Keynes area. Unless you relish the prospect of a band you like skipping the Buckinghamshire area due to a lack of venues, after all this will be a continuation of years of venues being shut down for petty reasons by out of touch councils and eventually... well, I’m sure you get the picture.

The link is here and has so far received a great deal of support from the local community but still has a way to go, so get on it and show your support!

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/milton-keynes-council-save-live-music-at-mk11

Signing off, as always guys if your band or a mate’s band or a family member’s band or a distant relative’s friend’s sister-in-law’s dog’s old owner’s band are putting on or taking part in a show in the area give us a shout, we wanna be there.

Much love from the Bleak team.


Kev.