Review of:
“Untamed”
At: The King Billy, Northampton
On: Saturday 03/03/07
By: Gaby
This was a band that I was looking forward to seeing for a long time but alas with so few live gigs planned (which is a great shame) they were proving elusive until this particular Saturday night in that packed den of all fun things – The King Billy in Northampton.
Needless to say I was not disappointed. “Untamed” play their own particular brand of Rock/Metal that stems from the harder side of rock from the likes of Iron Maiden, Mettalica, Ozzy and Judas Priest to name but a few as well as a snippet here and there of their own really good stuff.
This was no run-of-the mill 80s hair metal covers band that just tried to imitate their musical heroes but rather a band that paid true homage to a time in rock/metal music history that simply poured out classic tunes by the bucket full and that even today in what often appears to be a bland decade of a musical desert it still has it’s own unique influence as significant today as it was back then.
“Untamed” are one of those rare breed of creatures that refuses to let the music gather dust and they play it with true hard edged brilliance and imagination that is both infectious as well as a joy to listen to.
On vocals was the wonderful Jon Sampson who has a voice that I believe is a cross between Vince Neil of Motley Crue and Ozzy Osbourne and which perfectly complimented their wide, long and varied set.
On guitar was the exceptional Colin James who you could be forgiven for thinking had 4 arms playing on 2 separate guitars as he effortlessly inter-wove from rhythm and lead in a blink of an eye and gave the crowd a set of sounds that were as sweet as treacle and hot as chilli.
On bass was Graham Michael who gave what I thought was a brilliant performance of understated but highly effective low notes and lastly on drums was Ken Dee who; be not mistaken, was no bespoke drum monkey but rather a male silverback gorilla of a drummer who thumped those heavy beats out with sheer skilful and talented abandon. This was a guy who loved to play and at times I really thought he was going to disappear inside his own drum kit with sheer dynamic enthusiasm!
In essence this was one hell of an exciting, fresh and talented band with class and style who never let attitude get in the way of what really matters – the music. They delivered a performance that was great to listen to and an absolute joy to watch.
My only complaint – more gigs please guys! You can’t hide rock/metal treasure like this away. The rock world needs ya!