My first review of the year, sadly I did not find time for one on the Manic Street Preachers gig I attended in January, is one of a performance by the leading acts in the Glam Rock/Metal/Horror genres: the Murderdolls. Now it is safe to say that I was not eagerly anticipating this gig, knowing that it could be nowhere near as amazing as last year’s show at the Relentless Garage. This feeling of foreboding was also not helped by the prospect of the venue, the much lambasted HMV forum, widely regarded to have poor acoustics and to be about as hot as the sun.
Having been kept waiting outside Kentish Town train station by my co-rockers, Mike Richer, Daniel Lynn and Callum Wilson, we reached the venue at around a quarter past nine. Cue a manic rush to the cloak room and a mazy surge towards the front of the stage. The venue was just as I remember it, hot, crowded, sticky and with a stage too grand for the hall. However, we managed to wind up slap bang in the centre so at least we had good views, apart from when a 7ft tall beast decided to stand right in front of me.
After the epic classical music subsided, and the countless teenage girls stopped their incessant screaming, the lights went down and the eerie tones of ‘The World According to Revenge’ rang out around the Forum. A good song to set the mood for the evening, the band have made a habit of allowing this menacing track warm up the crowd for their inevitable arrival. Jumping on stage to the opening chords of ‘Chapel of Blood’ it is clear that the Murderdolls intend to bring the Forum to its knees tonight. Wave after wave of enthusiasm and energy pulsate from the stage as frontman Wednesday 13 and rhythm guitarist Joey Jordison lead the mobs of Murderdolls faithful though hit after hit, from both of their albums.
While I enjoyed the performance, I was not feeling the same love for the band that I felt on that cold night last september (find review below), when I was blown away by this Californian quintet. To be honest I began to grow weary of the samey chord progressions as the latter songs of the set began to blur one another. Cue a trip to the bar for a well needed diet coke but this was still not enough to revitalise my love for the band. Maybe it would have been different if I had not seen them at that September gig, who knows? Once the predictable setlist grew to a close, with a performance of ‘I Love to Say F**k’ I have to be honest in that I was glad to be out of the Forum and away from the band. Although there were some enjoyable moments in the set, it was largely disappointing for me. I feel that the venue itself was too big for a band like the Murderdolls, I either see them as playing small venues, as the Garage, or rocking festivals with a cameo performance, as they did at Ozzfest last year. It is safe to say, however, that the longevity of the band in my eyes is considerably waning after this lacklustre performance. Sorry Lynney, but that is my objective view!
Rating: 4/10
Setlist:
1. The World According to Revenge
2. Chapel of Blood
3. Death Valley Superstars
4. Homicide Drive
5. Slit My Wrist
6. Twist My Sister
7. She Was A Teenage Zombie
8. My Dark Place Alone
9. Drug Me To Hell
10. Summertime Suicide
11. Die My Bride
12. People Hate Me
13. Blood Stained Valentine
14. Pieces of You
15. Bad Things
16. Nowhere
17. Welcome to the Strange
18. 197666
19. Motherf**ker I Don’t Care
Encore 1
20. Dawn of the Dead
21. I Take Drugs
22. Dead in Hollywood
Encore 2
23. I Love to Say F**k
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