Live Review: Secreum – Newcastle

Little Buildings on Stepney Bank is an absolute gem of a venue when it comes to grassroots live music in Newcastle, situated in the Ouseburn area of the city. It is an incredibly intimate venue with a capacity of 55-60 people and it is the venue in which I find myself tonight.

Culloden are the first band to perform tonight and what becomes apparent as soon as they begin to play is just how much influence the NWOBHM bands, especially Iron Maiden and Saxon, have had on them. Just like those two bands, every song that Culloden play tonight is a lesson in the history of the UK, especially the North East of England. One particular song entitled 'Witchpricker' that struck a chord with me, as it focuses on a subject of which I am obviously familiar with, but one that I never knew occurred in Newcastle and that is Witch Trials, which took place in 1649 & 1650.

Morrow's Massacre are up next, replacing the originally announced Boycott The Baptist who unfortunately had to pull out of the gig tonight. Although I was unfamiliar with these lads they are definitely a worthy replacement serving up half an hour of malicious sounding deathcore, akin to a band like Carnifex, which in turn elicits an incredibly violent looking circle pit from the assembled throng. This is an impressive feat in of itself, owing to the fact that in Little Buildings, the room where gigs take place is about the same size as my living room.

Dire Thorns were the band that I was the most looking forward to seeing tonight, as myself nd Jake, the bassist/vocalist were meeting for the very first time after talking online for nearly four years. Even though the lads in Dire Thorns were tonight absent of their drummer it did not take away one iota from the sheer ferocity and gut wrenching brutality of their performance, especially when they covered 'Here To Stay' by Korn. I have been a fan of these lads pretty much since the day they started as a band, one thing that has always impressed me about them in their relatively short time together is just how competent and precise their playing is.

London based Secreum were the evenings last band with songs like 'Venomous' tearing Newcastle a new one. They instantly had the members of the crowd, banging their heads and throwing their horns up towards the ceiling.

I enjoyed the gig immensely, all four of these bands are definitely more deserving of playing in front of larger audiences, however this did not detract whatsoever from how brilliantly each band performed, all four gave their absolute best.