A parrot on acid? Sounds interesting...
Since Nightwish are so big over in Europe (we’re talking sell-out arena tours and headlining festivals here) a member of the crowd reasons that their support act can’t be anything but good. And he’s right, despite what it looks like to begin with. Brainstorm bound onto stage like a pack of puppies on their first walk. This simile isn’t far off the truth, since it’s their first set in England, but Brainstorm reek of Iron Maiden, Metallica and countless other bands who’ve ridden to worldwide success. Maybe they’re simply regurgitating the music they know to be popular as a way to get famous, but rock music shouldn’t always be about pessimistic views. This is a band who have fought, tooth and claw, for twelve years to gain the privilege to play before a huge band who attract a slightly more intellectual audience in order to reach new countries. Once the chit chat yelled at us by their energetic front man Andy Franck is over with- he seems incapable of sound quieter than a friendly roar- the music crashes down like something very heavy indeed. Franck seems to have a myriad of hand actions to go with the various words that keep cropping up throughout his lyrics. That doesn’t mean their material is dull though, far from it. It’s upbeat and modern sounding, but it’s a tribute to the great bands at the peak of their careers and their spinning, sliding guitars manage to mangle the air on the stage into something monstrous. It’s a nice contrast to the vocals which tend to switch between the squawk of a parrot on acid and the bellow of a cow in labour. The crowd are pleased by the chaotic tornado of noise that Brainstorm brew up and give them a furious, well deserved tornado of praise of their own as the band retire with relieved grins on their faces. They’ll be back in the near future now they’ve had a taste of the rich rock arteries that pulse through the UK.