earthtone9

Kerrang! Review - The Final Show

The Garage, London

Saturday 13th April 2002

KKKKK

"Five years, and three albums," says earthtone9 frontman Karl Middleton, pausing for a poignant onstage summary. "Fuck you and goodnight."

Farewell gigs are always double-edged, bastard affairs. Do a bad show and your memory will be associated with a bad taste in the mouth forever more; play a blinder and everyone wonders why you quit. Still, when a legion of tear-streaked fans from all corners of the UK are locked in simultaneous meltdown with a band primed for the most savage of live onslaughts, you know that you've just witnessed a right royal send off, good and proper.

Look at the legacy that earthtone9 have left behind and it should be fast apparent that their demise is a solemn blow not just to the UK's long-emaciated rock scene, but to music itself. They were a band to believe in, even if those who should have flocked to their side were distracted by the bigger, shinier, quick fix products emanating from across the pond. Wielding the complexities of Tool, the dynamic surges of Faith No More, and the weighty crush of Neurosis with an authority that made the resulting sound theirs and theirs alone. And even if an errant artistic streak raised its tonsorially challenged head a little too high at times, it at least showed a genuine desire to push at boundaries - a breath of life itself in this ever sterile, commodity rich industry.

Tonight, the breath of life is delivered like one last gasp from a primordial abyss. No artiness and no messin' - just pure, adrenalised rock devastation. Picking highlights seems pointless, as everything from the earliest material to the most recent is despatched (and received) at the same do-or-die level. The superjuiced 'Evil Crawling I' and 'Tat Twam Asi' only heighten the injustice of platinum rewards to lesser acts.

If the future for the five members of earthtone9 is now uncertain, perhaps they'll take heart from the fact that while prospective homegrown talent may reap greater benefits from their efforts, few will leave as deep and enduring a mark as they have.

Thank you and goodnight.