6

As original as a cup of tea

Third day of a festival and the 11am spot isn't a great time to hit the stage especially as the weather had turned and most of the audience were hung over. With all the pre-festival moans regarding download bands, the band that seemed out of place at Bloodstock more than anyone was Beyond All Reason. As a young outfit they tend to play Scuzz/Kerrang friendly pop metal along the same lines as Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance and Bullet For My Valentine.

As the crowd slowly grew, they received a generous appreciation because they tried hard to please. Vocalist/guitarist Venno has a competent if whiny voice, which is ruined by the shouts by Russ and Nick on Guitar and Bass respectively. I think Venno would do well in a true metal band and not just a flavour of the month outfit. In fact it was embarrassing to watch him sing such utterly crass lines as 'She's got Angels in her eyes', c'mon dude, what are you playing at?

Beyond All Reason played with enough energy to succeed at 11am but there were a lot of hands in pockets during their set. I think the problem lies in the fact that they sound like everyone else who's popular at the moment and they'll probably get lost on the huge articulated bandwagon that is currently driving over the metal scene. Their Myspace page has received a hell of a lot of hits and had good reviews in fad jumping magazines so the band will probably tell me to fuck off and that I know nothing.