SAVAGE MESSIAH, Diamond Plate @Scruffy Murphys 19/3/12

Early portents are not good.

The gig has been moved from The Ballroom up the road to Scruffy Murphy’s – which is, shall we say, a little bit more on the snug side. It leads you to believe that the attendance for this isn’t going to be massive.

And, unfortunately those fears are right. As a paltry Monday night crowd greets up and coming Chicago Thrashers Diamond Plate, RTM saw them support Anthrax last week and this is world away from that.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that the five-piece are superb.

They take their cue from the Big Four of thrash, of course they do – although more Metallica than Slayer and there are hints of the mighty Overkill – but then all thrash metal has its roots in the early 1980s scene. They also offer something to set them apart from a mere retro retread.

Kicking off with the title track from 2011’s “Generation Why” album they treat us to a rollicking half hour of heads-down-windmill-headbanging stuff, including “Tomb With A View” and current single “At The Mountains Of Madness” and riff-heavy set closer “Empire Tomorrow.” Ones to watch.

Savage Messiah were ones to watch a few years ago, and with this years tour-de-force that is “Plague of Conscience” they have truly delivered. So you can understand the disappointment in singer/guitarist Dave Silver’s voice when he looks out at the crowd and says “I was from here, we played some great gigs here a few years ago, then you desert us. It’s the birthplace of the genre….”

However Metal, not that you would know it looking out at fewer than 10 paying punters, is still alive and well in its home city, and will remain so as long as bands like Messiah are flying the flag.

“…Conscience” is a stunning record and most of tonight’s 45 minutes comes from it. The title track, “All Seeing I” and “Shadowbound” mix with “Insurrection Rising” from 2007’s album and you can only wish this fine group the best in the future.

The staggering thing is that both these bands have record deals, so quite what Earache Record’s PR Department is doing, who knows? Whatever it is, in terms of this gig, it isn’t enough.

Not a night that either band will relish, you suspect, but it really was superb.

ANTHRAX, Diamond Plate @Oxford Acdemy 14/3/12

The Oxford Academy is heaving by the time Chicago thrashers Diamond Plate hit the stage at 7.20. The early curfew show has done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for the UK debut of a band who unleashed their debut album “Generation Why” last year.

And the young foursome (“in America we aren’t old enough to drink, but we are here” says the extremely impressively-coiffured frontman Jon Macak) do not disappoint. The title track from the album and “Relativity” in particular showcase the bands talents amply. So much so that they are invited back for an encore, but some bright spark has done something to the amps by this point and it sounds dreadful in the house PA.

Not the first mishap of the evening either, given that their attempts to have the crowd run at each other, Exodus style, are thwarted by security who threaten stop their set if it happens. Sound and health and safety aside, though, Diamond Plate are worth seeing in Birmingham on Monday when they open for Savage Messiah.

That said it really doesn’t matter who opens tonight, because tonight Anthrax are in town. One of the venerable godfathers of thrash, and fully paid up members of the Big 4, The New Yorkers are playing their first British club date in years tonight.

They have had a rather odd recent history, which has seen a revolving door approach to singers. Thankfully though, that’s over with it seems and perhaps their most iconic one,  Joey Belladonna is back. They are riding the crest of a creative wide too, as last year they put out the astonishingly good “Worship Music” album, a record which mixes thrash with the sort of stuff that 'Thrax six -stringer Scott Ian’s phenomenal The Damned Things did in 2010.

It is with the opening track on “”Worship….” “Earth on Hell” that Anthrax begin tonight. Another newbie “Fight em till You Can’t” soon follows, and although the album’s highlight amongst highlights “The Devil You Know” is played early, the rest of the set reads like a “Great Thrash Songs” playlist.

“Caught In A Mosh,” “Indians” and “Got The Time” are all here, as is “Medusa” as well as the first track on their very first album “Deathrider” which is an unexpected and welcome addition. “Among The Living” closes the set and, frankly, it would have been good enough if the band had walked off then and not come bothered with an encore. But they don’t. Instead they come back and play a five-song curtain call, which includes “Metal Moshing Mad,” “Madhouse” and “I Am The Law.”

Sometimes there is a danger of over-using superlatives and hyperbole, but equally sometimes it’s a privilege to be at a gig, and tonight is one of those evenings. One of metal’s greatest bands is in great form. Apparently they will be back in the autumn to do it all again. Just make sure that, whatever you do, you are there.