Ironworks, Inverness, Wednesday 21 February 2007

Qwerty. (photo - courtesy of Qwerty website)

On an otherwise uneventful Wednesday evening, the second Unleashed session of 2007 saw a host of Goths, Punks and Emo-Kids flock to the Ironworks, Inverness. With poor attendance at the previous unsigned bands night just a few days ago, I wondered which local act had drawn this sprawling crowd.

The answer was something of a surprise, coming in the unlikely form of a five-piece rock outfit from Drumnadrochit. Qwerty kicked off the evening by thanking the people who’d travelled up to see them on a specially laid on bus, before showing us what they’re made of.

Teaming snarling guitar riffs with soaring and emotive female vocals, Qwerty play the sort of melodic rock Evanescence are famed for. Lead singer Teya, has a voice mature beyond her years, shifting effortlessly from powerful and assertive to husky and vulnerable. Indeed, the band members as a whole are extremely competent for their youthful age and could go on to prove that Nessie isn’t the only big thing to come out of Drumnadrochit.

If Qwerty share a home with a monster, Inverness metal act, Vengeance, share a voice with a creature from the deep. Diving onto the stage in a mist of expletives, the band screamed energy and menace from the start. There was no let up from their hurricane of sound, blasting us with thrashing drums, crunchy riffs and vocals which roared like an angered beast. Eat your heart out Pantera.

But Vengeance isn’t all doom and gloom. They resist the trap of taking themselves too seriously. Long hair and angular guitars nod to classic and well-loved acts like Maiden and Metallica, while their on stage antics add a hint of Spinal Tap.

Less “Rawk” and more Indie, Aberdeen Trio, X-Certs, rounded off the bill. Producing stilted, intelligent, Emo-inspired music in the vein of Maximo Park or Biffy Clyro, it’s little wonder Radio One’s Steve Lamaque has tipped them for success. Set to embark on a UK tour, the X-Certs could soon make it big.

And with that, another successful Unleashed session drew to a close. The crowd dissipated into the night, with ringing ears and the happy knowledge that Rawk is not only thriving in the Highland capital, it’s starting to come up from the underground…Nessie beware!

© Susan Szymborski, 2007