By Citizen X

Your first time in a new country is never easy, whether you're a tourist on holiday, or a band on tour. Coming on stage thirty minutes after doors have opened, to a sold out venue that at the moment contains just fifty people must be even harder. That's what German heavy rockers Burden [7] faced tonight on their first trip to the UK, but if this fact bothered them, they didn't let it show. What did affect them slightly, however, was having such a short set time. With their debut album, 'A Hole In The Shell', consisting almost entirely of 5 minute long songs, their meagre 25 minute time slot didn't allow them anywhere near as long as they need. What they did manage to fit in to their set however proved that with their unique blend of heavy rock, sludge and, at times, almost grunge-esque tunes is that Burden are definitely going to be a band to watch out for in the future (also, their short set time is the reason I couldn't score them higher than a 7.) I, for one, cannot wait until they make it back to the UK for a headline tour and get to full showcase their abilities.

It's a shame the same can't be said for the second act of the night, Norway's BloodCargo [4] who did a good job of ensuring the majority of people who were around for Burden, and those who turned up during their own set, headed straight to the bar.

After one hit and a miss, it was finally time for the main attraction, and needless to say, by the time headliner's Kyuss Lives! [9] hit the stage the venue was both packed to the rafters and buzzing with palatable excitement. You'll notice that I've given Kyuss Lives! A score of 9 out of 10, but what I'm about to write here might contradict that. Rest assured that they played everything they needed to (of course opening on Gardenia and saving Green Machine to last), and the crowd ate it up. Personally, I have two problems with tonight's show. The first is that while Oliveri is grinning from ear to ear and clearly relishing the experience, Garcia seems sedate and almost bored, which is I suppose to be expected as he's been touring as "Garcia plays Kyuss" for the last year. This then takes us to the second point; I realise that Josh Homme is not the best liked of modern rock stars, but regardless of that fact, he was an integral part of Kyuss the first time around, and branding this as Kyuss Lives!, pretending it's a re-union just seems like an attempt to sell more tickets and make extra cash, something that seems to be supported by Garcia's performance (or lack there of.) That said, if you're not bothered about who is or isn't in the band and just want to see Kyuss's greatest hits played live, then tonight's set would have been perfect for you. However in a day and age where it's incredibly easy to be cynical about the ever growing number of bands cashing in on this current wave of nostalgia, Kyuss Lives! does little to argue in favour of it.