Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Liverpool isn’t really known for its heavier rock or metal, neither do audiences get the chance to have any type of dalliance with any type of home-grown Progressive Rock, saving the delights for evenings with the likes of Genesis legend Steve Hackett or Jethro Tull to fill the void. Allowing the odd crumb to fall from the top table takes time and even when it can only be heard in snatches in a band it is well worth the wait.
For the four lads that make up the band Mashemon, the path is clear, there is no one quite them in Liverpool’s diverse and towering music all-encompassing music scene and it’s a good thing as to many bands like them and music heads might burst in overblown pleasure.
The Lantern Theatre had already had the great music of Night Howl fill the room but Mashemon were a different proposition, epic in its stance and yearning to break free of the constraints placed upon them, the music flowed as great songs do, straight into the ears of those attended and blew the mind as it weakened the defences of anyone not out for a good night.
Although the progressive tones were readily hidden behind the storming bass, guitars and excellent drum patterns, the songs carried all before them and harked back to subtler times. Songs such as the set openers Curtains and Lucky, Not Lucky were well received and these bled through to the superb Various Propositions, the lead track from their latest E.P. and Catalogue.
It’s hard to find fault with a band when they put so much into their performance. In some cases a group lets its show down by over egging the presentation. Not so with Mashemon, it was polished and great but not overly so that would make a fan wonder where they were going with the night. This was just honest endeavour and well performed music.
Mashemon finished the night with the tracks Stone, the excellent Facts and Sanity Check.
A band that can add a new flavour to the incredible mix already in Liverpool, Mashemon certainly should be that band.
Ian D. Hall