Gig review: Holy Mountain, Electric Circus, Edinburgh

DEPENDING on whose opinion you might canvas, Holy Mountain are Biffy Clyro gone either badly wrong or very, very right.

This Chemikal Underground-signed Glaswegian trio also ply an image that includes sweaty long hair, white vests clinging to their backs and the playing of powerful, yearning rock riffs. Gone are the almost dainty pop concessions, though – a streak of wild Caledonian menace runs through this music, together with the influence of hard rock’s most enduring monoliths.

Their opener Bolting B****** was almost a concession to the mainstream, at least featuring a proper verse/chorus lyrical structure beneath its grinding gear guitar squall, although singer and guitarist Andy McGlone’s voice was subjugated beneath the noise. For the next 40 minutes any pretence that they were playing a nice, tight, structured gig went out the window. This was rock nerds with sublime skills ploughing through all the moves their heroes have made, songs bleeding into one another, through the electric chair garage punk of the Stooges, the shrieking, beyond-parody riffage of AC/DC and the relentless tank-tread churn of metal’s Year Zero, Black Sabbath.

Hustled back onstage for an encore by compere Vic Galloway, McGlone asked the most important question of all. “Does anybody like a band called Black Sabbath?” he giggled. “Me too.” Yeah, we guessed. But the version of War Pigs that followed, its strident guitars overshadowed by superhuman drumming from Pete Flett, suggested they’re more capable kindred spirits than eager fans.

Rating: ****