Camden Underworld, 12th May

Rolo Tomassi are one of those bands that will generate polar opinion from every listener; you will either love them or despise them. For the uninitiated, the Tomassi sound can be described as the bastard child of legendary UK math-metallers Sikth and the amalgamation of every soundtrack to every game released on the Commodore 64.
The band shared a bill with U.S. kindred spirits Horse the Band supporting by UK-based instrumental metallers Latitudes. The latter put on a dark, brooding and very heavy show as Tomassi faithfuls began to appear. It was clear that Rolo Tomassi had the main pulling power that evening, and it was a confident four guys and one girl who took to the stage.

The first thing that strikes you is how loud and intense their sound is. Uncompromising almost to the point of being unbearable at times, they clearly don’t do MOR rock. Joe Nicholson’s guitar is vying for audio supremacy with James Spence’s analogue electrosynths, only bowing to the forceful vitriolic screaming of James’s sister Eva. Add to that a rhythm section tighter than an air traffic controller’s safety margin and you get the idea. Styles are juxtaposed seamlessly against each other and time changes are so frequent it becomes nigh on impossible to find a groove long enough for your feet to settle into. So relentless was their onslaught that when Nicholson had to restring his guitar mid-set the band tore into another track without him. As well as playing crowd favourites such as ‘Beatrotter’ and ‘Film Noir’, the Tomassi also aired some new material from their forthcoming album.

Despite their relatively young age, these kids display a technical prowess and musical confidence normally the reserve of ageing, millionaire stadium rockers. Are Rolo Tomassi the future of extreme music? A packed Underworld seemed to think so.

Words by Carlsson
Photos by Andrew Brandse