Old gig reviews: Own Worst Enemy w/ Contempt, Town Mill, Mansfield 1st April 2001

1/4/2001
Town Mill
Contempt and Own Worst Enemy

Contempt's singer's voice is the first thing you notice about them. He jumps around like a monkey on a pogo stick. The spectre of Incubus is doomed to follow this band simply because the singer sounds quite a bit like Brandon Boyd. Musically, it's a mix of Incubus, RATM and Tool, which is no bad thing. The songs are quite well structured, combining their influences well. Sadly thier fans (imported from Long Eaton tonight) seem to have the concept of moshing confused with Rugby.

Own Worst Enemy are an impressive bunch. The guitarist's movements make me want to go out and buy a wireless system for my guitar, taking up the space left by the unfortunate lack of moshers. They didn't seem to care, cranking out a better set than they played here a few weeks ago. 'Stand Down Point' is just a cool song, which will surely be capable of inciting a massive moshpit once they build up a fanbase. Probably the heaviest band to emerge locally for a while, the singer takes a back seat, screaming from the edge of the stage, while the guitarist and bassist move into the space caused by the 'Rugby moshers' from earlier, moving with the music. If I was more deranged I could easily imagine cutting up bodies to this: It just sounds so evil. Set closers 'Unspoken' and '100% Proof' further prove their songwriting prowess. They deserve more support than they got tonight.