Live Review: King Of The North, Surviving Sharks, Fraud Millionaires

Touring off the back of their debut release Sound The Underground and now hot-off-the-press new album Get Out Of Your World, King Of The North are a sight and sound to behold.

You have to love bands with a certain quirky uniqueness about them: Ned's Atomic Dustbin had two bassists with one playing lead — it made their sound. The White Stripes - a two-piece with a primal rawness that came from that "brother/sister or was it husband/wife" line-up - is another example. King Of The North are a two-piece guitar/drums set-up but not in the conventional manner. With the help of some electronic pedal wizardry and considerable skill, lead guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Andrew Higgs takes this band's minimalist arrangement to a whole different level without turning it into a synthesised manifestation of The Cult on steroids.

The packed crowd in Jive were alive and pumping, thanks to the two warm-up acts, hard rock Surviving Sharks and funk reggae Fraud Millionaires both providing great support to set the groove and raise the temperature for what was in store. With the roadies busily bumping off and on gear, the stage was finally set and the backdrop unfurled for already primed hardcore punters waiting eagerly for the headline act. To the announcement of "Well let's get this started," Andrew Higgs walked on stage and let loose his power chord changes as King Of The North played their hour-and-a-half set with a feverish pace that never let the tension dissipate.

As expected, newly minted skins maestro Steve Tyssen's dynamic drumming was loud, fast and ferocious. Wherein conventional three or four-piece bands the drums are balanced out with a rhythm section, in King Of The North they play a pivotal role and are an upfront ballistic rhythmic tour de force.

Then with the magic of effect pedals, live sample layering and some funky electronic trickery, Andrew Higgs unleashed a three-in-one guitar wall of sound that filled the Jive soundscape to its back corners and had the crowd looking for the missing band members and what remained of their perforated eardrums. Lead, rhythm and bass guitar infused with a powerful display of drumming mastery ripped through the stacked amps and it was off in frenzy of riff-tastic, headbanging, core shaking, pure rock'n'roll.

New and old songs kept the crowd pumped as the infectious energy of King Of The North had the front row riding a roller coaster that'd lost its brakes. Closing as expected, the crowd wanted more and the band were happy to oblige. King Of The North's new album, available on CD or old school vinyl, was plugged from the stage and available at merch on the night. See this band and witness their sound first hand, if you haven't heard it, buy it. If you've already got it buy it again, because CD or vinyl, you're surely going to wear it out.