My opinions, for what they are worth:

ALL of the "Forever Advancing...Legions" material was astonishing. "Tomb Of Kings", "Sloping Altars", "Wrath of God". The pure speed, power and precision of Mithras was something to behold. Sam's vocals fitted in perfectly with the old material and gave us all a new arsehole.

There was the hit single "To Where the Sun Never Leaves". Leon's opening melodies dazzled momentarily, before the rest of the band kicked us into their powerful statement of purpose.

We had "Beyond The Eye's of Man". When I recognised the start, I thought to myself "This will be interesting...", what with Rayner's vocals being so prominent on the track. But Sam pulled it off spectacularly. Well done sir!

Senseless fool you are not!

Psyrens! Always awesome! Leon's solo's were a joy to behold whilst the tempo slowed and we got an opportunity to appreciate what makes Mithras such an outstanding band. Powerfully emotive.

Worlds Beyond The Veil. It seemed to me that Ben was going hell for leather on this song. Those snare blast must have been paid for in lactic acid by the litre.

Sam's stage presence was confident and purposeful during the show. As anyone who had seen Mithras with Rayner will testify, his colossal presence on stage is inimitable. But Sam engaged with the crowd (shithouse!) and his movement on-stage made for a dynamic performance visually.

Being honest though, there were a few negatives to the show, and not just the low turnout (I got lost twice and I know where Rushden is!), or the mood shattering light-switch interruption (though it was good of the owner to let Mithras play their last song).

Several of the songs, predominantly the "Behind The Shadows" material, didn't come of as well as others. "Awaken Man and Stone" seemed unable to reach it's powerful climax, "Under The Three Spheres" sounded a bit lacking in parts and "Behind The Shadows" felt slightly drawn out as a finisher.

I can't quite put my finger on why that is. Perhaps it was a lack of bass guitar presence, or maybe it's the missing guitar parts (especially whilst Leon is soloing). It might even be my ears missing Rayner's vocals at points. Indeed, there were moments during a few songs where Rayner's voice was missed.

There was also the dominance of Leon's soloing, which tended to push the other sounds to the side-line in songs where they are such a feature. Still, I wasn't wearing earplugs, so I was hearing a lot of splash.

But despite these points (which I have only really included for the band's sake - "Feedback's a gift" ), Mithras have again proved that they are top quality, and Sam is certainly well placed to fill in Rayner's shoes. I truly mean it when I say that I cannot wait to hear what Mithras will accomplish with him on the next album, and I know Leon is aiming high.

HAIL MITHRAS!

I heard it all went well. I really wanted to get down, but was let down last minute. Leon has played me a few rehersal tracks with Sam on them. It sounds to me that he is getting it down in a way no one else could, He adds so much more to the band than just a new frontman or bass player.
As far as filling in my parts, it needs to be remembered that at the end I had been playing and singing these songs for 10 years, I have a very powerful voice, Sam (I believe) has never been the "main" singer in a band, He's been in Mithras for 6 months and the ground he has made towards getting the singing right with a little of his own flare is pheonominal.
It would seem that I have to do little but come across as doing alot on stage, this maybe my size.... sorry Sam if I knew it was you that would have to be there one day, I might have kneeled down.....? Might have!

KNEEL!

Kidding. You probably would have had to LIE down on stage to get the matching elevation correct, such is the difference between our heights.

Cheers for the review, and for the feedback - it's always good to hear an honest appraisal. We came away from the show excited by how well a lot of it went (especially when we watched the footage - some of it surprised us), but encouraged knowing that there's plenty more things we can fix up and improve. We can do even better.

As you seem to have picked up leeless, the guitar volume mysteriously increased between souncheck and performance so that ate up a bit of everything else. In the effects-heavy passages - such as the end of 'Awaken Man and Stone' - about the only thing I could hear were my earplugs rattling about my skull. The other factor was I was knackered only three songs in! My shoes were leaking sweat by the end of the set.

This gig was about getting the first show out of the way for me and working out any kinks in front of a small audience before we take it all out for a big show like Brutal Assault. It's a bonus that any mithras fans made it down to catch it.

Truly an experience to remember; the glory of Mithras brought to a place not unlike my local working men's club. I thought you where fucking fantastic, but I'm not sure that the collected folks really 'got' Mithras from seeing them for the first time.

Highlights for me where Lords and Masters with its untrammeled might upheld beautifully, Tomb of Kings which came through perfectly in every way, and most of all, Beyond the Eyes of Man with an awesome effort from Sam on the vocals, leading in to Worlds Beyond the Veil!!!!!

I felt, however, that a sense of cameraderie and collected atmosphere that was present at the London gig, was unfortunately lacking here. I think Brutal Assault will be a difficult one, especially if a lot of people are hearing the band for the first time and there are sound issues. The sound was not bad at Rushden, although at times Leon's lead was swamped during the most important solos.

I hope everyone enjoyed the concert as much as we did, and I wish you the best of fortune in getting the band into this new epoch.

If I have to wait eternity to see Mithras in London again...

I WILL!


George

Gutted I missed this.
Gutted I missed out on drinking and shouting with lee and george again too!

Aw god you guys are making me feel so bad (more so since i'm not liking my new job much at the moment).

Cool, I'm in a Mithras video.

Is that sound from the desk?

EDIT: Dumb question, nevermind