Too Pure Singles Club : Black Moth - Savage Dancer
- Written by Kenneth McMurtrie
New year, new Too Pure Singles Club – twelve 7"s in a number of colours hitting the hall doormat throughout the year. With the advent of mp3s you don’t even need to play them as you’re emailed virtual copies too; keep them pristine for your heirs! Sell them for vast profits and buy a small island! The choice is yours …
This month's two tracks come on white vinyl (at a fraction of the cost of many RSD 2013 releases) and the cover is easily my favourite of the year so far. 'Savage Dancer' showcases Black Moth's heavy, doom-laden sound to a tee. Bobbing of the head is unavoidable as it chugs along. Musically then there's nothing to worry about. Vocally, however, there are times when Harriet Bevan appears to be having trouble comfortably singing the more strident parts of the song.
Happily B-side 'Tree Of Woe' is more straightforward in all departments therefore affording Harriet the opportunity to just sing quite normally over the top of the Sabbathesque sludge that the remainder of the Leeds quintet provide. Given the rumblings in some quarters that metal of all sorts is in trouble due to the gulf between the big names on the scene and the newer bands in the genre it's comforting to come across work of this quality that at least holds out hope that, whilst the days of Monsters of Rock level events are likely numbered, a reassessment and shift of focus to concentrate on mid-sized fame & fortune will in fact see a healthy scene continuing to exist.