Heavy Metal thunder hits the north coast

HOME-GROWN: Tenerife’s Meridian Zero

Tenerife Metal Fest

Teatro Cine Los Realejos
Saturday October 24

HEAVY Metal is not a genre that one might readily associate with Tenerife. The stereotype is of house clubs heaving with Essex ravers ‘avin’ it LARGE.

by James Tweedie

Nevertheless, several hundred metalheads from as far away as La Gomera and Fuerteventura descended on sleepy Los Realejos for this mini-festival featuring two homegrown acts and two more from the mainland.

Local openers Meridian Zero get the crowd going with their confident Power Metal and energetic covers of Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll and Sepultura’s Refuse/Resist – the latter backed by an phalanx of auxiliary drummers.

Hybris are Tenerife’s answer to Iron Maiden, full of old-school un-selfconcious energy and joie-de-vivre. They seem to have a strong following here.

The more polished sound and image of ex-Saratoga frontman Leo Jimenez’ new act Leo: 037 lacked the spark of the first two bands, but still went down well with the crowd.

The intricacies of Death Metal are often lost in a live setting, but Madrid’s Avulsed whip up mayhem in the mosh-pit.

While it may appear crass or philistine to the unitiated, Tenerife’s healthy Heavy Metal scene adds another facet to the cultural diversity of this dark horse of an island.

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