Matt Woodhead – Vocals and Guitar

Masashi Tsubakimoto - Guitar

Stu - Bass

Graham - Drums

Eccentric foursome Indighost provide an unusual meta-culture of sound. Matt and Masashi use their guitars as fantastical implements for welding heavy metal to classical strains. The result is startlingly ambient. The fusion of English and Japanese influences strums out musical lines that stretch over unimagined distances to eerie remote spaces, explored furtively by the adept guitarists fingers. One might be mistaken in thinking their name denotes something of the current ‘indie’ style of music. But it is the symbolism of the colour Indigo, the dark blue hue of the midnight sky and its resonances with mystical wisdom, profound insight and self-mastery that the band draws upon for inspiration.

Hailing themselves as a ‘Megadeth meets Sting’ amalgamation, Indighost also provide some interesting jazz sequences that mellow their thrash inklings. Brilliant piece ‘Matt’s boogie’ froths up feverous bass lines and some pretty funky sweet guitar work. Sultry track ‘Never’ on the other hand narrates a forlorn story in the style of a touchingly simple folk/metal ballad, depicting the wide emotional range of currents raging beneath the surface.

However, it’s not all forbidding skies with this band. The rotund Stu gives his oddball humour, claiming to have been raised by his mother threatening to “give him a carrot and spread him on the lawn”. According to his band mates Stu still wears nappies. I wonder if the two incidents are related. On a more musical note, Graham’s hard drum work keeps the band tight. The ability of both guitarists is without question the selling point of the band, for they harness an impressive energy full of passion, talent and perception.

By Miranda Vinall