MacBeth, an Italian goth metal band, were formed  1995 and released their fourth album "Superangelic Hatebringers" last year. Despite the length of their career to date the band actually have somewhat of a low profile herein the UK so it was a pleasant surprise to see a Glasgow show included on this set of dates in support of the album. "Superangelic Hatebringers" is actually a major step forward for the band in terms of song writing so I guess I has hoping this live show at the Barfly hoping would live up to expectations. And I wasn't to be disappointed.

Starting with "Good Mourning" from 2005's "Malae Artes" album MacBeth immediately showed that they lean towards the more metallic side of the goth metal genre with crunching riffs and a headbanging style evident from the off. The light to that shade is added with the voice of dark haired siren Morena and  the diminutive but vocally powerful Andreas. This twin vocal attack can be fierce and aggressive but it is the more melodic and plaintive side of the melodies that really attracts the attention. Guitarist Max also delivers some beautifully melodic solos and when you combine this melodic touch along with the powerful rhythm section it's definitely a winning combination. Highlights of the set were the catchy "Don't Pretend" and the cheerfully titled  "Watch Us Die", the latter showcasing the fact that Morena can reach out to the crowd and encourage them to join in but, at the same time, deliver a fierce and powerful performance. The main set finished with the epic hook and combined vocals of  "H.A.T.E." and the small but passionate crowd wouldn't let the band go without an encore so old favourite "Forever" finished the night.

Macbeth will always have to face comparisons with Lacuna Coil as they obviously have a similar sound, they're also from Milan and have a beautiful female singer combining with a male vocalist. My take is that, so  far as recorded output goes, "Superangelic Hatebringers" is as good as any recent Coil album and having seen both bands live Macbeth are perhaps the more powerful outfit and certainly more fun. That's all really irrelevant though as Macbeth are their own band and anyone who enjoys female fronted gothic metal should check them out as they're a worthy addition to the genre. Catch them if you can.

Ian Sutherland