OSMIUM? Hmmm... the name could suggest, perhaps, a bunch of hippies with a psychedelic fixation. Well, it ain't necessarily so. OSMIUM are in fact a young English three-piece, who, for the main part, belt out an intense wah-wah-driven wall of sound/ noise. Additionally, there are also other facets that make up their musical personality; bassist Mark and guitarist Justin share vocal duties, backed up by some sparse yet forceful drumming. Furthermore, discernible traces of thrash, Punk, and a little funk complete their sound.
The band have recorded a debut album entitled Rise Up and, as the title would perhaps suggest, they have an uncompromising attitude something very much reflected in some of their lyrics.
I grabbed hold of OSMIUM in the cramped and noisy confines of the Marquee dressing room on the night they supported NEW ENGLAND, a band with a similar tough-minded approach and attitude. I wondered if they really were angry young man with a message to spread.
“In a live situation the lyrics aren't going to come out properly but I hope people get some idea of what we're about,” reasons Justin. “You'll get a feeling that we're not singing about sex n' drugs...”
He elaborates further.
“There's a lot of things that need to be said and we are trying to say them. Uhrm... the way that we put them across is… aggressive. It's not the best way to put things across,” he Muses before adding, “It's better to put them across with reason and logic, but it doesn't work.”
“That isn't rock n’ roll,” interjects Mark. “It's gotta be controlled. You can't just have people having a temper tantrum. It's gotta be ...like... justified.”
Looks like we're talking controlled aggression here. The heads nod in agreement.
OSMIUM are wary about being perceived as grim-faced, strident message bearers.
“We're not lecturing people, being evangelical.”
Their objective, they stress, “is to get people to think for themselves, which is important because a lot of people follow the crowd.”
While you may have heard this type of stance before, anti-apathy is never a bad thing.
From the musical angle I remain less convinced. Without wanting to seem pompous or patronising, it's simply that they don't connect with my my musical turn-on, my vision of ‘the big music.’ Still, don't let my personal reservations put you off. Maybe, for some of you out there, OSMIUM are just the band to hit you in the gut and start you thinking. Nice guys too.
Finally, after all that frivolity and trivia...er... let's end on a serious note: Tell me, what are you guys really in this lark for?
“The free beer!”
Yeah, me too!
Mark Liddell
Riff Raff
Riff Raff
Nov 1991
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