“How do we get in?” is the first question of the night as we approach who we believe to be a roadie by the back entrance of Mr Kyps. Only he isn’t and, to be honest, we should have known better. He has it all- the long locks, the carefully groomed ‘Hetfield’ beard and the leather jacket. He has the cigarettes, the beer and, oddly, what looks like a bottle of sun cream. ‘Did you find your hair elixir?’ axe man Aid sniggers as his front man re-enters the room, fixing his metallic mane. He is Chris Jones and he leads the band hailed as ‘Europe’s No.1 tribute to Metallica.’ And I was about to find out just how justified that title is.
Dudley based Mentallica are a fantastic bunch. They’re laid back and care-free and yet remain welcoming and professional. They drink ‘girly cider’- not forgetting the ice. Best of all, they are relentless in the way they talk of how good things are for the band. “Mr Kyps is the greatest gig on the circuit,” co founder Dave Hadley beams. “Tonight is going to be good.” Tonight, of course, is Halloween. The full moon is blinding, the fog is rising and the crowd of 300 ‘tallica fans have not forgotten the occasion. It’s a rare delight to witness werewolf, zombie and ‘crazed topless fan waving blow up club’ embracing in mosh together. But that’s metal and that’s Halloween.
In the hours before the gig- completed by drummer Mart- the guys laugh and bounce the answers towards me with a fun-filled passion. “There was no question- it was always going to be Metallica, although the name was debated once. I still believe it should be ‘The Chris Jones Quartet” he jests, with a cheeky smile. When asked if they’ve ever met their hero’s, excitable bassist Dave sat forward with a grin. “We’d love to meet them. But I’ll tell you what, their sound manager helped us out in our opening shows and came to us once with a message, ‘Metallica have heard of you and they wish you all the best.’ That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
On stage the guys are no different. They smile and laugh at each other, clearly lapping up every second. “We’ve got some Metallica fans in here tonight, right?” The roar from the crowd says it all. Mentallica are a tight and well oiled machine. They appear to flawlessly attack each track as it comes, covering both fan favourites and their own. They have the backdrop, an array of crucifixes across the stage echoing the album art from ‘Master Of Puppets’ and an endless supply of beer. The show itself couldn’t be better and ‘tallica classics ‘Creeping Death ’, ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Whiplash’ go down as expected. You can’t help but think Hetfield’s crew would be proud.
Horns aloft, you can almost envisage the 300 strong crowd take to the spirit of dress-up and don their best Sparta voice- “this is ‘tallica!” It, of course, isn’t. But believe me, it’s as close as you can get and talk backstage suggests tonight was something special. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun,” Dave mused, grabbing a beer. “Just the right amount of alcohol, the perfect crowd and the greatest sound we’ve ever had.” They’re also a bright bunch and, as he slowly takes off his clothes, axe man Aid explains to me the importance of having a clean t-shirt. “Heavy metal is a lot of things, but it’s not unhygienic.” 5/5
