REVIEW: MELT – BANANA
Reviewed by: Anurag (error)

Date: Jun 28, 2007
Bands: MELT-BANANA, opened for by THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW
Venue: Sokol Underground, Omaha, Nebraska

I don’t usually go to concerts. Not because I don’t enjoy them. I’m just always too busy or I forget or I just feel like I can’t be bothered (they also call this lazy) being pushed and shoved and maybe kicked a few times just to see the band a few miles away, jumping up and down like fleas, the view intermittently blocked by the back of the head of the asshole in front of me. So it’s safe to say that I have never really been to a show in a long time. And at least not in the US. Not to any good shows anyway. After the profound experience that came from watching a Jackyl show one year (they had an amazing song called “She Loves My Cock.” The whole band would sing the chorus.) I thought things would stay that way for a while until the day when, like the people that go to Scorpions concerts today, bald and half-blind, I would finally make my way to see whichever of my favorite bands would have managed to sell out long enough to accompany me to old age. Probably THE ROLLING STONES, who are going to outlive everybody, until another species of animal inherits the Earth. Not that I’m into the Rolling Stones THAT much, for the record.

So by the time I get to the MELT-BANANA show in Omaha, Nebraska on Jun 28 of 2007, it is safe to say I am a little excited. MELT-BANANA is a Japanese band who plays a brand of music that has been labeled many things, my favorite of which has been spazcore. They play a very hyperactive blend of crazed out punk and thrash that is very abrasive and loud and can also sound like a speeded up CD at times. The guitars are explosively sharp and usually played through a whammy pedal, a mindblowing frenzy of riffs played so quickly you barely have time to catch them and run through such a series of effects that when guitarist Agata starts hammering on his guitar with his slide, he puts Tom Morello to shame. But to compare Tom Morello to Agata Ichirou is irrelevant for whereas Tom Morello is a stuctured outburst of noise, Agata is pure chaos. Bassist Rika holds down the rhythm section with whichever drummer dares to stick with the band at the moment. MELT-BANANA’s rhythms are punctuated with a drum section that thumps and rolls at such a frantic pace that it resembles a schizophrenic on the loose, murdering and pillaging, held in control by Rika’s thundering basslines. All of this high speed thrash is conducted by Yasuko O. (also known as Yako) and her singing, which could very well be the most controversial voice in rock and roll since Billy Corgan said “The world is a vampire”. Yako’s singing defies description, if it can even be called singing. The lyrics are not important, or not important in the sense that a MELT-BANANA song is not meant to be sung along to. Yako delivers her words in short and very sharp series of yelps which has progressed into moments of actual singing in later albums, but still retain the mind-blowing quality of a CD that has somehow gone haywire. Her voice is meant to be viewed as a musical instrument, a percussion item, if you will, where the sound the instrument produces is more important than the conventions it is meant to follow. For many listeners, Yako’s vocals will be the deciding factor in their dislike or appreciation of the band. Keep in mind however, that if you feel that Yako’s vocals are not suited to the band, you are completely missing the point of MELT-BANANA.

We arrive at the Sokol Underground in Omaha about half an hour before the show. Myself, my wife Jessy, her ex-boyfriend Todd and my friend Gavin. A twelve pack is rolling around quite nicely in my head and the one hotdog I’ve eaten in two days is making me feel a little strange. There are very few people there and no one looks like they have heard of MELT-BANANA. What does someone who has heard of MELT-BANANA look like, you ask? Well, a little like me at that point, dilated pupils, huge dumbass grin and also half-drunk. We clear the entrance where no one checks us for cameras or drugs or a bazooka. I mentally kick myself for not bringing a camera like the guy whose pictures I am ripping off in this review. As soon as we’re in, Gavin disappears for a minute and reappears with beers which are downed with much gusto. I buy a MELT-BANANA t-shirt which I put on. We are watching three men set up the stage. It appears that they are soundtesting. There is one guy on a synthesizer, a guy on a drumset that includes, of all things, butter containers held together with electrician’s tape and another guy on a microphone run through a series of analog effects (hell yeah!). They soundtest with a series of ambient sounds while the drummer bashes out very surreal sounding drum rolls. Gavin and I are standing in front of them wondering if these aren’t the coolest soundcheck guys in the world when the three guys stand up and introduce themselves as LWA an unbilled ambient noise band that has actually opened up the show. Before I know it, the beers have been refreshed, we are standing in front of the stage and THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW is about to perform.

[LWA setting up. Check out the drums]

It is at this point that I begin to slam back the beers I am holding. It is also at this point that I begin to black out.

THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW is a band that hails from Lincoln, Nebraska. The brainchild of frontman Darren Keen, THE SHOW IS THE RAINBOW used to be an actual band but now tours as a solo outfit, with Darren Keen singing along to his songs through a laptop and his trademark style of having a projector screen behind him that shows imagery relative to the songs he is performing. I actually like The Show Is the Rainbow, whose music is a combination of tripped out techno backed by Darren Keen’s jacked up, ferocious rap which targets the ideals of mainstream music, the problems an unattractive and unsociable musician can face even in the supposedly all-inclusive independent music world and the mainstream-indie (yes it is possible) bands of Omaha’s famous Saddle Creek scene, most notably the band Bright Eyes, which has even gone so far as to call Keen a “big fat idiot” because of his refusal to conform to the status quo of the normal indie band – good-looking, watered down rock and good-looking. So while I do enjoy Keen’s music, there is no telling for why I am about to act the way that I am. Perhaps it’s the fact that I read that Keen has a penchant for attacking audience members during shows (not cool if your audience is there to see MELT-BANANA and not you), perhaps it is the fact that this is the first “real” show that I have been to, for a band that pretty much revived my interest in music since sukya_paat (a ktmROCKS forum member) forwarded me a link for a MELT-BANANA album, or perhaps it is the fact that I am

inexplicably
uncontrollably
undoubtedly

fucking drunk off my ass. But what follows defies logic.

As Darren Keen is setting up, I shout out to him.

“Darren!” I shout.

Darren plugs in a cord into his laptop.

“Darren!” I shout again. People are looking at me now.

And so is Darren Keen.

I smile at Darren and flash him a thumbs up. Darren smiles back. Then I open my mouth.

“You suck!” I say.

Darren stops smiling.

A few more beers are downed. There are now a few beer bottles at the front of the stage where Gavin and I are standing. By the time Darren takes the stage, there is a pile.

Darren Keen has a very unusual performing style, very reminiscent of cabaret jazz. Darren talks to the audience, asks them questions, asks them to respond. Periodically, he jumps off the stage and runs through the audience. It sounds like a lot of fun. But it can be trying when you are there to see someone play music and they keep jumping off the stage and ramming into you. As Darren rips through songs from both his Radboyz Only!!! and Gymnasia albums, the room has begun to fill up and people are starting to groove. Gavin and I are cheering after every song and every time I finish a beer, I find another cold one in my hand, begging to be drunk. Darren Keen runs by Gavin and me and we both push him.

Darren Keen plays an explosive version of “Safe Art”, a very hilarious and brilliantly honest song about Darren Keen’s stance on indie bands and “Bright Eyes” in particular. Various clips of bloody walls, surreal art and the words “FAT FUCK” play across the projector screen. Darren jumps back on the stage, sweating, about to jump into the next song, when I open my mouth again.

“Darren! Play Safe Art!” I shout.

The whole room falls silent.

“Are you serious?” Darren asks me. “I just played that song, man. I JUST played Safe Art.” Darren is looking at me like he wants to kill me.

Did I mention that Darren looks quite a bit like Michael Moore?

Darren finishes out his set to a hearty round of applause, me included. Darren Keen is an awesome songwriter and showman, and his ethics more than make up for the disappointment of watching a guy sing to a laptop. There is a little bit of confusion when someone steps on Darren’s microphone cable as he is running through the crowd, causing a few minutes of confusing silence. No one knows who it is, but when that person is found, punishment will be served.

[Darren Keen of The Show Is the Rainbow on the right]

The lights go out. Beers are refreshed, the pile at the front of the stage grows larger. People with black hair begin setting up instruments. I look at each one of them and notice Rika, the unnamed drummer (who turns out to be: SURPRISE! the guy I bought the t-shirt from) and Agata. I think about telling Agata I love him and decide to wait. Then I see Yako and another beer is gone.

“Yako!” I shout.

Yako does not look at me.

“Yako!” I shout again. She still does not look. Maybe she talked to Darren backstage…

Then Gavin steps in and leans over to talk to Yako and the next thing I know, I am on stage, Yako is next to me, we’re both making the evil-eye at my crappy cell-phone camera and Gavin has snapped a picture. I am ecstatic. So ecstatic I notion over to my wife to supply us with a fresh set of beers. While I stare at the stage glassy-eyed, Rika walks out, puts on her bass, and the opening bass riff to “Shield For Your Eyes, A Beast In the Well On Your Hand” begins rolling out and all hell breaks loose.

[MELT-BANANA blows us away. See if you can find my Mexican face in those pictures]

For the record, “Shield For Your Eyes…” is one

hell of a
holy hell of a
holy fucking hell of a

show opener. I’ve included a link to the song at the bottom of this review. “Shield For Your Eyes…” opens up mid tempo with an addictive bassline that adds the remaining instruments to it, building up to amazing tension, before it explodes into all-out thrash with the entry of Yako’s vocals. The entire crowd starts moving. A girl next to me screams “Oh my god!” as the song speeds up. I am headbanging left and right, the word gravity only a myth. The music is gloriously loud and I mean LOUD. A few people actually move back and the rest of us laugh at them. Yako’s yelps, Agata’s screaming guitar, Rika’s teeth-jarring bassline and the unnamed guy’s thrashed out drums have all been mixed perfectly, adding to the notion that MELT-BANANA is a band meant to be viewed in a small venue (check Tool chatboards for what happens when they aren’t and also for what happens when a bunch of dumb rednecks in Disturbed t-shirts watch the best live band in the world in their podunk redneck towns). As MELT-BANANA rips through songs from Cell-Scape, Teeny Shiny, Charlie and their latest: Bambi’s Dilemma, Gavin and I start shoving each other, building up a mosh pit that will eventually consume the entire room. I down another beer and start crowdsurfing. Crowdsurfing feels like getting a massage by fifty different people at the same time. I’m dropped every once in a while. At one point, when I am dropped, I just lay there, my head spinning, soaking in the sounds of “Heiwaboke Crisis”. It is at this point that I must commend the general niceness and absolute positivity that MELT-BANANA’s attitude and music seems to impart upon audience members. Each time I hit the floor and lay there, there are people, actual cheeseburger-guzzling, Iraq-invading, white Americans picking me up, patting me on the back and asking me if I am ok. I hug at least five people in the audience. At one point, while MELT-BANANA pounds out “Circle-Jerk (Chase the Magic Words, Lego Lego)” I have my arms around two women I have never met before and we are all headbanging together. I break a beer bottle and other people help clean it up, but not before I have completely lacerated my right hand, spitting blood all over myself and other people http://www.myspace.com/meltbanana123 pays testament to this). I scream “Agata”, “Rika” or “Yako” after each song and people join me. Then I crowdsurf, hit the floor, jump up, hug some people and the cycle continues. Pure energy. Pure chaos. Pure noise. Pure fucking MELT-BANANA.

[Yako freaks out. There I am again!]

The band even honors my requests for a few of my favorites, including “Ether Twisted”, “Excess” and even “Giggle on the Stretcher” before their set closes. The crowd looks demolished. We are all sweaty, sore, full of alcohol/whatever drugs we may have ingested in the privacy of our own homes but we still want more. And thank god. For MELT-BANANA walks out on stage for an encore.

After the show, people hang about, asking for autographs, chatting with the band. Most people address them from the floor. I jump on stage and hug them all. Rika looks slightly startled, but nothing more at this point. I tell the band that I am a huge fan of their music. I think I try to explain the whole tired-of-music-until-I-got-sukyaa’s-link story to them but what I say and what they understand may be two different things. I shake hands with all of them and walk back to my wife, whom I have not seen since the start of MELT-BANANA. My wife is ecstatic too, claiming that she was wrong to dislike the band and that that was the best show that she has ever seen (coming from her that is a HUGE compliment as her concert scrapbook is fatter than Santosh Pant’s head). We are about to leave when Gavin tells us he got into the backstage area.

[Rika greeting members of the audience. And are you fucking kidding me? It's me again.]

Cut to backstage. Agata has a set of guitars unlike I have ever seen. That he left all those guitars unattended “backstage”, which at the Sokol Underground means a crappy ass enclosure behind the stage that ANYONE (and I mean anyone, even Sabin Rai) can gain access to without being noticed, is testament to MELT-BANANA’s generally positive attitude and sweet naiveté. People are getting their albums and t-shirts signed. Gavin and I have nothing. We tack our brains and come up with the perfect idea. The next thing we know, Yako has signed our chests, laughing with us, even though she must have been tired enough to just pass out on the moldy couch that the Sokol likes to offer its performing artists. I tell the band that I love them again before we head out.

Or do we.
For once again, after we are all seated in the car, listening to MELT-BANANA, I have disappeared back into the Sokol. My wife follows me inside to see me, once again, hugging the band and telling them that I love them. Agata is the coolest person in the world, in between the chaos of reoccurring musical accessories he just laughs and complies. Yako looks worried and my wife has to actually explain to her that I am

1. drunk
2. easily excitable
3. a huge MELT-BANANA fan

She brings back the comment that Yako is one of the coolest people she has ever met. Only Rika looks slightly bothered for which I don’t blame her. Rika plays the bass much like Krist Novoselic of NIRVANA did. With completely unadulterated fury. I bow to the band a few times, saying “Arigato” and once again, MELT-BANANA’s awesomely resilient attitude has cowed me. Not a word of reproach or frustration. The band humored me with such reverence that to this day I am in awe. How many of these mainstream assholes that we accept as “legends” without thought would have put up with such behavior? If you read this MELT-BANANA, the crazy guy from Omaha says thank you, sorry and I really hope you come back to Omaha. You made an insurmountable number of fans that day and I promise I’ll be more sober.

Life went back to its boring routine after that. I couldn’t move my neck for a week after and my fingers took some time to heal but the cathartic effect of the show was too genuinely awesome to refute. Seeing MELT-BANANA live was one of the best experiences of my life and I fully recommend anyone that gets the chance to go see them live. You will not fucking regret it. And if you do, register for an account at the ktmROCKS forum if you don’t have one already and come have a talk with me.

One last thing though, remember how I told you that some asshole, some blindingly drunk and belligerent asshole stepped on Darren Keen’s microphone cord during his set, causing him to lose signal for a few moments? Well check this out:

Now THAT ladies and gentlemen, is why you should get so ditheringly wasted AFTER the show, otherwise there will be no rainbow.

Related links

More pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51769638@N00/656379631/in/photostream/

Thank you for your patience.

AGNOSTIC FRONT AUSTRALIA TOUR
By: Vishal Rai

—————-

Lineup:

AGNOSTIC FRONT | TOE TO TOE | AGAINST
Date: 19th April, 2007
Venue: The Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Ticket: $30

By far the best show I’ve been to this year.
Just 5 days after the insane SLAYER concert, I was sitting in a bar at The Annandale Hotel where the Godfathers of New York Hardcore, AGNOSTIC FRONT, were playing later that evening. I arrived 2 hours early since I hadn’t gotten my ticket and unlike other venues, I could walk right in. The place, when I got there, was busy. There are people setting up the
drums, fixing the PA, and on the floor I could see guitar and amp cases with “AGNOSTIC FRONT” written on them. That sight itself got me pumped up for the evening that would follow. With plenty of time to kill, I got myself a beer and walked over to the smoking section where I sat next to this humongous tattooed guy and another fellow with a scary scar on his face. Beers over, and with 30 mins till the tickets went on sale, I went out and lined up. The crowd that turned up outside was old-school all the way – an assortment of punks, skins, hardcore kids and biker-looking old men, testament to the fact of how influential AGNOSTIC FRONT has been.

An hour later I was still in line, the lower part of my body getting heavier by the moment, itching for a piss (damn them beers).

By the time I got in, Brisbane’s AGAINST had already started playing. I had seen them open for Raised Fist last year, and just as I remembered, they were SOLID! Fast old-school hardcore with plenty of chugga-chugga parts and massive breakdowns, they owned the crowd from the word “Go!” I recognized a few songs off of “Left For Dead” and “My Hate My Way”. Anyway, their set was kickass and I really wouldn’t mind seeing them again and again.

A 20 minute break later, Aussie scene legends TOE TO TOE took the stage and, to my surprise, the humongous tattooed guy and the fellow with the scary scar turned out to be members of the band, the bassist and the singer to be exact. I may not have known what these guys looked like but I did know their reputation and I expected nothing short of a stellar performance. They did not disappoint. TOE TO TOE played old school hardcore the way it’s meant to be played – with rage, passion, integrity and plenty of heart.

For the next 20 minutes the atmosphere was intense with anticipation and rightfully so since AGNOSTIC FRONT had not visited Australian shores in almost 10 years. This was gonna be a blast.

The mighty AGNOSTIC FRONT hit the stage like a blitz and launched into one classic after another. I’ve forgotten what they started with (I almost always do), but by the time they launched into the opening riff of “Eliminator,” their second song, I was pawned from head to toe. “Killing’s my business and business is fine/Money’s my interest, life isn’t kind,” I was singing along, word for word. “Eliminator” led to “New Jack,” another classic which in turn led to more classics. I climbed onto a window sill for a better view and saw the unusual, jerky stances of the legendary Vinnie Stigma which brought a smile to my face. Badass vocalist Roger Miret was clad in his trademark black gear, closely resembling his younger step-brother Freddy Cricien of Madball.

The band kept bombarding us with their finest material: “Victim In Pain,” “United Blood,” “Your Mistake,” “Public Assistance,” “Blind Justice,” “Friend Or Foe” as well as cuts from their latest album “Another Voice”, tracks such as “So Pure To Me,” “Peace” and “All Is Not Forgotten” whose mammoth chugging riff incited a huge circle pit, the biggest I’ve seen in an indoor venue. Despite being so aggressive, one of the most special things about AGNOSTIC FRONT is their insanely sing-along verses/choruses, so, by the time sing-alongs like “Gotta Go,” “Riot Riot Upstart” and “Police State” ended my throat was hoarse. A break was what I needed and that’s what I got as the band exited the stage.

A short break later, they were back for the encore. Stigma was back alone at first singing the hilarious “Pauly The Dog.” As he finished, the entire band was back and quickly burst into “Something’s Gotta Give” (if I remember correctly) which then led to “Believe” with it’s rousing “Believe we are right/Believe we are strong/Believe in yourself/Believe HARDCORE” chorus. Brilliant and, unfortunately, that was the end.

It’s surprising that after all these years AGNOSTIC FRONT still have to play in small, dingy places (the venue was no bigger than G’s Terrace in Thamel) while bands they’ve influenced play bigger clubs. Nonetheless, I’m sure they wouldn’t have it any other way because this is a band that has dedicated its life to hardcore. AGNOSTIC FRONT don’t just play hardcore, they ARE hardcore.

CHRIST ILLUSION TOUR
Review/Pics by: Vishal Rai

—————–

Lineup:

SLAYER | MASTODON |MORTAL SIN

Date: 17 April 2007
Ticket: $77
Venud: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia

SLAYER bloody SLAYER. What a glorious night.
The mighty SLAYER, along with MASTODON and Aussie thrash veterans MORTAL SIN, played at the Hordern Pavilion on the 17th of April. The show was supposed to start at 7:30 pm but, knowing the popularity of the bands and the crowd they could pull and having faced a similar situation at Gigantour last year, I ended up a good 4 hours early so that I wouldn’t miss the opening acts. The next few hours were spent with a few cold ones at the bar next door, keeping an eye on the line. At 7 the gates opened and there I was right in front followed by a some thousands of black-clad rivetheads screaming “Slaayaaarr”.

Sounds of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest’s “Tyrant” welcomed me as I walked in and got myself a spot right in front of the stage. Five minutes later, MORTAL SIN stepped up and burst into an unnamed song. Despite being around since the mid-80”s, they were clearly stoked to be playing with the big bands. They then proceeded to play “I Am Immortal” and “Mayhemic Destruction”. MORTAL SIN’s was a short 3-song set but their old school heavy/thrash sound was just what the audience needed to get all riled up for the bands that would follow.

A 20 minute wait later, thick smoke filled the stage and the lights went dim…and in walked MASTODON. Having heard just Leviathan and not being too into their sound, I clearly wasn’t expecting much from them but, fuck, what a band they turned out to be. The set was INSANE!! I couldn’t decipher the songs they were playing because, like I said, I am not too familiar with their music but it was brilliant. Technical guitar parts, weird time signatures that made you go WTF, an exceptional drummer, wild haired-crazy bearded frontmen trading lyrics – very impressive stuff. MASTODON was the epitome of the less talk more rock philosophy; in fact, they were no talk, all rock with all the between song banters replaced by samples.

MASTODON

An hour later, as MASTODON exited, the floor started getting packed. Tighter. The atmosphere more intense.

It was time for SLAYER.

The first thing that hit me when SLAYER graced the stage was the stage presence – every member had a larger than life aura around them. Dave Lombardo god-like behind his kit; Kerry King heavily tattooed with his trademark leather and chains look; Hannemann in his jersey and a fixed frown; Araya, long haired and bearded, but forever smiling. I don’t remember the first song they played (Disciple?) but as they plunged into it, the floor exploded. I knew this was going to be one deranged set. We were all pushing into each other, hair flying, horns and fists in the air. The set was a mixture of the old and the new with “Die By The Sword”, “War Ensemble”, “Mandatory Suicide” and “Seasons In The Abyss” intermingling with “Jihad” and “Cult”. Much of the set seems pretty blurry now as I was getting sandwiched between sweaty, smelly bodies and, despite being in front, unable to see the band (damn them tall people). After more than an hour in the heat, I decided to get the fuck outta there since (1) I couldn’t see the band and (2) I was right in front of the PA and from where I was, Araya was sounding too much like a woman. I also knew that SLAYER was getting to the end of their set and the best songs would be coming up.

Luckily, I found a good place in the stands with a clear view of the band and a crystal clear mix. Right then, they started “Postmortem” followed by “Dead Skin Mask” and “Raining Blood”. And then they stepped off stage, but hell no, it wasn’t the end. “SLAYAARRR” chants abounded the arena; thousands of horns in the air. A glorious sight indeed. This was it then, time for the encore. As SLAYER returned and the intro to “South Of Heaven” surged from the PA, the venue went loco. “On and on, south of heaven” screamed everyone around me. Everyone knew what was coming next – “Angel Of Death”. I was screaming my lungs out, word for word like everyone around me. We knew this was the end and we made the best of it.

With a neat package in the form of MORTAL SIN, the brilliance of MASTODON and just the presence of SLAYER, this was a night few people would easily forget. I’m very sure everyone in the arena went home satisfied and slept with huge grins on their faces. I know I did.

SLAYER

NO MERCY FESTIVAL
By: Mahendra Rai

—————–

Lineup:

HADE’S LAB | ROOT | DEW-SCENTED | BEHEMOTH | NAPALM DEATH | MOONSPELL

Date: April 10, 2007
Ticket: £20.00
Venue: Koko, London

[NO PICS]

NO MERCY is an annual festival which tours all over Europe. Luckily, this time around I was able to attend this year’s festival in London. I was quite excited to see NAPALM DEATH which made me restless since the day I ordered my ticket via Interwebby. Nothing gets me going than the grinding fury of NAPALM DEATH’s music.
The door opened right on time i.e. 5 pm and the show kick-started at 5:30. First up was a local band HADE’S LAB. Pretty decent stuff but the crowd’s response was like a gentle knock on the head.

Next up was a Czech black metal band ROOT. Interesting is the only word that I can use right now to describe their performance but nevertheless a tight one. I was totally unaware of what songs they were playing as I had no information on this band whatsoever until they played “Pisen Pro Satana”, the song covered by Nargaroth.

DEW-SCENTED took over the stage for the next 30 minutes or so. These German maniacs completely blew off the crowd with their brutal amalgamation of death and thrash metal. I could see from the corner of my eye a pretty decent moshpit at the centre of the venue.

Now the audience starts to chant the name of BEHEMOTH as the Polish juggernauts prepare to come on stage. I have to say Nergal has a very good stage presence and starts interesting banters with the audience in between songs but seeing him frequently spitting around the stage was a treat. Apart from that their set was one of the best and intense so far. Since I am not an avid listener of BEHEMOTH, I am totally immune to names of the songs they played but whatever they played was bone crushing and it literally crushed my tiny little ears.

This was the moment I had been waiting and saving my neck for – the mighty NAPALM DEATH. The grindcore legends started off by building up with a background track “Weltschmerz”and then blasting off with “Sink Fast, Let Go”. Intense, brutal, intense and brutal again. Suddenly the moshpit was double the size it was before and even more wild. Fists were rising up in the air. Hairs and arms started to fly around and some fucker hit the ground head first amidst the chaos but no one cared. I didn’t. They played such classics as ‘Unchallenged Hate’, ‘Scum’, ‘You Suffer’, ‘Suffer The Children’, ‘Breed To Breathe’ and as well as the latter ones ‘Fatalist’, ‘Silence is Deafening’ and ‘When All Is Said And Done’. For 45 minutes they grinded my bollocks into a chilly chowder and it still wasn’t enough. The real treat was when they played the cover of Dead Kennedy’s ‘Nazi Punks, Fuck Off!’ and ended with a classic Barney quote: ‘Unless you think.’ All hail NAPALM DEATH!!

Finally, MOONSPELL came up on stage. Before I could enjoy their set, I decided to leave with a fucked up neck and a reduced hearing.

One fucking intense show that left me with my ears ringing for two days. I was quite disappointed with the crowd turnover as it was relatively less than anticipated. However, the show went on and ripped the bloody hell off of me.

HELL AWAITS II
By: Pramithus

—————

Lineup:
VHUMI | EPITAPH | THE TIME | ARACHNIDS | LOST OBLIVION | DEADEFY | SHANNON SCAM | ANTI CORPSE | BLOOD BLISTERS | (one) AUSTRALIAN PUNK BAND

Date: 28 April, Saturday
Venue: NEPAL MUSIC SCHOOL, Sinamangal Pinglasthan
Time: 1.30 PM
Ticket: Rs 75 (Rs 50 for those who have the tickets from April 22 show)

Pic: Few More Dreams

Battered by the rain at the Kathmandu Mall terrace, the remaining part of the gig was scheduled at 28th April at Nepal Sangeet Vidhalaya (NSV), Pingalasthan. It was an indoor venue so even Mr. Indra Dev could not spoil the gig. When we reached the venue, I was surprised to see some guys doing Sound check. I thought the gig would start on time. As ARACHNIDS were doing sound check session, the PA system guy (who by the way happens to be the drummer of the hit band Axis), apparently told the guys to throw their guitars away. So a quarrel delayed the show before finally the gig kicked off with (unlisted band) FUNERAL DREAMS. They did covers of Blink 182 (Save the Children, Rock Show), Good Charlotte and Greenday. They ended their set with their original “Boksi”. Dami original! The vocalist was impressive. It was a good performance by the first timers.

Pic: Saboteurs

SABOTEURS (again unlisted) was next who were a last minute addition to the lineup. They did the same old set list consisting of “Sign of the Cross”, “Flight of Icarus”, “Number of the Beast” (Iron maiden) and “Master of Puppets” (Metallica). A tight young band but needs to change the setlist and seriously time for some originals.

Pic: Vhumi

VHUMI was next and they burst the venue with superb musicianship. They were phenomenal so was the crowd – who started headbanging and moshpitting on the floor. Their all original setlist consisted of “Soundcheck”, a new untitled song, “Stone hunter”, “Abala”, “Santa Mahatma”, two more untitled songs, and “Bharia”. Killer band who did a killer set. It was their best performance till date for me.

Pic: Lost Oblivion

LOST OBLIVION did a jam session by experimenting with their vocalist on drums and two other guys on vocals. It didn’t turn out so good.

Pic: Shannon Scam

SHANNON SCAM then took the stage. They kept their reputation of both their music and attitude. An all original set list. Very tight, very impressive. Half way through their set, we headed to grab some momo. These guys are good, so they must have delivered a good set.

Pic: Arachnids

ARACHNIDS were next and oh yeah it was a kickass set. After VHUMI had demolished the venue like an earthquake, ARACHNIDS then attacked like a tsunami and razed everything that was left. Praveen is amazing on stage. He growled and grunted throughout and even stage dived on the floor. Their set consisted of a few Black Sabbath covers, “Mandatory suicide” (Slayer), “Slave New World”, “Troops of Doom”, “Roots Bloody roots” (Sepultura) and 3 KILLER originals. These guys are right up their along with VHUMI heading the scene currently.

Pic: Deadefy

DEADEFY closed the gig with Slayer covers (Hell Awaits, Raining Blood, God Hates Us All, South of Heaven, Angel of Death, Season in the Abyss). Even though the sound was not balanced, they were very impressive. I think its time for some originals now. BLOOD BLISTERS, EPITAPH and ANTICORPSE (what the heck this name is all about) did not perform – neither did the listen Australian punk band. (What’s the band name anyway?) It was late when the gig ended but it was awesome as all the bands were impressive. The organizers still have to start the gig on time. Lastly, they were going to make a DVD of this gig, let’s see how it ends up with.

For more pictures:
Flickr

HELL AWAITS
By: Pramithus

———————

Lineup:
VHUMI | EPITAPH | BLOOD BLISTERS | THE TIME | ARACHNIDS | LOST OBLIVION | DEADEFY | SABOTEURS | THE SILVERSTONE | SHANNON SCAM | ANTICORPSE | AMISS | PARIGHOSH.
Date: 21 April, 2007
Venue: The Kathmandu Mall terrace, Newroad
Time: 1:30 pm sharp
Ticket: Rs 100
Organized by: Undergroundknot
Supported by: ktmROCKS

There was a question in my mind, would it rain or would it not? It was a sunny afternoon but you can’t say anything about the weather of Kathmandu these days. A new venue for a change which was the Kathmandu mall terrace at Newroad. Being easily accessible from almost every part of Kathmandu, for me it was the perfect venue. It has everything from momo pasals to Prabesh Man Shakya’s CD and cassette pasal. It also has fancy all girl clothing stores where we can stare at some hot chicks with short skirts (hehehe). Now back to the gig. This being the second gig organized by undergroundknot, I expected it to be as good as the first one. The time given for the gig was 1:30 pm sharp but when I was at the venue, even the sound system was not set up, let alone the sound check. The gig started at 3:00 pm without a single sound check session and then everything started to tumble in all different directions.

Pic: Parighosh

The band to open the gig was first timers PARIGHOSH. They started the gig with Megadeth cover “Symphony of destruction” which was quiet ok. They had to deal with a bad sound system so their output was never balanced. They continued their set with an original “Dustataa ko Punarjanma”. Since I could not hear them, I can’t say anything about them. Hope you will find a decent system when you perform next time guys. PARIGHOSH was followed by RAZOR. They did covers of ACDC which was a neat effort. They had a slightly different chord progression in “Back in Black”. They covered “Big Gun” and ended their set by playing “Hard as a Rock”. The vocal was very good and the other instruments were neat as well. It was a good effort in the end.

Pic: The Silverstone

THE SILVERSTONE then took the stage. Having already seen them perform at No Mercy gig, I was expecting something from them and I got a that something except for the sound system screwed their set. They started out with Led Zeppelin cover “Heartbreaker”. Black Sabbath’s “Behind the wall of Sleep” and “Paranoid” were next in their set. At last, they did their original “I am Youth”. This catchy song was easily one of the highlights of the gig.

Pic: Blood Blisters

The next band on the gig was BLOOD BLISTERS. Now being one of the senior bands of the underground scene, everybody was pumped up when they entered the stage. They started out with Iron maiden cover “Wicker Man”. The vocalist of the band then said, “Rising Force”. I was awestruck as I was going to see a Nepali band cover Y. J. Malmsteen. As they started to play “Rising Force”, the effect processor of Bijendra (guitarist) went off and in pure dramatic frustration, he kicked the processor. They changed cables of adapter or maybe the amplifier but after a short halt, their set continued. They did a couple of Iron Maiden cover before finally ending their set with “Rising Force” again. Very impressive guitar works. Bijendra is one of the best in the scene so is the band. I feel that being an established band, they should focus more on originals rather than cover tunes.

Pic: Saboteurs

SABOTEURS then took the stage. Being their second performance they kept their impressive reputation this time as well. They started their set with Iron Maiden cover “The Sign of the Cross”. Their attack continued with Metallica’s “Master of Puppets”. By now everyone in the venue were jumping around and forming various circle pits. They did “Flight of Icarus”, “Number of the Beast” (Iron maiden) and ended up with Nightwish cover “Nemo”. I think Saboteurs must work on some originals now. This band has potential. Then a girl with the members of SABOTEURS entered the stage and they did “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. Bahini sur maa gaaune prayash gara ani tespachi balla stage maa aau. It was horrible.

Pic: Shannon Scam

Next to perform was SHANNON SCAM. I had heard about this band many times but this was my first time watching them live. They did an all original set. Punk music is not my cup of tea but this band kicked major ass. Dammi band. I was eating French fries with Umes dai at the momo stall when Indra Dev decided it was enough for today. It started to rain and we were stuck at the momo stall waiting for our momo which never came. SHANNON SCAM was playing for sometime but it really started down pouring with cats, dogs and elephant, eventually the gig had to be stopped. All of the bands and the crowd were sitting inside the mall hoping that the rain would stop but that never happened. After having a little chat with the guys of VHUMI we left the building.

The sound system sucked ass big time. The poor management was easily visible. The bands had no other options but to suffer during their set. I have two questions to the organizers. Why piling up so many bands in the line up? And why starting the gig without even a single sound check session? It is a one way invitation for trouble. They are going to continue the gig this Saturday (April 28th) in an indoor venue at Nepal Sangeet Vidhyalaya (NSV). I hope it would be much better than what we saw at the Kathmandu mall.

For more pics of the gig:
Flickr

APRIL UPRISING
By: Pramithus

Lineup:
Rai ko Ris (noisy bastards), Baking Space Cake, Fabulous Maxi Pads

Documentary premier: Ekadeshma: Rhymes of a Riot Age and Eviction

Date: April 7
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Mushroom bar, Lazimpat
Ticket: Rs 50

[MORE PICTURES]

It was about to rain so Umes dai and I hurried to the venue. We reached Mushroom bar at right about 6:00 pm and the gig started right on time. First it was RAI KO RIS. Never heard RKR before and my first impression was “a very tight punk band”. They did an all original set. The absence of a bassist was clearly heard in their sound as Sareena’s guitar and Oliver’s drums lacked an additional groove that could have made them sound a lot better. They have been on the scene for a long time now and RKR are certainly one of the headlining punk bands in the country. Their only major flaw was the ONE hour long set which for me was a real torture. I was sitting at the stairs watching some celebrities (the likes of VJ Puja Gurung and the hit TV serial Katmandu’s Riya – hehe don’t know her real name) drink beer, smoke, talk about sex in their fancy accents and sell tickets. A tight punk band but not my cup of tea! The rest of the crowd loved RKR as they were head banging, stage diving and moshpitting through out.

Then came the first highlight of the show, the premier of the documentary Ekadeshma: Rhymes of a Riot Age. A documentary made by group of young guys who are also the most talented guys of the underground scene. It was absolutely amazing. A 16 minutes long documentary but it brought out so many issues mainly focusing the Janaandolan II and how we all are just under an illusion of independence and peace. It was easily one of my favorites. Then again came the second highlight of the show, the same guys playing some music. BAKING SPACE CAKE put up a great show which started with an original. Rohit “Sahu” Shakya is the man. Great guitar work, great vocals along with a fantastic work on the keyboard from Abhishek Bhadra. Not to forget Rajiv Manandhar’s constant grooves and Bibhushan Basnet’s fantastic drumming consisting of some odd counts. Then Sunny Tuladhar took over the guitar and they did some RATM covers which included “Testify”, “Bulls on Parade” and “Know your Enemy” with Abhishek getting out some weird effects from the keys. The crowd started jumping all around and a fight kicked off on the floor. After a short halt, BSC ended their set with Asian Dub Foundation cover “Free Satpal Ram”. One of the best RATM covers, a killer ADF cover and a killer original. Umes dai says if one musician goes, others will come to take their place but for me when these guys leave the scene, it would be really hard to find ones who are as talented as them. It was nearly 9 after BSC’s set so we left the venue. A great place and a great gig.

SHOW NO MERCY
By: Pramithus

Lineup:
Blood Blisters, Epitaph, Vhumi, Ushma Wegh, Arachnids, Deadefy, The Silverstone, Saboteurs, Heavy Chains, Anticorpse.
Date: March 31
Time: 1:30 pm
Venue: Nepal Sangeet Vidhyalaya, Pingalasthan, Gausala.
Ticket: Rs 100

[MORE PICTURES]

The first metal gig held at NSV (Nepal Sangeet Vidhyalaya) and the lineup was really exciting. I had some expectations from this gig and it turned out just right. 31st March it was and on the Saturday afternoon I reached the venue with a rush of excitement. It was a semi-closed venue and VHUMI were doing the sound check. I really like watching the sound check session and I didn’t miss it because it was an hour long one. The gig kicked off late (exactly one hour to be precise). SHOW NO MERCY kicked off with a Metallica cover and that was after a long time. SABOTEURS opened the gig with Metallica’s Master of Puppets. Although I am not a big fan of Metallica but their cover of “Master of Puppets” was pretty neat and also the use of Keyboards added an extra spice to the song. They continued with Nightwish cover “Nemo” followed by two Iron Maiden covers “Number of the Beast” and “The flight of Icarus”. A good, tight, new band which has potential. HEAVY CHAINS was up next and I am a big fan of the guitarist Gaurav Sitaula. He has neat hands and impressive guitar skills at a very young age with a very humble attitude. Their set consisted of “Slither”, Extreme cover “Get the funk out” and Stephen Wolf cover “Born to be wild”. Another talented new band which has potential. The next band was THE SILVERSTONE and they were all about Black Sabbath. They did covers of “NIB”, “Behind the Wall of Sleep” and “Iron Man”. All cover songs were tight but the highlight of their set was their original “I am Youth”. Very funky sound with nice guitar works and vocals. Another talented new band. The new bands nowadays are becoming very impressive.

Now up next was VHUMI and I don’t need to mention anything about them as I quote Dipesh Gautam (LDR) “They are the torch holders of today’s scene.” Very tight performance with a new drummer in their lineup. Their set consisted of all originals. They started out with “Abala” then “Dazzling Face”, “Bhariya” and ended their set with “Mrityu ko Tandav” which for me is their best original till now. Some glimpse of Rudra but very powerful. Very tight, very impressive. Up next was the stand out band of the gig, ARACHNIDS. Praveen is one of the best vocalists of the scene and he did some outstanding work on both originals and covers. Deep grunts, high pitched squeals, scream and growls, he has it all. The band did an exceptional set which started out with their original “Antim Ichhya”, “After Forever” (Black Sabbath cover), “Slave New World”, “Roots Bloody Roots” (Sepultura cover) and their second original which were all kickass. The crowd was head banging and moshpitting. Praveen owned the stage as he stage dived and was constantly coming off the stage. The rest of the band members were also very impressive.

Up next was EPITAPH. They have just released their debut album “Barbaric Regulation”. Their short set consisted of all three originals “MDT”, “Murda ko Desh” and “Campign of Terror”. Very tight and impressive performance. By that time it was around 5:30 and we hadn’t eaten all day. So Umes dai, Dipesh and I decided to grab some foods so we missed the set of Ushma Wegh, Blood Blisters, Deadefy and Anticorpse. A very good gig with good sound system and great bands. Hats off to the organizers for putting up such a gig.

AUDIENCE COMMENTS

Gildas (France)

Q: How was the gig?
A: Never been to a metal/rock concert in Nepal and it feels good to see some of the underground bands perform. The gig was fun.

Q: Which band/s did you like?
A: I liked Vhumi.

Mrigesh Rajbhandari

Q: How was the gig?
A: The gig was awesome. I head banged a lot. I am satisfied.

Q: Which band/s did you like?
A: Saboteurs, Blood Blisters, Vhumi.

Jubin Shrestha

Q: How was the gig?
A: The gig was good.

Q: Which band/s did you like?
A: Didn’t like the first band (Saboteurs). I liked Epitaph, Vhumi, The Silverstone and Arachnids.

EPITAPH members:

Q: How was the gig considering the sound system?
A: It is better than before. We are kind of satisfied.

Q: How is the album sale of Barbaric Regulation?
A: We are selling the albums independently. We are selling it through friends and selling it ourselves. So far, we are getting good sales.

Q: Which band/s did you like the most in this gig?
A: Arachnids.

BLUES FOR A CAUSE
By: Umes

Lineup: Resonance, Nekhvam
March30, Kathmandu
Venue: 1905, Thamel

As I entered the venue, RESONANCE was playing some familiar cover tunes. The venue seemed to be sporadically filled with people, the evening was getting a little cooler after a scorching day, the sound output was awesome.

RESONANCE played their set like some zombies. I could see why some people did not even bother to look towards the band but instead kept chatting, drinking and smoking. Sort of good background music. The band needs to learn something about stage presence. May be they can learn from the next band that played.

Meanwhile, I stumbled on to Mahesh dai (dai of course) of Nepasa Sound System. Right away, he was like – “That bass amp is a brand new one. The bands coming here for Jazzmandu always demand for that brand, so had to buy it.” Then I ask him a little about how/where did he purchase the systems and admire him for such a superb output that evening.

Someone announces “The only surviving blues band in Nepal” and NEKHVAM takes on the stage. Having seen this band lately so much, I was not expecting anything but some good bluesy time. This fact is undisputed, NEKHVAM is a solid live band. Their new drummer Binay Shrestha has brought a great deal energy into the band. His technical supremacy provides a tremendous platform for both Ashesh Dangol and Sibesh Dangol to improvise and exhibit some familiar antics (Sibesh does this “bass slap” thing every time). Well those were the good parts; I was extremely disappointed to hear their two new songs. For a band that thrives on long improvised sets, composing a 3-minute song appropriate for FMs must be a heck of a challenge. Might be the reason why the new songs sounded out of the place. I don’t think NEKHVAM has any plans to become Radio Hits and those are not what NEKHVAM standard songs should sound like – but that’s just my thought. Why not release a live album instead!

Highlight of the show: Binay’s drum solo.

HEAVEN AND HELL
By: Anish

Line up: Down, Megadeth, Heaven and Hell.
March 11
Vancouver, Canada.
Ticket:

[Sorry NO pictures]

Alright! So, this was the first time SABBATH played with Dio after nearly a decade and half. It was bound to be one hell of a show. Supporting HEAVEN AND HELL were the legendary MEGADETH and DOWN, led by the frontman of another Metal Giant PANTERA, Phil Anselmo. Here’s a short little review on how everything went down.

DOWN

DOWN had already started playing when I reached the venue. They were the perfect band to start the show with. I was a little stoned and the Southern Groove that they’re putting out was just about perfect for my mood then. I think they’re playing Hail the Leaf when I came in there. Phil was awesome as usual. There was so much energy during their set. Random people flying around, being thrown off the stage by the security sure were some sight to see. They ended the show with Bury me in Smoke and a little jam where they made off a song from what the crowd was chanting – “down…down…down…down…down…down….” and that was that..

MEGADETH

MEGADETH were fucking amazing as well. It took quite some time to set up the stage for them. Then in came Mustaine, storming into the stage with his new Dean. Those new Deans have some killer look. They started up with Sleepwalker and proceeded to the end of Wake up Dead where Mustaine shreds that sweet little solo. Then they went on to play Kick the Chair and Washington’s Next (my least favourite song on that set by the way). After that, it was all the
MEGADETH classics – A tout le Monde, Symphony of Destruction, Trust, Peace Sells and finally last but definitely not the least – HOLY WARS. The entire coliseum erupted when they played that song. It was insane. Their set was easily the most energetic of them all. Mustaine, that little cheeky whiny bastard. What a show he put on. Going into the show I was little skeptical about Drover though. Not his playing, his presence. The Mustaine/Drover pair was exciting to watch. There set was a little too small though. It lasted only about 45 mins.

HEAVEN AND HELL

Finally the headlining act – HEAVEN AND HELL i.e. Dio, Iommi, Butler and Vinny Appice. One of the coolest things about their set was the way the stage was set up. It was kind of theatrical with the Church, the iron fence and some stained windows. Their stage theme pretty much set the tone for their songs to come. They started off with E5150. Although they could have started on some other, much better songs of their, it was not a bad choice at all. Dio kept on shaking his hands with the audience after every song, so gracious and gentle. It was quite nice to see Iommi there with his trademark cross hanging down his neck. I left after their new song The Devil Cried. The overall soundsystem, fortunately, was pretty decent.

Setlist:

DOWN

Lysergic Funeral Procession
Lifer
Hail The Leaf
Underneath Everything
Stone The Crow
Bury Me In Smoke

MEGADETH

Sleepwalker
Wake Up Dead
Kick The Chair
Washington Is Next
A Tout Le Monde
Symphony Of Destruction
Trust
Peace Sells
Holy Wars (encore)

HEAVEN AND HELL

E5150
After All (The Dead)
Mob Rules
Children Of The Sea
Lady Evil
Ear in the Wall
I
Sign Of The Southern Cross
Voodoo
The Devil Cried
Drum Solo
Computer God
Falling Off The Edge Of The World
Shadow Of The Wind
Guitar Solo
Die Young
Heaven and Hell
Neon Knights (encore)