Tuesday 25 June 2013

Prosthesis of Mind @ The Espy (Basement) 21/06/13


Prosthesis of Mind don't want to fit into the pack, if you're into the technical side of things, then this band's right up your alley. They throw a lot of cool things in the mix, so you're never quite sure what to expect. From death growls to two-handed finger tapping, rapid fire solos, delayed guitar and atmospheric clean vocals. Their forte is long instrumental sections and dramatic build-ups to epic proportions.

Friday night at the Espy was lead singer Collin’s last show with the band, after having performed with them for over 2 years since its inception he has been forced to part ways because of unforeseen circumstances. 

The band sound tight on record, but with the new drummer Dav it just adds that little something wasn't there before. As soon as their lead guitarist Matt played the first notes it seem almost had been put into a trance, all was silent and then.. boom it went into overdrive!!

The crowd that night weren't really getting into it as much as they could, besides a few enthusiastic friends that at the side, Prosthesis still played to the best of their ability. Besides the fact that the vocals were virtually inaudible part of the set, this was the best performance I’d seen by the band. With it being only the 3rd gig for the new drummer it seems like they just keep getting better and better, a highlight was the performance of a new song called Liquid State.

It was a battle of the bands, and my vote goes to Prosthesis of Mind. Most bands had a lot to say; but they said it best, if not for the problems with the vocals I’d have been sure they would blow the competition out of the water.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Twelve Foot Ninja @ Next 9/06/13

                               

 (picture (c) Destroy All Lines)

This review comes a bit late, but still I thought people should know what a great live show these guys put on.

Twelve Foot Ninja play what only can be described as "heavy fusion", it's the best way the band can describe themselves.. But for reference, think what it would be like if Faith No More, Meshuggah and João Gilberto collided in outer space and something similar but its own creature emerged.
I ran into lead singer Kin before the show, this was the first time meeting him in person since we interviewed him via email for this blog.



It was nothing but good spirts (pun intended), $3 bourbon and cokes all round..  the best part about a night like it was everyone was just there to have fun. The opening bands at the Next venue tore the stage apart and got the crowd going. DJs spun some tunes from acts such as Butterfly Effect, Karnivool, Slipknot and Papa Roach over the speakers before all went dark... 



No fancy theatrics here, the band took to the stage and it was their music that really spoke. With greatly felt stage presence, each band member look they were fully enjoying themselves up on stage and the crowd could feel it. They opened the show with the lead single from their debut full release [Silent Machine] "Mother Sky" and the crowd literally went mental. The setlist also included some older tracks from their EPs such as F.E.A.R. and Clarion aswell as more from the album including Kingdom, Silent Machine and Vanguard. No matter if it was a song that everyone knew or not the band really played it like the meant every note.

Finally they pretended to walk off stage, Kin told the crowd to just imagine that they had left and were coming back on for the encore. After a small wait they abruptly broke into arguably their most well known song; Coming for You to close the show. Besides a few minor slip-ups during the intros on Kin's part, the band put on a very solid performance.

I got the feeling it was as if this band could be playing 10,000 people and you'd still experience the same intimacy from this small club. These songs were big songs though, they felt like they needed to be heard by many more people.. I think it's only a matter of time before these guys really hit it big.





Thursday 6 June 2013

Inside Reality @ Kate's Party - 17/05/13


It's cold outside, but inside the Barn Live it's heating up for a good night. Friday night, it's Kate's Party, the DJ is playing and everyone is out to have a good time. Inside Reality are side stage getting ready to go on. In light of the general good vibe, it'll be a hard audience to please. Being the first band for the night and it only being 9pm, things haven't quite gotten going yet.

The band takes to the stage, former lead vocalist and guitarist Sam De Lorenzo (now just guitar and backing vocals) introduces the band, you can tell he feels a certain amount of pressure.This is the first show with new vocalist Tom Hore and guitarist Mitch since the departure of guitarist Corey so they've got something to prove, if not to anyone else but even themselves and their friends.

As they break into "Enough is Enough" the energy can already be felt off the stage, people in their chairs turn around as Tom croons the first lines of the song. The band call everyone to the front of the stage as a few friends and interested on lookers move the forward. They keep it at full throttle and you'd think it'd be an onslaught until the end of the set, but no I was caught off guard. Next thing you know Sam is taking out his Martinez for an acoustic rendition of a track called Give Me a Look. The set then leads into a ballad type song thing which is known as Stay With Me.. a favourite by some friends of mine who are fans of the band. It starts off slow, but kicks into full overdrive by the end. They close with an old song called Drift with the Tide, one could imagine mosh pits going to that intro in future.

Overall there was awesome energy from the band, the presence could be felt in the room. Everyone seemed to be paying attention even if not many got up and danced. The sound was decent, although the vocals lay a bit low in the mix for my liking.
The reality is, that being the first and fairly unknown band on a night is hard, these guys did an excellent job of it and kudos to them.