|
 with The Hicks, Sakurai, The Quantas
Earthquake
There was a time, somewhere around the mid-to-late nineties where it
seemed as though every band on the planet consisted of a loud guitar,
some sub-standard rapping and DJ. Every song you heard was one that
fused multiple genres into the same loud racket that had already been
done before, often better. Yet where there are imitators, there has to
be innovators, and London legends Senser without a doubt fall into the
latter category.
There is an air of excitement buzzing around ‘Nirvana tonight as
Senser’s full, original line up prepare to rock the stage, yet before
the southerners get set to impress, three bands from a little closer to
home get their chance to shine.
Taking an intrepid trip through the kingdoms ruled by Kyuss, latter day
Metallica and erstwhile grunge heroes Alice in Chains, Wigan’s Quantas
Earthquake are musically excellent. Their sonic, grunge-tinted metal
soundscapes savaging the audience like an untamed beast ripping into its
prey. Where the ‘Earthquake’s tremor grinds to a halt though, is at
vocalist Steve’s reluctance to do anything interesting, instead choosing
to shuffle about the stage, often looking at the floor and not once
sliding his hands from his pockets. As much as you wanted to get excited
about Quantas’, it’s pretty much impossible when Steve looks as though
he’d rather be anywhere else than on stage.
Thankfully, the same can not be said for Manchester noisemakers Sakurai,
who launch themselves into a spirited performance with a vehemence.
Hyped to the sky by pretty much everyone within earshot, Sakurai channel
the spirit of Soundgarden, bludgeon it to death with a post-hardcore
sledgehammer, then bandage it back up with Deftone’s ‘Change (in the
house of flies)’ before repeating the process against a backdrop of
aggressive, ambient noise.
The Hicks’ frontman Alex is rock ‘n’ roll’s answer to The Young One’s
Alexi Sayle. Not only do they look quite similar and have a similar
name, but when Alex starts gurning maniacally mid-song, it’s almost as
though Jerry Balowski himself picked up a guitar and decided to rock
out. Yet despite this, and the band’s moniker being inspired by
legendary comedian Bill Hicks there is nothing funny about this band. Ferocious fan favourite ‘Gravedigger’ kick starts this
tour-de-force of groove-metal mayhem, smooth, heavy basslines, pumping
drums and prodigious guitars all working together in turbulent harmony
under Alex’s, raw, impassioned vocals. The Hicks sound is huge, The
Hicks themselves deserve to be equally so.
And then it happens, a sudden charge of relentless energy swoops through
the venue, a lightning bolt of electronica colliding with a crash of
guitar-driven thunder. Senser have arrived ladies and gents, grabbing
the venue by its throat and throttling it at 100 miles per hour.
In charge of this awesome assault are co-vocalists Heitham Al-Sayad and
Kerstin Haigh, who make an unlikely yet perfect musical couple.
Whilst Kerstin is enchanting, drenched in sex appeal with a soulful,
supernal and symphonious vocal that slides gracefully in and out of
every rhythm and drags them to life. Meanwhile, colleague Heitham gets
straight to the point with a no-nonsense approach to his politically
charged lyrics, taking no prisoners and suffering no fools.
Yet despite such a contrast, Kerstin and Heitham’s dual-vocal assault is
just the call to lead their band forcefully through a cyclone of
razor-sharp riffs and kaleidoscopic electronic noise.
As the band control the stage oozing
confidence and swagger, the popular tunes keep coming thick and fast.
The likes of ‘Switch’ and ‘No Comply’ as massive, sonic anthems, like
atomic bombs of musical energy, whilst ‘Age Of Panic’ is the soundtrack
to a heart attack brought on by sticking your head inside a Marshall amp
and having Rage Against The Machine playing at full-volume through it.
Material from their latest album ‘SCHEMatic’ sounds equally as
impressive, proving that, in a world of imitators, Senser are still,
after all this time, definitely innovators.
►
Return to
Gig Reviews
|
