27 May 11

Hey, blogspot readers, ready to rock? How about ready to punk yourself all night long to hardcore industrial music? Tonight, this party gal of the local scene, dressed in her stylish punk gear, attended The Abbey's rockin' night of metal-tastic punk/post-apocalyptic industrial music featuring her good friends, Cyanotic! The packed venue also rocked to performances by Dismantled (CA), and Front Line Assembly (Canada) with DJ sets by Acucrack and Scary Lady Sarah. Though having to leave before the end of Front Line's headlining show, this reviewer highly suggests checking out this band as well as the others mentioned within this review.

Combining the use of visual and audio throughout this opening set, Dismantled instantly had this crowd reeling from its dark energy, emotionally charged music. SouthSide enjoyed this band's heart-thumping sound which featured raw yet primal screamo-like vocals electrifying the lyrics. Dismantled as a whole rocked the stage on nonstop high octane of fiery momentum that was also hauntinly creepy and sexually blistering to the touch. Even while having the tempo and energy down a bit, each member still pumped an excitable vibed into the music especially during the song, Diseased, off Dismantled's upcoming album. This reviewer enjoyed feeling (as well as hearing) the full effects of front man Gary's primal angst wafting over the mic amidst the fast-paced head banging melodies of techno keyboards (by TZA) and hardcore industrial percussions (by Jon) combined. Dismantled's blast from the past, an old school punk/industrial song, fired up the crowd with its digitalized vocals and energetic tone. And coupled with a random montage of visuals projected on the screen behind the band, they created a synthetic rush of dazzling music and sound. Visit Dismantled at http://www.facebook.com/dismantled or http://www.myspace.com/dismantled for more details on music and where they'll be rockin' again.

Combining the elements of metal, industrial and rock (and sometimes also the calming meditative tone), local rockers Cyanotic rocked out the med gen (in reference to their current album) crowd with a fantastic homecoming performance, blogspot readers. These intense rockers had something for everyone to enjoy - head banging rock for the metalheads, primal emotionals (lots of angst by front man Sean) for the screamo lovers, and hardcore grit of the industrial sound for everyone else. This band not only fired up the crowd with its music but kept them in a visual drug-like state with the random images on the screen. And since we do live in a med gen world (a pill these days can cure weight problems to erectile dysfunction), Cyanotic perfectly captured the changing effects of modern times throughout their songs such as the title track, med:gen and comadose (the state at which our daily dosage puts us in a calming stupor). SouthSide also highly recommends rockin' to Cyanotic's f@5hi1on_v1ktum5 (industrial meets hardcore metal rock) and alt_machine.edit (OCP robots are now in control) - both songs plus comadose get plenty of airplay on SouthSide's iPod. However the enitre album is a worthy addition to anyone who enjoys metal and industrial music. Visit http://www.cyanotic-online.com or find Cyanotic on Facebook for more details.

After DJ Acucrack's continuous flow of remixed industrial/cyberpunk music (featuring some digitalized vocals), Front Line Assembly took command of the stage with a thunderous intro which instantly perked up the throng of fans. Immediately, SouthSide relished in this band's dark mystique that surrounded the music of gritty Euro-trash punk/industrial sound - quite intense and fast paced in tempo. In other words, blogspot readers, prepare for a rush of metal-tastic sound and energy like no other because this music will do more than cause you to bang your head. Front Line's music will make you want to "riot" against the confines of soceity ...mosh or slam dance with your neighbors around you as noted from the view where SouthSide sat in the balcony. Your loveable party gal was very safe from harm up there. Besides the music rockin' between the ears, your eyes will feast on the dazzling strobe lighting and smoke machine fx throughout FLA's set. And with some help from The Abbey's light and sond engineering team, this reviewer enjoyed how they added a bit more depth in capturing this band's rebellious nature for the fans. Yet in a way this was a nostaligic performance for the band since they first performed at The Abbey 27 years ago and now rockin' it out with such electrifying momentum and style. By the sound of the enthusiastic responses to each song performed, this crowd was certainly soaked every drop of FLA's performance. Visit http://www.frontlineassembly.com or http://www.myspace.com/frontlineassembly for when and where this electro band will be performing next.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide