Underground 43

23-03-07

After eight weeks of weekly Underground shows, there was still so many previously unseen bands and reworkings of more established bands (new members, new arrangements etc.) Thanks so much to the bands that play at The Underground to prove there IS lots of great music coming from Hong Kong
love Chris B xx

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Darkness Pool
somewhere between rock and metal, but with an angry death element, lots of energy, and plenty of confident purpose. the drummer could use a little practice on getting the timing just right, but they’ve all got exactly the right idea for a really great thing. absolutely fantastic stuff, i really wish i grew up listening to bands like them. they’re the perfect mix of intensity, anger, creativity, raw meat, and tortured but carefully sculpted noise. rarely is such wide variety and creativity seen in any death metal-like bands, both in sounds, tunes, and beats. this was their debut performance, and i can only imagine what they might come up with in the future. one thing is for sure, i will be there to witness it. there is just no way to put the full excitement and intensity of their creation into words, so you’ll just have to see them for yourself. they’re more than good.
Amos

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Adversary
This band is a cross between a black cat, satan himself, a bag of rusty nails, and a violin. very sharp and insistent death metal, they could peel a tomato with sheer will power just by looking at it funny. the drummer is so precise and good at what he does that he almost seems bored, if one possibly could be in the middle of such music. adversary repeatedly shoves you at full force into a concrete wall, but in a most delightful way. if you’re a big fan of classical music, you will probably hate them, but that’s ok, because they seem to hate everything. but, that’s the dark beauty of it.
Amos

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Empty Tomb
like a slow dance through heavy rock, they’re meaty yet strangely relaxed. i can easily imagine myself leisurely picking and smelling a scarlet rose as they play. noisy and yearning, it’s not quite a waltz, but not quite regular rock either. they clearly know what they’re doing, but i don’t. a bit sad and perhaps mournful, but still with hope. sad, slow moving and noisy, i feel like i’m trying to make my way through a patch of blackberry bushes, making slow progress but frequently getting stuck by thorns in inconvenient places that i have to carefully remove before going deeper.
Amos

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Ignite The Hope
a bit more to the punk side of the rock spectrum with just a touch of death’s essence, they keep it coherent and logical while still making a fair amount of hopeful noise. they step into the rhythms and styles of quite a few types of metal and punk but never very far, instead largely sticking to fairly middle-of-the-road indie rock with just a bit of begging attitude. named ignite the hope, all i really pick up is optimistic despair. they’re very good at that though. with a different vocal style and a little more focus on all things dark and complex, they’d make a very respectable death metal band. an additional lead guitar would make them even more focused and excellent.
Amos

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ChoChukMo
a jazzy peppy sort of hard rock, songs are short and concentrated. influenced by the more daring 70s “oldies” but totally their own style. each song is a mini-epic step into a grand high-speed rebellion against drudgery. even their slow songs are a half-speed version of something much faster. any uncertainties are quickly drowned out by their deep vigor and positivity. very hard rock, but a very happy type. Love the stage clothes!
Amos

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The Train
I’ve seen The Train before when they were a three piece winning the HK World Battle of the Bands. With an additional guitarist, their sound is richer and fuller, almost trance-like, it’s nice to see The Train metamorphising into an even better band. The older versions of their songs are quite different from their performance tonight, almost like they’re doing covers of their previous recordings. Egg (vocalist/bassist) puts on a good show and the future can only be bright for this well-known band.
Mark Emerson

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Sea Monsters
super hard funk, they span many forms and versions of sanity. partly experimental and partly just nuts, they create an entirely new type of pop music, the “weird”. totally legitimate, original, and heartfelt, their exhibit of oddity will take you on many unknown turns that will take you to places you never imagined existed, but here they are. they take you down spunky big band through 70s disco to an entirely new creation like the pear-apple. seriously funky and in-your-face and unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. the eerie and insane vocals with the excited bass line drive their energy while the drums accentuated it. Adding a unique & quirky female vocalist definitely added to Sea Monsters.
Amos

Above photos © Copyright 2007 by Manek
Poster by Sheli

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