Live review from 22nd Anniversary Festival Day 2:
Edgy
Frozen Charlotte
Solomon
Are We Alive
Un Dia
Memory
Other Theories come in with a full set of originals and make an immediate impact.
The first song, “Edgy,” opens with a guitar riff intro before bass and drums kick in to create a huge, full sound. Eric lays down a driving bass riff that becomes the hook of the track, while Reiny works his lead over the top and KK fills everything out on drums. Kyle stalks the stage, delivering the lyrics with a power rarely heard, using reverb to give the track a slightly trippy edge while still keeping it raw and gritty. His voice acts like another instrument in the mix. The intensity from the whole band is matched throughout, with Reiny’s guitar work taking the track out strongly while Eric holds it all together underneath.
This is a really interesting band.
On the second track, “Frozen Charlotte,” Kyle picks up the guitar, and the sound fills out even more. The band clearly know how to use effects without overwhelming the song, and just as importantly, they know when to step back and give each other space—something that really benefits their overall sound.
“Solomon” sees Kyle talk about channeling anger as a positive force for mental health, encouraging the audience to use music as a form of expression. The guitars build into a wailing wall of sound before pulling back to let Eric drive forward with a heavy, aggressive bass line. His backing vocals support Kyle particularly well here. It’s a powerful track, and at this point I’m fully into the set—this is my first time seeing them, and I want more.
Then the unexpected happens. Eric steps back, gets tangled in a lead, and falls hard off the stage. It’s a serious fall, but he handles it well. As he gets back up, the crowd erupts in support—everyone clearly relieved he’s okay. Unfortunately, the sound system takes a hit, and the technicians step in to sort things out. Eric apologises for the interruption, completely unnecessarily—everyone is just glad he’s alright.
The band regroup and come roaring back, leaning into what feels like their signature style: hard-driving bass riffs, layered waves of guitar, and Kyle adding rhythm guitar alongside his commanding vocals. KK keeps everything pushing forward, giving the set a constant sense of energy and momentum.
Unfortunately, the set is cut short, which is a real shame because the band were delivering a hell of a performance. What we do get shows a strong, tight band with a powerful sound—Kyle’s vocals standing out as a key part of it, not just leading but driving the music alongside the instruments.
A band I’ll definitely be watching out for next time.
Shaun @BRG
Live review from The Underground Christmas Show:
1. Brink of war
2. Procyon
3. Alone
4. Christmas time (cover of The Darkness)
5. Bluebell
6. Way to die
7. Invisible enemy
Other Theories are no strangers to the Hong Kong rock scene and it shows in the obvious comfort this band has on stage. They kick off with a serving of “Brink Of War” with extra oomph on the side.
Their sound is a little hard to nail down. I’m feeling they’ve got a lot of influences and perhaps don’t aim towards a particular genre of rock. Vocalist Kyle Haynes certainly has a touch of the Jon Bon Jovi about him. You’d do well to find a better lead guitarist up this close than Reinhard Adick. There is nothing the guy cannot do and his relaxed demeanour only makes his talent all the more obvious.
Do we like to know who the leader of a band is? Do we care? I don’t know, but these guys give us the feeling they run their band with a democracy rather than a dictatorship. Even the drummer gets a chance to wax lyrical for the Underground crowd. Bassist Eric Ferreira really shows us what he can do with some ridiculously funky bass riffs on the band’s penultimate offering “Way To Die”.
This band’s infectious spirit is a pleasure to be a part of. They clearly love playing together and are thrilled to be here playing for us. On the whole, it’s a good set with a real mix of rock genres on display with awesome spirit.
The Underground Christmas Show just wouldn’t have felt right without a bit of The Darkness, and Other Theories gave us just that with an cracking cover of “Christmas Time”. No need to do anything fancy with it, they just let the song do the work and were fine ambassadors of the long and loving marriage between rock music and the festive season.
– Simon Donald Jones
Live review from Heavy #13:
1. Alone
2. Brink of War
3. Invisible Enemy
4. Way to Die
5. I Don’t Care
6. Procyon
Thirteen may be unlucky for some but Underground’s Heavy 13 night at Orange Peel was one of the most successful yet. A blend of hardcore rockers and intrigued music fans made for a great atmosphere, while every band brought their finest act in a night of headbanging, fearsome riffs, and singalong rock ‘n’ roll.
Fresh from an RTHK session, Underground favourites Other Theories set a cerebral tone with a dark, brooding, almost Arabic-sounding introduction. The band is heavily influenced by ’90s hard rock, including Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Audioslave, with two Gibson SGs rumbling in unison around heavy basslines and raspy Cobain vocals. The addition of a female singer, Liz Cook lent a soulful new angle – though the vocals should have been louder in the busy mix.
Charismatic lead singer and guitarist Kyle Haynes delivered an arresting performance with powerful lyrics evoking Chris Cornell and Scott Weiland, while bassist Eric Ferreira barely blinked as he alternated between funky slap styles and a much heavier, downtuned sound throughout the set.
Reminiscent of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Way to Die stood out, allowing guitarist Reinhart Adick to become the star of the show with impressive fret wizardry rising like a phoenix from sludgy riffs. Not for long though: drummer Aabhas Khanna then claimed the spotlight on penultimate song I Don’t Care with an amazing drum solo, before each member gave it their all for last song Procyon.
-El Jay
Live Review from Underground 114
1. Brink of War
2. Alone
3. Never Hold Us Down
4. I Don’t Care
5. Nutshell (Alice in Chains cover)
6. Who Are You?
7. Invisible Energy
The night ended on a much heavier and darker note with Other Theories. I’ll say right off the bat that the fact that they even chose to do an Alice in Chains cover scored them huge points with me; however, I do feel their singer over-sang it a little (alas!) and it ended up sounding more like Scott Weiland singing with Alice in Chains. Still, a worthy try and a great choice of song; if the singer can tone down his ‘singeriness’, if I may coin a phrase, it would be amazing in the right atmosphere. Make it a little more Layne Staley than Sully Erna, you know?
Anyhow, they began with Brink of War which was reminiscent of Audioslave on their first album and it immediately brought out one of their chief strengths; their drummer has major groove, and hits hard. Great to listen to at most times, but it’s best when it’s set to a mid-tempo song that would otherwise be like pop-metal. Alone had shades of Hole and was more of a classic rock song, while Never Hold Us Down had a loopy guitar riff that was worthy of one of Jerry Cantrell’s solo albums (eg. Boggy Depot). I Don’t Care was one of their best, with a staccato, choppy riff and a great classically hard rock sound in the vein of Velvet Revolver. Invisible Energy was reminiscent of a mix of Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle and Stone Temple Pilots’ Plush; it was perhaps the best encapsulation of their sound with its chugging riff and skilful singing (although, again, it would massively help to tone down the singing a little here as well). I feel that the band would benefit from going on something of songwriting bender so that they write enough songs to etch out their own sound more clearly – right now it’s a tad derivative and the songs have a tendency to sound very samey (more than one person expressed this opinion to me through their set). Still, a worthy set by them and a great way to end the night.
— Shashwati Kala
Other Theories的五位成員來自不同國家，值得一提的是主音Jordan Delfino在The Underground #114是首度跟其他隊員出show。但Jordan Delfino已經很好的融入了樂隊，他有力的聲線發揮非常穩定，並沒有被樂隊震撼的Matel音樂蓋過。樂團的bass手Sam Huggins的snapping技巧非常出色，那純熟且急速的snapping為歌曲、帶來強烈節拍感的骨幹。主音結他手於、中都奉獻出groovy的trash metal fill in。音樂以外，主音搞氣氛的能力也不俗。他在間場期間問觀眾們喜愛Justin Biber嗎，並即場歌了幾句Baby Baby Baby OH~，引來全場大笑。另外在慢板歌曲期間，樂隊呼籲觀眾揮動打火機，打火機晃動的火光比生硬的電話LED燈來得浪漫多了，構成了一個短暫但醉人的畫面。
-Dicky Kwong
