Live review from Wacken Open Air Warm Up party HONG KONG 香港:
1. Burnt Bouquets
2. 裂縫之內 （“Rift”)
3. 泯滅我 （“Annihilate Me”)
4. Sink With Me
5. White Sea
6. 挖 （Eng: FJL)
Asurababy open with Burnt Bouquets, vocalist Coma stepping straight in with clean‑to‑scream vocals. Three guitars, all seven strings, from Matt, Chris and CK stack tone into something dense – very “Tom Lee Wan Chai on a Saturday afternoon” but managing to stay concordant and hefty. Strong melodic hooks carry their post-hardcore sound, which evokes Deftones and Fightstar.
裂縫之內 (Rift) turns sharply heavier. The rhythm hits like a car crash, guitars screeching across each other while drummer Bobby pushes a hard, driving beat. Coma dredges up some truly terrifying, reptile‑like vocals, calling for a wall of death. The room splits after a brief hesitation, circle pit forming once it breaks. “They’re like employees!” an onlooker remarks.
泯滅我 (Annihilate Me) slinks in, locked onto a vicious backbone. The riffing has a Godzilla weight – a heavy, articulated stomp. Clean vocals cut through in short bursts, creating pockets of air, before the dirge slams back down. Lok’s bass work stands out here, his fast, spider‑fingered runs threading through the mix. A softer synth section pulls things back before a tight breakdown flies through.
Sink With Me brings in piano from a laptop, cinematic at the start before Coma switches to growled vocals. The fretwork gets more intricate – fast runs, pinch harmonics, then a clean harmonic solo. White Sea makes the most of her range: she moves between scream, growl and clean lines with ease. Lead guitar focuses on solo work again, with the rest holding a tight rhythmic base.
They close with 挖 (FJL). A dubstep backing drops in before Coma shifts into rap, then back into growl. The pace lifts across the band, Lok driving the low end while Bobby pushes a galloping rhythm. Someone on production finally remembers there’s a smoke machine at their disposal, issuing a symbolic puff as one last wall of death collides and the band’s final notes ring out.
-El Jay
