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The Sanitarium 03
(Flyer)
Gig Review written by Mithotyn
Band lineup (in order of appearance): Silent Carnage, Demise, MetalGunz, v3h3m3nt, Metalheadz, Harvest Dawn, Demonification, Rejex, IronFist.
Great Metal bands lineup, $6 tix that comes with a free v3h3m3nt cd. What more can I ask for in a gig? I went in at around 3.30pm, found a nice seat in front and waited patiently for the gig to begin.
As promised, the gig kicks off at around 4pm with Silent Carnage covering Arch Enemy's 'Enemy Within'. It was quite awhile since I last saw them played at Jammerzpit. I was impressed by the soaring vocals and the guitar harmonising at that time, so I was really glad to be hearing from them again. The 5 piece band played quite decently throughout their set, especially their cover of Death's 'Symbolic'. In the middle of their set, the vocalist came down and mingled with his few supporters in front. However, it was just too bad that they were the first band to play, therefore not many people was coming to the front to give support.
Next up was the melodic death band Demise. It was their debut gig so not much expectations were set on them. They played mainly their own songs 'Demise', 'The Beast', and 'Burning Soul'. They covered Misfits and Rotting Christ's 'Dead Poem' which I think was quite decently done. However the overall sound of Demise wasn't that good. And when the guitarist/vocalist started playing his guitar, I couldn't really hear the drum rolls. The worst thing is during one of the songs, the bassist didn't even know that the bass amp wasn't switched on! Nevertheless, it was a pretty promising show from a band playing in their first gig.
The next band that played was MetalGunz with big guy, Taufik on bass/vocals. He reminded me of some WWE wrestler. As usual, they kicked off the set covering Testament's 'Low'. The response from the crowds seems to be good. However when they started playing Iron Maiden's 'Hallowed Be Thy Name', it was the best moments of the gig. People from behind started joining the crowds in front, headbang and sang along to the song. After that, they played songs by Sodom, Pantera and Testament and also a piece of their original song. I must admit that they do not sound as tight as before maybe because of their new sessionist female drummer. This is their third drummer I have seen them used already. I hope they will do something about their drummer issue so that they can focus more on their music rather than going around finding drummers.
There was a break of about 15 minutes before v3h3m3nt start their set with a Godsmack's cover. After that they played a few of their originals like 'Break...Loose'. What makes me respect them was their covering of System Of A Down's 'Know'. It was one of the difficult songs from System Of A Down but they played it quite effortlessly. Both the guitarist and bassist know how to make full use of their gadgets well, thus making their sounds more technical, varying and professional. They ended of their set with a cover of Faith No More's song which the bassist proclaimed they did not rehearse the song at all. Although I must say that their music is not really my cup of tea, but I still enjoyed watching them play. I think they have one of the best musicianship around.
Metalheadz (Singapore's very own Metallica) was the next band that played. I have already seen them performed at Jams The Club before so I knew what to expect from them. They are truly Metallica all the way man! Even the guitars they used are the same! Fortunately they didn't play anything from the 'Black' album onwards so it was old school Metallica songs throughout. From 'The Four Horsmen', 'Battery', 'Creeping Death', 'The Shortest Straw' to 'Damage Inc', I can see they were having alot of funs together with the crowds. I have never seen bands played with so much enthusiasm before.
Up next was Harvester Dawn, a 4 piece band. I remember the first time they played at Jams The Club, the guitarist was already wearing a face mask then (How he knew about SARS then?). The bassist reminds me of John Myung because of his 6 string bass. They started the set with some crappy acoustic song and an Audioslave cover before they covered Pantera's 'Cemetary Gate' and Metallica's 'No Leaf Cover' with guest guitarist, Ryan. The vocalist displayed some charisma of a frontman but to me, I think he whines alot. I saw new faces standing in front and I guessed they were the band's friends maybe? Fortunately, they ended their set with their prog metal original which really show everyone their musicianship. I hope in their next gig, they will play more of their own songs rather than covers.
When Demonification took onto the stage, many people were rushing to the front to headbang to the all mighty THRASHMETAL KING! Even Arifin from Impiety came down to give his support. Stickman, Dagoth was at his usual thunderous self. Faizal and Ferox was also at their best, especially frontman Faizal who was clearly mixing well with the crowds. They played mostly their own songs before covering Sodom, Motorhead's 'Ace Of Spade' and Kreator. A very good thrashy and brutal set by Demonification.
Next band on stage is Rejex. Not many people were on the floor to give their support, maybe because they were a punk band? Or maybe because they were saving the last for Iron Fist? Only 5 punks were in front moshing. I can see that the vocalist was quite pissed off for the lack of support. Worst still, they were often plagued by the noisy feedbacks from the amps, and at one time they had to change the cable which was quite unprofessionally done. I think I enjoyed watching the punk moshing more than Rejex playing. A very bad set indeed.
The final act if the gig was from the most visual and entertaining bands in Singapore right now, Iron Fist! Their trademark stage antics were evident with Arif aka Rape Alhazred coming onto the stage wearing only a leather jacket and thongs only. They sound alot more tighter and more in sync with each other's playing than last time. The best moment for all of us must be the special guest appearance by $uicide $olution's Elsa! The fact that the crowd started clapping more after the song was an indication. Love that whip man!
In conclusion, the gig will be a successful one if not for the lousy air-con. The place was also abit too small for metal gigs. But nevertheless, me and my friends did enjoy the gig as whole. It was also great to see many new faces in the gig. Thanks for Metalheadz for organising such a great gig! |
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