Monster Zoku Onsomb, TheKidney Thieves, DrowningKittens @ Step Inn, Brisbane(13/02/09)

Sun 15th Feb, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Traditionally one of the unluckiest days of the year, Friday 13th Feb at the Step Inn proved that it pays not to be superstitious!

With midnight fast approaching and the sizable crowd of liquored up punters recovering from the brutality that was The Kidney Thieves, interest was quickly drawn to the carnival unfolding on stage as headliners Monster Zoku Onsomb ran through one of the more entertaining sound checks the Brisbane metal scene has seen in a long while.

Coming on like the bastard child of Kraftwerk and ICP, Monster Zoku Onsomb pack quite a punch. The two female front women were dressed like cyborg burlesque dancers on crack whilst the guitarist prefered to keep his face hidden under a mask obviously made whilst channeling Rey Mysterio.

The female lead’s voice was extremely mesmerizing thanks mainly to the sound mix which turned her otherwise femme voice into a mesh of robotic grunts and grinds. And then, as if the crowd wasn’t already putty in Zoku’s hands, halfway through the first number she switched on her head mounted laser beams, cutting rays through the now smoke-hazed room courtesy of the stage’s smoke machine. It drove the kids up front wild.

There was something overtly sexual about the performance; burlesque vibe combined with androgynous overtures seconded only by the energy exuding from this motley crew of misfits. They certainly knew how to command the stage, taking charge from the get go and giving it their all, never stopping once or missing a beat. As the group played on, thirst set in and they lost some of the more hardcore metal fans to the bar. This perturbed them not, as they pulled out song after song of pure malevolence, pausing only to shoot a sly wink at anyone caught trying to perve up the girls skimpy outfits.

Musically, Monster Zoku Onsomb were flawless, although this seemed largely due to their backing tape which picked up most (if not all) of the slack whilst the girls bumped and grinded through their choreographed dance routines. With a sound reminiscent of Darkwave dance it was h extremely catchy and fun albeit possibly not in the most fitting venue as the Step Inn just ain’t metal. Having said that, if Friday’s performance is anything to go by, Monster Zoku Onsomb has certainly proven themselves to be a formidable adversary to many of the scenes not-so-interesting live acts, and will continue to pull the crowds no matter where or who they play with.