Electronic Counter Measure,Seven, Self, SimplyComplicated @ Excelsior Hotel,16/07/05

Sun 28th Aug, 2005 in Gig Reviews

At times sounding like a very heavy Stone Temple Pilots, Simply Complicated kick the night off with their strained, mashed-up metal. The low rumble and mumble is interspersed with guttural howls and growls from the brooding frontman as he throttles his mic. Like the flushing of a toilet; everybody rushes to the other bar for a smoke as soon as the band wrap up their end of the deal.

Self greet the crowd with a screaming invitation to “Kill your family / They’re all gonna die” as they walk us into the woods. Clearly the lead singer hasn’t been baptised – somewhere deep inside that metal pin-up boy is a source of pure evil. His blood-curdling scream is clear and terrifying… just the right pitch to reanimate the dead. The band are a little Korn and a lot of Tool and they deliver their dark, epic rock while swaying back and forth in that drunken, heavy metal way (think tethered yachts bobbing in a storm).

Seven originally formed in Byron Bay, however, there is very little that sounds Byron about this thumping, grinding rock machine. After touring with the likes of Cog and The Butterfly Effect, it is immediately apparent that this band has worked hard to forge a formidable live presence and attention-grabbing performance. They tear through a set jammed with thrash-ballads and bouncy metal funk, whipping the crowd into a veritable frenzy. The dude on vocals is a manic, adrenaline-dependent time-bomb, swinging between creepy whispers and gut-wrenching screams, chomping at the bit to push the audience and band further and further into the void.

Close your eyes. Imagine the sound of an angel fucking a demon. Imagine the frontwoman from Skunk Anansie beating the snot out of Aimee from Evanesence and stealing her band to serve as her nacking band. Imagine hard, chest-cavity-thumping thrash rock… the entire band smashing their heads in time with the music, hair everywhere. Imagine the guy on the squelchy electro sampler; suddenly going stiff and twitching like the circuits had shorted, his face frozen in pain. That’s Electronic Counter Measure. Like a lot of industrial strength heavy rock, tonight’s gig was a little inaccessible to the uninitiated, but if the fans are anything to go by, these guys well and truly went off.