KERRANG! 59Don’t do that, George- you’ll stretch it
PhotoS:NICK KARPGosT
- ORAX
UNDERWORLD, LONDON 12/06/2019
KKKKK
A night of two halves in London
for aggressive synthwave duo
■ Once the nuclear apocalypse has settled
and the remainder of the population goes
underground for shelter, GosT will be there,
soundtracking this dystopian future. Not just
because of their dark, industrial synthwave,
but they’re also so abrasive they’d probably
survive out of sheer spite. Opener ORAX, on
the other hand, are more likely to end up on
a straight-to-DVD version of Total Recall. The
electronics are futuristic and weird enough,
but they’re also cheap and done so much
better by others, an observation rammed
home after being subjected to an hour of it.
In their own way, GosT bring about moments
of pure brilliance and synthwave evil tonight.
Sadly, that tends to be when they allow their
impressive light show, shadowy aura and
goth-rave bangers to do the talking. As soon
as the live vocals kick in and they attempt
their best Grave Pleasures impression, a lot
of the energy and mystery of this hooded
band feels lost, almost too human. Despite
that, though, the small but loyal crowd do
spend the entire show throwing some pretty
impressive shapes. It provides fleeting
glimpses of what synthwave can do, and
with a few tweaks GosT could follow in the
footsteps of Carpenter Brut and Perturbator
to stardom. JAMES HINGLE
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
- WALKING PAPERS
O2 FORUM KENTISH TOWN, LONDON
13/06/2019
KKKKK
Sun-baked California rockers blast
away the summertime blues
■ “They’re just like I remembered them,
Robert,” says Stone Temple Pilots’ languid
guitarist Dean DeLeo to his bass-wielding
brother, marvelling at a room bursting
with raised arms and voices. He smiles,
acknowledging that “it’s been a long time.”
Nine years, to be exact, since the San
Diegans last walked on to a British stage,
and the intervening years have been marked
by tragedy – founding singer Scott Weiland
passed away in 2015, and was replaced by
super-fan Chester Bennington of Linkin Park,
who also tragically left us two years later.
Tonight, rejuvenated with excellent new
vocalist Jeff Gutt, STP return with a show of
strength that is nothing short of heroic. As
a warm-up, Walking Papers’ juke-jointing
blues goes down smooth like the third
bourbon of the night – as singer Jeff Angell
testifies in his tobacco-stained holler – and
saxophone blares raise hell. The house
practically comes down, though, when
Stone Temple Pilots arrive. The taut riffs of
Vasoline pulse with the same delinquent
psychedelia that made this band behemoths
of ‘90s airwaves, and Jeff’s sneer fits the
bill perfectly. As an a cappella rendition of
Plush raises spirits in the crowd to ecstatic
highs it feels like the band have never
missed a beat, before Sex Type Thing closes
the evening in smutty glory. It’s a superb,
welcome return. Scott and Chester would
be proud. JAMES MACKINNON
ALEXISONFIRE
+ DRUG CHURCH
TERMINAL 5, NEW YORK 08/06/2019KKKK
Post-hardcore legends return to
NYC after nearly a decade away
■ “Fuck! Night! One!” Those words
reverberate around these concrete walls,
shouted by some 3,000 people at the
behest of the band. Tonight is the second
of two in New York for Alexisonfire, the
Canadian post-hardcore heroes’ first shows
here in nine years. Post-chant, the band
launch into the ferocious yet soothing To
A Friend and the crowd explodes into a pit
of fast and furious energy.
First, though, Albany’s Drug Church get
things in motion. Theirs is a slower kind of
energy, but frontman Patrick Kindlon is no
less mesmerising for it, and the endearingly
miserable, misanthropic hardcore of Drunk
Tank is the perfect way to start the evening.
Alexisonfire then ramp up the pace
significantly. They walk onstage to a chorus
of horns blaring over the PA, and the crowd
erupts. Both that energy and the atmosphere
remain extremely high throughout their
set. The band haven’t played much sincereturning from their three-year hiatus in 2015,
but Crisis, We Are The Sound and This Could
Be Anywhere In The World are firm reminders
of just how good they were – and still are.
Much of that is due to the interplay
between Dallas Green and George Pettit’s
vocals, but really it’s the way all five of them
distribute the power of their songs between
each other that makes them so special. They
slow things down at the end of the encore,
with George wading into the audience as the
band turn Happiness By The Kilowatt into a
powerful cover of Prince’s When Doves Cry
for a stirring, triumphant finale.
It’s an exhilarating, thrilling, explosive
return – God only knows how chaotic a third
night would have been. MISCHA PEARLMANThe buffet in the
photo pit looked
amazing, evidently