About a year ago (I’m terrible with dates) my better half went to see one of her bucket list bands, Ice Nine Kills.
If you’re not familiar with them, they combine all the things my girlfriend loves. If you’re not familiar with her… that’s horror, metalcore, and a flair for the dramatic. On that occasion, Skynd supported them and it’s all I heard about. Music that would have the FBI putting the crowd on a list if we lived in the world of Criminal Minds. Industrial serial killer rock! And we’re having it in a house of God, of all places!
A duo by the name of Zetra open the show while the impressive crowd are still coming in through the door. Zetra are the most goth looking band I’ve seen. Extreme death metal make up and some pretty cool black gowns. The stage is adorned with chains and they stand up on two plinths on top of a group of TVs showing… I’m not too sure…
It is some sort of imagery, but not as dark or extreme as I’d put on them. That’s the thing about Zetra… the music is really accessible. It’s melodic, there’s no screaming, and I certainly didn’t hear anything about sacrificing goats or anything of that sort. What they perform is really well crafted industrial gothic music. Imagine if Echo did the Donnie Darko soundtrack in the modern era. It’s atmospheric with lush synths and samples.
The guitars are distorted but not too heavy that they would scare the kids. The make up doesn’t really match the music in my mind, but I’m no expert in these matters. What I do know is that I might not listen to them based on a photo (which would probably be taken in the woods somewhere) but I find myself really into the sound.
Skynd walks into our lives and we’re greeted with an androgynous, other worldly, being. The aesthetic is insane to the point that you forget you’re in the presence of another human. As soon as the singing starts, you begin to doubt it. Following a sound byte about Richard ‘The Nightstalker’ Ramirez, we get hit with an incredible operatic voice worthy of whatever prestigious places opera singers perform.
The mind-blowing part comes when that voice instantly turns into a child-like, haunting tone. If I listened to this on a recording, I could dismiss it as multiple takes and over dubs. I’m seeing it happen live though and it’s impressive beyond words. There’s obviously some modulation going on at the mixing desk but not enough to convince me that there’s not serious talent here. Most of the music comes from a masked multi instrumentalist who goes by “Father”, so I’m told. He stands at the back of the stage rocking away while Skynd performs well rehearsed routines to each macabre song.
There’s no mystery to what each song is about with each title spelling it out. We have ‘Richard Ramirez’, we have ‘Elisa Lam’ and we even have ‘Columbine’. A set list that reads like a list of murderers, victims, and tragedy. It’s reads like that because that’s exactly what it is. The subject matter is always going to raise eyebrows, but as we live in a world where true crime podcasts are a sleep aid, it’s not as controversial as it could have been.
Musically, it’s very solid new industrial rock. There’s samples, gritty bass lines and nice drum work, but the vocals work is always going to be the star here. The vocals add to an atmosphere that’s been built on the theatrics and lights. Theatrics is the right word to describe this… it’s not quite art house but it is a spectacle. A live action grimoire or horror anthology that’s played out in front of us.
If you have a dark streak through you… and we all do… then this is the perfect way to indulge it. I might not listen to the recordings with as much glee, but live with all the sinister atmosphere, it’s really something to experience. Even if it’s just out of morbid curiosity… you should too.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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