Posted by Dani Diamond 29 April 2011
Live Concert Reviews
Another dark Friday night in the alternate daemon’s lair that is Observatory and the patrons of ROAR gathered forces in various shades of black, ready to rock out to some touring bands from Johannesburg.
Female fronted WE SHALL EMBRACE and locals ARC REACTOR were openers for the evening with headlining act CHROMIUM taking to the stage with relentless aggression after an 18 hour drive through to Cape Town.
ARC REACTOR’s new bassist debuted early on in the show to a half capacity crowd who nevertheless appreciated their set. The few that had gathered at the foot of the stage were keenly observing the band that is steadily making a name for itself in the South African metal scene.
The venue filled up in time to catch the youthful and energetic performance of WE SHALL EMBRACE (JHB). Clever use of their strengths, combining clean male and female vocals with some soft screaming and some very catchy but generic riffs and dynamics made for a pleasant but predictable set. However, it was quite nice to see a non-pretentious group of kids rocking out on stage without trying to be anything other than what they are. A girl in plainly feminine attire giving it everything she’s got! They have a lot of potential and were warmly received by the distinctly hardcore metal connoisseurs that seethed in the darkness.
CHROMIUM took to the floor in front of a heaving sea of shadows. Like true metal warriors they conquered technical glitches and cable issues, disarming the threatening hordes with their on and off-stage personality. The evening was a spectacular display of the benefits of interacting with your audience. By their second song, the previously ignorant masses were captivated by CHROMIUM’s performance and the pandemonium was set in motion. They hyped the crowd with fist pumping, wind-milling and consistent drumming and by their third song the entire room was shaken up (even at the back in the bar area).
Their sharing of both clean and screaming vocals between the four band members gives them a signature assortment of tone and sound. The diversity kept their set interesting and complimented the melodies. Solid time-keeping from their drummer and a spread of theatrics from all parties ensured a fun and energetic performance.
They played tunes from their first album which tended to be more gentle and melodic and then “Finding My Own Escape” from their second album which was a faster and more drum-centred approach to their sound. There was a marked difference in the styles of the songs from each album which showcased the band’s growth and development over the last five years or so since they last played that venue in Cape Town.
They ended their set with a track called “Rise Of The Nation” from their current album and hollered “Metal is not dead” which was met with a mighty torrent of devil-horns in response.
After an encouraging show of rowdy turbulence upstairs, the patrons and band-members retired to the downstairs venue, Gandalfs, for some 80s inspired hard rock and metal classics from local DJs to show our Johannesburg guests how Cape-Town does metal.
In its entirety the night was a riotous occasion for all involved. After all, exposure to some good new metal material is always a reason to celebrate.
But then again so are the drinks specials.
Reviewed by: Dani Diamond
Venue: ROAR, Observatory, Cape Town
Date: 22 April 2011
Gig: Chromium
Official Chromium website: www.chromium.co.za
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