Ritual Noise presents… SURGYN / Terrornation + [cYbEr.dYnE]
August 5, 2011
Lancaster, United Kingdom @ The Yorkshire House
Review by: Debbi Baldwin
The dimly lit yet strangely inviting intimacy of the Yorkshire House’s upstairs was the location of my night out this week, as it played host to three fairly different but equally entertaining industrial/EBM bands.
First on the bill was local band Cyberdyne, bringing their crushing industrial sound to the stage once again. With new song ‘Afraid to Dream’ added to the set list, the tracks flowed even more seamlessly into one another, invigorating the audience and shaking the walls. Having introduced a laser and a smoke machine to their show, there were many eerie moments where none of the band could be seen, and only vocals and flashing lights could be distinguished through the fog. Their combination of harsh and clean vocals over an incessant dance/metal backing track had the crowd jumping, and was definitely the best way to introduce the night.
Although they had a hard act to follow, Dundee based act Surgyn were definitely up to the challenge. Having previously opened for Angelspit, Deviant UK and Kovenant, to name but a few acts, they could have turned down a gig to play alongside local Lancaster acts, but they held nothing back from their performance. Having not seen or heard any of their stuff before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The duo consists of Ross, fabulously camp , who describes himself as a ‘one man industrial gay scene’ (think Marc Almond meets Rocky Horror) and Ollie, who is less outwardly flamboyant but balances the act with his own brand of extroverted stage presence. They come across as being slightly arrogant, but it sort of feels necessary in order for their stage persona’s to work so effectively. After donning make up and S&M doctors outfits, the show could have gone down an alternative cabaret route, but their brutal mix of theatre and pounding beats ignited the crowds enthusiasm and had everyone hooked from start to finish, proving a worthy adversary for Cyberdyne’s full on, energetic perfomance.
Last but not least came headliners Terrornation. Having changed their name from 19NinetyNine, I was expecting a new sound or a new show, something to set them apart from the old. Well they looked like 19NinetyNine, they sounded like 19NinetyNine, but they have now incorporated a different girl into the insanity, whose sole purpose, it seems, is to sporadically shout ‘hey’ during songs. She had apparently travelled for 14 hours to be there but, unfortunately, I doubt anyone would have noticed if she hadn’t turned up. In all fairness, they brought with them their solid fan base who remained enthusiastic throughout. The catchy songs from the bands previous guise were still present, and you can’t help but get pulled along with the current of enthusiasm and energy that the bands members put into the set. They obviously put their hearts and souls into each and every song, and the crowd repaid them accordingly.
All in all it was a brilliant night, and I advise anyone who hasn’t yet listened to tracks from these artists should definitely give them a go.
