LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: Dragged Under @ Mixone Sound Productions, Orange County

It’s just over a month since DRAGGED UNDER released the deluxe edition of their debut record, The World Is In Your Way. With its gigantic hooks and buckets of pit-inducing savagery, the album felt ready-made for a live setting. For obvious reasons, such a setting can’t quite take the form the band probably had in mind when they were putting the record together. That said, a livestream is nonetheless an exciting opportunity for the quintet to share their music with an already sizable fanbase.

The stream kicks off with electronic glitches and warning messages, one stating: “Look what you did! You f#&%ing idiot.” The band soon appear decked out in matching white suits, with each member sporting a different colour tie. It’s a slick look, hinting at the professionalism which has already set DRAGGED UNDER apart from many young bands. They quickly kick into Just Like Me, one of the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of the record. The song’s a real rager and a solid choice for an opener. It also features the first of many earworm choruses that’s sure to have fans singing along on their sofas.

Much like on The World…, one of the most attention-grabbing features of DRAGGED UNDER‘s live performance is vocalist Tony Cappocchi. It doesn’t take long for him to show off his skills here, delivering a jaw-droppingly savage scream over Just Like Me‘s crushing breakdown. Indeed, Cappocchi‘s harsher stylings are a consistent highlight, sounding every bit as visceral as they do on record. He also nails most of the huge cleans, although there are a couple moments where he seems a little breathless. This isn’t a major issue – it doesn’t happen all that often, and one can hardly blame him considering the sheer pace of much of his delivery.

After Just Like Me, we get the first of several short visual interludes which break up the set. This one features clips of marching soldiers and mushroom clouds, before the band suitably tear into Here For War. The song is another hard-hitting, raucous track, as is The Hardest Drug which follows. Both also feature enormous anthemic hooks, with bassist Hans Hessburg adding solid clean backing vocals and harmonies. This is something Hessburg does well throughout the stream, and particularly on the infinitely catchy Chelsea which comes later on. Guitarist Ryan Bruce also brings his backing vocal A-game, mostly opting for more abrasive stylings which add real savagery to the heavier sections in particular.

Next up is The Real You, the opening track on The World… and another absolute rager. By this point, it feels as though DRAGGED UNDER have hit a groove. Much like on the record, the song is a set highlight, and it’s clear the band are having fun too. When we hit the huge swaggering breakdown, it’s hard not to join in the headbanging at home. From here, the band roll straight into Chelsea, the first time they do so without a video interlude. This one’s a little less savage and more straight-up catchy. It feels well placed in the set after the visceral opening run, and of course still provides a huge singalong.

While Cappocchi may stand out, everyone in DRAGGED UNDER holds their own. Bruce, Hessburg and fellow guitarist Sean Rosario all nail the often technical riffing. Rosario‘s lead work is impressive too, especially on tracks like the already-mentioned The Hardest Drug. He also offers up a couple of short but sweet solos, namely on Chelsea, and later, on Feel It. Behind them, drummer Kalen Anderson makes it look easy as he remains a constant driving presence. All of them benefit also from the stream’s crisp, clear production, with Anderson‘s drums sounding especially massive. Crucially, while there’s no question the band are tight, it’s clear they haven’t overly polished their performance in post-production. Instead, a few backing tracks aside, the stream has a real live feel – an essential for music this energetic.

The set ends on a solid run of Instability, Feel It, and Hypochondria, with the whole thing clocking in at just 30 minutes. The short runtime works to DRAGGED UNDER’s advantage. It means they’re able to cut a couple of the more throwaway tracks off The World…, although some may be disappointed not to hear Roots – a firm highlight from the record.

Short video interludes aside, the stream doesn’t offer loads to write home about visually-speaking. The band opt for a relatively simple cube-like stage, with the usual kind of backing animations and lights you’d expect at a live show. They do insert the odd superimposed animation effect, but in all honesty, these don’t add loads. That said, the blood effect when Cappocchi feigns putting a gun to his head in Hypochondria is pretty cool.

Realistically, the visuals shouldn’t be a major sticking point anyway. With this livestream, DRAGGED UNDER have comfortably proven that they are more than capable of delivering on the massive energy they captured on The World Is In Your Way, and as news of vaccines offers a hopeful end to all this COVID-based hell, band and fans alike will surely be looking forward to sharing these songs in the settings they were designed for. When they get they chance, it’ll definitely be worth checking out.

Rating: 8/10