LIVE REVIEW: Carpenter Brut @ The Ritz, Manchester
Since the mid 90s when electronica and metal first mixed together, there has been a steady rise in this fashion, culminating quite recently with a massive amount of synthwave, electronica, and metal groups from across the globe. Many artists have been able to merge these genres together, almost creating an entirely new one, dubbed by many as “dance metal”. This phenomenon has spawned from seemingly nothingness and is now taking the world by storm. We took a trip to the The Ritz in Manchester to check out GOST and CARPENTER BRUT in their natural element.
Support for the night comes from Michigan based one-man-band GOST, a master of his art. Throughout the night he seamlessly blends black metal elements and electronica into a deranged bastardisation that works extremely well in practice, where in theory fans of both genres would most likely steer clear of each other. While this is something that you would think not many people are happy to get behind, the room was almost packed to the walls, with the odd mosh pit and rave going on at the same time, bringing two contrasting groups together. During his performance, the light show was spectacular and accompanied by some fan favourites such as Bathory Bitch, The Prowler, Meleficarum, and a cover of NINE INCH NAILS’ Head Like a Hole. Overall, the atmosphere, the musical technicality, the stage presence and the overwhelming sense of enjoyment proves that GOST can deliver both in the studio and in a live performance.
Rating: 8/10
The main performance, the thing that everyone has been waiting for, CARPENTER BRUT. Between both performances there was your general rock music and a few classics in keeping with the feel of the genre as per usual. However, as the timeless classic Africa by TOTO kicked into to gear and had the whole crowd singing along, it was prematurely cut short by an explosion that introduced the first song of the night. Roaring in with the title track from their latest album, Leather Teeth, the band erupted onto stage with more power and energy than the studio version of the track, which is really saying something. The electricity and energy in the room skyrocketed as the members appeared on stage and got the party booming as the lights dimmed once again, kicking off the show. Countless B-movie and 80s horror clips were shown in the background to accompany the tracks as CARPENTER BRUT ploughed through their headlining set, alongside incorporating footage of the music videos to many of their major hits, stylised with the Hammer feel of years gone by.
The experience as whole was phenomenal, feature a colossal seventeen tracks, each one as intense and satisfying as the last, featuring many favourites such as Division Ruine, Turbo Killer, SexKiller on the Loose, and Beware the Beast. Not only that, but the ending track after two encores is a fantastic cover of Michael Sembello’s Maniac, causing a horde of fans to engage in karaoke en masse. The main man behind CARPENTER BRUT, Frank Hueso has proven time and time again that he can deliver a fantastic performance live and on record, as well as sell out some of the bigger venues, and judging by the reaction in Manchester, the synthwave craze is only going to heighten.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Christopher Ryan Photography:
