The Triptych Tour rolled into Denver last Sunday- the line-up, including Imperative Reaction, God Module, System Syn, and Twitch the Ripper, is a “must see” for fans of modern industrial. What makes this tour more unique than most: all three of the main bands have released (or are releasing) albums pretty close to each other, and the uber-talented Clint Carney happens to play in three of the four projects taking the stage every night. Although the venue, Quixotes, was kind of strange- a hippie shack of sorts with lots of psychedelic trappings, and portraits of Jerry Garcia hanging on the walls, all the bands gave their all and fans walked away more than satisified.

New Haven, Connecticut’s Twitch the Ripper have a bouncier, alternative approach to electro- the 80s-inspired synthpop duo reminded me very much of early Bella Morte circa ‘Where Shadows Lie.’ – incorporating elements of early New Order, IAMX, and indie electro very well. They possess an aesthetic and sound not as immersed in “the scene,” and closer to Cut Copy, Rupesh Cartel, and The Knife. Supporting their album ‘Bodiless,’ Twitch the Ripper has been a touring machine as of late, opening for everyone from My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and 16 Volt, to The Birthday Massacre, and Ego Likeness. Despite playing to a sparse crowd at the beginning of the night, the duo gave their all to the loyal fans that gathered at the front of the stage: vocalist Jon Dobsyn crooned and swayed around the stage dramatically like Dave Gahan circa 1984, while Lon Bologna hammered away at tribal percussion.


System Syn took the stage next, and despite some technical difficulties early in the set, Clint Carney, Adam Vex, and Jon Siren (Dismantled, Mankind is Obsolete) put on a mercurial performance that got the crowd going. The majority of the set list consisted of tracks off ‘All Seasons Pass’ and last year’s ‘Strangers’ album, playing such songs as ‘Chemical,’ ‘The Inconvenient’, and ‘Blood’ along with new tracks like ‘An Excuse Never Received’ and ‘Good Night ‘. Despite being on tour, AND playing in 3 bands every night, Clint Carney played the front-man with gusto, running around the stage and jamming out heavily to the synthetic rock laid down by Vex and Siren- as always, Jon Siren’s explosive drumming stood out, having a tendency to seize the spotlight despite whatever else might be happening on stage.


Lurking out of the shadows to ‘Ouija’, the ambience and spookiness was high as God Module ripped into a blood-thirsty version of ‘Lucid.’ I was told earlier in the evening that Courtney Bangert couldn’t make the first round of shows, so Jasyn Bangert and Clint Carney were joined on stage by Jon Siren (electronic percussion and keys). From the opening notes, Bangert looked the image of monstrous perfection, shouting into the mic in a Leatherface mask and roughing up his custom “torso-mic stand”. The God Module staples such as ‘The Source,’ ‘Image’ (with Clint on vocals) and ‘A Minute to Midnight’were revisited, alongside new songs like ‘Extinct’and‘Devil’s Night’. One of the coolest moments of the set was when Ratt’s hair metal anthem ‘Round and Round’ received God Mod treatment. When Carney got front and center for ‘Remember’, Adam Vex snuck onstage to make a cameo appearance on guitar. At the midway point of Carney repeated the refrain “Let the fire become light,” the performance felt like a conjuring of the most nefarious kind.

The scorcher of God Module’s performance was without a doubt ‘Rituals’- with savage beats that can only be described as audio bludgeoning, the song already sounds monstrous in a dark dance club. Live, it becomes an execrable hellion with venom dripping from its jaws- Siren’s electronic pounding combined with Bangert’s vicious refrain of “The blackest night” was a sound to savor. Ending with their signature track ‘Victims Among Friends’, God Module turned a neon-tinted hippy shack into an “impious rite” of the blackest melange.


Synonymous with some of the catchiest dance anthems in the dark scene, Imperative Reaction has gone through many changes since the first albums ‘Eulogy for a Sick Child’ and ‘Ruined,’ from the harsh industrial of the early days to futurepop (As We Fall)to the industrial dance-cum-rock hybrid of today. Having recently released one of the finest albums of 2011, the band proceeded to spend the next 90 minutes ripping Quixotes to shreds. Ted Phelps has one of the best voices in the scene; from the opening notes of ‘Side Effect,’ it was obvious we were in for a stellar night: “It’s just a side-effect- nothing is wrong, relax…” he assured us, before Vex, Carney, and drummer Trevor Friedrich torpedoed into the chorus, mixing kinetic, loud rock elements with unmistakable IR synth-bass and leads. Next up was ‘What is Left to Say,’ it could almost be Innerparty System, but it grooves in a catchier, edgier way than most electronic acts.


From there, the band played a mixture of old and new- the set spanned Imperative Reaction’s history, with ‘Minus All’ and the self-titled album making up the majority. ‘Functional,’ ‘Only in My Mind,’ ‘Surface’- the first single from their latest self-titled release- and ‘Time Doesn’t Care- all became deafening, punk rock sing-along anthems live. Vex led the audience in clap-alongs and Carney kept the energy high. Likewise, numbers like ‘Siphon’ and ‘Song of the Martyr’ (with its almost-heavy metal chorus) ripped through Quixotes with naked, primordial abandon -“bleed on command” indeed. Trevor Friedrich’s formidable drumming gave every song a resonating and maximious savagery, while simultaneously retaining the definite “funk” and “groove” of Imperative Reaction’s brand of alternative-industrial-rock that many bands in the scene lack. Returning to play ‘Giving into the Change,’ Phelps and company tirelessly rocked the crowd into the final encore, with Jasyn Bangert joining for a riotous rendition of ‘As We Fall.’ Systematically tearing the stage to shreds, when all the band members joined voices, the chorus became a roaring, sweaty slab of punk rock enveloped in aggressive electronics.


The only negative things that can be said were completely out of the bands’ control- from a purely audience standpoint, the show looked under-promoted, and Quixotes was completely the wrong venue and lackluster for a night of this magnitude. Despite these minor problems, I can’t recommend the Triptych tour highly enough- each band was not only extremely gracious but gave 110% of themselves both onstage and off. In terms of quality and wealth of new material, the Triptych tour is an unbeatable value, and if ever there was a band that deserved to break into the mainstream NOW it’s Imperative Reaction. If this twisted carnival rolls into your town, do yourself a favor and go- the Triptych Tour is a must see event.