We arrived in time to see Cervello Elettronico, the solo project of
David Christian, aka DJ Snarf. CE’s set created an intense,
atmosphere- it is the nature of this type of music to be less of a
performance, and more to create liminal spaces for the audience to
lose themselves in, dancing or otherwise. Towards the end of,
Christian brought on his co-conspirators from a side-project called
Women Should Not Drink Alcohol, unveiling a new song titled ‘He Pissed
in a Trashcan in Noisex’s Dressing Room,’ which was purportedly
inspired by true events involving Karloz Manufactura (I’ll take his
word for it).
Soon it was time for Mono-Amine to take the stage. Mono-Amine is a
Netherlands-based hardcore, noise project from Joost Gransjean. His
live set was very powerful, with lots of crunchy thudding- feeling at
times reminiscent of an old school hardstyle rave- with the stage
bathed in light, the pounding bass and Mono-Amine’s brand of
“electronic warfare” certainly impressed.
Next up was Vendetta Music’s own W.A.S.T.E. There was a large amount
of new tracks from their latest release ‘Liquor, Drugs, and Hate’, and
the show was accompanied by clips from B-Movies and other disturbing
imagery. Vuxnut (Shane Englefield) and company created a
floor-shaking performance that sent tremors through Casselmans. This
band is definitely one of the best power electronic outfits today-
W.A.S.T.E.’s “mantra of rage” was anything but silent tonight.
Although not as full as the night before (mostly due to it being a
Sunday), a large portion of the audience this day were Combicritters,
and many had traveled from as far as Kansas City, MO, New York, and
Mexico to witness see this show.
I have to admit, my favorite set of the night was Christian Lund’s
infectiously dancey Northborne. I loved the simple presentation-
reverberating ecstasy to make you move, and the edgey TBM thumpings
kept everyone moving from start to finish; I found myself getting lost
in the contagiously catchy beats and pulmonic blasting of Lund’s sonic
architecture.
Komor Kommando was next- Seb and his co-pilot K.C. Killjoy (Cyanide
Regime) brought planet oontz to Denver. With the stage bathed in a
frentic light show, the pulsating EBM bass lines and devastating kick
enveloped the crowd in ecstatic abandon. Out of all Sebastian Komor’s
many projects (Icon of Coil, Melt, Zombiegirl, Moonitor, etc…), this
is my favorite- grimy, rock-inspired machine music at its best, no
more, no less.
“I want to make club music that people lose their minds to”- in a
nutshell, this is Komor’s credo with KK, and it works. ‘Trigger
Finger,’ ‘Das Oontz,’ and ‘Predator’ (Christian Lund joined KK onstage
for this particular track) gave Casselman’s sound system a workout
while guiding the crowd on a journey to a place “where flesh meets
metal.” This guy even had an upscale bar and venue full of Goths
jamming out to ‘Hasta Luego’, talk about a professional.
During the final stretch, it was time for more drinks with friends,
chatting with some of the fans who had travelled so far to see their
favorite bands, and fresh air. After Komor’s high octane set, the
atmosphere in Casselmans became more urgent, more sinister even- a
perfect environment for the headliner, Combichrist.
Combichrist has been a touring monster for most of the past decade
now, growing from a one-man power-noise project to the Techno Body
Music-metal hybrid it is today. The stage was bathed in light as the
band, ever the consummate showmen, kicked things off with a violent,
thumping beat and Andy LaPlegua’s commanding delivery. After touring
with Rammstein for nearly two years, Combichrist has graduated to
full-fledged rock show status: every gesture, every vocal, every synth
line and kick drum was on cue, choreographed in snow white brilliance.
Most of the set was culled from 2010’s ‘Making Monsters’- old
standards like ‘Fuck That Shit’ (off of 2007’s ‘What the F- is Wrong
with You People?”), ‘Shut Up and Swallow’, and ‘Get Your Body Beat’
sat comfortably next to newer tracks like ‘They’ and ‘Just Like Me.’
Despite the absence of current touring guitarist Abbey Nex, the band’s
heavy mix of testosterone-infused lyrics and techno-industrial oontz
swayed the crowd with an overwhelming “metal” intensity, as
Combichrist live always does. After all these years, the indispensable
back-bone to Combichrist’s live show is still Joe Letz’s drumming- his
powerful mastery over the skins resonated like shotguns over the
electronic haze.
Aside from Diverje the night before, Combichrist was the only band
over the weekend who worked up anything resembling a mosh pit- the
appeal of the band is very simple: sweat-soaked, aggression-laced,
anarchic dance fillers to fight or fuck to: anthems like ‘Never
Surrender’ and the throbbing synth burn of ‘Throat Full of Glass’ kept
the audience moving, and the shirtless testosterone high.
When the lights came back on, it dawned on us this incredible
experience was over. Over the course of three days, dozens of bands,
tons of alcohol, and meeting so many amazing people, ‘Until Death’ was
definitely a success on every level imaginable. “I don’t think I could
survive Kinetik,” I’ve said in retrospect, but if Kinetik was even
half the party Until Death was, I’d be up for the challenge.
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// custom
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$row['custom_field'] = $custom['auto_design'];
$row = array_merge ($row, $custom);
if (empty ($row['custom_field'])) $custom_field = FALSE;
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$discount_status = 0;
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// URL button
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$max_buy = $minmax[1];
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{
$txt['block_see_also'] = '';
$t = explode (',', $row['see_also']);
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$row['see_box'] = make_promo ($val, 'see_also');
$txt['block_see_also'] .= quick_tpl ($tpl_block['see_also'], $row);
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// subproduct
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$discount_status = 1;
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$discount_status = 0;
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$rowsp['note'] = (empty($rowsp['note']))? $lang['l_no_description'] : $rowsp['note'];
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$rowsp['image'] = make_thumb ($rowsp['item_id'].'_1', 'list');
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$row['digital'] = $row['digital_prod'] ? $lang['l_digital_icon'] : '';
$row['note'] = convert_smilies ($row['note']);
$row['weight'] = num_format ($row['weight'], 1);
$row['notify_select'] = create_select_form ('sub_type', $notify);
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$row['buy'] = "
