Venue: Oceana Hall, Brooklyn NY (USA)
By: Nina Mende
Friday:
Brooklyn, New York. Oceana Hall. Not a common venue for an electro event like that. But, it was amazing. Triton is definitely a must attend event if you are into electro! But let me start in the beginning.
The first day didn’t start out that early. The first band did not go on before sometime around 9pm. Everything was running a little late but it was always made sure that there was music being played. The first song being played was even a remix of a song by White Lies. This already made sure: Triton was going to be amazing. The venue was beautiful: A fancy hotel lobby was transformed into a concert venue. Each band had their merch table along with a Vampirefreaks who were also organizing the festival. The light in the venue was very dim, even during the shows. But that created a special atmosphere that matched the entire festival just fine.
The first band on stage tonight was Anti-Mechanism. After a launch tour with Industrial legends Haujobb, Anti-Mechanism is one very harsh and aggressive project from Jersey. Warming up the audience was not a hard task for them. Fast tunes racing through Oceana shaking you wake in case you weren’t just yet and got you in the right mood for Triton, preparing you for the awesomeness that was yet to come during this festival. The first industrial people and ravers conquered the dance floor with flashy lights and flashy clothes.
Up next was Panzer Division. Panzer Division has been crushing audio systems since 1998 with it’s own brand of rhythmic noise and EBM influenced dark electronic sound. Their hit single “I Am Sinistar” receives heavy rotation in industrial clubs, gaining them a cult following. The duo entered the stage and first thing you noticed was the skull-like Halloween mask on. Halfway through the show it got too hot though and he took it off. The EBM tunes surely got the bodies in Oceana Hall moving along to the music, heating up Triton and the first day of this awesome festival. People had a blast.
Panic Lift already got to perform in front of a almost completely crowded venue. Panic Lift are part of Jersey’s fresh batch and were just recently playing at Wave Gotik Treffen. Their track “Hold On” became a club staple at Cybertron. Panic Lift presents a vision of crunching guitars, pulsating beats, and truly evil voices, a mix everybody enjoyed. The singer was moving around on stage quite a bit. The audience was willing to dance and Panic Lift gave them the right tunes to do so. Great show!
Up next was Celldweller. I have never seen them before but I had only heard good about them. And they did not disappoint me. As a matter of fact I totally enjoyed their music and definitely hope to see them again some time soon. Celldweller is a hybrid fusion of aggressive electronic music combined with orchestral and rock influences. Klayton, the multi-instrumentalist artist, producer, songwriter, performer, programmer, and re-mixer, is the mastermind behind it all. Known worldwide for pioneering new sounds and methods for creating his tracks, Klayton continues to generate music that resonates and relates to both fans and the entertainment industry worldwide. His music has been heard by millions between internet play and his placements in film, T.V., and video games. Their show was very energetic and you simply had to move along. Celldweller heated up the dancefloor big time. No one in the by now very crowded Oceana Hall was standing still. It was an awesome performance, I can’t believe I had never seen them before.
My definite highlight of the day if not of the entire festival was Icon Of Coil. Tonight they were playing a sort of reunion show and many people were there to see that. Icon of Coil is a Norwegian electronic music band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by Andy LaPlegua who was joined by former Sector 9 (now Moonitor and Zombie Girl) band mate Sebastian Komor to perform live. With the release of Shallow Nation, the band’s first single, Komor joined full-time. In 2000, Christian Lund joined the live lineup. Later that year the band’s first full-length album “Serenity is the Devil” was released, which climbed to number one on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. Shortly thereafter, Lund became a full-time band member. Everyone at Triton was excited to see the trio on stage. The guys played all their old hits to which everybody could sing along. The house went crazy to Icon Of Coil. The band performed very energetic and powerful, talking a lot to their fans and shaking hands with some of them. The cheering was loud after each song. It was a more than awesome performance and we all hope that they will come back more often.
Last band we watched tonight was Razed In Black. Razed in Black (RiB) is an electronic music act created by Romell Regulacion (vocals, keyboards, guitars) and is supported in live performances by band members Chris Nelson and Raj Kapololu. The band was formed in Hawaii in 1994 and signed to Cleopatra Records the following year. RiB’s music combines elements of industrial, synth-pop, darkwave, and hardcore techno. Mostly an underground act, RiB have had songs featured on television shows like “Homicide: Life on the Street” in movies, and in videogames. Regulacion has also released material under the names DJ RB, DJ Skooby, and Transmutator. Transmutator incorporates more techno and hard electro/beat elements in its musical style, while Razed in Black has more lyrically-based songs with a darker tone and a heavier pop/rock influence. Their show was very electric and reminded a bit of J-Rock or rather J-Electro with their style. Several people had left after Icon Of Coil had finished. But there were still many fans left cheering for Razed In Black, singing along and dancing to the music. The band whirled around on stage and got their fans hyped up even more.
Saturday:
The second day of Triton begun earlier. Several people were already waiting for doors to open. A sunny day in Brooklyn was not reason enough to spend the day at the beach instead of a dark and cold venue. The bands playing today offered much more than sun and beach ever could.
The festival day began with Northborne. One of Icon of Coils’ core members since 2000, Christian Lund’s own Northborne is just flat out going to own your ass on the dance floor. Christian wore a blond wig and looked like a professional pornstar, he also kept mentioning it over and over again. The show was almost without vocals. Only a few songs had vocals and for one song he had two guest vocalists on stage. People danced along to the music, and if one wasn’t, Christian made sure to motivate that person to go along as well. Northborne is a fun electro project, worth seeing!
On it went with another third of Icon Of Coil: Sebastian Komor. Komor Kommando is Sebastian’s dark techno/EBM/aggrotech club-oriented DJ alias.
Komor Kommando. Another act without vocals, and another act that got the dance floor heated up. People danced along to the EBM sounds of Komor Kommando. The venue was filling up by now and more and more people came to dance to the music, clap along to the beat and cheer out to Komor Kommando.
State of The Union was up right after Komor Kommando. Known for their club-hit “Radioman” and new “Dancing In The Dark” single, their lyrics are beautifully honest and unforgettable; coupled with melodies that will be stuck in your head for years to come. Bringing the music back on the dancefloor as well as everybody at Oceana Life Cried played one hit after another. Wonderful and catchy music performed by a great band received a lot of cheering and applause. Everybody enjoyed their performance.
Another band I had never heard of before but was definitely adding to my list of favorites afterwards was System Syn. System Syn is an electro-industrial and futurepop music group that began in 1997. Recently on tour with VNV Nation and now supporting their 2010 “Strangers” album, System Syn have been gaining momentum with their dark EBM tunes. The brainchild of Clint Carney, also known for his horrific paintings and tattoo work. Along with Adam Vex (also playing in Imperative Reaction) and Chris Kling (Hanzel Und Gretyl) System Syn rocked the Triton festival. Many people in the audience seemed to know them and celebrated their performance. Singing and dancing along to the music, cheering out loud all the time and giving back the energy the band gave their audience. The singer ran around on stage, kneeling down to their audience and singing into their faces, getting close to the fans. System Syn are a great live band you should definitely check out.
Terrorfakt was up next and without welding goggles it might be better to watch them from afar. Terrorfakt is an industrial/power noise musical project from New York City. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records. Although the project involved multiple members in its early days, it is now the de facto solo project of DJ Hellraver. Having had produced earlier albums, in 2003 they debuted on Tinman Records with Deconstruction. The stage was filled with shopping carts, metal, chains, oil drums and other items which were being destroyed with sledgehammers and grinders while the industrial music was playing. Sparks were flying everywhere as well as bits and pieces of the destroyed stuff. It was a hell of a show, but I would not have wanted to watch that from up front. People did more watch the show than actually dance along because there was so much to see on stage. The grinders were quite loud so the music was not always in the main focus either. Terrorfakt left many of us speechless with their performance. Amazing!
Back up front to take pictures everything was covered with ashes, dirt, and other leftovers of the Terrorfakt show. But now it was time for Reaper. Reaper was formed shortly before the dissolution of his NamNamBulu project and took on greater prominence following the split. The “Angst EP” was released in July 2005. The project played a number of live shows prior to the release of the full length album “Hell Starts With An H” in early 2007. The project toured Europe supporting Combichrist around this time. At the end of 2007, the EP “The Devil Is Female” was released, reaching No.1 in the DAC. The Germans now try their luck in the USA and definitely convinced the Triton crowd. Rocking through their electro songs got the people going along. Fans knew the lyrics to the songs and danced.
Closer to the end of the second day of the festival Aesthetic Perfection was up on stage. Aesthetic Perfection is an American electronic-industrial musical project created by Daniel Graves in 2000. The style is reminiscent of many aggrotech, industrial, dance music bands, while also leaning towards commercial pop and alternative music styles. Fast and danceable music played by an extremely energetic band. The singer did not stand still for any second, neither did the audience. Most people could sing along and did. Cheering after each song and shouting for more was what the band received for their awesome performance.
Sunday: Sunday was starting early with a late announced artist: Acey Slade And The Dark Party. Known as a band-member of Murderdolls and Dope to name a few, Acey Slade has stepped out front with The Dark Party. Formed little more then a year and a half ago, this highly original genre blending band has toured the US with Combichrist, headlined shows in the UK and gained fantastic reviews abroad. The venue was still a little empty because it was still so early. But nobody cared. Acey Slade And The Dark Party reminded a lot of Hanoi Rocks, lookwise and musicwise. The guys interacted very well on stage and Acey also talked quite a lot with their audience. People knew some of the songs and everybody had a good time.
Slowly the venue was filling up and the next band warmed up the new arrivals: The Gothsicles. The Gothsicles are an electronic band from Chicago, Illinois USA. Their music is generally of the electronic music variety, but deals thematically with more humorous topics than their contemporaries, often writing about classic videogaming or lampooning the musical conventions of the genre. Somehow they reminded me of an electro version of Eläkeläiset but the audience seemed to love it. The Gothsicles made fun of various hits in the electro genre.
Life Cried brought back the seriousness. From the grimey NJ industrial underground, Life Cried is becoming an international phenomenon. This new project is sure to take you back to the better days of artists such as Wumpscut and Suicide Commando while drowning you in a completely altered state of mind. This is new sinister/evil industrial at it’s best. Catchy and danceable yet dark Life Cried brought the audience back to normal. Serious sounds and vocals performed by a great artist was making the Sunday at Triton even better.
Deadstar Assembly was up next. Deadstar Assembly is an American Industrial Metal band formed in 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More looking like a Horror Punk act they rocked around on stage with their face paint and gothic outfits. Fast industrial music kept the people moving just as much as the band did on stage. Dark and gloomy with a creepy touch Deadstar Assembly sucked the audience into their own little world for their performance. People loved it.
A local band was up now: FGFC820. What happens when you combine two of New York’s most stand out DJs? You get this unforgettable immersion into true harsh EBM. Recently playing shows around South America and Mexico. Their music was right into your face. The singer wore an army outfit and was a proud America, proud to have served his country and shared this with everybody. Slightly aggressive yet very catchy their music was loved by everyone in the audience.
Another band from New York was Hanzel Und Gretyl. It seemed like everyone at Triton was a die hard fan of Hanzel Und Gretyl and ready to rock with them. Hanzel und Gretyl are an Industrial metal group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February of 1993. Due to their Neue Deutsche Härte music style and heavy use of German lyrics, imagery and German sounding pseudonyms they are often mistaken for being from Germany but are actually based in New York City to which founding members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas are native. Splattering beer all over, shouting, bawling and kicking, falling over drunk and rocking their minds out: That was Hanzel Und Gretyl live. People loved it, even though especially the front row got soaked in beer, had the guitar player falling onto them and was squished around as everybody else in the back was moshing to the music. Hanzel Und Gretyl live means a whole lot of action on and off stage.
Closer to the end of the festival Imperative Reaction performed for the Triton audience. Imperative Reaction is an electro-industrial band founded in 1996 by Ted Phelps and David Andrecht from the remains of the band D.N.A. with Ted being the only founding member left. Now he is supported by Adam Vex, Trevor Friedrich and Clint Carney. EBM standouts Imperative Reaction gained the attention of VNV Nation, who helped expose this ever evolving band. Ted and company have always brought one energetic show you’re sure to never find anywhere else. The audience went wild with Imperative Reaction performing on stage. Adam was switching between playing guitar and keyboard/synth while singing the backing vocals. Clive somehow ended up playing on the ground and Trevor drummed just as energetic as one might know it from having seen him with Combichrist. Ted was running around on stage singing to the audience making the show very personal to each and everyone in the room. For the last song Imperative reaction got Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection) and Acey Slade up on stage to perform with them. It was an amazing performance that made everyone want more. But the show had to go on.
Almost last band of the festival was Apoptygma Berzerk. Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as “futurepop”. Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia. Apoptygma Berzerk has toured Europe, North America, Australia and Israel with bands such as VNV Nation, Beborn Beton and Icon of Coil. The audience was not as excited as I knew it from European show but people still loved Apop perform. Apop played songs off all albums and people could mostly sing along to the older hits. Stephan moved around on stage quite a lot, Jonas always animated the audience to clap or sing along which everybody did. Brandon did not move around too much on stage with his guitar. For one song Joe Letz from Combichrist came to drum with the band. It was a wonderful show of Apop and I can’t wait for them to hit Europe again.
Triton was over now and it had been a blast. As said in the beginning it definitely is a must attend for all electro fans!
The first band on stage tonight was Anti-Mechanism. After a launch tour with Industrial legends Haujobb, Anti-Mechanism is one very harsh and aggressive project from Jersey. Warming up the audience was not a hard task for them. Fast tunes racing through Oceana shaking you wake in case you weren’t just yet and got you in the right mood for Triton, preparing you for the awesomeness that was yet to come during this festival. The first industrial people and ravers conquered the dance floor with flashy lights and flashy clothes.
Up next was Panzer Division. Panzer Division has been crushing audio systems since 1998 with it’s own brand of rhythmic noise and EBM influenced dark electronic sound. Their hit single “I Am Sinistar” receives heavy rotation in industrial clubs, gaining them a cult following. The duo entered the stage and first thing you noticed was the skull-like Halloween mask on. Halfway through the show it got too hot though and he took it off. The EBM tunes surely got the bodies in Oceana Hall moving along to the music, heating up Triton and the first day of this awesome festival. People had a blast.
Panic Lift already got to perform in front of a almost completely crowded venue. Panic Lift are part of Jersey’s fresh batch and were just recently playing at Wave Gotik Treffen. Their track “Hold On” became a club staple at Cybertron. Panic Lift presents a vision of crunching guitars, pulsating beats, and truly evil voices, a mix everybody enjoyed. The singer was moving around on stage quite a bit. The audience was willing to dance and Panic Lift gave them the right tunes to do so. Great show!
My definite highlight of the day if not of the entire festival was Icon Of Coil. Tonight they were playing a sort of reunion show and many people were there to see that. Icon of Coil is a Norwegian electronic music band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by Andy LaPlegua who was joined by former Sector 9 (now Moonitor and Zombie Girl) band mate Sebastian Komor to perform live. With the release of Shallow Nation, the band’s first single, Komor joined full-time. In 2000, Christian Lund joined the live lineup. Later that year the band’s first full-length album “Serenity is the Devil” was released, which climbed to number one on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. Shortly thereafter, Lund became a full-time band member. Everyone at Triton was excited to see the trio on stage. The guys played all their old hits to which everybody could sing along. The house went crazy to Icon Of Coil. The band performed very energetic and powerful, talking a lot to their fans and shaking hands with some of them. The cheering was loud after each song. It was a more than awesome performance and we all hope that they will come back more often.
Last band we watched tonight was Razed In Black. Razed in Black (RiB) is an electronic music act created by Romell Regulacion (vocals, keyboards, guitars) and is supported in live performances by band members Chris Nelson and Raj Kapololu. The band was formed in Hawaii in 1994 and signed to Cleopatra Records the following year. RiB’s music combines elements of industrial, synth-pop, darkwave, and hardcore techno. Mostly an underground act, RiB have had songs featured on television shows like “Homicide: Life on the Street” in movies, and in videogames. Regulacion has also released material under the names DJ RB, DJ Skooby, and Transmutator. Transmutator incorporates more techno and hard electro/beat elements in its musical style, while Razed in Black has more lyrically-based songs with a darker tone and a heavier pop/rock influence. Their show was very electric and reminded a bit of J-Rock or rather J-Electro with their style. Several people had left after Icon Of Coil had finished. But there were still many fans left cheering for Razed In Black, singing along and dancing to the music. The band whirled around on stage and got their fans hyped up even more.
The festival day began with Northborne. One of Icon of Coils’ core members since 2000, Christian Lund’s own Northborne is just flat out going to own your ass on the dance floor. Christian wore a blond wig and looked like a professional pornstar, he also kept mentioning it over and over again. The show was almost without vocals. Only a few songs had vocals and for one song he had two guest vocalists on stage. People danced along to the music, and if one wasn’t, Christian made sure to motivate that person to go along as well. Northborne is a fun electro project, worth seeing!
Another band I had never heard of before but was definitely adding to my list of favorites afterwards was System Syn. System Syn is an electro-industrial and futurepop music group that began in 1997. Recently on tour with VNV Nation and now supporting their 2010 “Strangers” album, System Syn have been gaining momentum with their dark EBM tunes. The brainchild of Clint Carney, also known for his horrific paintings and tattoo work. Along with Adam Vex (also playing in Imperative Reaction) and Chris Kling (Hanzel Und Gretyl) System Syn rocked the Triton festival. Many people in the audience seemed to know them and celebrated their performance. Singing and dancing along to the music, cheering out loud all the time and giving back the energy the band gave their audience. The singer ran around on stage, kneeling down to their audience and singing into their faces, getting close to the fans. System Syn are a great live band you should definitely check out.
Terrorfakt was up next and without welding goggles it might be better to watch them from afar. Terrorfakt is an industrial/power noise musical project from New York City. They are currently signed to Metropolis Records. Although the project involved multiple members in its early days, it is now the de facto solo project of DJ Hellraver. Having had produced earlier albums, in 2003 they debuted on Tinman Records with Deconstruction. The stage was filled with shopping carts, metal, chains, oil drums and other items which were being destroyed with sledgehammers and grinders while the industrial music was playing. Sparks were flying everywhere as well as bits and pieces of the destroyed stuff. It was a hell of a show, but I would not have wanted to watch that from up front. People did more watch the show than actually dance along because there was so much to see on stage. The grinders were quite loud so the music was not always in the main focus either. Terrorfakt left many of us speechless with their performance. Amazing!
Back up front to take pictures everything was covered with ashes, dirt, and other leftovers of the Terrorfakt show. But now it was time for Reaper. Reaper was formed shortly before the dissolution of his NamNamBulu project and took on greater prominence following the split. The “Angst EP” was released in July 2005. The project played a number of live shows prior to the release of the full length album “Hell Starts With An H” in early 2007. The project toured Europe supporting Combichrist around this time. At the end of 2007, the EP “The Devil Is Female” was released, reaching No.1 in the DAC. The Germans now try their luck in the USA and definitely convinced the Triton crowd. Rocking through their electro songs got the people going along. Fans knew the lyrics to the songs and danced.
Closer to the end of the second day of the festival Aesthetic Perfection was up on stage. Aesthetic Perfection is an American electronic-industrial musical project created by Daniel Graves in 2000. The style is reminiscent of many aggrotech, industrial, dance music bands, while also leaning towards commercial pop and alternative music styles. Fast and danceable music played by an extremely energetic band. The singer did not stand still for any second, neither did the audience. Most people could sing along and did. Cheering after each song and shouting for more was what the band received for their awesome performance.
Sunday was starting early with a late announced artist: Acey Slade And The Dark Party. Known as a band-member of Murderdolls and Dope to name a few, Acey Slade has stepped out front with The Dark Party. Formed little more then a year and a half ago, this highly original genre blending band has toured the US with Combichrist, headlined shows in the UK and gained fantastic reviews abroad. The venue was still a little empty because it was still so early. But nobody cared. Acey Slade And The Dark Party reminded a lot of Hanoi Rocks, lookwise and musicwise. The guys interacted very well on stage and Acey also talked quite a lot with their audience. People knew some of the songs and everybody had a good time.
Slowly the venue was filling up and the next band warmed up the new arrivals: The Gothsicles. The Gothsicles are an electronic band from Chicago, Illinois USA. Their music is generally of the electronic music variety, but deals thematically with more humorous topics than their contemporaries, often writing about classic videogaming or lampooning the musical conventions of the genre. Somehow they reminded me of an electro version of Eläkeläiset but the audience seemed to love it. The Gothsicles made fun of various hits in the electro genre.
Deadstar Assembly was up next. Deadstar Assembly is an American Industrial Metal band formed in 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. More looking like a Horror Punk act they rocked around on stage with their face paint and gothic outfits. Fast industrial music kept the people moving just as much as the band did on stage. Dark and gloomy with a creepy touch Deadstar Assembly sucked the audience into their own little world for their performance. People loved it.
A local band was up now: FGFC820. What happens when you combine two of New York’s most stand out DJs? You get this unforgettable immersion into true harsh EBM. Recently playing shows around South America and Mexico. Their music was right into your face. The singer wore an army outfit and was a proud America, proud to have served his country and shared this with everybody. Slightly aggressive yet very catchy their music was loved by everyone in the audience.
Another band from New York was Hanzel Und Gretyl. It seemed like everyone at Triton was a die hard fan of Hanzel Und Gretyl and ready to rock with them. Hanzel und Gretyl are an Industrial metal group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February of 1993. Due to their Neue Deutsche Härte music style and heavy use of German lyrics, imagery and German sounding pseudonyms they are often mistaken for being from Germany but are actually based in New York City to which founding members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas are native. Splattering beer all over, shouting, bawling and kicking, falling over drunk and rocking their minds out: That was Hanzel Und Gretyl live. People loved it, even though especially the front row got soaked in beer, had the guitar player falling onto them and was squished around as everybody else in the back was moshing to the music. Hanzel Und Gretyl live means a whole lot of action on and off stage.
Closer to the end of the festival Imperative Reaction performed for the Triton audience. Imperative Reaction is an electro-industrial band founded in 1996 by Ted Phelps and David Andrecht from the remains of the band D.N.A. with Ted being the only founding member left. Now he is supported by Adam Vex, Trevor Friedrich and Clint Carney. EBM standouts Imperative Reaction gained the attention of VNV Nation, who helped expose this ever evolving band. Ted and company have always brought one energetic show you’re sure to never find anywhere else. The audience went wild with Imperative Reaction performing on stage. Adam was switching between playing guitar and keyboard/synth while singing the backing vocals. Clive somehow ended up playing on the ground and Trevor drummed just as energetic as one might know it from having seen him with Combichrist. Ted was running around on stage singing to the audience making the show very personal to each and everyone in the room. For the last song Imperative reaction got Daniel Graves (Aesthetic Perfection) and Acey Slade up on stage to perform with them. It was an amazing performance that made everyone want more. But the show had to go on.
Almost last band of the festival was Apoptygma Berzerk. Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as “futurepop”. Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia. Apoptygma Berzerk has toured Europe, North America, Australia and Israel with bands such as VNV Nation, Beborn Beton and Icon of Coil. The audience was not as excited as I knew it from European show but people still loved Apop perform. Apop played songs off all albums and people could mostly sing along to the older hits. Stephan moved around on stage quite a lot, Jonas always animated the audience to clap or sing along which everybody did. Brandon did not move around too much on stage with his guitar. For one song Joe Letz from Combichrist came to drum with the band. It was a wonderful show of Apop and I can’t wait for them to hit Europe again.
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