By Jase Walker
It’s the spookiest night of the year and I’ve decided to eschew traditional dress-up tomfoolery to get myself back to my second home in Amsterdam, Melkweg. Tonight is for some chiptune metal goodness in the form of Master Boot Record, once again another single band show in Melkweg’s UP stage on the top floor.
It’s becoming pretty evident that single band shows seem to be much more common in the Netherlands compared to the UK that frequently have at least one touring band and maybe one or two local-ish supports. Clearly this doesn’t phase the Amsterdam locals because the shows sold out and the stage area is completely packed prior to them starting.
Anyway prior to starting the screen is set behind the back to a very recognizable loading screen of Amiga OS 1.3 with its hand holding a floppy disk…suppose I better check when I can take my pension out. To the side of the stage opposite the drumkit is a set of CRT TVs and what looks to be an original Macintosh PC, complete with Amigas and a Gundam model on top of it. Should be expected from a band that names all of their songs after various tech related terms, I mean their name is Master Boot Record after all. I do wonder how many people in this crowd work in IT, the Venn diagram is probably almost a complete circle.
A hooded member of the band moves to the front and splays a set of floppy disks out in their hands to rapturous screams from the crowd: it’s nerdy time. Good god, nevermind the Amiga era music worship, the screen behind them is playing cuts of Amiga games with its signature wavy text and so many memories of my childhood are flooding back to me so quickly! All the text written in nearly unreadable fonts with varying levels of brushed metal and chrome, I’m almost having a hard time paying attention to the music because I’m on a ridiculous nostalgia trip that I totally was not prepared for.
Is that a fucking cover of the ‘Doom’ theme?! YES IT IS. This plays while flashes of the ‘Dune’, ‘Dragon’s Lair’ and ‘Doom’ itself, I actually can’t believe the goosebumps I’m getting right now. I mean you still need to play the new original material too right? ‘CPU’ shows off their more metal side with some fat riffs, noodly melodies while still maintaining that signature grinding bass sound. “Cracked at 09/04/87” I spy on the screen, in-between flashes of the likes of sensible soccer, this is matching right through my childhood while delivering the metal goods. Another video game cover of ‘Bloody Tears’ again blows the doors off and hits me right in the childhood. Oh god even lemmings and a BIOS boot screen too, I’m really struggling to figure out what to focus on and just as I type that Duke Nukem pops up too.
It’s also made me remember just how many games had Skid Row all over it too, definitely don’t think they did ‘Puzzle Bobble’ though. I do realize that I’m writing a bit of a mess between enjoying the music and stream of consciousness word vomit over my nostalgia but this experience is really hitting me in places I never considered were possible with a live show.
I suppose this somewhat epitomizes why I’m so hugely into synthwave adjacent music, the sense of love for the ‘80s and early ‘90s sound and aesthetic really appeals to me and Master Boot Record really leans into it hard. They’ve also just used a splash screen for ‘Cleveland Cracking Service’, who were a notorious group from my hometown of Middlesbrough as well, how strange.
Honestly, I loved Master Boot Record before this show but this sort of performance, the sound of it and how well they’re smashing out each song alongside the clearly carefully curated production they’ve got, has really put into perspective how much of a fantastic band these are. They’ve been around for ages and are clearly dedicated to their craft and sitting in this incredible niche that’s a love letter to gaming and music from a very specific era in the development of videogames and technology. It’s not just me that’s buzzing off every single little video game reference they’ve got though. Every time a new game comes on be it ‘TMNT, Monkey Island, Goonies’… I see so many people around me pointing and smiling at it.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band swinging around what appears to be a Castle Greyskull at a show before either, I think I’ve had quite a few “first times” this year so it shouldn’t shock me by now but it does. I also didn’t expect a bunch of footage from the game MDK in the backing video either, god I played that game so much, incredibly wacky. As we move to the end of the show, ‘Golden Axe’ gets massive cheers from the crowd, featuring yet more rapid fire guitar noodling in addition to the synthy melodies. I really can’t get over how a show like this could trigger such an overwhelming flood of childhood memories for me but I am ever thankful for it. It’s made me miss all the weird quirky games that have been lost in memory, the keygen music you used to hear when buying games from dodgy blokes at computer fares that blossomed into a genre in its own right, the unique aesthetic audibly and visually of that era.
I came to see a show with a bunch of chiptuney metal and I left having experienced an insane ride through my formative years that eventually led to who I am now as a person professionally. Thank you Master Boot Record for paying homage to such a specific slice of time that had a massive effect on me. I did not expect quite this level of emotional movement this evening and I am truly thankful for it. Rock the fuck on.
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