By jase Walker
Apparently my move to the Netherlands has been well timed as all of the small bands I’m a fan of from the ÜK are just in the process of striking out into the continent and I get to see them up close as a result.
Tonight this is SCALER in Utrecht’s EKKO! To say I’m a bit excited to see them at their own show in a cozy room as opposed to a dirty festival tent is a massive understatement. And not just that, their support act for the evening, TTFO, has vocals provided by the singer of another band I love from Utrecht, Ontaard! So lets get stuck in eh?
TTFO gets things started and I immediately get a feeling of influences from the likes of Crystal Castles mixed in with some breakcore for good measure. A quick check of their Instagram page labels themselves as “Death Rave” which weirdly isn’t the first time I’ve come across that term thanks to Violent Magic Orchestra.
Their singer paces around the floor of the room, one hand behind her back and looking menacingly at everyone in the room spitting aggressive words while the other plays aggressive Drum and Bass to supplement. At times the drum and bass style amps up the intensity to the point of sounding similar to something Underworld would do. There’s a solid variation of sound, always bass heavy with vocals that sometimes hover a bit under the rest of the mix and occasionally jumping up to the forefront in more intense moments.
It’s almost like listening to a story or emotional monologue set to the background of ever more intense breakcore, a mix of screamed vocals and relentless rapid drums. Admittedly at times I’m a bit amused as their singer paces aggressively through the room with the mic cable trailing behind her and people having to carefully step over it so as not to get lassoed by it around their ankles. The last song gives me massive musical whiplash as it musically reminds me massively of the soundtrack of the Streets of Rage games! I mean I’m absolutely into it but it just really hit me like a bit of a curveball. A solid start!
And for the headline, it’s time for SCALER!
Music booms over the speakers as a video plays on the screen in the background, as the video moves on the members of the band vault onto the stage to take their positions. Each hit of the bass drum and snare pounds my chest like a gunshot every single beat, the low rumbling bass shakes my legs while the saturated melodies smother me like a blanket.
Actually getting to see these up close really shows just how much kit they have on stage to make this sort of show possible. There’s barely any room for any member to move around, fully anchored to the spot as they put out their onslaught of noise. Their material from Endlessly goes so incredibly hard live and is a totally new dimension to what I remember from their shows at ArcTanGent. I remarked on their new album having clear influences of Massive Attack and the like but Aphex Twin shines through very strongly as a live experience.
SCALER jumps between various rhythms and time signatures throughout the show, almost functioning as the demarcation point between songs as there’s seldom a moment of silence for applause. The whole concept of a live band playing Techno(adjacent) music is still a relatively new concept to myself alongside the likes of these, Teeth Of The Sea, Komforttrauschen, Black Beach, Velocity Made Good and the like but I am absolutely sold on this.
The sort of room everyone’s packed into at EKKO is absolutely ideal for this kind of show and I kind of wish I could have seen them play somewhere like The White Hotel in Manchester too. Honestly I’ve been a little bit too lost in the music to really take a proper stock of what’s happening around me as I’m totally drawn in by the hypotonic visuals on the screen behind the band and just the fucking incredible music being forced into my ears. I feel like experiencing SCALER in a much more intimate environment compared to a massive tent at Arctangent has truly increased my appreciation for them.
There’s no pretense of being at a festival where people in the tent may just be there for a bit of a mess around because it’s a festival, this is a show where everyone here is to specifically see SCALER and the feeling of being surrounded by people on the same page truly adds to the feeling of it all.
Overall I am eternally thankful to Arctangent festival for putting these on and allowing me to discover them a few years back. SCALER are a truly unique experience that will bind together metalheads and technoheads in equal measure and this is just the start of them making their mark on the wider continent. A truly unique band and experience that you will be kicking yourself for missing them in places like this in the near future.
Absolutely fucking phenomenal. I’m so happy to see a band like SCALER here and it was every bit as awesome as I hoped it’d be.
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