Ripchord
Live (Rival Joustas / Noxious)
It must have been a hard week, as the crowd were a lacklustre bunch on this Thursday night. The lethargy continued despite excellent renditions of songs that are now becoming Rival Jousta classics, such as ‘Clarity’, and a brace of outstanding new compositions.
The front man had plenty to say between the songs, which all carried the trademark off-the-wall rock and disco rhythms. It was also clear that this band needs a longer set, not only because of the great songs that we didn’t get to hear, but also because they seemed to get cut off just as they were beginning to really warm up. The RJ’s managed an impressive set despite the sleepy audience; they are still one band that is definitely worth watching out for.
Hastings-based rockers, Noxious, were second up with a rock sound that flitted between noisy and melodic – at times sounding like Hell is for Heroes, Queens of the Stone Age, and Three Colours Red. A little more variety in the set would have been a bonus, but there were a couple of strong moments, mostly in the succession of immense chorus lines. I imagine that these are songs that hook you on the second or third listen, so don’t give up on Noxious until you have given them another chance to impress you.
With their latest album, ‘Choose Your War’, newly released, Ripchord rocked their way through forty minutes of incredibly tight material. Vocals akin to Muse’s Matt Bellamy, guitar riffs that are faster than NASA’s star-dust probe, and bass a hundred times more solid than that very same item. Despite their technical ability, Ripchord have built their sound on good songs that contain a memorable guitar lick or vocal line.
Although they will never escape some fairly strong comparisons with certain other bands, Ripchord have enough of a twist in their sound to make them stand out from the crowd… by about a mile!
Ripchord Articles
Written by Fenton on
