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Device @ The Pitz
19/04/08

This is obviously one of Devices biggest local gigs to date and with a whole hour for them to play with we’re probably set for a bit of a wild show. Last year had the band working their way up to the head of the bill and now they are taking the helm of a show at the Pitz at their current peak.

The crowd is getting larger, a slight improv is setting up the sound and guitarist/vocalist Joe seems to be ruling the roost, jamming out on top of a huge stack of speakers before leaping down as the gears go into motion straight into a sense of urgency with an up-tempo version of “Reflections”. It’s not all plain sailing though, as a guitar hitch near the end of “Automatic Fear” and bass trouble hits early on though the band keep going.

“Trace The Paces” is one of the newer tracks that the guys have come up with, chiming into the hall with a bit more of a refined touch than the majority of their material, yet still fitting in with the prerogative of the band’s overall sound of ballsy, swaggering rock with a progressive edge that mixes in brutal breakdowns and harmonies from Nick and Joe, the guys are certainly not resting on any laurels yet.

The lads finish off with “Whilst We’re On The Subject”, finishing the set with a force of riffs, dynamics and unashamed weight as the band swagger as the last number drives the audience into wild submission, pausing only during the final big breakdown before towers of riffs, feedback and thumping beats from Dan and Bud fill the hall with a fervour that carries on after the band finish, there’s two things for sure, Device are back with a vengeance and they are most certainly on their way up.

Craig \m/

The official Device Website
Device on Myspace

i Killed Pharaoh @ The Pitz
19/04/08

One Lockjaw band that I have seen before are “i Killed Pharaoh” , though back then they seemed a little stiff in the Musatronic days. Now we can gladly see that it isn’t the case this time, the guys are relaxed, rather jovial and sporting jerseys. The operatic vocals are the first thing to strike out during their set, leaping up and down alongside toned riffs, thundering drums and a pace that borderlines between the steady and the uneasy.

 One of the key elements in iKP’s sound that I absolutely love are their use of slap bass, hammering along some lines that create some interesting and unsettling rhythmic devices that create the basis for many of their songs, bodging together a blend of funk and angsty dischordance that seems fairly fresh compared to the usual sound in their chosen genre.

“Did I Ever Mention Policy?” includes those riotous riffs with the aforementioned doo-wop basslines, forming hooks along a foreboding melody filled with sparse riffs, the whole track teetering on a loose edge towards the end. “Septombre” fit’s into a similar niche, though the angst is turned up a few notches as melancholy harmonies and off-key guitar drag out a foreboding, decadent and raw melody.

Then we have “Upstaged” that finishes things off with a much more mainstream funk-metal feel, even capturing a few sounds akin to an early RHCP before a descending breakdown puts the set to rest. It seems that while they have mellowed between songs, their material has really developed and they are devoting the energy to what matters, substance over style.

Craig \m/

i Killed Pharaoh on Myspace