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The Spectacle |
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By D. J. Ivie |
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After a year and a half in existence, the band (with members from Mugzu (r.i.p.) and Shaolin Death Squad) is having a CD release party in Lil’ D for their much-anticipated Learned Helplessness. The Spectacle has garnered quite a reputation for their bombastic live show. The brutal music lends itself to Meshuggah as much as it does to the protest songs of the sixties. What really affected me was “The Shape of Punk to Come from Refused,” frontman The Scandal gushes. “It was like, wow! You can do music that is crazy, awesome, and has some sort of thought behind it.” The band is capturing the anti-establishment ethos of punk with Learned Helplessness and assaulting ears with jackhammer riffs via the twin guitar attack of The Adversary and The Divine. The Scandal’s distinctive bark commands your attention, while the rhythm section - The Savior (drums) and The Protagonist (bass) - are locked arm-in-arm like the government and big business. The Spectacle bypassed the hassles of a traditional label by releasing their album through The Scandal and Shaolin Death Squad frontman Androo O’Hearn’s DIY imprint Do For It Records. “We hear from signed bands going on tour that they’re giving 15 percent of whatever to whoever and then coming back and owing a lot of money,” he says. “So we decided to make a record label with the bands we like and do a few showcases a year.” The Scandal creates the artwork and websites for both the band and label. “We want it to look as professional as possible, and we don’t really have any money,” he states. “But we want to be heard.” He then admits that they are more into art than most bands. “Indie bands typically spend more time on these things, whereas metal bands usually just put up anything that’s horrific,” he laughs. There is nothing indie-college rock about The Spectacle’s performances. The band - which got their name from the situationist counter-culture text The Society of the Specatacle - delivers Learned Helplessness live with more intensity than is on the CD. This night, they opened with “A Legend in His Own Mind” with The Scandal jumping from the stage and plowing through the crowd - as if the crowd needed any more reason to go berserk. O’Hearn lent his chilling vocal talents on “Such People Have Corpses in Their Mouths.” Rubber Gloves was headbanging to “The Existential Divide,” as it went from pure thrash to a foot-stomping, low-end groove. The stage, flanked by red flags bearing The Spectacle’s logo, was a bully pulpit for the band, while their minions in front beat the hell out of each other. The performance ended with cheers all around and photos with friends and fans. “Now is a good time for us,” The Scandal pointed out. “When times are bad, people look for solution. We don’t have them, but we have ideas.” The Spectacle plays the Ridglea Theater, Feb. 7. |
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