GiggingNI.com

We are Resistance

With Jack Change It; The Zhuks;

Mantic are dead, buried and never to return. They had a fairly good run, worked hard and almost made it, but many things didn't go to plan and the constant struggles, such as line up changes in recent years, held them back. Not to worry though there is a brighter future ahead and It's in the form of "We Are Resistance". A heavier, tighter, slightly more mature, focused, committed and rejuvenated band, comprising of the six key members of Mantic and the voice of Donal Scullion, of N.I Soul troop. This new amalgamation has given some of the former mantic material a breath of fresh air and is taking W.A.R on a journey of musical discovery with some new material. They have created a unique sound that makes them distinctive amongst the plethora of bands that currently over saturate the local music scene by taking influence from the Mars Volta, they layer heavy intricate riffs and melodies, bound together with the driving energy of Rage against the machine, paying particular interest to the pounding grooves, and the slick jazz like undertones of Frank Zappa.

Their first gig in the Cellar on 18th April with an impressive turnout, considering they are a new band, everyone was eagerly awaiting the arrival of W.A.R. As the news traveled quickly that We are resistance were about to begin, the dance floor filled up. They broke into their first song, and hypnotically entranced the audience with their powerful melodic phrases. The band seemed enraptured by the crowd response and genuinely excited to be on stage once more the atmosphere they helped create was electrifying and extremely infectious. The audience anticipated the rest of the set, which packed such a punch of high energy dirty funk grooves, slick, sexy melodic guitar lines, earth shattering drums and aggressive yet heavenly vocals. They performed former Mantic tracks such as 'P.S.A', complete with psychedelic vibes and triptastic grooves suggesting a lot of built up aggression. 'Teranova' a hard hitting riff based track with a heavier edge and lyrics that are literally out of this world and 'Just One Minute', a soulful epic song, with a lot of emotion. The tempo and dynamic changes are executed well and the highlight is the melodic bridge where the second guitar shines. They also broke out three new tracks that are jam packed with definitive melodic and rhythmic ostinatos, solos to hum along to and vocals works of a lyrical mastermind. With every bead of sweat that dropped the band grew more intense and the mission to get everyone dancing was definitely completed successfully.

However, there is such a massive sound built up between the seven members, but it almost feels like the lead guitar is winning the battle to over power the second guitar, synth and percussion, as they are only noticeable when the dynamic has descended.To rectify this it's a simple case of turning the guitar down a wee touch when playing in small venues. All in all W.A.R are extremely passionate about their music, and performance. They have the potential to break the scene and be something big, given a little time and a lot of hard graft. Providing of course that history does not repeat itself and they don't face the same tribulations as Mantic. If you don't like what I have to say you can make your own mind up by taking a wee trip on over to their MySpace and have a listen to P.S.A.!