HARK/ KEN Mode – Black Heart, London – 14/10/2014 | Live Review

Source: Graham Berry

Hailing from the Great White North, KEN Mode are a power-trio who throw out a brute force combo of noise, hardcore and post-metal. Fresh from bludgeoning their way across Europe with Welsh sludge merchants H A R K (on what should have been called the ‘Capslock’ tour) they arrived to lay waste to Camden’s Our Black Heart.

H A R K take to the stage and lay into a blinding version is ‘Sins On Sleeves’, guitarist/vocalist Jimbob Isaac taking a commanding stance atop the monitors to survey the crowd as he lays down mammoth riffage, It becomes pretty quickly apparent that the trio are suffering some pretty serious sound issues, pointing at various items of equipment that are refusing to work as expected, a tech scurrying onto the stage to fix the issues. Bassist Nikolai Ribnikov’s frustration is obvious, and Isaac admits to the audience that they weren’t able to adequately sound check beforehand. This is met with a curt “go fuck yourself”  from the sound man, to which a disbelieving Isaac responds “this is the sound of me fucking myself onstage”. 

Source: Graham Berry

The rest of the set is completed with a cold, focused vitriol that adds an extra level of intensity to their slab like riffs. ‘Mythopoeia’ is massive, ‘Breathe And Run’ propels itself along at a blistering tempo, and ‘Scarlet Extremities’ is a sprawling canvas of proggish majesty. Simon Bonwick needs to be locked up for snare abuse, how the kit made it through in one piece beggars belief. Their stoic resilience in the face of some adversity is a testament to their professionalism, and the crowd more than appreciated it.

KEN Mode are a different animal entirely. As their sample laden intro tape peters out, they tear into their set like a sledgehammer through plate glass. Their sound is utterly raw and caustic, in a similar vein to Today Is The Day or Botch. Vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson dominates his way through the set, his eyes boring into every crowd member like a predatory animal. His vocals are somewhat lost to the mix, but it doesn’t matter, their intensity is not lessened. The jagged riffs are underpinned by an utterly brutal, relentless drum onslaught from lifeguard short-clad Shane Matthewson, who’s efforts leave him literally steaming.

Source: Graham Berry

New tracks ‘Absolutely Not’ and ‘Dead Actors’ are just as vital and jagged as more established offerings, and a few punters look at risk of grinding their neck vertebrae down to nothing. Skot Hamilton’s bass tone is utter, utter filth, creating a gravitational underlayer. Penultimate song ‘Never Was’ is a venomous, sprawling mass, akin to having scalding hot water wash over you in waves. Jesse ends the song by dropping into the front row, falling to his knees and beating the last few bars from his telecaster. The Canucks bought a snarling ferocity to London, the likes of which won’t be forgotten for some time to come.