Malrun

support Siamese Fighting Fish
author AP date 26/08/10 venue Huset, Copenhagen, DEN

Another night, another local feature in one of the city's best underground spots. Malrun are here to celebrate the release of their debut album, "Beauty in Chaos", and we're here to cover it, the diligent journalists that we are. Follow our lead, Danish scene, and start attending more of these tiny local showcases, because the performances are starting to be worth every penny, and there's lots of exciting new bands to discover. That, and it's a great excuse to take a pause from the stresses of everyday life and enter a bubble where only music and beer matters. Apologies to My Emissary, whose show we manage to miss due to confusion regarding stage times, we shall repay you some other time. And now, without further a-do, here's our impression of the party:

Siamese Fighting Fish

In an attempt to prepare us for the release of their debut album in November, and to collect new fans, Siamese Fighting Fish have signed up to a plethora of supporting slots at shows outside their own genre in the coming months. One of these appearances was made at this Malrun release party, where their eclectic mix of genres was nonetheless well-received by the metallic crowd, resulting in plenty of headbanging, horns, and what have you. Unfortunately from the beginning the band's set is plagued by sound problems, first with the violin taking extreme prominence in the mix, and later with obtrusive screeches resulting from instruments coming too close to the amplifiers. This can, of course, be attributed to the minuscule stage that Huset contains, but considering the professional, often excellent performances I have seen Siamese Fighting Fish pull off in the past, it does feel like things could have been prepared a little better. Performance-wise the band is as energetic as ever, bringing to mind Moneen in their alternation between still, calm passages and frantically throwing themselves around during the more explosive, high-distortion moments. The setlist is of course dominated by new material in hopes of attracting potential customers to the upcoming album, but the exclusion of what is still one of their finest tracks after "Kitt and the Hero Villains" - "For You (part 1)" - is truly a loss - especially when in its place is a simplistic pop-dance piece "Emily". But despite these criticisms, it is still very clear that Siamese Fighting Fish are one of the best live bands in Denmark, and judging from the remainder of the new songs aired tonight, there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming album.

7

Setlist:

01. Sundance

02. The Day I Quit Diet Coke

03. The Chronicles of Lovers

04. Kitt and the Hero Villains

05. Emily

06. God's on TV

07. PHB

Malrun

We've spotted Boil's lead singer Jacob Løbner walking around the venue earlier, wondering what has brought him all the way from deep, dark Jutland to Copenhagen this fine evening. Well, turns out that he fronts a second band as well, namely tonight's honorary guests Malrun. The band's melodic metalcore is perhaps slightly too predictable to shine on its own, but add Jacob's ethnic style of singing and infinite charisma - both reminiscent of Serj Tankian - and the music suddenly achieves another dimension. TL compared Malrun's music to Killswitch Engage in his recent review of the band's debut album, but the band that really comes to mind when listening to the anthemic, mostly clean-sung compositions, is Exit Ten. Fortunately Malrun have quite a bit more to offer than the immensely uninspiring Englishmen, both in terms of their music and their performance. Granted, Malrun aren't as all-over-the-place as Siamese Fighting Fish were just before, but the show is more polished, more precise, and classier in every imaginable way. Its centerpiece is naturally Mr. Løbner, whose vocals send more than a few chills down my back and lead me to make the assertion that he is, without a doubt, one of the finest vocalists in Denmark right now - at least within the underground genres. And, as already mentioned, his charisma takes care of the rest. No one is left cold, with most of the room headbanging, moshing and singing along as if Malrun were internationally acclaimed heroes, and we even witness an impressive two-man circle pit during the night's fastest song, "Trim the Fat". Songs like this also bring to the forefront an instrumental prowess that belies the age of the guitarists, and is one of the key elements in Malrun's potential for success beyond the borders of Denmark.

Setlist:

01. Intro

02. Ostracized

03. The Jovian Transit

04. Winter's Kiss

05. Caught Between Your Legs

06. Wounded Pride

07. Rearranging

08. Rise From Sorrow

09. The Pledge

10. Strapped While You Dance

--Encore--

11. Trim the Fat

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