The ReAktion
Canadian band The ReAktion recently dropped us a line about some of their tracks on their Soundcloud page, to see what we thought of things. Formed in 2010 at the end of some personal and musical phases of its members, the band has got an open approach to the world, developing their sound with a level of complexity and showing that sometimes, just sometimes, the world needs to fully hear a band to understand what they’re about. Still continuing to push their musical boundaries and get their name out there, the band said to check out what they had on offer, so we figured we’d hit play to see what was going on, opting to check out their 4 track EP SHiNDiG, released this year, for the purpose of the review.
Opening with The Lie That You Believe, the band immediately set the scene with a sense of electronic approaches mixed with a distorted and hard hitting guitar line, the whole mix forming into something which is heavy, hard hitting and full on. Despite this hard hitting approach there’s also a real sense of melody running through things, forming into a track which at some times, harks towards new wave style stuff, and at others, pummels you with a straight up metal edge. It’s a strange one, but for me the vocals reminded me of Kurt Cobain at times (not the roaring parts obviously!), there’s just that raw edge to them which, when combined with the melodic but heavy backing music, forms the track into something beyond metal, beyond genres, something which simply exists to alter the way you think about things – in short, it’s a damned good start to things!
Moving on to Enter The Fourth Dimension there seems to be a shift in the direction of the band, moving back from the heavy edge and showing that there’s more to these guys than first meets the eye. Once again combining electronic beats with a seriously heavy guitar tone, the mix is one which mixes styles in a fashion I’ve not come across before. Rather than mixing as Pendulum would, these guys instead use the electronic and spat vocals to accentuate the hard hitting metal edge, forming into something which is once again beyond a simply tag, and something which personally, I can’t pigeon hole. Teach Me How To Stop The World continues the approach of mixing styles, this time forming a track which is more downtuned, more emotional laden, and a track which is sure to get these guys some serious recognition. This was one of my personal favourites from the selection as it combines the different approaches with such aplomb, forming into something you can’t help but sit back and listen to, but also something you want to see on the live scene just to check to see if they can produce it out there on a stage.
Closing with I Am Somebody we’re left with no doubt that this is an exciting band, and an act we all need to keep a serious eye out for to see what they do next. The final notes of this record finish on a high, leaving no doubt that what you’ve just heard has been a bit odd, but at the same time is something you’re going to come back to again just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. More electronic and dance orientated than some of the other tracks at times, the electronic edge would normally sound out of place on a track like this, yet here the guys seem to have made it work, and come up with a sound that’s going to have to be seriously reckoned with.
I didn’t really know what to expect from The ReAktion and to be honest, even if I had, I wouldn’t have placed them as sounding like this. The mix on offer here is hard hitting, powerful, upbeat and melodic at the same time, the sort of thing which is going to work live and on a record, at a venue or in a club, and a lot of people are going to hook on to it if they’re exposed to it. Definitely an exciting act to keep an eye on, and one I want to see live!
To find out more about The ReAktion, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.
Opening with The Lie That You Believe, the band immediately set the scene with a sense of electronic approaches mixed with a distorted and hard hitting guitar line, the whole mix forming into something which is heavy, hard hitting and full on. Despite this hard hitting approach there’s also a real sense of melody running through things, forming into a track which at some times, harks towards new wave style stuff, and at others, pummels you with a straight up metal edge. It’s a strange one, but for me the vocals reminded me of Kurt Cobain at times (not the roaring parts obviously!), there’s just that raw edge to them which, when combined with the melodic but heavy backing music, forms the track into something beyond metal, beyond genres, something which simply exists to alter the way you think about things – in short, it’s a damned good start to things!
Moving on to Enter The Fourth Dimension there seems to be a shift in the direction of the band, moving back from the heavy edge and showing that there’s more to these guys than first meets the eye. Once again combining electronic beats with a seriously heavy guitar tone, the mix is one which mixes styles in a fashion I’ve not come across before. Rather than mixing as Pendulum would, these guys instead use the electronic and spat vocals to accentuate the hard hitting metal edge, forming into something which is once again beyond a simply tag, and something which personally, I can’t pigeon hole. Teach Me How To Stop The World continues the approach of mixing styles, this time forming a track which is more downtuned, more emotional laden, and a track which is sure to get these guys some serious recognition. This was one of my personal favourites from the selection as it combines the different approaches with such aplomb, forming into something you can’t help but sit back and listen to, but also something you want to see on the live scene just to check to see if they can produce it out there on a stage.
Closing with I Am Somebody we’re left with no doubt that this is an exciting band, and an act we all need to keep a serious eye out for to see what they do next. The final notes of this record finish on a high, leaving no doubt that what you’ve just heard has been a bit odd, but at the same time is something you’re going to come back to again just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. More electronic and dance orientated than some of the other tracks at times, the electronic edge would normally sound out of place on a track like this, yet here the guys seem to have made it work, and come up with a sound that’s going to have to be seriously reckoned with.
I didn’t really know what to expect from The ReAktion and to be honest, even if I had, I wouldn’t have placed them as sounding like this. The mix on offer here is hard hitting, powerful, upbeat and melodic at the same time, the sort of thing which is going to work live and on a record, at a venue or in a club, and a lot of people are going to hook on to it if they’re exposed to it. Definitely an exciting act to keep an eye on, and one I want to see live!
To find out more about The ReAktion, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls.