You really shouldn't bet on what you think you know before hearing and/or sighting good evidence. And, you shouldn't ever bet on perfect timing - especially not on April Fools Night. Accordingly, Cutwing's final show of their 2011 Inicia tour jogged my genre expectations and started exactly 55 minutes later than I (or any in-house timekeeper) had anticipated - without any band members on stage. What a clever way to fool the crowd into the zone...
Jittering metallic tones were all that sounded from the unmanned stage. Jittering metallic tones growing more intense and intrepid by the second - initiating the scene of front-line warfare. Front-line warfare in numbers, making a proper scene for the crowd, the red shade of the velvet curtains and the warm breeze (from the open doors) that danced upon our backs in the darkness. Everyone preparing for a dramatic battle involving lots of DEATH and METAL!
Oops. Fooled myself. Cutwing shouldn't be described as “Death” Metal, as such. In fact, they can't be described as “Death” Metal, at all. They're absolutely full of life and their sound is much more accurately described as melodic hard rock, infused with progressive metal and electronica (though there are echoes of battle themes, e.g. in the song 'Stalemate'). A snippet of their stuff on 'You Tube' also countered my metal genre stereotype, but I had still arrived with some pretty fallible expectations, e.g. this really should involve violently raging machine-heads who wear black leather, have seedily long hair, possibly breathe fire and definitely bellow unmentionable remarks pertaining to the glory of Satan and animal cruelty. Yeah. If not overtly so, then maybe subliminally in the lyrics?! Nope, totally nope...
So, I've clearly demonstrated that I'm not really enough (if at all!) of a well-seasoned metal-head (or chemist) to be able to confidently distinguish between the variety of “metals” that make up “Metal” as a genre... Really, I'm just a mildly inquisitive young adult with a slightly devilish imagination and a strong propensity to subject myself to unfamiliar situations and interesting soundscapes, especially if friends and atmosphere are involved!
But, cut to the wing – I have to tell you that the boys did come on stage! Things got loud after Simon Skipper (the longish-haired bassist with his back to the audience) picked a single string on his guitar. He turned to face the audience after that, but Rocky Dean-Shoji (on electric guitar) was already showing off his own crazy eyes. Julian Cartwright (the lead vocalist) started out sounding more like a bird than a ghoul, but David Schadow (on drums) was already instigating a strong beat fit to head-bang to throughout the show. I scribbled down “thinking this is cool” in my notebook about a minute into the 9 track set. The scribbles that followed it would only reinforce that first thought - and yes, I did get some suspicious looks and inquiries regarding my pen, my notebook and my cause.
Cutwing, a band of Triple-J Unearthed punters, formed in 2009 and have put in a lot of hard work to get to where they are today – finishing their first tour. In two years, they've earned a reputation for delivering impressive and engaging live shows, sharing stages with other upcoming acts like The Art, Bellusira, Breaking Orbit, These Four Walls and The Paris Crash. They're clearly influenced by Linkin Park, with a sweet voice (Julian even screams with melody) as the centre-point against an intense backdrop of metallic sound. The use of distorted guitar – coming off murky, almost water-logged – specifically reminds me of more familiar bands like Soundgarden, Audioslave and Nirvana. Cutwing are said to sound something like Karnivool, The Butterfly Effect and The Lost Prophets, but really, I think they's got a pretty original sound of their own.
Cutwing put on a strong, steady and sincere show. It was both professional and uplifting. These guys are serious and gracious performers, not fakes or try-hards like the band that preceded them – they just wanted to “fuck up the world” and send us all “around the corner to the ear clinic”...
I was most impressed by Cutwing's cooperative stage presence – it was a real team effort. A true but unusual sense of shared strength and determination beamed from the group as a whole, unlike an arrogance or shallow enthusiasm that might come off an individual who manages to steal a show without good reason. They developed momentum really well as a team too: Rocky and Simon (the guitarists) took turns with Schadow (on drums) to build intensity, while Julian sang at a pretty consistent volume throughout.
Cutwing's effective teamwork obviously contributed to a well-crafted and rehearsed performance as well. I doubt they made a mistake and the instrumental parts were layered so neatly and methodically that you could separate them quite easily in your mind, while you listened, without losing the plot of their combination as a whole. They also did a good job of developing a bit of a 'characteristic' tendency to cut to an 'instrumental' section (or 'break it down' bit, according to my urban vocabulary) that I felt was on the way to becoming 'classic' by the end of the set.
The boys also did a good job of engaging the crowd. Each demonstrated that they had their unique character, e.g. Rocky's mad eyes, Simon's “hair-spins” and Julian's interacting with the audience off-stage. They just deserved a bigger venue with more space and a larger audience for a better chance of getting bigger responses!
So, what could Cutwing improve on for their next tour? I'd say song-craft. Most of the tracks lacked 'hooks'. I couldn't really find anything to chant along to and I didn't leave with any particular lyric or riff in my head. I would have liked to keep something in my mind to discuss later, but the 9 songs they played all just morphed into a wave of their general soundscape. The lyrical themes were also a little hard to relate to because, although the concept of 'Stalemate' was clever, I couldn't really find any other narratives or phrases that I could relate to seriously enough to remember. They could also do with a reinvented cover or two, to get ears flapping since the band is fairly new.
Cutwing certainly jogged my expectations relating to Metal as a genre. They're masculine but not angry, energetic but not frightening. And, their stuff is positive, not soiled by heavy content or any sort of agenda. That's going to allow them to appeal to a pretty wide market, certainly including myself! So, after seeing and hearing good evidence – I bet they're going to fly!
P.s. A glimmer of hope on the 'hook' front: the chorus of “Into the Light” did fly through my mind later in the evening. It also woke me up the next morning. There's hope for hooks! :)
P.p.s. exaggerated those Metal genre expectations ever so slighty! :p
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