HYDRA and IVY MOIRE rock out in Visualize 2016! 16102016

Report by Kai.W.Rose, photography by Zach

On 16 October 2016 in Singapore, the first edition of Visualize Festival was held in Aliwal Arts Center. It featured Indonesian visual kei bands, HYDRA and IVY MOIRE and supported by Singaporean bands OSR 313 and Whatsmyname. Welcoming the j-rockers first appearance in Singapore, warm greetings from the fans filled the space with wildness as they proved to the band how long they had waited for this show and how happy they were to finally experience visual rock in Singapore after such a long time.

What’smyname kicked off as the opening band in Visualize. The venue darkened and at once the crowd started cheering to the riffs of hardcore and trash metal. The young band took the stage and their energy was palpable right away. By the end of their set, the whole crowd was moving: either thrashing heads or hardcore dancing to the beat.

What’smyname setlist

Jamelo Jambel
Beautiful Then
Flippant No More
Dangdutz
875
Home
Chop Suey
Stick Tight
Cut This Shit, Start The Pit

HYDRA

After Whatsmyname, HYDRA took the stage and started out with Ami, which had a subdued opening that allowed Juna’s voice to shine, the lead and rhythm complementing him while Hoho’s heavy drumming kept the song from drifting too light.

It was followed by Dear, a bouncy ViViD cover. Rukka’s interesting guitar rhythm had the fans bouncing. Bright lights sprinkled the stage, emphasizing the rhythm of the music as Juna sang passionately.

Dream was smooth, mid-tempo pop rock and Juna bounced along as he sang. Di en did a lot of the work, making the song interesting with his skillful guitar playing. Juna sat on the platform and kicked his legs out, emphasizing the whimsical feel of the song which finished on a strong note.

It was easy to be happy for Passion a cheerful tune set off by flashing rainbow lights. Juna took the center, dancing with the happy beats and Hoho grinned from behind his drum kit. The fans jumped and waved, sending love to the band as they pranced on the platform. The energy in the venue, along with Hoho’s big drum rolls carried off in a high energy note as the set finished.

HYDRA’s setlist

Ami
Dear (ViViD cover)
Dream
Passion

HYDRA will return to Singapore to perform on Friendship, Music, and Sports Stage at SJ Matsuri on October 30, 2016, 12.30. Catch them!

OSR 313

OSR 313 is an energetic 7-man nu-metal band with looks that seemed to be influenced by slipknot. They managed to grab hold of their audience attention especially with their breakout hit, Dansa, with its elements of nu-metal and rap. Their fans headbanged and hardcore danced in tandem, easily becoming the best crowd reaction of the night.

OSR 313 Setlist

Intro
Tumor
I know who kill me
Re:Evolution
Dansa
Homebound
Signal lost
Attack

IVY MOIRE

The crowd screamed as dark music began to play, setting a heavy mood. The members entered the stage with their stylish glam rock outfits. Right off the bat, they began their set with a powerful, high-energy scream punk sound leading into a smooth and melodic chorus by vocalist Kou. He called out for a reaction from the crowd, and they responded with a booming, unified yell. Guitarist Jyu adds on to the energy with his heavy guitar riffs which complemented Sharyn’s lively drums. The crowd clapped to the beat as the lights flared up to match the energy of the music.

The second new song Damien began with the sound of the audience clapping rhythmically to the full-on heavy metal, complemented by Kou’s low, heavy growls. The song has a very dark and heavy sound entwined with synth undertones. The entirety of the song was very smooth and transitioned pleasantly between heavy metal and neo classical. The crowd showed their appreciation by clapping along with the riffs during the instrumental breakdowns. They finished with the audience losing themselves as they headbanged through to the end. The following songs Rebellion, Beautiful Villain, and Ivoria are fast-paced and high-energy screamo numbers with a strong bass line from Jiro. IVY MOIRE then lightened the mood as a dance rock atmosphere filled the venue with hit cover satsugai (from DMC).

For the finale, IVY MOIRE invited HYDRA to join them on the stage with the song Passion. Kou and Juna turned their boy-band vocals and lured the crowd into a state of bliss, and it was the most upbeat song of the set so far.

Though the performance was short, it was a varied set that gave the crowd a taste of HYDRA and IVY MOIRE souls and even in that short time, the emotion of the moment was palpable. Both bands and fans will surely never forget their Singapore debut and will be eager for the next opportunity.

IVYMOIRE’s setlist

desire
damien
rebellion (Nocturnal Bloodlust cover)
beautiful villain
ivoria
satsugai (DMC cover)
Passion (HYDRA x IVY MOIRE)

QUICK Q&A WITH THE BANDS FROM VISUALIZE 2016

Please introduce your band genre and influences?

HYDRA: We are a pop rock band with influences from bands like L’arc~en~Ciel , ViViD , DIV.

IVY MOIRE: We are a j-metal band with neo classical influences.

OSR 313: We are a Nu metal band with synth influences. We are inspired by bands like Slipknot and System Of A Down.

Whatsmyname: We have no specific genre, we try to play all genres and no limits. We enjoy slipknot too.

How did the members come together?

HYDRA: Rukka (guitar) and Juna (vocals) used to play in a cover band and we wanted to try something different so we started gathering members for HYDRA with the same goal of becoming full-fledged visual rock artistes.

IVY MOIRE: We are fated to come together by destiny.

OSR 313: We met each other through similar interests and from previous bands.

Whatsmyname: We met through Carousell (online e-commerce app) and from previous bands.