Live Review: Author & Punisher and Zetra | Rough Trade Bristol | 23/02/2023
On a cold and dreary Thursday night in central Bristol, Author & Punisher and Zetra treated the midwest county’s populace to goth fatalism and callous industrial in equal measure.
Zetra
Robed, barefoot and dressing the stage with more chains than the fetish shop over the road probably has in stock, for those uneducated, the enigmatic goth duo Zetra may be an odd choice of support for this run of shows. After all, their darkly romantic gothic craft is a far cry from Author & Punisher’s castigating output designed to pummel listeners into submission. However, as the duo plunge into the likes of ‘Call Of The Void’, ‘Into My Flesh’ and ‘Sacred Song’, their presence on this tour makes perfect sense. Fatally seductive and sinfully alluring, Zetra may be removed from their headlining peers in terms of genre by quite some leagues, but in terms to upholding atmosphere through analogue means, they are joined at the hip.
Weaving tales of love and loss through a unique yet faintly nostalgic approach to synthgaze – a sound that harkens darkened thoughts of Drab Majesty and Type O Negative – Zetra shun live gimmickry in order to deliver their sound through purely analogue means. This, in turn, only amplifies the gothic, mystical and utterly bewitching aesthetic that coats their music and art as a creative whole. As computer monitors on stage display visualisations of their work via a series of films that are almost akin to a mash up of the 1982 classic The Dark Crustal and a Heaven’s Gate recruitment video, it’s impossible not be entranced or at least fully entertained by Zetra this evening, a sentiment clearly enjoyed by all within this venue. A brilliant showcase of dynamism and gothic aesthetic expressed with unique finesse, it’s clear why this band are enjoying the spoils of nationwide renown currently.
Score: 9/10
Author & Punisher
With the crowd as a whole potentially feeling something, – possibly actual emotions – following Zetra’s set, Author & Punisher waste no time beating the people before them into submission. However, despite the callous, industrial sound and aesthetic of Tristan Shone’s work, Author & Punisher prove to be something surprisingly more human than their mechanical and homoromantic work implies this evening. However, that’s not to say that is set is a solicitous nor affable affair – far from it in fact. Opening with select cuts from their brilliant new record Krüller, ‘Drone Carrying Dead’ and ‘Incinerator’ sound inescapable and overwhelming tonight, with the two tracks equally mechanically grinding and pounding those before them with pre-programmed precision.
Both Shone and Phil Sgrosso – live and session guitarist – seem to relish in the industrialised power and punishment being inflicted. With their presence adding additional fervour to these tracks and the proceeding ‘Pharmacide’ and ‘Disparate’, the pair seem to only add additional impact to their work tonight. Like cold hard steel hitting flesh repeatedly, the group’s output tonight is penal and punitive and beyond the concept of reasoning.
Whilst this all may sound vindictive, it’s merely the outcome from the duo driving their mechanised sound with human presence; something that comes apparent with the likes of ‘Maiden Star’ and ‘Misery’. As Stone performs caged in machinery of his own design – his homebuilt instruments, the drone and dub machines – it’s on these tracks where his dedication to his work is evident and above all else paramount. As sweat drips onto cold and sculpted steel, it becomes clear that these instruments are not just machines but rather artificial extensions of himself; home-crafted pieces of apparatus that become infused with human energy and a creative drive to create experimental work that can’t be replicated by machine nor programmes. Truly, whilst many industrialist acts in the same vein as the project rely on an array of programmes to achieve their sound, to see Author & Punisher execute their truly unique artwork via analogue means is a joy to behold.
In fact, one could easily state that Author & Punisher’s live presence is almost akin to that of performance art; something made event as Shone uses every single one his appendages to deliver the musical bombardments that are ‘The Speaker Is Systemically Blown’ and ‘Nihil Strength. Ending on the likes of ‘Terrorbird’ – a track that lives up to it’s namesake due to it’s almost surreal delivery and unique, bewildering sound – it’s clear that whilst the industrial genre may be associated with acts removed from tonight’s headliner, there’s no denying that Author & Punisher live and breathe what it is to be an industrialist entity in every aspect possible.
Score: 9/10