Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Live at Elsewhere, New York

Art and experimental rockers Yamantaka // Sonic Titan gave a performance in Brooklyn that combined costumes, dissonant instrumentals, fierce vocals and wrapped it all up in a discordant performance art bow.

Elsewhere, the Brooklyn venue, was largely deserted on Sunday evening. A crowd of people gathered in front of the stage at Zone One and patiently waited while members of Yamantaka // Sonic Titan conducted their sound check. The lights bathed the stage in red and face-painted people slowly took up their instruments and began playing. Big drums and harmonic guitars sprung out from the speakers as the band played “Dirt” from their album Dirt. It started off harmonious before exploding into noise and guitars filled with anger and angst.

When they performed “Tawine” the band all faced forward while the audience nodded along to the repetitive guitars. Halfway through the song, singer Ange Loft took the banner with the letters YT//ST written on them between her hands, jumped off the stage and ran around the venue. She weaved in and out of the crowd before going right up in front of the audience and waving it triumphantly over her head. The song ended and they went right into “One” from UZU. The track, littered with pessimistic imagery, merges together heavy metal with tribal chanting. Singer Joanna Delos Reyes sang, “Ever wonder what’s it like to live in America / Serpent tight around your throat / Ever wonder what’s it like to love in America” while guitars and drums clashed together. They ended the set with “Out of Time,” a song filled with monotone vocals, fast drumming by Alaska B and rounded out by heavily textured synthesizers and guitars.

A Yamantaka // Sonic Titan show isn’t so much a concert, but a performance. Everything is meticulously thought out, but there is still room left for improvisation. The band harnesses these moments, and it explodes out from the stage to the audience, leaving them with a show that will stick with them long after the performance has ended.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat