Iron Lung live @ Rossi Musik, Jakarta, Indonesia (10/03/2011)

So, last month South East Asia were graced by Iron Lung first-ever tour to this region. Drummer Jensen Ward however, mentioned that apparently it wasn't his first time. He had played Thailand a few years ago with his previous band, Artimus Pyle. Massive props for the guys and girls at 7x0x7 for bringing them over and organizing the tour. South East Asia DIY music scenes are infinitely growing, and having international bands touring definitely help keeping the scenes alive and fresh.

Iron Lung is a two-piece act, hailing from Seattle. They play a unique take on powerviolence/grindcore influenced hardcore punk, with start-stop rhythm and soaring feedback. I don't listen to much of these stuff, but Iron Lung manages to keep things interesting. The songs are short and fast and in your face like most stuff in the genre, but they are somehow able to incorporate memorable riffs or drum fills in almost every song. Having only a drummer and a guitar also gives them the freedom to play with unusual song structures and tempos. Other band who is kinda similar in the approach is Agents Of Abhorrence whom they did split and tour with.

Iron Lung first show in Indonesia was to be held at Rossi Musik, Jakarta. It was an exciting night, with Jakarta pulling all the big guns across the spectrum of hardcore/punk/metal (see flyer above). The biggest surprise for me was Wicked Suffer from Jogjakarta whom i had never seen before. They were good, fast, and most importantly, tight. I have no shame in admitting that they put on the second best performance on Jakarta show after Iron Lung.

It was late at night, and the room was packed. People were trying to get a good spot for Iron Lung. I was on the stage, standing about a feet away behind the drum kit. Let me just say that i wished i had brought my earplugs with me that night. The first snare hit Jensen did during their set-up almost made my ears bleed. It was so so so loud. It was just a taste of whats about to come.

Iron Lung played a relatively short-set. It went for about 15-20 minutes. But goddamn it was intense. During song breaks, Jon would let his guitar squealing feedbacks like crazy. There wasn't any moment to catch a breath. Every song hits harder, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. There were quite a few moshing and stage-diving actions happening during the set which really says it all.


Pictures were taken by Saiful Haq. All credit goes to him.

Here's Iron Lung full set, divided into 5 parts. I missed the very last song they played, which happened after the crowd practically beg them to play more after they finished their set. I was already chillin' outside the room by then. Oh well, enjoy the videos!