Editor's Note - Armed In Advance performed at The Kings Arms in Auckland on 22 January 2016 with Quinn The Human, Coridian and Poison Skies. Our reviewer, Carl, is also the drummer for Poison Skies. Carl reviewed Quinn the Human and Armed In Advance whilst JP, guitarist and vocalist for Armed in Advance, reviewed Coridian and Poison Skies.

Coridian and Poison Skies:

Let’s cut to the chase; It’s pretty unorthodox to review bands that you play on the same bill as. But at the same time it’s a pleasure to be able to appraise the efforts of your friends and peers, and given that there were no less biased reviewers available, I stepped into the fold to report on the first two bands of the night, Poison Skies and Coridian.

Poison Skies
A five piece punk rock band with no less than three guitars (not including bass) sounds like a challenging mix to get right in the band room; however, Poison Skies have achieved this with panache, A very rich, ballsy and palatable sound is produced by all three axe men (Nick, Guitar/Vox, Paul Lead, Sam… Other Lead?) that complemented and bounced off each other with efficacy. The rhythm section pummelled out the bedrock with Carl Hayman on drums and guest bassist Victor Pesch, and front man Nick went from strength to strength with his singing, hitting high notes, moving on stage and engaging with the audience. A band that sounds just as good on the stage as they do through the stereo speakers at home, make sure you check out their latest single City Streets.

Coridian
Four piece progressive, heavy rock band Coridian offered a quite stark shift from the upbeat, oft’ times pop punk of Poison Skies, with chunky, guitar driven songs that moved between ethereal and grinding with consummate ease. The musicianship of the Raven brothers three (Nick, Mike and Kris) provided the perfect foil for the belting vocals of Dity to soar above. Introspect 6/8 grooves colluded with nu metal 4/4 beats in the best possible way while high vocal notes seemed to go on forever. For fans of any of the Australian prog rock movement bands (Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus), or even the timeless iterations of the genre such as Tool or early Incubus, heavy tones and dynamic rhythms served as the framework for meticulous songwriting, and an overall rewarding listening experience.

- JP Carroll

Quinn The Human and Armed In Advance:

Well, I have to say that Quinn The Human are possibly the hairiest band in the New Zealand music scene to date. Rocking a full fleet of mammoth super-beards, the boys in Quinn The Human took to the stage with their dress pants and waistcoats, and I was expecting to hear something like a 1970’s folk band with flower power tendencies. Totally wrong! These guys are a very full sounding rock act with super catchy guitar leads, and awesome crossovers from clean to distorted guitar channels. The singer has a deep and powerful voice that reminds me of both The D4 and of The Datsuns but not quite so screamy.  In fact, if the music was faster paced, you would almost put their music into the same category as the arctic monkeys.

They describe themselves as two parts Jurassic Park, and three parts Sylvester Stallone – but I have to ask the question, is that post or pre Rocky Balboa? My gut feeling is pre as they still have energy to burn. If you haven’t caught these guys before, they deliver a sweet live show, engaging and powerful. They are professional with their music, and very tight.

Armed In Advance – the hottest thing right now in New Zealand Rock. Three years of ridiculously hard work has seen these guys snatch some awesome success in recent times. With their new single Stay hitting radio hard on rotation on The Rock. These guys are very much holding their own against some of NZ’s biggest names. They absolutely demand respect when these boys hit the stage and for a three piece they have an absolutely massive sound. JP’s voice is gravelly and strong, somewhat reminiscent of the late Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley – but don’t get them confused, his voice is much more refined all at the same time. 

Two solid angry looking men, playing solid angry rock standing on their foldbacks high above the crowd to a packed floor at the Kings Arms and a drummer absolutely smashing his kit is enough to make any music lover take notice of Armed In Advance. Their music is practiced to perfection, and has so much power. They laid down a cover of Breed by Nirvana – something that I haven’t heard covered in probably 15 years or more, and they did it justice! Not many bands could pull that off the way these guys do. 

Armed In Advance threw a few new songs into their set that I haven’t heard before, and I have to say that the more they write, the more they record, the more refined their sound becomes. It was an absolute pleasure to share a stage with them that night, and I can’t wait to see which song they drop next. Seriously a hot band to see play live. Big up’s to B.V Entertainment for organising such a successful show.

- Carl Hayman

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• 1
  APT.
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• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
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• 4
  TASTE
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• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
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• 6
  ESPRESSO
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• 7
  SAILOR SONG
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  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
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• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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