Faetal - Live

The Joiners - March 2006

By Timur Bekir

Hold on a minute, where’s the drummer? A question I ask myself more than once tonight as two of the bands performing this evening rely on a backing track for their beats. Faetal’s brand of electro goth-rock sounds epic tonight and the backing track they use provides the band with a massive soundscape. Dark and angst-ridden, they are caught somewhere between Depeche Mode and Gary Numan. Their sound is impressive and they will no doubt provide the soundtrack for the next funky Hollywood rehash of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. What is missing from Faetal’s performance tonight is raw energy and this is undoubtedly what a live drummer adds to a performance. Using such an expansive backing track may invite criticisms of Karaoke surrounding their live shows - but since when has the dark side ever given a shit what the critics think?