Review by Kayla Hamilton (@kaylazomboid)

ROCK ALARM- DAY ONE
Bangkok, Thailand
September 14th 2024

Despite the stifling humidity and the impending threat of torrential rain, Bangkok’s Rock Alarm Festival was raring and ready to go. Three stages, two undercover with one more outdoor larger area- it has all the makings of being potentially being one of the premier metal and rock festivals in Southeast Asia.

It is still on a smaller scale though attendance wise- but my first impressions walking in was just how professional the set-up was. Kicking off the event was a Cars & Coffee catch up, which I was little late for but all the cars in their glory were still on display upon my arrival. Across the area were a selection of food vendors and stalls from each band plus other vendors and labels, to sell their goods throughout the whole weekend.

My Rock Alarm journey started with visiting the Young Blood Stage, which showcased smaller acts who may not be as known on their journey. With fun sets from pop punk and rock acts 1730, Sisweet and MCR cover band My Chemical Rotee (I am still amused by their name), it was a great way to ease into the festivities. The first band I was there for though was Saint After Six. Their throwback sound leaning into classic J-Rock/emocore was a nostalgic trip. Tight, professional and polished- they also dressed to impress. The main reason this act caught my eye though, was the guest appearance of Japanese visual kei icon turned DJ turned wearer of many other artistic hats, Takeru. A seemingly random performance but altogether iconic- the veteran enhanced and the stage, challenging the young performers in Saint After Six to match his delivery. Which honestly, they did! The set was short but sweet, overall though they made a great impression.

After dipping into that Vkei nostalgia and indulging the inner SuG/Takeru fangirl, it was time for the real NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS coverage to start- with deathcore act TERESA. This band has been on radar for a little awhile now, with monster vocalist Loom making a name for himself. The rest of the band though is just as impressive, if not more. The lads opened up the Machine Stage, which had quite a large space to contend with did make the crowd seem sparser and the height of the stage did play havoc with the audience connection. They handled it magnificently. Ferocious and monstrous, their sound was larger life. Ripping savagely through the warehouse and moving everybody in the room. The mosh pit struggled through the heat to offer up as much energy as possible. All in all, it was a ripper of a set and this band has a bright future ahead of them.

With the break in schedule between the acts I was planning to see, I was able to check out some bands I had not come across before. Three bands who I did not catch entire set but need mention due to their impressive performances are metalcore acts Owl Town and Verses, along with deathcore act Silence Of Genocide. As with many festivals, there are bands that slip under radar but Owl Town and Verses delivered a treat of just wonderful modern metalcore. Heavy rhythms, melodic riffs and dynamic vocals- it’s all you really want. Silence Of Genocide headlined the Young Blood Stage, turning that area into a pit. The kids were involved too, with a little girl stealing the show on side in her ear protection and cute Minnie Mouse outfit, getting down to these vicious deathcore riffs. There was stage diving- albeit a very calculated “everybody get over here” style jumping off the stage. All in all, as this was my first time experiencing these bands- I will be adding them to my listening lists.

Once everything was wrapped up on the Young Blood Stage, the main stage, the Factory Stage was brought to life. Opened up by Japanese hyper metal band Earthists, it was time for a boogie. Think Paledusk, but a little more whimsy. The band was pulling back-to-back shows, only just arriving to Thailand from Singapore but they did not skip a beat. Frontman Yui was an enigma, smiling all the time and sending out finger hearts to the audience. It was a heavy but fun set, with the die hards leading the curious listeners into the world of Earthists. Their set mainly highlighted their latest EP Metahope, but with those tracks being around for a while- it made total sense. Giving us also the first taste of the pyrotechnics, Earthists truly heated up the stage for all the action to come.

While waiting for the final act we were to cover this review, you know I had to jump in and check out Bad Baboon again. It seemed others who were at the ANNALYNN EP PARTY had the same idea, as the plethora of ANNALYNN even had Bad Baboon’s frontman commenting. All in all, these guys deliver some real funky fresh hard rock- so highly recommend when you need a break from all the breakdowns.

But, I was not ready so goodbye breakdowns yet- because Tariot from Singapore were up. There really is something in the water over in Singapore lately, because the amount insanely polished and just straight up well written metalcore that is coming out of that country needs to be studied. Tariot were able to capitalise on people moving between stages, because quickly they lured in a decent crowd. Vocals on point. Guitar’s shredding. Just huge wall of sound hitting you off your feet. It was the perfect way to finish the evening of coverage for me.

Mainly because the torrential rain that had been teasing all day decided to open up and pour down on the crowd at the Factory Stage. But there was contingency plan in place, the party continued and those who stayed were rewarded with some more intimate performances as bands relocated to the Young Blood Stage.

Day one was for the books, stay tuned for the day two writeup as that one is even more stacked this one.