Seas of Conflict
6th July 2017
The Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
Every so often a band comes to town that we love so much we will do anything in our power to talk about them. One such act is Seas of Conflict, a progressive metal band that hail from Hamilton and who are currently tearing it up with a series of North Island shows.
From the moment that they stepped out onto the King’s Arms stage last night, Seas of Conflict owned their set, displaying a confidence and tenacity far beyond their years. Lead vocalist Kody Naidoo may look rather unassuming but looks can be deceiving; from the outset he commands attention with his guttural snarls that emanate from the very depths of his insides. This isn’t just your run of the mill prog metal band; there is an essence to the construction of each and every track that raises them above the ordinary.
Seas of Conflict began in the year 2011, birthed in the wake of “Hamilton’s tide of modern metal and hardcore”. Their rather intriguing name was simply the result of a member mishearing the suggested title of ‘Seeds of Conflict’, the group as a collective agreeing that ‘Seas of Conflict’ was far more interesting and the rest as they say is history. As most young bands do, they started out in the underground community – quickly gaining notoriety amongst the masses. This prompted the five piece to formulate a plan to get their music out to the public as soon as possible; so in true kiwi metal style they self-funded, called in a few favours from friends (who produced the album) and before too long their EP Bleak Humanity was unleashed – all while the boys were still in high school.
Creating music is one thing – in this day and age you need to be able to burn your mark into people’s cerebral pathways with your live shows. And that is exactly what Seas of Conflict began to do, quickly gaining a reputation for their high energy; melt your face off antics. These performances soon had promoters turning their way and before long they had secured support slots for both metal and hardcore heavyweights such as Northlane, Ocean Grove, A Plea For Purging, In Heart’s Wake and the mighty Thy Art Is Murder.
Watching Seas of Conflict on stage tonight it is clear what caught the attention of the aforementioned promoters; the dynamics of the band are outstanding, each member feeding off the energy of the next. Even when a couple of minor technical difficulties threatened to derail their third track of the evening, the solid guitar line made up of Declan Storrie, Michael Thomson and Kayne McVeigh on bass kept everything together, pushing through the barriers to deliver the goods. Songs such as ‘Lightless,’ personal favourite ‘Temporal Ocean’ and the mind shattering ‘Leviathan’ are delivered with such intensity that the air itself pulsates; the unadulterated skills of Nic Martin on drums a sight to behold.
2014 saw a new direction for Seas of Conflict; the band had become more “forward thinking”; lead vocalist Kody Naidoo stating that the current bearing “added depth and colour to contrast against a devastating, rhythmic soundscape”.
Working continuously on honing their musical skills has culminated in the release of their striking debut album Vestige, guitarist Michael Thomson explaining the themes behind the music;
“It’s about the constant struggle of coming to terms with the chaos of life – things are constantly changing; we’re often still hurting from the past, yet life still comes hurtling towards us”
“The title Vestige refers to an object – the ‘character’ of the album; in this case it is a remnant of the past that doesn’t belong in the present. It’s a journey of emotionally coming to grips with the past in order to face the constant onslaught of change that becomes the future”.
Seas of Conflict pulled in the big guns on this album and it paid off handsomely with “audio-extraordinaire” Zorran Mendosa both producing and mixing the album. Mendosa has worked with several local and international acts such as Antagonist A.D, Skyharbor, Saving Grace, Set On End and the renowned Blindspott. The album was then mastered by none other than Ermin Hamidovic of Systematic Productions (Periphery, Devin Townsend Project, Animals As Leaders), the result being an album that is heavy on atmosphere and “executed with both passion and sincerity”
Seas of Conflict have just recently released a new video to accompany the brutality melodic track ‘Temporal Ocean’ – check out it out and allow yourself to be enveloped in this sonic masterpiece. Seas of Conflict will be hitting Hamilton tonight for what promises to be a rowdy all ages show at Zeal, followed by an appearance at the ‘Libidinous Metalfest‘ in Wellington on July 8th. We heartily recommend you head along to these shows and experience these guys live, you certainly won’t regret it!
Seas of Conflict:
Godzilla Takes New York:
Set On End
Lead Us Forth
Were you there at the Kings Arms for this epic Kiwi metal showcase? Or have you seen Seas of Conflict perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!