The Past, Present and Potential Future: Shai Hulud in Singapore

While Singapore has hosted the likes of Placebo, Muse and with Slash soon to come, one name stands out from the rest of the field and while it might not be held at the Integrated Resort or Fort Canning, it was just as fervent and intense from the word go. Making their very first foray into the local music scene, the Shai Hulud gig was held at Blackhole on Labour Day by Echo Production and alongside the New Yorkers were the local trio of For Better Endings, My Precious and Fall Of Mirra to augment the impressive line up for the night as the first stop off their South East Asia tour.


(Beat your heart out: Linus from From Better Endings)

(Starting off on a high: Damian Steven from From Better Endings)

Kicking things off for the night were For Better Endings and just seconds after the commencement of the gig, Linus and company began making their presence known and what a way indeed! David Lee Roth jumps, balancing acts and intimate crowd interactions might have been just some of the antics that were cooked up to keep the crowd going but the music was not compromised at all as For Better Endings marched on through their set with their unique myriad of sounds that comprised of relentless guitar shreds, beastly growling and surprisingly, tribal drumming reminiscent of Igor Cavalera courtesy of Shaun Benjamin. Returning Home was also being played as tribute to their friend Vishnu as the heartfelt rendition was belted out with emotion and reverberated through the walls of Blackhole and this in whole sums up For Better Endings, a band that is packed with boundless energy and aggression even when it comes to songs close to the heart and this reflects on their unwavering passion to excel in their craft. Same can said for subsequent bands Fall Of Mirra and My Precious as they kept the crowd going with intense brutality and maintaining the quality of music for the night without making any room for error and keeping their cool during their respective sets


(The legends have landed: American hardcore aces Shai Hulud)

(No barriers: A rare shot of Mike Moynihan onstage, just moments before launching himself into the crowd)

For the uninitiated, Shai Hulud are a 5 piece band hailing from Poughkeepsie, New York comprising of Mike Moynihan (vocals), Matt Fox (guitar), Matt Fletcher (bass), Tim O'Leary (guitar) and Matt Covey (drums) and have gone through various line up changes which at one point included Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory. But to the audience, they are the definition of hardcore punk and laid the foundations to metalcore before the term was coined with that being said, it was obvious to see why they are regarded highly in the hardcore scene just by the numbers that turned up for the gig and did they disappoint? Far from it as Mike rips through the set like a ravenous carnivore and his eyes were fixated on giving a show that could rival a sandstorm, breaking the barriers and achieve the oneness with his audience. Not to be outdone, twin guitarists Tim and Matt Fox were trading riff with fluidity while Matt Fletcher worked up his charm to the crowd as Matt Covey stayed in the background to give the drum kit an intense marathon of consistent heavy blows. Even the audience had their share of the action as they literally sang along with Shai Hulud and launching themselves as human projectile which had Mike doing likewise, much to the approval of the intense crowd and just when you thought it was all over, everyone was clamouring for more and their wish was granted which goes to show how much Shai Hulud is willing to go the distance for their fans

While my knowledge and love for hardcore music is pretty much limited to Black Flag, Gorilla Biscuits and a few others, a newfound respect for Shai Hulud was etched onto my heart by the end of the gig and at the same time impressed by the quality of the local bands who were undeterred from the pressure of having to play in the same bill with Shai Hulud and kudos to the girls at Echo Productions for doing tremendously well for their debut, not a glitch was detected and the sale of band merchandise was positive. While figures of from the past were the main event for the night, they have presently managed to pave the way for the potential future where the likes of For Better Endings will set the trail blazing and Echo Productions hosting more gigs to keep the passion burning