Even for ArcTanGent, Ho99o9 (pronounced “horror”) is an out-there booking. The hip-hop duo won over some of the mathcore audience by being chosen to join The Dillinger Escape Plan on their last ever UK tour. However, a good portion of the crowd is still baffled by their punk/noise/hip-hop concoction.
Fittingly for a band whose frontman took to the aforementioned support slot wearing a wedding dress, Ho99o9 don’t try to ingratiate themselves with the sometimes-ponderous ArcTanGent audience. Instead, they give the packed Saturday night crowd the full Ho99o9 experience, whether they’re ready or not.
The set opens with the eerie guitar loop of ‘Blood Waves’. This gives way to the breakneck hardcore punk sound that has made their live shows so infamous. While a lot of the initiated respond appreciatively, there’s still a section of the audience that seem absolutely baffled by the spectacle.
Ho99o9 don’t ever really throw these poor souls a bone. If anything, songs like ‘Splash’ just add to the confusion further. With its trap-meets-b-movie-soundtrack instrumental, it’s about as far removed from post-rock as you can get. Not that there are any fucks to be given by theOGM and Eaddy. The former owns the stage in full glam rock garb, writhing around like Iggy Pop on a bath salts bender.
As the set goes on, it becomes harder for the curious bystanders not to be drawn in by Ho99or’s psychotic schtick. The energy on display during this half-hour set is relentless. Tracks like ‘Get a Grip’ provide short blasts of classic punk chaos. Songs such as ‘Moneymachine’ introduce sections of the audience to the raw energy of hardcore hip-hop.
As they polish of the set with the primal thrash of ‘Hate Crimes’, everyone begins exiting the tent with a standpoint. Some loved it, and some hated it. In spite of this, the strength of everyone’s opinions will ensure that word-of-mouth about Ho99o9’s unhinged performance will permeate, drawing more and more people into their Death Cult. As the sample in ‘Street Power’ puts it, “these are freaks that you’re watching right here!”.
