This five-piece was founded in Bristol, but SCALPING seems to encapsulated the spirit of the Manchester club Hacienda. That’s mainly because they question a strict distinction between live guitar music and live electronic music – a very outdated idea in 2022. SCALPING steps beyond this distinction from day 1 of its existence, because its hard-hitting, neon-coloured, flashy soundclash resembles the sounds of HEALTH and PVA. The band itself calls heavy metal in 4D without nuance, but there are so many audible reference points in the layer cake of sound SCALPING has crafted, that listeners can decide what’s interpretable and audible at first listen. Whether it’s industrial, rock, techno, EBM or something else: SCALPING exists in its own musical universe in which moodiness, distortion and rhythmics reign. An overwhelming live experience of which we wish it’d last for the full 24 hours of Etmaal.
