{"id":4568,"date":"2011-08-24T23:31:41","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T21:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lauramccullagh.com\/blog\/?p=4568"},"modified":"2012-04-01T23:36:05","modified_gmt":"2012-04-01T21:36:05","slug":"the-sleepers-3rd-world-spectator-ark-synesis-at-mercury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lauramccullagh.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/the-sleepers-3rd-world-spectator-ark-synesis-at-mercury\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sleepers, 3rd World Spectator & Ark Synesis at Mercury"},"content":{"rendered":"
Saturday 20 August 2011<\/div>\n

Saturday marked the return of The Sleepers and the unveiling of their new vocalist, an event I’d been looking forward to for a good while. Also playing were 3rd World Spectator and\u00a0 the unexpectedly awesome Ark Synesis.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>\u00a0 \"Ark<\/a><\/p>\n

Things were pretty quiet at Mercury. I got the impression the crowd was mainly made up of family and friends, which I guess is exactly who you’d want around if you were revealing a significant change in your band that could either be a huge success or an epic failure (not that the latter could’ve been an option but caution is always wise).<\/p>\n

First up were Ark Synesis, whose name I remember hearing floating around during the last Battle of the bands. It took me longer than it should’ve to realise that there were no mics on stage and that there weren’t going to be any vocals – just instrumental, melodic heaviness. They barely even paused between tracks, often letting one flow straight into another. The effect was instense and the band pretty much mesmerising.<\/p>\n

It was the first time I saw them and I was really, really impressed. Super cool and definitely a band I’ll be sure to catch again.<\/p>\n\n\t\t