Gemini Syndrome

Live at The Roxy Theatre

West Hollywood, CA

September 8th, 2016

Review and photos by Travis Baumann

Gemini Syndrome are a Los Angeles Alternative Rock band that fall somewhere between Industrial and Pop Metal. Their songs are public friendly but carry an underground cutting edge more suited to Electro Rock and Industrial Rivet Heads in terms of their use of synthesizers, drum beats, and lyrical content.

Gemini Syndrome have been compared to bands like Disturbed and while they both feature genre-spanning musical influences and are centered around incredibly talented vocalists, they are also extremely different in the execution of the songs themselves.

Gemini Syndrome are Aaron Nordstrom, the aforementioned vocalist, along with Brian Steele Medina on drums, Allesandro "AP" Paveri on bass guitar, and Daniel SahagĂșn and Charles Lee Salvaggio on guitars.

Not even a full month prior to this show, Gemini Syndrome put out their sophomore release, "Memento Mori", and were performing a showcase event here at the Roxy Theatre in preparation for a larger tour starting a month down the road.

I have only been into the band for a short while, having discovered them through a press release for the new album which intrigued me by the look of the band in the promo pictures, and what was described as an electronic infused Rock band.

Gemini's first album, "Lux" came out in 2013 and as of the show, I had not had a chance to listen to it, so unfortunately for me, I did not know the majority of the material they played during the set.

I recognized "Eternity" and "Alive Inside" from "Memento Mori", both of which came up about half way through the set and then probably my two favorite songs of theirs, "Anonymous" and "Remember We Die", came up back to back right before the last song of the night.

I thought they were really good live even though the Roxy itself was having some sound troubles and were not mixing Aaron's voice as well as it could have been (especially knowing how talented he is and how good he can sound). Even with those minor issues, they came across as strongly and powerful as I had hoped from my first listen to their record.

If these guys had come out ten years ago, they would have been too cutting edge for mainstream, and not Industrial or Metal enough for the elitist underground, but in 2016, this is the perfect blend of electronics, heavy guitar, rocking but dance-able beats, and catchy while still being cerebral vocals, that at times escalate into the Extreme Metal realm. I have been listening to both of their albums extensively since seeing them live, and really like these guys.

Click the banner above

to return the navigation page of the

Virtual Night Angel

website