Dorje [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 21/3/2015]
When Marmozets dropped by the Boileroom last year, there was something in the air at that show. Nothing more tangible than a vibe, but something that left behind a sense of certainty. Cognitive consonance.
At that point, the release of Marmozets’ debut album was sneakily creeping up on the horizon. Marmozets had sweat blood over the previous few years, building up a following the old-school way before signing with Roadrunner. A few singles followed, then that Boileroom show. Then, The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets dropped, and Marmozets promptly became “…the future of British rock in 2014.” Now, Marmozets are supporting Muse, and the rest will soon be history.
Dorje are 2015’s answer to Marmozets. A rich and addictive blend of alt-metal influences (think fat and chunky Porcupine Tree riffs, gurn-inducing Incubus grooves, Karnivool-esque odd-meter polyrhythmic complexity, sense-defying guitar solos that bring Alter Bridge to mind, and a vocal which sits somewhere between Devin Townsend and Maynard James Keenan), Dorje’s music is more than the sum of its parts. It’s the sound of a band who have sweat blood in their own way, and forged an enviably fiery path through the modern music industry.
Dorje have never been a traditionally-minded band. First, you have their YouTube presence. Dorje frontman Rob Chapman happens to have over 267,000 YouTube subscribers at the time of writing, and his bandmates all boast social media-savvy superfans of their own. In an age where rock musicians often come across as identikit clones, Dorje are a cast of characters, each with his own distinct personality and the uniquely flavoured online audience to prove it.
Next, you have crowdfunding. One of Dorje’s earliest tours was funded by their own fans via a campaign which raised three times its original target; included Dorje’s only recorded material to date (the two-track Primordial Audio Chronicle) as a campaign perk; and hit at the same time as their only music video to date (Aeromancy, which has now racked up some 529,000 views). Dorje have always made every effort to involve their fans in the band’s evolution, and in that sense are progressive not just in their adoption of wacky time signatures, but also in their approach to career-building.
Finally, you have education. Dorje love to share their virtuosic instrumental expertise with the world, with each show on their current tour being twinned with VIP masterclass-style clinics. Check out Rob Chapman’s YouTube channel (links provided in full at the end), and you can start tunnelling through an almost bottomless range of videos, while guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth all have their own video depositories online and accessible 24/7. Guitar aficionados can also sign up for musicisum – a groundbreaking online music school soon to be bolstered by lessons for aspiring vocalists and producers.
In combination, the above elements fuel a level of band/fan connection that many of Dorje’s contemporaries would sell their own mothers for. More than that, it’s real; to those who pack rooms in anticipation of their shows, Dorje are more than cartoon characters on the other side of a screen. There’s a sense of love, brother-and-sisterhood, and mutual respect that is both undeniable, and sadly absent when you go to see some much larger bands do their thing.
4G-grade fan connectivity or not, internet-savvy musos still have another hurdle to jump – a question along the lines of “…okay, but can they pull it off live, when the pressure’s on?” In Dorje’s case, the answer is a resounding “…fuck yes!”
During an exclusive pre-show interview with TMMP, Dorje did seem nervous. These guys aren’t machines; they’re people who feel the side-effects of Olympic-level expectations, just as you’d expect from non-Terminators. But onstage, that baggage all melts away – and all that remains is a comfortable, determined confidence that instantly put the Boileroom at ease last night. Head-bobbing and body grooving actually becomes easier at a Dorje show, despite the intensity of the songs slamming through the PA speakers.
With only two Dorje tracks officially out in the light of day so far, the quality of the cuts from upcoming full-length album Centred & One was a hot topic on the night. On that point, worriers need not worry, and haters should consider packing their cyberbags and fucking off, because in a few months’ time tracks like Miracle, Centred & One, Catalyst, Zero, and the Extreme-inspired White Dove are going to leave a lot of listeners shaking their heads in disbelief while headbanging their way toward an NHS neck brace shortage. Put it this way: there isn’t a single weak moment in there.
As performers, Dorje are world-class, light years ahead of the level you might expect from a band with a two-track EP, one video, and a few tours behind them. Rob Chapman and Rabea Massaad have a borderline-telepathic connection, punching out appropriately hench riffage and face-melting solos for a crowd who cheer every legato line, pinch harmonic, and guitar change; Dave Hollingworth is pretty much the Beardyman of bass, pulling the most unlikely of sounds out of his instrument while giving the impression that he could do it just as easily in his sleep; and Ben Minal seems constantly on the verge of either enlightenment or orgasm, taking his time between ultra-tight snare hits and going through drumsticks the way a man with terminal dysentery goes through Andrex. To put it bluntly, Dorje are the real deal – which brings me to my final point.
I’ve seen a lot of online talk dismissing Dorje as “…another celebrity-fronted band,” but that’s bullshit. Fake fame-fuelled bands involve a famous individual paying someone to write some songs, a bunch of others to play the instruments and tour, and an extra guy or girl to do the celebrity’s on-record vocals, Milli Vanilli-style. Then, when you go see them live, you can look forward to a shambolic half-arsed set full of fluffed lip-syncing, performed in front of an audience who care more about the frontperson’s hairstyle than the music.
Dorje are different. You’re talking about a band of brothers with a near-telepathic tightness, who write epic tunes and play their hearts out to rooms crammed with smart and savvy punters who are there for all the right reasons. Dorje’s success to date certainly causes jealousy in some quarters, but let’s face it – nothing pisses a critic off more than seeing someone doing something the critic wishes they had the balls and/or talent to pull off themselves.
At the Boileroom, Dorje were flawless. If they missed a note, I missed it too. If you feel like your face needs to be melted by an alt-metal inferno ASAP, Dorje’s current tour hits Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Chester, Milton Keynes, London, and Bristol over the next eight days. Get in there and do it quick, before these guys fucking explode.
Links
Check out TMMP’s exclusive pre-show interview with Dorje here.
For more Dorje tour details, see their official website here.
Rob Chapman on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Rabea Massaad on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Ben Minal on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Dave Hollingworth on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
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