Ho99o9 + Violent Magic Orchestra @ Patterns, Brighton 3rd July 2026
Originally from Newark, New Jersey, but now based in Los Angeles, Ho99o9 descend on Brighton to share some of their words of wisdom with us. Although technically a hardcore rap-punk band, Ho99o9’s songs could work equally well as spoken-word pieces.
However, before we delve further into the wonderful world of Ho99o9, we first have to consider the offerings of support act Violent Magic Orchestra. They produce music that is a head-spinning mix of techno and black metal. The visuals are pretty head-spinning too, with strobes in full effect for the opening song. Titles are not forthcoming, unfortunately, although the closing song may be called Wings Extra Fried. The band are from Osaka, and vocalist Zastar’s delivery is very intense. Indeed, the whole Violent Magic Orchestra experience is very intense. Zastar growls very impressively. I’m keeping well out of her way.
Darkthrone is responsible for the synths and samples, and as early as the second song he is in the crowd trying to get people to dance, or at least react to the music in some way. It would appear that he is the resident vibe master. The music is almost overwhelming, as you feel the sound in your sinuses and your gut. There’s white noise too. Darkthrone is back in the crowd, this time with hand-held lasers, which he shines at a mirror ball. After that, he’s carried through the crowd on the shoulders of one of the crew. Nobody can say that this isn’t entertainment!
Zastar bravely crowd-surfs on what, it has to be said, is a very minimal crowd. The chances of her dropping to the floor are far from minimal! The lasers have been given to people in the crowd, and they are everywhere! This has been an insane set, but in a good way!
The stage is quickly set for Ho99o9. There is a quite bewildering array of sample triggers that will be used by theOGM. They all look exactly the same, although they are labelled, and how he manages to use them at the speed that he does escapes me. The band come on to some quite ethereal-sounding walk-on music and then go straight into Target Practice from the current album Tomorrow We Escape. Apart from the drums – the drumming is awesome, by the way – the instruments are all on samples. The music sounds like hardcore punk, although the vocals are rapped. In terms of their delivery, there’s a definite comparison to Bob Vylan, although Ho99o9’s music has substantially more variety.
Eaddy and theOGM swap lead vocals on OK, I’m Reloaded, which reminds me a little of Bad Brains. As part of their contract to play, Ho99o9 have the barrier between the stage and audience removed. I’ve certainly never seen this done at Patterns before. It makes the whole event infinitely more inclusive. Both Eaddy and theOGM make excursions into the audience, which I guess isn’t surprising.
The audience, equally unsurprisingly, get right into proceedings. Incredibly, from what is possibly the lowest stage in the world – we’re talking inches – there’s a stage diver! They must have actually jumped up to get above the crowd! Eaddy’s small daughter wanders across the stage a couple of times. She is sensibly wearing ear defenders.
Despite the variety in samples – there are occasional soul samples, for instance – this is one of the most energetic gigs that I’ve seen for ages, both in terms of the band and audience. Chaos reigns, but in a good way! There’s more to Ho99o9 than that, though. Their lyrics are very thought-provoking. They have a message worth hearing, no matter where in the world you happen to be. Give them a listen.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
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