With a Bane show, you’re guaranteed an unmatched night of frenzied chaos and raging intensity. And that’s what their fans got at the White House at Emily Hill on May 18.

Singapore’s Take Over had the chance to kick-start the crazy evening with their blend of energetic hard-hitting hardcore tunes, followed by the 2-piece powerviolence thrash band, Abrasion, that stunned the crowd with their heavy ravaging riffs and savage vocals.

Although it took almost 30 minutes before the Worcester band managed to get all their gear set up, no complaints were heard as Bane set off the spirited mayhem with “Swan Song” off their second album The Note. That sent everyone to form a pit in the crowd, circling it with wildly thrashing limbs. A wave of adrenaline and youthful enthusiasm washed over the crowd as the quintet thundered into “Forked Tongues”, one of the band’s oldest songs.

In no time, heaps of sweat-glistened bodies could be seen crowding up frantically to the front of the stage, vying to grab the microphone from the hand of vocalist, Aaron Bedard, for a few lines as the band erupted into “The Bold and Beautiful”, the first track from their 2009 album Boston 6:58pm. Chants of the song’s lyrics “Live. Learn. Rise. Fall. Point. Squeeze!” were reverberating around the room.

Aaron tells UrbanWire what he misses the most about Singapore, “It’s just the kids and everyone here that was so warm and friendly, not forgetting the people that put on the show, the people that made the effort to come down, and everyone that helped us out. We just couldn’t wait to come back and see everyone. 2 years is definitely a long wait!”

Aaron’s furious but sincere vocals fronted other crowd favourites such as “Ali VS. Frazier”, “Pot Committed”, “Can We Start Again”, “Some Came Running”, “My Therapy” and “Count Me Out”, against a backdrop of lashing drum beats at inhuman pace and relentlessly heavy guitar riffage.

Apart from having performed at shows such as the Hell On Earth Tour and New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, the hardcore punk band also has 4 full-length albums under their belt. Aaron says, “The thing that motivates me more than anything is just trying to be honest and trying to say something that hasn’t already been said before. And even if I’m going to talk about the hardcore scene, friendship, unity and a lot of things that I think are important, I’m going to try and say them in a way that is truly my own.”

Aaron impelled the house to keep on moving and go mental for their last song as the explosive 50 minute set closed with “As The World Turns” off Los Angeles 3:58pm. The opening bassline led the crowd into a unified chant of the compelling lyrics: “Though I walk alone, I am never on my own!” – a song that holds much significance to him.

“The song is so important to me for I mention the death of my father in it and talked about how I actually did have my best friend by my side when I got the phone call regarding the news,” Aaron shares. “The song is about how I get lonely and feel a little bit like an orphan, but come to realise that I’m part of a community where I have friends who have been as real as any family member. The guys in the bands have been my family for 15 years now!”

The hyperactive crowd insisted on an encore from the band and that’s what they got! That is, after Aaron engaged the house in a heartfelt and honest speech about how he hopes the song they’re about to play will change the way people feel about smoking and encourage them to quit, as they led into “Superhero”.

“Back then when I was 15, hardcore really helped guide me through a lot of dark times, confusion and so when it came time to start singing in Bane, I really took my part in the band as someone who writes the songs very seriously,” says Aaron. “

He adds, “If a kid comes up to me and tells me that ‘Superhero’ helped him to quit smoking or this song helped him through one of his darkest times, it’s just like the best compliment you can give me because it’s what I really wanted more than anything else out of my role in Bane. To be able to provide that spark that bands before have given to me. Minor Threat saved my life; they didn’t change it, they saved it and gave me hope as well as a reason to believe in something. And every time a kid tells me that, it hits me in a very deep place in my heart.”

“Even if Bane ends tomorrow, I know I’ll always have these years and that 1 batch of songs that we wrote which impacted kids and changed their lives for the better in one way or another.”

Photos courtesy of Brandon Tanoto