Senser

Audio, Glasgow

Four stars

"You can't hide 'cause I am reality. Your birthright is a world of insanity. Disconnected legacy and you will never see an end to the global savagery."

Those are the 22-year-old words of Age of Panic from Senser, whose message is as relevant now as it was then. 

The same is true for this very underestimated band's savage rap-metal-psychedelia crossover amalgam which was given a fresh blast in one of the smaller venues of Glasgow.

Back then front man Heitham Al-Sayed was a striking seething skinheaded ball of fire, spitting rhymes with undeniable ferocity backed with the most thunderous of guitar riffs and furious DJ scratch and effects.

It is laughable that they were once lumped in with the cosmic likes of Ozric Tentacles and Back to the Planet.

The Herald:

This is no crusty hippy combo ready to float, this was and is their revolution.

Rage Against The Machine may have been the nearest comparison, but the band were doing their thing way before Killing In The Name.

A hiatus after the classic debut album Stacked Up, from which AoP came from, may have lost the band's impetus, but it never blunted their vision on reformation.

On stage, Al-Sayed has more hair than then but less than when they were lauded by metallers eight years ago with their How To Do Battle album from which the explosive Resistance Now and 2 3 Clear are keystones of their live set.

But metal they are not and just as soon as the headbanging starts, Kirsten can twist her vocals into a spacier direction and when the switch is made to their hit single The Switch they become a refreshingly itchy funky groove machine. Al-Sayed still has that vicious stare but counterbalanced by an endearing smile as one of the Glasgow faithful bravely attempts a stage dive that over 20 years ago was practically in the rule book.

The energy levels may be slightly reduced, but there is undeniable authenticity still to Al-Sayed and the combo's message, rhythms and belief.

Away from the stage, Al-Sayed has another life. Based in France, he is plugging his first novel In The Droom and he has a couple of other bands on the go, but there is talk of a seventh album with Senser in the melting pot.

He has in the past turned down collaborations with artists as diverse as the new funkers Jamiroquai, acid rockers The Prodigy and electronic gurus Leftfield, not because he doesn't love the artists, but he says it is because he is "genuinely not interested in any kind of stardom".

The Herald:

The sinister Johnny Rotten-esque "ha hahahaha" that begins the epic States of Mind normally, has gone missing tonight,  maybe just because it draws parallels. Now that may seem a minor point, but it's a bit like removing the "Right, NOW" introduction to the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the UK.

That said, the mosh pit did not notice. Nor should they, as the band end a curtailed hour set with the majestically visceral Eject.

"I remember when Steve Albini was talking about the music industry. He said you'd be better off getting a good day job and making the record you want to make than sucking up [to] anybody or anything," Al-Sayed said. "So that's what I did."