Some bands play heavy metal, this band is heavy metal. End of Life is a robotic ensemble ready to rock all you puny humans into the 21st Century. Their latest work, which took more than two months to create, is a cover of Marily Manson’s famous “The Beautiful People“. Mechanized drums, guitars, printers, and even a cello give this tune an awesome vibe. Check out the music video below. While using solenoids, motors, and musical instruments to create automated hits isn’t new, you have to love End of Life’s choice of songs. I mean, if you’re going to build a band out of cold hard metal, you might as well make it sound like it. (And I mean that in a good way.)
Far from an easy task, transforming musical instruments into robotic ones has nonetheless become an increasingly popular hobby in the last few years. We’ve seen composers use everything from Wiimotes to xylophones to create their automated bands. And while many of these ensembles are far on the fringe of musical tastes, some are the work of mainstream artists looking for new ways to explore their genre. Any way you slice it, these robotic music groups question what it means to be a musician, and challenge their human counterparts to keep up with their innovative style. Hey, who knows – If the technology (and ingenuity) behind these mechanized instruments continue to improve, the live band of the future may not be alive at all.
I’ll leave you with my favorite End of Life hit – an awesome cover of the B-52’s Rock Lobster. I love the vocals:
[image credit: George Baird via Wikicommons (modified)]
