Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Now if ever there was a Deathcore/Metalcore gig of the year, its bound to be this, I cant think of the last 5 band bill we had that was all international acts, warning, this is going to be a long review!
Alpha Wolf
Bring Back the Noise
Kicking off with a track from the new album, its a sort of half full venue at the min, these guys getting on 30 mins after doors, kicking in with a nice thrash tempo before it breaks down with the whammy guitar part, real banger to start off proceedings tonight, pretty short and sweet at less than 2 mins long!
Creep
Off to the “A Quiet Place to Die” album for this one, now there is your straight death core style riff at the start of this and then on with the dissonant guitar part, lots of breaks during the riffs for just the vocal then kicks in with a drum led syncopated riff part, Im not sure if its cause people don’t know the songs or the band but its a really dead crowd at the min, plenty of energy coming from the stage but its pretty quiet in here!
Sub-Zero
From the Fault Ep from 2019, almost a rap style intro on the vocals before the band kick in on this one, its a real slow dragging verse part thats getting a few heads nodding away to it, then the bass drops and your into a really heavy riff and a really distrorted bass part, sound isn’t great at times for these guys with the guitars getting a bit lost at times and on this one I did feel that, great track though!
Bleed 4 You
From the 2020 album Quiet Place to Die, its another real choppy riff with the drums following along, then you have a clean almost sort of Jinjer feeling part before the band kicks in again on this, nice dynamics on this one, not just all heavy, big chorus on this when it hits it, now a few people seem to know this one cause I can hear a bit of singing from behind me in the crowd, I love that start stop part with a really sort of high part ringing in the background, not sure if its on a track or a guitar playing it with an effect, really good track!
Sucks 2 Suck
Well we don’t have Ice-T here tonight, it was himself that guested on this track, great bouncing riff that then really grinds down on this, its almost nu metal feeling in the verse part, before there is a break and another riff comes in, the band urging the crowd to bounce to this one, that end riff when it drops really reminds me of Korn before it hits a choppy riff!
Haunter
From the new album, nice choppy riff to start this with like a synth line playing through the back of it and then into a jungle drum groove before it builds and gets super aggressive with a really driving drum and guitar part, then tiebreaks come in with the syncopated guitar and drum part, theres a really disgusting dragging riff right near the end of this track that’s fantastic!
Akudama
On 2020’s Quiet Place to Die album, this is the last one from these guys tonight, now this one is getting a few people up and moving, a really bouncy riff at the start and then the gang vocals as well, thats a huge crushing riff right there in the verse of the song, then its a real start stop riff for the next part, really driving chorus and nice and aggressive, good band and great energy from the stage, all the way from Tasmania via Melbourne, really enjoyed these guys!
Fit For A King
Breaking the Mirror
Kicking off with a track from 2020’s “The Path” album, its straight away a very different sound to the previous band and a lot more metal core, drum intro and some nice harmony guitar parts there, which I assume is on tracks as there is only the one guitar player, great stage presence from all the guys, both the bass player and the guitarist swapping sides and vocalist Ryan smiling away, really nice solo on this, some nice playing in there, and the crowd getting involved in with the band on the build up section before a real slab of a riff kicks in, the melody though is so nice and provides a bit of a break from the heavier stuff!
End (The Other Side)
Onto the new album “The Hell We Create”, thats a lot more aggressive of a start to this song, lots of double bass and a really choppy heavy riff, vocals as well have gotten super aggressive, also nice backing vocals from the other two guys, but then it hits that chorus and its a really cool part and some great clean vocals as well, then into more of a hardcore section, the little break just for the keys before hitting the chorus again is a really nice little touch, great track, I haven’t heard these guys before but that is a really cool track, loved it!
Reaper
Staying with the new album, straight away very different feel and a lot heavier than the last one, a proper heavy riff on there and then the next thing you know its almost like a drum and bass break before there are some slamming double kicks that come in, then like a faux blast beat part thats a snare roll, before we hit that heavy riff again, the crowd is picking up a bit now but its still sort of subdued, that’s been every gig this week I have said that in a review, then a more deathhore part right at the end of this one to top it off!
Backbreaker
Going back to the Dark Skies album for this one, so much more death core this, right from the off with the vocals and the riff and drum part, you can tell this has a different sound, the amount of spinning that Ryan is doing to that bass I am surprised the strap hasn’t came off, still you cant help but watch him, always moving about, great use of the three guys doing the growl chorus refrain, a good few people round me knew this one as they where screaming the chorus back at the guys, that is one seriously long ass scream at the end of that, I would have passed out trying that, great track!
Vendetta
The Path album again for this one, down and deep guitar stabs running along with the drums, then the groove kicks in, thats a nasty riff that comes in after the scream, again really syncopated with the double kicks, then it really slams in with another riff and the constant kicks, the whole track is moving, as is the pit for the first time with a few people getting involved behind me, that dragging riff at the end of the song is brutal!
When Everything Means Nothing
Finishing off with a track from Dark Skies, short set and the guys say they have to leave at 9, to get to the next show so a flying stop off for the guys for sure, this one has more of that metal core feel to it right from the off and then it breaks down to a really soft vocal part, even when the band kicks in it builds into a huge melodic chorus part, then verse two just gets properly heavy with the screamed vocals, nice change though from one to the other and then back into that huge chorus then it sort of drives and builds along in the middle section, great track to close their set with!
Shadow of Intent
Blood in the Sands of Time
Now thats just a nasty riff to kick this one off, from 2022’s Elegy album, then a lovely tapped guitar part and a breakdown part comes in, then there is a bass break and the kicks come in for the next part, Ben cuts an imposing figure at the front of the stage, back and forth all over the stage, really tight band as well, love the guitar and double bass riff that comes up in this one, really nice solo from Chris over on the far side, great player, then the blast beats hit and the tempo goes through the roof, wow what a great track!
Gravesinger
One from 2019s “Melancholy” album, an almost eastern feeling vibe to the start of that one, then comes in with the snare rolls, that really reminds me of Nile, before we get a really static heavy riff and some flying double bass underneath it, drummer Bryce may well be the happiest man in metal, he’s putting in a shift behind there and some really nice fills and work going open as I sat and watched him half the night, blast beats are in again, with the almost Black metal delivery in there, another cool solo hits in, which for me is great, I think it really breaks up the song and adds a touch of melody to some of these really brutal songs, and also as a guitarist I love a good solo!
Flying the Black Flag
Well here is a brand new song for us, as yet unreleased, not going to ruin it for you, if you really want to see it there is footage from Download of it on Youtube but the audio isn’t great, so lets wait till we hear the real recorded version, it was however brutal as all hell and pretty short!
Barren and Breathless Macrocosm
Back to the Melancholy album for this, absolutely flying double bass at the start of this one and thats a lovely riff, then it changes again to just a really slow guitar and drum groove as the vocals get way down there for this one, the drums though, Jesus this guy is incredible, love that double bass and guitar fast riff with the breaks for the vocals, absolutely nuts solo comes in as the tempo kicks way up again, lots of really nice picking and tapping in there, this song originally had Trevor from Black Dahlia, who we seen last night, this is an absolute standout track for me, there is so much in It to digest but its brutal live, just needed the crowd to match the bands intensity on this!
The Heretic Prevails
Off to 2017’s Reclaimer album for this one, straight way this is almost like a Neo classical part that I would think of a power metal band doing, not once the verse comes in but that start bit for sure, but no that chorus is definately classically inspired, I am sure of that, the vocals are full on death core on this and then as I think that, there comes in one of those choppy riffs before we go back into that chorus part again, a really interesting song, I really enjoyed that one!
From Ruin… We Rise
Last track of the set and this is another from the Elegy album, good set from these guys, really solid outfit and great onstage, this one is like a slow burner kicking in with a slow double bass part over static chords, why does this remind me of Cradle of Filth, like a lot, just the way that riff and the vocals are, different feel too this one so far, really epic sounding, then the blasts come in and yeah I still feel like a massive COF influence on this track, its nearer the end when it gets more deathhore and then another solo comes in and lifts the track up a bit, and thats it, band three over and out!
Erra
Cure
Straight in with the opening track form the new album, in fact tonights set is pretty new album heavy, opening with a stuttering riff and then a really cool tapped guitar part, its more about the groove and the bounty riffs with these guys and certainly more in the Metal core end of things than the last band, a lot more melody in the guitar parts and then even the vocals, Jesse providing the clean vocals and JT doing a lot more of the gutturals, these guys actually remind me a lot more of the Djent bands in a way, the crowd do know a lot more of these guys set and at least they are waking up a bit, good opener!
Gungrave
Back to 2022s Self titled album for this one, bit more of a furious start to this one, with the kicks flying along with the guitars, drummer Alex in the background anchoring the whole thing down, absolutely solid, lots of energy from this track, then it breaks down into an atmospheric part with the clean guitars, before it hits the huge chorus which makes great use of the two vocalists, few people around me know the chorus of this one as they are singing away, thats quite the drum fill that leads into a more Djent feeling riff, it really breaks down in the middle of the song and is actually quite chilled, I said that too soon as an massive riff rolls in syncopating with the drums, then there is a bonkers riff that comes in as I watched Jesse pay it in front of me, great track!
Crawl Backwards out of Heaven
New album again, a real brutal riff with the other guitar nearly providing a soundscape over the top of the Meshuggah style riff thats going on as well, this is almost like Monuments or a band like that in sound, lots of bending in that riff there, then the middle of the song hits another sort of clean atmospheric breakdown part, then the next part has the clean vocal on it as it adds a bit of texture to all the heaviness, short but super heavy!
Slow Sour Bleed
Staying with the new album for this one, thats a bouncy riff at the start of this song, and a few people had started to move when we hit the verse which is almost like a dance sort of feel to it, then when the guitars kick in it gets heavy for the chorus and the action resumes again in the pit, the place is pretty rammed now which again is great to see considering how many gigs there has been in the last week!
Scorpion Hymn
Back to the self titled album for this one, there is a big Meshuggah influence right there in that opening riff and even the verse, the guitar and drums but also the vocal delivery on it, even the way there is a textured guitar playing behind on of the riffs, no bad thing, there is a real cut and paste riff part there with some really nice drumming along with it, this one just stays heavy and doesn’t have any melody really in it, but suited the song so much, thats a properly slamming track!
Blue Reverie
New album again for this one, told you there was a load from it, really mellow chilled opening to this one, clean vocal coming in over an ambient backing, even when the heavy guitars come in for a bit it never gets heavy its a really melodic track, now you know that people have heard this because this is the first time I have heard more than a few people singing to a track tonight, not a surprise as its one of the most melodic tracks that any of the bands have played tonight so far, now once It gets into the middle it does get a good bit heavier which is a nice contrast in a way, the song plays out with that lovely melodic chorus again!
Pale Iris
Still with the new album, then after the calm, comes the storm, this one is to the point right from the start with the uptempo and the screamed vocals, but yet again you hit that chorus and you yet again get the melody coming in, these guys in a way are completely different to a lot of the bands on this bill with maybe the exception of Fit for a King, and the way that the previously mentioned and these guys where 2nd and 4th on the bill, it really split up the night from what could have been a bludgeoning all night, now this one does get proper heavy in the middle section of the song but then it comes back into that chorus, another great track!
Snowblood
Back to the self titled, interestingly only songs from the last two albums tonight, so nothing from the albums pre 2020, and what better way to wake the place up then a nice fast start, this is super aggressive, really super bouncy riff to the verse of this as well, all over the place on the guitars, then boom, in comes the melody and the clean singing in the verse part and it really opens the song up massively, really nice solo right there, enjoyed that, then a really heavy slow riff and dry part to wrap this one up, really enjoyed these guys, in the right place in the line up considering the pummelling we are about to get next!
Thy Art is Murder
Destroyer of Dreams
First track for the new album “Godlike”, drum and guitar stabs start this one and then the lurking groove comes in, with relatively new vocalist Tyler cutting an imposing figure at the risers on the front of the stage, Andy and Sean both razor sharp up there, great sound for thee guys and the light show as well, really slow lumbering riff under a melody guitar part in the middle is about the only light your going to get from this song, its full force and it does not let up!
Slaves Beyond Death
Death Squad Anthem
Make America Hate Again
Blood Throne
On the new album, a really choppy fast riff on this one, we have some proper action in here behind me now, there is a really nasty riff that comes in and then it stays with the double kicks underneath, man mountain Kevin on the bass just standing staring into the crowd in the middle of the stage, bit of singalong from the crowd on this one, when it comes down to half time feel it just absolutely grooves, that riff two and a bit mins in with the syncopation on the drum is sick, love it!
Join Me in Armageddon
New album again, really cool trem picked melody part over the static chords of the other guitar player, a really slow groove to this as well, then it sort of slams in with a mid tempo double kick part, its a real headbanger and a lot of people seem to agree as we have a circle pit happening, a good few people know the chorus refrain to this one and are helping sing it back to the band, there is that classic death core, riff followed by just a heavily reverb drenched snare hit, every track from these guys is just going to be brutal!
Bermuda
Staying on the new one, almost slow drum sounding intro to this one as it builds, and yeah when it gets into the verse its just like a drum part with some atmospherics and the screaming vocals, its actually a nice and welcome break from what has gone before it, its only in the last minute of the song when the guitars come in that it gets really heavy but this one is just slow and grindy, again a break in tempo!
Human Target
Title track form 2019s album of the same name, starting with a dissonant riff, then the drum groove comes in and its a really bouncing sort of part to it and everyone taking part, right up until the blasts come in, then it breaks for a riff and even more blast beats come in, your not getting a let up in this one at all, even the slower riffs are just combined with flying double bass, almost a tech death riff comes in there, then you get a bit of melody with the solo coming in but the backing riff is brutal and then straight out and into the blasts again, then a really crushing part to round out the song!
Holy War
From the 2015 album of the same name, this is the one you know that everyone knows when you hear the singalong from the crown on it, and to be fair given everything going on in the world at the min its a very relevant song, that guitar figure along with the other riff is unnerving, then you know its coming, we are breaking into the fast part, slayer beat to blast beats and back again, all the different changes in tempo, lots of singback to the crowd on this one, a great solo by Andy on this one really breakup the song, the end part with that grinding riff is just savage!
The Purest Strain of Hate
Going all the way back to 2013’s Hate album for this one, thats a real pit song there, slow and bouncy just the ways the guys behind me seem to like it, with a slow circle pit going on, and then well it changes and the blasts come in and a few more people come over the top of us, although you can tell the bands identity from back on this album and they have just got more refined as they have gone on, so many little tempo changes and parts in the middle of this one, then when it breaks down to a really slow groove under the riff before the solo its really heavy, another great solo comes in and then then kicks start again, then it just grooves out!
Godlike
Straight in with the double kicks and whats that, a wall of death in The Limelight, yeah that’s the second one of the night, this one is just uptempo, I love the old school sort of black metal blast used before it goes back into the double kicks and then a really cool sliding riff comes in and then a cut and paste sort of riff comes in near the two min mark, the lights are on point for this show as well, whoever the LD is has done a great job, back into the blast again, there’s actually a bit of melody with a second guitar part going along near the end of it, before another syncopated riff comes in again, its like getting assaulted all night its so brutal!
Keres
Lovely drum fill to hit this one, again on the new album, the blast beats, you gotta love a blast beat, then into a thrash tempo, nearly very Corpse sounding part then it comes down into a really heavy slower groove with a devastating riff, that middle riff is disgusting, slow and loads of pinch harmonics, then it hits the blasts and a solo, lovely transition, brutal from start to finish!
Everything Unwanted
You guessed it, new album again, now for those counting thats 7 out of the 10 songs from the new album that the guys have played tonight, fast snare rolls and into the most death metal sounding riff that I have heard all night with the blast beats following it, then a few tempo changes, Jesse is a beast up there behind the kit, that fast riff that the kicks follow is really quick for the feet, then it breaks down a bit more and there are some people deciding to crowd surf for the first time tonight, great solo comes up next, its fast brutal and to the point!
Reign in Darkness
Another from the 2013 Hate album, fast kicks follow the guitar, then when it does kick in, it is slow, heavy and to the point, absolutely brutal, then there is a barrage of drum fills and the blast beats kick in and then some insane foot work, singer Tyler nearly takes a tumble on one of the front risers but laughs it off and gets on with the job in hand, pulling all sorts of faces up there before a brutally fast guitar solo comes in, some nice tempo changes under it as well, then it slows down on the way out, great track right there!
Puppet Master
Last song of the night and we are going to the only track from 2017’s Dear Desolation album, in fact I think the only album we didn’t get a track from was the very first album, “The Adversary”, thats really nice choppy riff, almost Lamb of God in a way, that’s what I was thinking straight away, more pits, more crowd surfing, the crowd is going all out on this last song of tonight, when it slows to the chorus part it is so heavy, that’s such a great riff, the way it rounds out as well, just glorious!
What a bill, all the bands where fantastic, really well put together line up, it was a bill that could of got tiring if every band was exactly the same, but I really enjoyed that tonight, three gigs in a row, I am away to go lie down!
Photography by Darren McVeigh for MPM
