#7 The Bendigo Hotel 12.01.2014

Join The Amish

This band have a pretty good reputation, though I don't really get it. Credit where credit is due they are pretty damn tight, and energy on stage/floor is pretty good (particularly the vocalist and bass player) and some of the riffs are pretty catchy. Vocalist looks and sounds like he should be in a hardcore band. Obviously thrash/hardcore combinations often work though I don't think it does too well for them.

Sewercide

Best thrash band in Melbourne at the moment. Great riffs, great energy. Brilliant thrash metal with just enough death metal to make them stand out a little. This wasn't their best performance but it was still great.

Party Vibez

Another Melbourne thrash band high on my list. Always having fun, always engaging the audience. Again not their best show but still great to watch and full of fast catchy riffs and pretty good energy live.

Desecrator

Yet another Melbourne thrash band that I rate highly. Quite different from the last two, Desecrator play more cheesy straight-forward thrash. They always look like they are enjoying themselves which gets infectious. It's pretty clear tonight that they're excited to be on the amazing lineup

Depression

Legendary Melbourne punk band who recently united. Legendary maybe, but they don't do too much for me. This was a pretty cool set though, probably my favourite time seeing them to date, definitely tight and they all seemed to be getting right into it.

Primate

No doubt about it Kevin Sharp is a great frontman. This band is definitely fun, tight and just a pleasure to watch.

Wehrmacht

The legends. Never thought I was going to see them live. And here they were. I was kind of apprehensive about the new vocalist. Halfway through the first song I am at ease. Sure he's not the same as Tito, can't quite do the same things with his voice, but he was still really good. Very energetic too. It was great, the band interacted heaps with the crowd and all looked genuinely thrilled to there and the crowd ate it up. Plenty of stage dives, sing-alongs and good times by all, one of the best gigs I've been to.

Check all the bands out here:
https://www.facebook.com/JoinTheAmish http://jointheamish.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Sewercide http://sewercide.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/partyvibez http://partyvibez.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DESECRATORAUS  http://desecrator.net/music/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Depression-Hardcore-Punk/119305521416389
https://www.facebook.com/Primategrind http://www.primategrind.com/audio/mp.html
https://www.facebook.com/WehrmachtOfficial http://wehrmacht.bandcamp.com/releases

#6 The Hi-Fi Bar 10.01.2014

 

Nocturnal Graves

Only caught the last couple of songs in their set. Pretty solid death metal with a touch of black thrash. Would be good to see them on a smaller stage.

Watain

Heard of some really stupid antics of this band which meant I had no expectations. They were pretty decent though, as far as black metal goes. Reasonably tight and energetic, and the stage setup/corpse paint was hilarious as black metal usually is. Had to applaud their ending to the set - walked off stage, stage lights still on, bit of feedback, candles still burning, same/similar sample to what opened the show - really made everyone think they were gonna do an encore. 4 minutes later some stage crew comes out and puts out the candle. Terrific.

Mayhem

So utterly disappointing. Their last Australian tour was without doubt the single best black metal gig I had seen, yet this left a lot to be desired. Sound seemed really terrible, drums were very high in the mix and dominated the sound (and it had a shitty trigger sound), everything else was muddy and bleeding in to one another - it was often hard to tell what the songs were until you heard the words. Attila was still a good frontman, though seemed like he was more tired/lazy than last time.

Check all the bands out here:
https://www.facebook.com/nocturnalgraves http://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-bloodline-of-cain
https://www.facebook.com/watainofficial http://seasonofmistcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/casus-luciferi
https://www.facebook.com/mayhemofficial