Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Crossfaith @ The Hordern Pavillion, Sydney (06/10/2013)
Three bands from three continents. Having Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, and Crossfaith in the one room is enough to give any metalcore fan a hard-on.
Expectations were high – the phenomenal success of BMTH’s Sempiternal coupled with some die-hard fan bases served as both a blessing and a curse. While there was substantial pressure on the bands, they could rely somewhat on fans being too star struck to critique the gig.
Kicking off what promised to be an amazing night was Crossfaith. It always sucks being the opening act – you play to a half-packed room and you’re responsible for setting the mood of the night. In saying that, the boys from Japan did a stellar job.
Playing both new and old pieces, a definite highlight was their cover of The Prodigy’s Omen that saw the crowd literally on their knees before jumping up to mosh their legs off. At times they reminded me of a Japanese metal Amy Meredith, but with more electronica. Koie Kenta (vocalist) proved to be an expert in talking and pumping up the crowd, and Amano Tatsuya was ballistic on the drums. The amount of power and energy behind his performance made it difficult to look away.
The set ends, and the room starts to reach capacity. When Austin Carlisle and Co. came out you could see the fangirls fainting – no, literally; I saw a girl get carried out just before they started the set.
There’s no doubt Of Mice & Men put on a fantastic show, albeit the guitars getting a little lost at times. Carlisle worked the crowd effortlessly, beckoning them with his fingers and swinging the microphone cord around his neck, much to the enjoyment of every straight girl and gay guy in the room.
The Flood was definitely a crowd-pleaser and it was plain to see the change in the band as well. There was something almost animalistic and wild about them; it was fascinating to see them get completely overpowered and controlled by music.
The atmosphere changes after OM&M leave the stage. It’s this impatient anticipation that continues to grow ten minutes after the headliners are meant to be onstage. Tardiness is never a good start.
The set consisted of mainly their newer songs, and I’m afraid to say that Sykes’ vocals were generally weak for most songs. Touring has taken its toll on him. Regardless, we were all pretty stoked to be there, and performances like And The Snakes Start To Sing and Deathbeds made the night complete.
There were more than a few damp eyes when the latter song was played and even the frontman himself couldn’t stop his voice from shaking. The night ended with Sleepwalking, which absolutely killed it. The cannons blasted out confetti for the second time that night, and we left the room with bruises and smiles.
There’s nothing quite like seeing your favourite band play. Regardless of the quality of the set, being surrounded by people that share this immense love and dedication is a feeling that can’t be matched. There’s something fucking incredible about having a connection with total strangers through a set of lyrics that hits the souls of everyone in the room. It’s one of the very rare times where we reach harmony.
Olivia Fusca
Expectations were high – the phenomenal success of BMTH’s Sempiternal coupled with some die-hard fan bases served as both a blessing and a curse. While there was substantial pressure on the bands, they could rely somewhat on fans being too star struck to critique the gig.
Kicking off what promised to be an amazing night was Crossfaith. It always sucks being the opening act – you play to a half-packed room and you’re responsible for setting the mood of the night. In saying that, the boys from Japan did a stellar job.
Playing both new and old pieces, a definite highlight was their cover of The Prodigy’s Omen that saw the crowd literally on their knees before jumping up to mosh their legs off. At times they reminded me of a Japanese metal Amy Meredith, but with more electronica. Koie Kenta (vocalist) proved to be an expert in talking and pumping up the crowd, and Amano Tatsuya was ballistic on the drums. The amount of power and energy behind his performance made it difficult to look away.
The set ends, and the room starts to reach capacity. When Austin Carlisle and Co. came out you could see the fangirls fainting – no, literally; I saw a girl get carried out just before they started the set.
There’s no doubt Of Mice & Men put on a fantastic show, albeit the guitars getting a little lost at times. Carlisle worked the crowd effortlessly, beckoning them with his fingers and swinging the microphone cord around his neck, much to the enjoyment of every straight girl and gay guy in the room.
The Flood was definitely a crowd-pleaser and it was plain to see the change in the band as well. There was something almost animalistic and wild about them; it was fascinating to see them get completely overpowered and controlled by music.
The atmosphere changes after OM&M leave the stage. It’s this impatient anticipation that continues to grow ten minutes after the headliners are meant to be onstage. Tardiness is never a good start.
The set consisted of mainly their newer songs, and I’m afraid to say that Sykes’ vocals were generally weak for most songs. Touring has taken its toll on him. Regardless, we were all pretty stoked to be there, and performances like And The Snakes Start To Sing and Deathbeds made the night complete.
There were more than a few damp eyes when the latter song was played and even the frontman himself couldn’t stop his voice from shaking. The night ended with Sleepwalking, which absolutely killed it. The cannons blasted out confetti for the second time that night, and we left the room with bruises and smiles.
There’s nothing quite like seeing your favourite band play. Regardless of the quality of the set, being surrounded by people that share this immense love and dedication is a feeling that can’t be matched. There’s something fucking incredible about having a connection with total strangers through a set of lyrics that hits the souls of everyone in the room. It’s one of the very rare times where we reach harmony.
Olivia Fusca