Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Sleepmakeswaves @ The Palace Theatre, Melbourne (08/01/2014)
When you sit down and think about it, Karnivool is the success story that never should have happened. Popular Australian metal is limited to a handful of acts, and very few of those acts can be described as particularly technical. Yet, as I walk through the doors of the Palace on the 8th, I found myself in the midst of the impossible. I found myself in the middle of an Australian bred technical metal band that held such heavy demand that they required two shows to satisfy it. And there were many good reasons for this demand, as the band would soon show.
As I walked in, post-rock underdogs Sleepmakeswaves were finishing up their set. With slow and almost cautious precision, the band built themselves up into a wall of noise and distortion. And with one swift kick, the band knocked it down onto the crowd, breaking the tense atmosphere they had created excellently. With a sombre finish, the band left the stage, a treat to all those come early for the festivities.
Dead Letter Circus took to the stage next, old touring buddies of Karnivool. They easily held their own ground during the night, almost rivaling Karnivool for a headline slot on the night with a set of tracks spanning all across their seven year repertoire. Embraced warmly by the audience, the band feed off that energy and delivered a blistering set, albeit a bit shorter than most of their usual shows. Still, as they leave the stage, you can tell they have made their mark on the night.
At last, Karnivool take their places upon the stage. Seeing as vocalist Ian Kenny has spent a large portion of the focusing on Birds of Tokyo, it is an welcome sight to see him take to the heavier side of sound again, especially in support of Karnivool's third LP, Asymmetry. But Kenny employs all that he has learnt since his success, taking the stage by storm from the moment he enters. As the crowd goes wild, it’s difficult not to get caught in the buzz and excitement of the crowd even without hearing a note.
They restrict most of the set to their 2013 LP Asymmetry, but the few older songs are met with a massive roar of approval from the crowd. The bellowing drum line of opener Goliath sends the crowd into a frantic frenzy of swinging fists and swirling hair. As they blast through the set with beautiful precision, the enthusiasm refuses to falter. It isn’t until the break for the encore that everything starts to settle down.
Again, atmosphere played a pivotal role in the band’s ninety minute set. Kenny slipped into character for the intense yet dreamlike performance, standing at the core of the monolithic presence the band’s sound had crafted for them. Ending with a violent extension of Asymmetry’s epic Aeons, the band bid farewell to the crowd, knowing a fair few faces would be arriving at the show tomorrow.
The feeling upon leaving the theatre must be much alike that of leaving mass. There’s a distinct feeling that what you have witnessed has been important, no matter your foreknowledge of the band before entry. I can only imagine what tomorrow night’s show will be like.
Ben Spencer
As I walked in, post-rock underdogs Sleepmakeswaves were finishing up their set. With slow and almost cautious precision, the band built themselves up into a wall of noise and distortion. And with one swift kick, the band knocked it down onto the crowd, breaking the tense atmosphere they had created excellently. With a sombre finish, the band left the stage, a treat to all those come early for the festivities.
Dead Letter Circus took to the stage next, old touring buddies of Karnivool. They easily held their own ground during the night, almost rivaling Karnivool for a headline slot on the night with a set of tracks spanning all across their seven year repertoire. Embraced warmly by the audience, the band feed off that energy and delivered a blistering set, albeit a bit shorter than most of their usual shows. Still, as they leave the stage, you can tell they have made their mark on the night.
At last, Karnivool take their places upon the stage. Seeing as vocalist Ian Kenny has spent a large portion of the focusing on Birds of Tokyo, it is an welcome sight to see him take to the heavier side of sound again, especially in support of Karnivool's third LP, Asymmetry. But Kenny employs all that he has learnt since his success, taking the stage by storm from the moment he enters. As the crowd goes wild, it’s difficult not to get caught in the buzz and excitement of the crowd even without hearing a note.
They restrict most of the set to their 2013 LP Asymmetry, but the few older songs are met with a massive roar of approval from the crowd. The bellowing drum line of opener Goliath sends the crowd into a frantic frenzy of swinging fists and swirling hair. As they blast through the set with beautiful precision, the enthusiasm refuses to falter. It isn’t until the break for the encore that everything starts to settle down.
Again, atmosphere played a pivotal role in the band’s ninety minute set. Kenny slipped into character for the intense yet dreamlike performance, standing at the core of the monolithic presence the band’s sound had crafted for them. Ending with a violent extension of Asymmetry’s epic Aeons, the band bid farewell to the crowd, knowing a fair few faces would be arriving at the show tomorrow.
The feeling upon leaving the theatre must be much alike that of leaving mass. There’s a distinct feeling that what you have witnessed has been important, no matter your foreknowledge of the band before entry. I can only imagine what tomorrow night’s show will be like.
Ben Spencer