Of Mice & Men, Atreyu, The Devil Wears Prada @ The Factory Theatre, Sydney (25/02/2015)
At no other time of the year do so many metalcore, post-hardcore and pop-punk powerhouses descend of Australia than for Soundwave Music Festival.
Of Mice & Men’s Sydney Sidewave at The Factory Theatre was a sample of some of the Festivals best metalcore offerings for the year. The night opened with Ohio locals The Devil Wears Prada and a set of melodic metalcore that got the energy levels quickly rising. With their set starting later than planned, the floor was quickly filling up and the mix of fans and new listeners, which they kept thoroughly captivated throughout their set. They played through a mix of old and new songs with crowd favourites Escape and Overwhelmed stirring the crowd up onto their feet with their fists in the air. |
Following up was the long-awaited return to Australia of metalcore powerhouse Atreyu. Despite not headlining the night, their set of classic metal anthems and drowning drumbeats drew the largest crowd of the night. Opening their set with Doomsday, front man Alex Varkatzas’ energy filled both the stage and the theatre, drawing the growing crowd into a frenzy of moshing, screaming and jumping that lasted till the end of the set.
Playing through perhaps some of the greatest songs of their discography saw the crowd reaching a peak or energy with Ex’s and Oh’s and Blow. The unexpected covers of the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song and Bon Jovi’s You Give Love A Bad Name were a great inclusion to their that got even the quiet few on the back couches singing along. While I’ve never been familiar with Atreyu beyond their name, their set made it clear exactly how they have gained such a large following of dedicated fans throughout the years.
Of Mice & Men finally took the stage as the growing anticipation of the crowd spilled over into screams and cries for their set to begin. Kicking off their set with one of their newer songs Public Service Announcement, Austin Carlile quickly took over the stage with a determined prowl, making sure every member of the crowd pushed their way to the front to join in on the stage-led moshing.
After seeing them perform on the same stage with Soundwave last year, I felt like I knew exactly what their set would bring, and I’m pleased to say they’ve stepped up on their performance once again. Between their discography classics including O.G. Loko, Let Live and Second and Sebring, songs off their latest album Restoring Force, filled out their set list.
Their set finished off with a two-song encore of The Depths and Little Talks. As a standard for live performances of The Depths, Carlile called for everyone to “get the fuck down!” and waited until everyone besides the sound crew and a small few hiding in the shadows were down on their knees before the band blasted into the song and Carlile called for everyone to “lose their fucking minds.” As the final song of the night, Little Talks brought the crowd together in a mass of raised fists and loud voices as the screamed and punched along with the bass drum and Carlile’s voice.
I feel like I say this with every review of Of Mice & Men, but once again I highly recommend checking them out at future Soundwave dates and I know that they will capture every crowd they’re put in front of. And as a new fan of both The Devil Wears Prada and Atreyu, I can’t wait to see them on the Soundwave stages too.
Bethany Williams
Playing through perhaps some of the greatest songs of their discography saw the crowd reaching a peak or energy with Ex’s and Oh’s and Blow. The unexpected covers of the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song and Bon Jovi’s You Give Love A Bad Name were a great inclusion to their that got even the quiet few on the back couches singing along. While I’ve never been familiar with Atreyu beyond their name, their set made it clear exactly how they have gained such a large following of dedicated fans throughout the years.
Of Mice & Men finally took the stage as the growing anticipation of the crowd spilled over into screams and cries for their set to begin. Kicking off their set with one of their newer songs Public Service Announcement, Austin Carlile quickly took over the stage with a determined prowl, making sure every member of the crowd pushed their way to the front to join in on the stage-led moshing.
After seeing them perform on the same stage with Soundwave last year, I felt like I knew exactly what their set would bring, and I’m pleased to say they’ve stepped up on their performance once again. Between their discography classics including O.G. Loko, Let Live and Second and Sebring, songs off their latest album Restoring Force, filled out their set list.
Their set finished off with a two-song encore of The Depths and Little Talks. As a standard for live performances of The Depths, Carlile called for everyone to “get the fuck down!” and waited until everyone besides the sound crew and a small few hiding in the shadows were down on their knees before the band blasted into the song and Carlile called for everyone to “lose their fucking minds.” As the final song of the night, Little Talks brought the crowd together in a mass of raised fists and loud voices as the screamed and punched along with the bass drum and Carlile’s voice.
I feel like I say this with every review of Of Mice & Men, but once again I highly recommend checking them out at future Soundwave dates and I know that they will capture every crowd they’re put in front of. And as a new fan of both The Devil Wears Prada and Atreyu, I can’t wait to see them on the Soundwave stages too.
Bethany Williams