Of Mice & Men, Chelsea Grin, While She Sleeps @ The Factory, Sydney (27/02/2013)
After drawing in and rocking rather impressive crowds at both their Sydney and Brisbane Soundwave sets, Of Mice & Men’s Sydney sidewave at The Factory Theatre was hyped up to be a sidewave not to miss. And while I was seeing other bands during most of their set at Soundwave I was absolutely pumped to be seeing their complete set, and I was definitely not let down
While She Sleeps started the night off with a reasonable set, if somewhat lacking in energy, that started the metalcore tone for the night. The chugging guitars and heavy drums typical of their songs fit perfectly with the crowd awaiting the later bands, and while they didn’t have many fans of their own in the audience they kept the venue on their feet and entertained during their set.
Having never heard the band before, their range of songs from album and earlier EP gave me a feel for their style and I would say they are definitely worth another listen. The highlight of their set was The North Stands For Nothing which had even new listeners of theirs chanting along to the chorus by the end.
I don’t know who was organising the music between sets or who they were making fun of but a playlist of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Ke$ha was certainly not what anyone was expecting to hear!
For anyone who hasn’t seen Chelsea Grin live, to say they have a powerful stage presence is an understatement. In fact, seeing them for the first time I was well and truly shaken by the end of their set. The 5-piece deathcore band filled the venue with rather stirring guitar riffs, deafening drums and Alex Koehler’s spectacular vocals and rather hypnotically seductive stage presence.
While a little difficult to tell for those who are anything less than familiar with their discography, the set list covered songs from both their studio albums and EPs. However, the fans that knew exactly what to expect from the band were a surging force of energy that could scream along to every word and jump through every breakdown.
Taking to the stage of the almost sold out Factory Theatre, Of Mice & Men were greeted with of cheers, chants, screams and song requests. They kicked their set off with O.G. Loko that saw a large mosh start up and continue throughout the rest of their set. They continued on with Product Of A Murderer and Farewell To Shady Glade, building up their own energy on stage to match that of the crowd swelling up to get just a step closer to Austin Carlile.
With songs from both studio albums, they managed to cover just about every fan’s favourite songs at some point. A definite crowd pleaser of the set was This One’s For You which absolutely deserves an honourable mention thanks to Austin’s 20-odd second, hair raising scream.
Their set ended with a four-song dedication to the recent deluxe edition of their album The Flood. Starting off with the instrumental opening to the album, The Calm, the band managed to turn the venue into a quiet and intimate moment in time with the crowd drawn into Phil Manansala’s spectacular guitar solo. It was followed up with The Storm and The Flood that had the audience absolutely undivided attention directly on Austin and the passion he was pushing into every note. With the crowd’s complete attention, Austin got almost every person in the room down on the floor, truthfully stating “we’re not gonna play another note until every single one of you is down on one knee” before blasting into The Depths and letting the crowd know that “when I say get up I want you to lose your fucking minds!”
The absolute highlight of not only their set and the entire night, but quite possibly my Soundwave experience for the year, was the encore of Second & Sebring. Being part of an audience in such an intimate venue and sharing such an emotional moment with the band is a rare experience with bands within the metalcore and post-hardcore genres. Of Mice & Men, however, know how to balance the power of their music with the emotional outpouring of their lyrics and audience to create an absolutely moving moment in their shows.
With an incredible performance from Of Mice & Men and impressive shows from the opening bands, the sidewave was well and truly a night to remember! And for anyone who enjoys metalcore music and a good live show, be sure to catch Of Mice & Men at one of their Soundwave sets or the next time they’re down in Australia.
Bethany Williams
While She Sleeps started the night off with a reasonable set, if somewhat lacking in energy, that started the metalcore tone for the night. The chugging guitars and heavy drums typical of their songs fit perfectly with the crowd awaiting the later bands, and while they didn’t have many fans of their own in the audience they kept the venue on their feet and entertained during their set.
Having never heard the band before, their range of songs from album and earlier EP gave me a feel for their style and I would say they are definitely worth another listen. The highlight of their set was The North Stands For Nothing which had even new listeners of theirs chanting along to the chorus by the end.
I don’t know who was organising the music between sets or who they were making fun of but a playlist of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Ke$ha was certainly not what anyone was expecting to hear!
For anyone who hasn’t seen Chelsea Grin live, to say they have a powerful stage presence is an understatement. In fact, seeing them for the first time I was well and truly shaken by the end of their set. The 5-piece deathcore band filled the venue with rather stirring guitar riffs, deafening drums and Alex Koehler’s spectacular vocals and rather hypnotically seductive stage presence.
While a little difficult to tell for those who are anything less than familiar with their discography, the set list covered songs from both their studio albums and EPs. However, the fans that knew exactly what to expect from the band were a surging force of energy that could scream along to every word and jump through every breakdown.
Taking to the stage of the almost sold out Factory Theatre, Of Mice & Men were greeted with of cheers, chants, screams and song requests. They kicked their set off with O.G. Loko that saw a large mosh start up and continue throughout the rest of their set. They continued on with Product Of A Murderer and Farewell To Shady Glade, building up their own energy on stage to match that of the crowd swelling up to get just a step closer to Austin Carlile.
With songs from both studio albums, they managed to cover just about every fan’s favourite songs at some point. A definite crowd pleaser of the set was This One’s For You which absolutely deserves an honourable mention thanks to Austin’s 20-odd second, hair raising scream.
Their set ended with a four-song dedication to the recent deluxe edition of their album The Flood. Starting off with the instrumental opening to the album, The Calm, the band managed to turn the venue into a quiet and intimate moment in time with the crowd drawn into Phil Manansala’s spectacular guitar solo. It was followed up with The Storm and The Flood that had the audience absolutely undivided attention directly on Austin and the passion he was pushing into every note. With the crowd’s complete attention, Austin got almost every person in the room down on the floor, truthfully stating “we’re not gonna play another note until every single one of you is down on one knee” before blasting into The Depths and letting the crowd know that “when I say get up I want you to lose your fucking minds!”
The absolute highlight of not only their set and the entire night, but quite possibly my Soundwave experience for the year, was the encore of Second & Sebring. Being part of an audience in such an intimate venue and sharing such an emotional moment with the band is a rare experience with bands within the metalcore and post-hardcore genres. Of Mice & Men, however, know how to balance the power of their music with the emotional outpouring of their lyrics and audience to create an absolutely moving moment in their shows.
With an incredible performance from Of Mice & Men and impressive shows from the opening bands, the sidewave was well and truly a night to remember! And for anyone who enjoys metalcore music and a good live show, be sure to catch Of Mice & Men at one of their Soundwave sets or the next time they’re down in Australia.
Bethany Williams