Trivium, In Flames, Desecrator @ 170 Russell, Melbourne (24/11/2014)
A characteristically drizzly Melbourne evening set an apt tone for the onslaught of eclectic metal ahead at 170 Russell. The heavy music delivered from a handful of locals in Desecrator, a few very talented Swedes that are In Flames, and their consistently showy tour mates/ headliners Trivium bore no comparison to the miserable deluge outside musically, however. The rain merely served as a metaphoric representation that everyone and everything inside one of Melbourne's dwindling number of awesome live music joints was about to get as incredibly fucking wet as the inclement city beyond its doors.
Melbournian Thrash trio Desecrator have astonishingly shameless mullets. In the complex mullet culture - as we all well know - this obviously makes them amazing mullets. |
Front man Alex Strong and fellow guitarist Scottie Anning looked like Hare Krishna's that pray to Satan. It was great, and so was the band. There's a rich vein of Anthrax, Testament, and Ride The Lightning to be heard coursing through Desecrator's sound. They also mentioned Metal a lot in their opener, which was pretty metal. METAL.
Paulie Tipping's five string bass made shit nice and meaty throughout (his mullet was on his chin), and Strong's appropriately gravelly yet shrill vocals were a welcome change from so many indecipherable shouty vocals that other local bands use. He also belts out blistering guitar solos between wailing like a seasoned veteran. There's no doubt everyone in Desecrator is exceptionally talented.
Most of their songs are about being or heading to hell, example; the epic Down To Hell. It's a pearler of a song that stomps triumphantly in to Prog/ Sabbath territory. Buy the ten inch off their website, or have a shittier record collection than your friends that do. Drummer Jared Roberts was also flawlessly awesome, exactly like the rest of the band. They certainly flew in the face of a lukewarm crowd who were perhaps saving all their energy for the two headliners. Get around these easy going and charismatic Melbournian thrash revivalists ASAP before they blow up in Europe and you - an Australian metal fan - try desperately to cling to elitism by pretending you knew about them before it was cool. They have murder in a film clip spurred from someone spilling beer in a Kingswood. What more do you want?
After an atmospheric intro, a belting opener, and a crowd still not entirely ready to get loose, In Flames front man Anders Fridén calmly states "You can throw away the picnic basket and enjoy the show, mother fuckers." Launching in to Everything's Gone - and backed by Anders' words of wisdom - the pit whipped in to sudden frenzy. Fear Is Weakness followed, then Trigger, which garnered a particularly huge response.
An affront to most misconceived stereotypes about metallers, In Flames are positive and extremely good-natured dudes. In this reviewer's sixteen year history of going to gigs, it's impossible not to conclude that Swedes + metal = huge smiles (see: Amon Amarth, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.) Maybe they just see the fun in it better than other cultures.
Chatting to lead guitarist Bjorn pre-show, he expressed his opinion that In Flames are a more of a live band. Studio visits are a necessity to express new work, but the stage is where they hit their stride sonically and energetically. With the antics and banter that so comfortably took place during the show between their ripping set list, it's not hard to agree.
Anders got a dude on stage to tape a song on his Samsung, all while slaying a heckler; "Want me to meet your Mum? Well... I don't want to say out loud, but I already met her!" Beyond the mum joke, there was lots of anthemic sing-alongs, lots of atmospheric interludes, and a circle pit good enough to entertain as much as the band. "Trivium took us to dinner, it's why we're so fat!", decreed Anders toward the end of the gig. Such a statement is a joke and impossibility in equal measure. Giving so much energy night after night these guys do, they'll be a svelte and peerless metal behemoth for the foreseeable future.
After the standard slightly-longer-than-you-would-think wait between sets, Trivium erupted on to stage after most of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills had played through the PAs. Most of the crowd seemed in to it, while others who were probably born in a decade that starts with a nineteen still got in the spirit and bobbed their head.
They blasted out Strife to a raucous response, with crowd surfers surfacing from moments after the first chord had been struck. Black followed, with impeccably presented front man Matt Heafy demanding even more action and involvement from the crowd, despite their already gargantuan response.
Heafy’s desire for a larger audience participation was reiterated time and again throughout the show, making the man at times seem cocky to a fault. It’s of my opinion that the crowd can do whatever they feel like at a gig, and when they’re obviously giving you their all physically – as well as thousands in merch and ticket sales – you needn’t press for further response. Heafy, although never once dropping the ball vocally or musically throughout, tends to say much of the same repeatedly throughout the show. His banter strays rarely from demands of more cheering, or calling the crowd ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ over and over again. It comes off as pretty contrived, and far from earnest or organic. No doubt it left a few fans hoping it was a verbal idiosyncrasy, instead of a genuine insincerity. Regardless, his requests are mostly effective, and the waning but dedicated pit continued to exert a ridiculous amount of energy right until curtains.
Trivium are a band that has punchy, chest-kicking breakdowns to a science, and by golly when one erupts during some of the more lofty walls of noise these men produce, it’s fucking electrifying. Corey Beaulieu’s trademark scream has a particularly great sound live. He genuinely sounds like wind from Like Wind From A Raging Storm. It’s truly beyond comprehension how a human can make such a huge noise. To stress, everyone on stage was flawless. These men are professional and skilled beyond many, many other bands I’ve seen. Even if one despised metal, no one could dismiss their damn-near peerless musical execution.
The lighting at 170 Russell is particularly fancy. It's day job as a thumping EDM club works fantastically in live music’s favour. They match so well to new recruit Mat Madiro’s flawless, stuttering tom and kick work; always threatening tempo loss with their technicality, but never missing a beat.
At one point, Matt Heafy states he’s not sure if we’re the best Aussie crowd they’ve seen on the tour. This reviewer couldn’t help but yell out “Fuck you! We showed up twice!”, to a favourable response. If Heafy was trying to get a reaction from the crowd, I’m sure it wasn’t the one he planned. Panning an audience with a guilt trip to make them show you more love that far in to a set is shabby at best.
Watch The World Burn and Down From The Sky get huge reactions, and a great speech about putting all the negative shit in your life in to something positive helps redeem some of the nagging, shitty things Heafy has said throughout the gig.
Good message about putting all the negative shit in the world in to something positive. A particularly heavy belter from Vengeance Falls is the band’s example of such a thing. Dying In Your Arms and Built To Fail follow, then a break before a double encore.
There was 100% given by all bands on show at 170 Russell, and a memorable show for all involved. It’s a shame then, that the headliners couldn’t connect with the audience on a level as honest and clear as their two supports. That aside, there’s no doubt Trivium respect their fans in their own way, but may need to polish how they go about expressing it between otherwise blistering songs.
Todd Gingell
Paulie Tipping's five string bass made shit nice and meaty throughout (his mullet was on his chin), and Strong's appropriately gravelly yet shrill vocals were a welcome change from so many indecipherable shouty vocals that other local bands use. He also belts out blistering guitar solos between wailing like a seasoned veteran. There's no doubt everyone in Desecrator is exceptionally talented.
Most of their songs are about being or heading to hell, example; the epic Down To Hell. It's a pearler of a song that stomps triumphantly in to Prog/ Sabbath territory. Buy the ten inch off their website, or have a shittier record collection than your friends that do. Drummer Jared Roberts was also flawlessly awesome, exactly like the rest of the band. They certainly flew in the face of a lukewarm crowd who were perhaps saving all their energy for the two headliners. Get around these easy going and charismatic Melbournian thrash revivalists ASAP before they blow up in Europe and you - an Australian metal fan - try desperately to cling to elitism by pretending you knew about them before it was cool. They have murder in a film clip spurred from someone spilling beer in a Kingswood. What more do you want?
After an atmospheric intro, a belting opener, and a crowd still not entirely ready to get loose, In Flames front man Anders Fridén calmly states "You can throw away the picnic basket and enjoy the show, mother fuckers." Launching in to Everything's Gone - and backed by Anders' words of wisdom - the pit whipped in to sudden frenzy. Fear Is Weakness followed, then Trigger, which garnered a particularly huge response.
An affront to most misconceived stereotypes about metallers, In Flames are positive and extremely good-natured dudes. In this reviewer's sixteen year history of going to gigs, it's impossible not to conclude that Swedes + metal = huge smiles (see: Amon Amarth, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.) Maybe they just see the fun in it better than other cultures.
Chatting to lead guitarist Bjorn pre-show, he expressed his opinion that In Flames are a more of a live band. Studio visits are a necessity to express new work, but the stage is where they hit their stride sonically and energetically. With the antics and banter that so comfortably took place during the show between their ripping set list, it's not hard to agree.
Anders got a dude on stage to tape a song on his Samsung, all while slaying a heckler; "Want me to meet your Mum? Well... I don't want to say out loud, but I already met her!" Beyond the mum joke, there was lots of anthemic sing-alongs, lots of atmospheric interludes, and a circle pit good enough to entertain as much as the band. "Trivium took us to dinner, it's why we're so fat!", decreed Anders toward the end of the gig. Such a statement is a joke and impossibility in equal measure. Giving so much energy night after night these guys do, they'll be a svelte and peerless metal behemoth for the foreseeable future.
After the standard slightly-longer-than-you-would-think wait between sets, Trivium erupted on to stage after most of Iron Maiden’s Run To The Hills had played through the PAs. Most of the crowd seemed in to it, while others who were probably born in a decade that starts with a nineteen still got in the spirit and bobbed their head.
They blasted out Strife to a raucous response, with crowd surfers surfacing from moments after the first chord had been struck. Black followed, with impeccably presented front man Matt Heafy demanding even more action and involvement from the crowd, despite their already gargantuan response.
Heafy’s desire for a larger audience participation was reiterated time and again throughout the show, making the man at times seem cocky to a fault. It’s of my opinion that the crowd can do whatever they feel like at a gig, and when they’re obviously giving you their all physically – as well as thousands in merch and ticket sales – you needn’t press for further response. Heafy, although never once dropping the ball vocally or musically throughout, tends to say much of the same repeatedly throughout the show. His banter strays rarely from demands of more cheering, or calling the crowd ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ over and over again. It comes off as pretty contrived, and far from earnest or organic. No doubt it left a few fans hoping it was a verbal idiosyncrasy, instead of a genuine insincerity. Regardless, his requests are mostly effective, and the waning but dedicated pit continued to exert a ridiculous amount of energy right until curtains.
Trivium are a band that has punchy, chest-kicking breakdowns to a science, and by golly when one erupts during some of the more lofty walls of noise these men produce, it’s fucking electrifying. Corey Beaulieu’s trademark scream has a particularly great sound live. He genuinely sounds like wind from Like Wind From A Raging Storm. It’s truly beyond comprehension how a human can make such a huge noise. To stress, everyone on stage was flawless. These men are professional and skilled beyond many, many other bands I’ve seen. Even if one despised metal, no one could dismiss their damn-near peerless musical execution.
The lighting at 170 Russell is particularly fancy. It's day job as a thumping EDM club works fantastically in live music’s favour. They match so well to new recruit Mat Madiro’s flawless, stuttering tom and kick work; always threatening tempo loss with their technicality, but never missing a beat.
At one point, Matt Heafy states he’s not sure if we’re the best Aussie crowd they’ve seen on the tour. This reviewer couldn’t help but yell out “Fuck you! We showed up twice!”, to a favourable response. If Heafy was trying to get a reaction from the crowd, I’m sure it wasn’t the one he planned. Panning an audience with a guilt trip to make them show you more love that far in to a set is shabby at best.
Watch The World Burn and Down From The Sky get huge reactions, and a great speech about putting all the negative shit in your life in to something positive helps redeem some of the nagging, shitty things Heafy has said throughout the gig.
Good message about putting all the negative shit in the world in to something positive. A particularly heavy belter from Vengeance Falls is the band’s example of such a thing. Dying In Your Arms and Built To Fail follow, then a break before a double encore.
There was 100% given by all bands on show at 170 Russell, and a memorable show for all involved. It’s a shame then, that the headliners couldn’t connect with the audience on a level as honest and clear as their two supports. That aside, there’s no doubt Trivium respect their fans in their own way, but may need to polish how they go about expressing it between otherwise blistering songs.
Todd Gingell