Crowbar, Sydney
Friday 7 February 2020
Reviewer : Grant Ottley
Photographer : Adam Sivewright
Trudging down Crystal Street through a torrential downpour was oddly enough, a good precursor for Beastwars tonight. The howling rain set the mood nicely for the tempest that Beastwars would bring on later on. The storm would subsequently knock the power out in my neighbourhood for the best part of the week, but once Ausgrid finally delivered electricity back to this part of the world, energy, Internet service, and civilization in general resumed.
Astrodeath opened, sounding impressively girthsome (yes, I’ll say it ‘for a two-piece’), lots of distortion and an absolute beast of a drummer fill the sound out effectively, However, name one trio (not naming ‘Rush’) who doesn’t sound at least a bit empty at times let alone a duo. Maybe it was a visual thing, or maybe some of the songs were a little ‘one note’, but by the end of their set, there did seem to be something lacking.
Potion begin with an absolute swamp fest intro, ‘Woman Of The Wand’ is in parts like a Sabbath 45 being played on 33. It’s 10 minutes in before we seem to leave intro territory & Lee Jowono is getting warmed up. Potion made a definite choice tonight but I’m not entirely convinced that taking so long to make their point brought the crowd along with them.
Sumeru blast out of the blocks, and despite a few sound hiccups, hit their groove early. These guys showed total commitment, and raise the room temperature nicely for the headliners. The guitarists both stood out, playing well off each other, with some great to & fro, & with lightning riffage, they have a fantastic energy! The band rattles along like a runaway cattle train and don’t let off the throttle for the next half an hour.
Beastwars amble on stage with their customary lack of ceremony, ‘Good evening’ from singer Matthew Hyde and dive into it. Murmuring, hypnotic verses into that roar, into the chorus, with riff after riff built in, all there is to do is sit back & enjoy the ride. Clayton Anderson on guitar is a master, casually churning out the guitar maelstrom, his t-shirt seemed to have a synoptic weather map on the front, which, by accident or design was very apt for this evening.
Tonight sees the most tickets that the band has sold in Sydney to date and they rose to the occasion. The singer conducting the mayhem, while the red & green lights give things an almost 3D effect is hypnotic.
In a set full of highlights, ‘Lake of Fire’, an atmospheric ‘Rivermen’, and ‘Raise the Sword‘ stand out, with an appropriate ‘Damn the Sky’ to finish, Triumphant!
BEASTWARS
SUMERU
POTION
ASTRODEATH
