Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Sunday September 8, 2013 :
The Singularity tour rolls into sleepy Newcastle on an equally sleepy Sunday afternoon. This show and tour for that matter is a true testament to the pulling power of Northlane. So many kids have turned up early to show support for every band, which is nice to see in the scene.
Newcastle’s Rivalries start before half of the kids are through the door. Rivalries are certainly cutting a niche for themselves in the Newcastle scene, fusing heavy riff n mosh with dissonant underlying melody. The band is tight as ever. Vocalist James O’Hearn had a smile from ear to ear, clearly stoked on the amount of punters through the door this early in the evening. This band has everything this scene needs, positive, forward thinking members, beatdowns the size of mountains and more aggression than an ape spoon-fed Ritalin. Kicking into their cover of The Acacia Strain’s ‘Woah, Shut It Down’ sets the place off and setting the tone for the rest of the night. I’ve said this before about local bands but this young passionate band have a bright future.
Up next is another local Newcastle based band, UnderGreySkies, who are clearly flying high off their success on triple J’s unearthed placing. Their brand of tight, professional metal-infused hardcore is absolutely breathtaking. Stand out tracks ‘Choosing Leaders’ (which incites a bit of back hand banter on the recent election) and the title track to their recent EP, Vultures, shows the band’s diversity and musical dexterity. Vocal trade offs between vocalist Toby Wilson and guitarist Declan O’Connor prove to be visceral. The band end their blinder of a set with the monstrous song ‘Disconnect’ boasting riffs that rival the size of planets. The local boys have certainly come to the table with something relevant and have proven themselves to be worldclass.
Central Coast hardcore heroes, Hold Your Own, perform a bitter sweet set, seeing long time bassist and figurehead of HYO, Nick Kelly last performance with the band and the welcoming of new drummer Nick Adams. I’ve seen this band more times than I can count, and it is always an absolute pleasure, ripping through a slew of fan favourites such as ‘Stigma’ and older track ‘Take a Fall’. Being the most straightforward hardcore band on the bill could have been disastrous for lesser bands, but the boys step up to the plate and knock it out of the park. Vocalist Isaac Davie is certainly on fire tonight, spitting vitriol in the face of every punter within arms length. Ending their set with three stand out tracks, ‘Voices’, ‘Dead Days’ and the absolutely crushing ‘Naked’ sees the band kick it into a higher gear and the near capacity venue reciprocates, arms flailing, voices high and heads banging. It’s bands like this that make a local punter proud of our scene.
The last time I saw Perth’s Saviour was with I Killed The Prom Queen for the East Coast Rampage. Admittedly I was quite harsh with their last review thanks to some poorly timed technical difficulties. Tonight, they have made a true fan of me. The band sounds tight, unrelenting and passionate. Vocalist Bryant Best is on point tonight, unleashing some of the most insanely entertaining sing alongs I’ve seen from a band in a long time. Pummelling through a set of too many highlights to mention, the track ‘Jaded’ is an instant classic and a clear fan favourite. Melodically upbeat and inspirational. The pit erupts showing how much the kids are really digging this unified backed band, and for good reason. Ending their impassioned set with new single ‘Morning’, Saviour have proven their hype, proven their worth and certainly made a few fans in this room, yours truly included.
Northlane come on stage, the whole room is electric, and the crowd erupts into convulsions of pitting and sing longs. Opening the show with crushing track ‘Scarab’, Northlane do not muck around proving that they are one of, if not the tightest heavy band in the Australian scene. Vocalist Adrian is an absolute asset to the Australian music scene, not just the heavy scene. The band rolls straight into ‘Windbreaker’ and ‘Worldeater’, both taken from their stellar 2013 album, Singularity, demonstrating some of the most intense guitar tones ever processed through this venue’s PA. Huge, punishing riffs strung together with melodic undertones. A true display of dissonance and polarity.
A track that Northlane have just added to their live repertoire, ‘Aspire’, is astonishing, Adrian seamlessly intertwining between soaring melodies and vicious screams. Dusting off a few older thrashier songs ‘Corruption’ and ‘Transcending Dimensions’, both from 2011’s album, Discoveries, sees the pit erupt into a blur of circle pits and flailing arms. Not one person in the whole bar was without a smile on his or her face. So much positive anger. Drummer Nic Petterson is basically a metronome, holding down the beat no matter how technical.
A personal highlight from the band and the night for that matter is watching them hammer through one of the most scathing renditions of ‘Dispossession’ I’ve seen them play. The band ends their set with ‘Dream Awake’ and an endearing encore of ‘Quantum Flux’, leaving the band and the crowd on a wave of high energy and smiling faces. Tonight proves once and for all that Northlane are here to stay, here to dominate and here to inspire.
Reviewer: Luke Cowan
Photographer: Joe Andersons
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