BLEEDING THROUGH

w/ Between the Buried and Me + 2

The Hi-Fi Bar – Melbourne, 23rd January, 2009.

***See more photos by clicking here***

Bleeding Through have been touring around the country with Between the Buried and Me now for the past three weeks, seemingly challenging the laws of time and space by playing twenty shows in eighteen days. Having played two nights earlier in Hobart and a further two shows just the day before in Perth, and then an all ages show the morning of this concert, you’d be excused for thinking that now would be the time that both bands would hit the wall –  and fall flat in the process.

Clearly this wasn’t a fear held by many, as on arrival The Hi-Fi was brimming to capacity, meaning the beginning of BtBaM’s set had to be viewed from quite a distance. That didn’t pose a problem to this reviewer, as from what I’d heard from the American six-piece, it would sound just as bad from the back as right in front.

Well, someone clearly didn’t do their homework. Between the Buried and Me‘s set was the best surprise you could get – outside of being woken by fellatio. There are so many comparison’s you could make for this band, but none of them truly do them justice. They are like a heavier, more experimental Dream Theatre, a user friendly version of Mr Bungle, or a heavy metal orchestra.

The unique and exciting sound of this band comes down to two aspects: singer Tommy Rogers and guitarist Paul Waggoner. Tom is quite the entertaining front man, and a very good singer to boot. His range is from dulcet mumbling tones, loud melodies, extreme death growls and then your more conventional heavy metal roar – just because he can. Add to that a Mike Patton-esque flare for experimentation with the microphone, and the clear audio The Hi-Fi provided for their set, and you have yourself a man whose voice can dominate and bring together even the most confusing sounding music. When he’s not singing – and sometimes when he is – he’s also manning the keyboards to provide the added atmosphere and user friendly appeal that could otherwise be leaving the crowd scratching their heads.

Paul Waggoner‘s guitar work is reminiscent of a solo violinist in an orchestra. You can almost see the musical notes on a page, sweeping up and down the lines, as his fingers flow between the strings as easily as us mere mortals take steps. He keeps this up for minutes at a time, with his melodies often flowing continuously throughout entire songs.

Most of the crowd seemed to have no idea what was going on, but the applause that broke out at the end of each song showed that I wasn’t the only person blown away by their performance. So, some fours songs and thirty-five minutes after it started their set was over, and the mosh pit, which was at boiling point despite the air conditioners best efforts, was given a well earned rest.

After an unusually short intermission during which the audience was treated to some Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash and Brian Adams, out came the headliners for the night, Bleeding Through. Either because of the short intermission or lack of interest, the front of stage was a bit more open than for BtBaM.

To welcome them on stage, the lights went down and through the speakers came their intro track from their latest album entitled Finnis Fatalis. You know the type of song, lots of dark and ominous keyboard, drums and organ music that every band opens with, but which still gets me excited every time I hear it. After arriving on stage and assuming the spread legged position, they kicked straight into the title track of their latest, “Declaration.” Expectations were maybe set a little too high after the amazing BtBaM set, so it didn’t help them any further that the sound was average throughout the opener. It got a little better afterwards, but the heavier songs such as their next track Oragne County Blonde and Blue were sounding a little too much like noise rather than music. But for people who knew their material or were in the moshpit it was still good enough to have a fun time.

Keyboardist Marta could have been humming her material for all that you could hear of her work through the mix. The occasional keyboard solo made an appearance, which helped those songs stand out amongst what was otherwise a repetitive set of hardcore breakdowns.

Highlights were also the more melodic songs, including Rise and Confession, and vocalist Brandan Schieppati impressed with his melodic vocal work on many of the songs, showing that he isn’t just a one trick pony of hoarse roaring.

The band also showed a (somewhat) softer side for their unplanned encore of “On Wings of Lead”, with lighters making appearances in the smoke-free crowd.

The band, exiting the stage, thanked the crowd one last time, and from the cheers that could be heard, their set went down well with all. Their high energy performance had the crowd fisting the air throughout and left many a mosher gasping for breath. At the end of the night, however, it was Between the Buried and Me that seemed to win over the uninitiated, and people will no doubt be keeping a closer eye in them on the future.

8/10

Review by Mathew Boelsen

Thanks to Stomp Touring for the passes!

Bleeding Through Setlist:
Finnis Fitalis
Declaration
Orange County Blonde & Blue
For Love and Failing
Love Lost
Confession
Tragedy of Empty..
Reborn
Love in Slow Motion
Rise
Germany
Revenge I Seek
Kill To Believe
Sister Charlatan
Encore:On Wings of Lead

Between The Buried and Me Setlist:
Prequel to the sequel
White walls
Viridian
Selkies