NE OBLIVISCARIS

w/ Empyrean, In Malice’s Wake, A Million Dead Bird’s Laughing

EBC – Melbourne, 28th March, 2009.

***Click here for more photos***

Saturday the 28th of March marked the second of eleven gigs on Ne Obliviscaris‘ Australian tour, and the first overage, after playing an all-ages show in Dandenong the previous night. The doors opened at 8pm to the East Brunswick Club, a venue that has recently held a lot of local metal events. The EBC is rapidly becoming one of my favourite places to go in Melbourne, with a large stage, quality sound and lighting, spacious beer garden, and of course the 2 enormous fans to help keep attendees cool. There have been a few negative comments made about the security at the venue, but I didn’t come into contact with them at this particular gig.

Even with the Grand Prix clogging up the public transportation system, we still arrived in time to catch the first band, ‘A Million Dead Birds Laughing‘, fresh from their Summer Slaughter opening slot. Grinding their way through about 30 minutes of music, AMDBL were adorned in their usual black shirt / white tie combination. The band wasn’t quite as tight as we’re used to, which seems to be caused by the use of Ne Oblivscaris’ drummer Dan Presland’s kit, as the same problem was experienced at their January 24th gig. Despite this shortcoming, AMDBL still delivered an enjoyable performance, and seem to be attracting a dedicated following in Melbourne.

The next act to take to the stage was ‘In Malice’s Wake‘, a local thrash metal band. They weren’t really my cup of tea, so I stepped outside after the first couple of songs. From what I saw however, they seem to be a fairly competent group of musicians. In Malice’s Wake drew an energetic crowd, which especially cut loose during the title track from their debut album, ‘Eternal Nightfall’. There was some difficulty in hearing Shaun’s vocals during their set, which appeared to be a mixing problem.

Queensland melodic death/black metal sextet, ‘Empyrean‘ was the next band on the bill. For an interstate act, their set seemed quite short, but they played well nevertheless. The band could have been louder in the keyboards department, though aside from this there weren’t any notable failings in their sound. They played a number of songs off their most recent release, ‘Quietus’, closing their set with the title track. They are also currently touring Australia in support of ‘Quietus’, and played recently in their home state with Norwegian Black Metal veterans, ‘Satyricon’.

It wasn’t long after that the headlining act, ‘Ne Obliviscaris‘, began to play. As a long-time fan, I was looking forward to watching them for the first time since 2008. After an interesting intro sample, the curtain (an unusual thing for a group playing to crowds no more than a few hundred), was opened. They played a huge 70 minute set comprised of 7 songs, including their 2 newest since their live return in October of last year. Older fans such as myself were treated to ‘Upon the Tongues of Eloquence’, a track which hadn’t been performed since ex-lead guitarist Corey King was still playing with them. A band which has seen a lot of technical difficulties and unfortunate live mishaps, Ne Obliviscaris played an extremely tight set, and sounded fantastic. A nice addition to the stage lighting was the synchronisation of the strobe light with Dan Presland’s double-kick runs in some songs.

If Saturday night’s performance was anything to go by, crowds at the remaining nine Australian tour dates are in for a treat. Ne Obliviscaris will take a break from the live circuit following this tour, to head into the studio and finally begin working on their debut album.

NE OBLIVISCARIS: Saturday 28th March, 2009
Tapestry of The Starless Abstract
Xenoflux
Of The Leper Butterflies
Forget Not
As Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
Upon the Tongue of Eloquence
As Icicles Fall

Review by Elliott Sansom
Photos by Jess Day and Scott Boelsen