Live Reviews : The Morgue Presents ‘Metal Asylum #4′ @ The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne 06/06/2015

With the long weekend well under way, I found myself heading to the Evelyn Hotel last night for an array of heavy metal goodness. It was my second time having the pleasure to catch ‘Metal Asylum’, having reviewed the third annual outing last year. For its fourth consecutive show, Chris Ward and Morgue Radio, who hosted this event, once again upped the ante. With Hybrid Nightmares headlining and a host of other fine Australian bands opening, this was guaranteed to be a show I wouldn’t soon forget. And I wasn’t proven wrong there.

Whilst I unfortunately missed the first part of Sárspell‘s set due to public transport upsets, I managed to still catch the last half of their show. With spattered, blood-like paint adorning each of the five members, there was a cool underlining melodic death/black sound to their music. Whilst not the typical of either genre, there was a real driving grind to the guitar solos (courtesy of Tom Szabo) and a healthy energy. For a band opening the night at quarter past 7, I give Sárspell kudos for not letting that dictate their actions on stage. Vocalist Andrew Collyer, with spiked, leather arm band in tow, would still march around the crowd, and despite the maybe 20 odd people who were assembled at the venue at this time, the band still got a few going, and musically speaking were tight.

Next up were Cryptic Abyss. Whilst I only recently was introduced to this band’s music, it didn’t take me long before I was hooked. So, needless to say, I was very excited to be seeing them live for the first time tonight. And they did not disappoint! Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who thought this because Cryptic Abyss drew in the first few headbangers for the evening. Getting a small row of people banging along at the front, and a group of spectators bopping along to the back, these death metallers rolled on with a relentless force. One of the first things that grabbed me about the lineup was the age of some of its members. When speaking with vocalist Calvin Cobby after the show, I discovered that guitarist Damon Morley and brother/bassist Kurt were only 19 and 16 respectively. But don’t let that fool you. Cryptic Abyss perform with the professionalism and talent of a band well beyond their years. Apart from Calvin’s slight awkwardness or stage shyness when addressing the crowd, the relatively soft spoken vocalist wasted no opportunity to throw in some good jokes here and there; one of which included “Turn over the snags!” when mentioning the all-enveloping mist from the smoke machine that made drummer James Catarinozzi all but disappear in the back. The rhythm section was impressive and the riff work and soloing from Nathan Allen, affectionately nicknamed “Potato” by the band, was a highlight.

Rounding out the warm-ups for the evening were Anient, performing their EP launch. These guys remain one of the craziest bands I’ve seen live, and having opened for Metal Asylum last year as well, I knew from experience that madness was to ensue. However, vocalist Rob Allen, listed as the ‘Throat of the Undead’ on their Facebook page, had injured his heel, so he wasn’t as active as usual. Still, that being said, he didn’t really let this hold him back all that much, either. He still frantically stomped about the crowd at parts and even deliberately face-planted onto the floor from the stage. One of Anient’s real strengths lies in Rob’s ability to make the people in the crowd piss themselves laughing from his antics. With Rob screeching directly into the faces and ears of different people in the crowd, the over the top display worked completely to Anient’s advantage. Whilst the rest of the band remained relatively stoic up on stage, Anient ripped away at your throat and screamed down the bloodied hole that remained of your neck. I believe I mentioned this last year too, but I feel the need to mention it again as it’s just as relevant now. Benny “Benno” Kirkman’s guitar work is always a highlight with these guys. With his and the others ability to just as quickly morph from the insanity of high-octane thrash to downtrodden, melodic riffing, the evil haunting notes that flowered parts of their set truly added a whole other dimension to Anient’s music.

Serving as the final opener for the night, Wollongong-based metallers Segression were one of the standout acts of tonight for me. Segression have been at this for quite some time. Being officially active since 1996, after a six year hiatus following 2003, the band returned in force in 2009 and have been going strong since. Despite the venue numbers never quite climbing to the levels hoped, neither Segression or any of the others bands for that matter, let that hold them back. They played with the same amount of enthusiasm they would if the venue was full. Vocalist/bassist Chris Rand and the other members were as lively as ever. Animated and energetic, they stomped and hopped about the stage, drawing in those to their infectious grooves. Opening their set with the theme from Games of Thrones (that also saw two guys happily dance along with), the crowd seemed to enjoy it, with Segression even gaining their own little mini-pit at one stage. One of the best moments came midway through Segression’s set. Chris went on to talk about the band and their legacy: “We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years now,” he began. “We do this not because we want to get rich or sell records or get massive audiences. We do this because we love it. We think that experience makes us rich.” It’s wonderful to see humbled individuals like this still exist. Segression then got the crowd to cheer on the bands playing tonight, and those still to come. I had never seen Segression before this, but I was completely captivated by their performance, and, being no stranger to jumping into the thick of it so to speak, I found myself joyously swaying and jumping about and headbanging. One of the most lively and enjoyable bands I’ve seen in a while!

Fronting the evening were headliners and theatrical, extreme metal enthusiasts, Hybrid Nightmares. Hybrid Nightmares are one of those rare bands that no matter how many times I see them live, or hear similar lines churned out from cosmic frontman/celestial joker Loki, the experience never grows tiresome. Whether it’s in the theatrics or in the undeniable charisma shared by each member of the band, I am not certain. All I know is they have one of the best stage shows of any Melbourne band I’ve seen, and tonight didn’t turn that trend. Opening to a dark-lit stage, the ominous, sorrowful music of the band was heralded in guitarists Ben Plant and Michael Gumley. With hoods up and the luminescent glow of their green, vein-like warpaint and white shrouds adorning their bodies, they stood like melancholic idols, awaiting a final judgement. That sentence came when bassist Jonny and vocalist Loki, bearing the sceptre of the Obelisk, strode out onto stage. Roaring to life, Loki and the others arose like priests of some ancient, forgotten god. Whilst the set was short and sweet, Hybrid Nightmares squeezed in as much as they could, covering all bases from the first two ‘Ages’, and playing the song “Mourn Not the Dead” off their self-titled EP. Naturally, Hybrid Nightmares attracted the largest turn out for the evening and drew a good response. The crowd were into it from the opening minutes of their intro. Inserting their trademark humour and fictional personas here and there, it was an overall enjoyable show, despite feeling as if it were over too soon.

With many piling out after Hybrid Nightmares had finished, a select number still stayed for the ‘post-gig’ band, Stronger Than All; a Pantera and Sepultura tribute band. It surprised me actually how many people were into this from the get-go. Despite being a tribute band, people embraced it wholeheartedly; roaring out lines from famous Pantera songs like “I’m Broken” and “Cowboys From Hell”. Whilst no Sepultura songs were performed tonight, the five odd Pantera tracks that made up their short set was fully embraced, with Stronger Than All even getting one of the guys at the front to sing the chorus to “Domination”. The Kiwi-born, Melbourne natives actually did a pretty damn good job of mimicking Pantera’s style too. Apart from vocalist Virgil ‘Cavalera’ Kawenga occasionally struggling to retain that trademark, Anselmo rasp, he kept at it. The standout, however, was Karl Maxwell, performing the role of guitarist Dimebag Darrell. This guy can play! If it wasn’t immediately noticeable from the offset, it certainly was with his performance on the “Domination” solo. It was on point. Not only did it reflect Dimebag’s play-style, but Karl’s own character and energy up on stage mirrored that of the Texan legend as well. Closing with the fan-favourite “Fucking Hostile” – which saw virtually everyone left in the venue screaming this out – Stronger Than All were later met with the enthusiastic cries for “One more song!” But alas, that was it, the night had reached its end. But what a show it had been!

Bring on Metal Asylum #5!

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