Live Reviews : At The Gates, Orpheus Omega, Colossvs & Hollow World @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne 30/10/2015

Images: Ben Gunzberg
Words: Jonathon Besanko

When I think about all of the amazing bands I’ve had the opportunity to see live since I began writing for Metal Obsession only a mere two years ago, the band names alone could be enough to fill out the length of this review. Last night saw me add yet another huge and influential name to this ever-growing and expansive list: Swedish metal royalty, At The Gates. A band that needs no introduction, the pioneers of the “Gothenburg sound” and one of the forefathers of melodic death metal drew a substantial crowd.

But more to that later.

Opening up the night were fresh-faced Melbourne band, Hollow World (who have been touring also with band mates Orpheus Omega for their album launch tour; the latter of which rounded out the supports for tonight). In what was already a fairly sizeable audience, it was great to see Melbourne as a city once again living up to its reputation of the being the “go-to area” for the Australian metal scene. The line had wrapped around the corner before door open, and when Hollow World hit the stage, it went off with a bang: both in terms of the fiery and rapturous performance from hectic frontman Ben Roberts, and equally from the crowd (who took no time at all thrusting into the groove of it all). Garnering the first mosh pits for the night, the crowd interaction was a highlight, with Ben constantly drawing in the audience, before letting out a sonic frenzy. Small side note, I found myself impressed by Josh Hynes’ six-stringed bass, as it added an even heavier layer to their music.

Colossvs

Following in their stead was Colossvs. Crimson lighting bathed the stage, saturating the band members as if it were blood. With candles lightly dancing about to the back of the stage, frontman Lochlan Watt ushered in the brooding tones of the band before a crowd now almost at its peak in size. Colossvs largely went about their thing, letting their music do the talking for much of their set. But in their case, it worked largely to their favour; especially due to the sheer atmosphere this bands build to in a live setting. As Lochlan addressed how much of an honour it was to be opening for At The Gates, he then turned to an anecdote wherein he jokingly noted how a decade ago the band performed a cover of the song “Cold”, “butchering it” he said, and that it was “hard to believe” that here they were now. Performing a new song about the “poison in your fucking hands” – i.e. alcohol – that I sadly missed the full name of, bassist Chris’ face was hidden beneath a thick swathe of hair that yet again only seemed to aid to the mystique that surrounds this band.

Orpheus Omega

The last opener for the evening was Orpheus Omega, a band I’ll never grow tired of seeing live. For anyone that knows me, it’s not exactly any kind of revelation at this point that I’m a fan of this band. But that’s not even what sways my view at this point. It’s the fact that no matter what setting these guys are in, they perform to their all; genuinely enjoying themselves up on stage as well. With moments early on that had vocalist/guitarist Chris Themelco come up and play to keyboardist Keswick Gallagher (the two playing off one another’s solos), even with bassist Nathan Mesiti having the flu, Nathan didn’t let that hold him back, and despite all, still sounded tight live, and, as he always does, he still interacted heavily with the crowd. With Nathan, a particular moment of which saw him play right to the barrier at the left of stage before trying a crowd surf (which didn’t exactly pan out too well), but still left him to play in the crowd for a bit before charging back to the stage. That there is charisma at its finest. Playing a shorter set, songs like “De6enerate” still saw Hollow World’s Ben Roberts run out on stage and join in on vocals; Chris rousing the audience into fanfare before “Karma Favours the Weak”; and their closing traditional of “Sealed in Fates” wall of death. Sound wise, they were the best I’ve ever heard them at this particular venue.

It had come time for the main act of the evening. With the red velvet curtains closing, the crowd was stirred by the chants of “At the Gates”, before the curtains soon parted and revealed far-to-the back of the stage the Gothenburg legends, silhouetted beneath the lights; the familiar sight of Tomas Lindberg’s trucker hat coaxing many a person into a frenzy of applause. It had been three years since the band were last in Australia and clearly they had been missed. Being the third show of their Australian tour, At The Gates kicked things off with the dual openers from their latest album ‘At War With Reality’, “El Altar del Dios Desconocido” and “Death and the Labyrinth”, as they both fell the curtain of the evening. What soon followed was two of my favourite songs in theirs in quick succession: “Slaughter of the Soul” and “Cold”, both of which sounded phenomenal live and blew up in the crowd. It is hard to fault At The Gates on this evening. Even though I’m aware they’ve still been a part of the touring circuit for a number of years now, in the gap between studio albums, had you not known any better, you could be forgiven for thinking they had never left. This band is extremely tight, and not only are they the fathers of a genre that continues to flourish today, but At The Gates can most certainly count themselves an equal part of it today. They still wear the rightful crown of the genre they helped pioneer.

At The Gates

When Tomas announced “Melbourne, we are At The Gates from Gothenburg, Sweden, and we are back”, the crowd lapped it up. The band were technically flawless, and if there were any sound issues it was largely due to the nature of the Corner Hotel itself. The sound here can be sketchy at times. About the only moment in which I felt the band fell off a little was during “Blinded By Fear”, wherein Tomas jumbled the lyrics a couple times. But little to no one really seemed to care anyway. One of the best moments, however, arrived when Tomas cried out the question, “Melbourne, do you like death metal?!” to which was answered with a resounding cheer. Doing a double-back, Tomas sneakily responded with, “At The Gates don’t like death metal…” – then a small jazz interlude – “we love death metal!” This then exploded into a perfect cover of “Kingdom Gone”.

I often had to remind myself throughout tonight to take notes. Each band on show tonight sounded topnotch, and At The Gates killed it on every front. An incredible evening.

Don’t miss the final two dates of At The Gates Australian tour, with the band hitting the Manning Bar in Sydney tonight (before Brightside, Brisbane on Sunday). Tickets on sale now via Metropolis Touring.

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