Live Reviews : Rocky Ravic, Holy Diver, Winfield & For What It’s Worth @ Musicland, Melbourne 14/05/2016

Last night, I had the pleasure to head down to an awesome little joint called Musicland. I had heard of this place in the past, but had never had the opportunity to head down there myself. Half a music store, and half a venue, the walls were all lined with guitars and basses and it was surprisingly spacious! The building’s facade deceives how deep set this venue goes.

Tonight was to play host Rocky Ravic and his band, alongside an unusual mix of bands comprising two hardcore acts and a Dio tribute band named Holy Diver. While not the easiest place to access given it’s along a main road, once I eventually got in, I was greeted by the screams and chugs of Melbourne band, For What It’s Worth. While undoubtedly a decent metalcore band with solid, engaging melodic riffs, and a Parkway Drive-esque style, that was also partly the problem. I honestly found very little with this band to differentiate them from the hordes of other hardcore/metalcore bands. Despite the sound of this venue being quite good for the most part, one thing that was made immediately noticeable was there weren’t enough vocals in the mix; and more often than not, frontman Jacob Gamble’s vocals were drowned out by the drums. Much of those standing in the front watching them tonight, I discovered later, were members from the next band to come up on stage, Ballarat’s Winfield. I thought it was rather neat how the band’s supported them that way.

Whilst Winfield were decent enough to watch, they again suffered largely from the same problem For What It’s Worth did. They just weren’t that unique, I’m afraid to say. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely had their moments in which they branched out and did something other than constant dry blast beats – such as single “Young Minded” – but away from the impressive musicianship (drummer Connor “Deeks” McMillan’s energy was infectious), being at the forefront of the stage, frontman Rhys Scott’s vocals were honestly the weakest point of their performance. Though I loved the energy and youthful liveliness he and Winfield brought to the stage (even bassist threw a lot of style into his performance), as a friend noted to me during, Scott’s cleans were quite flat. And honestly, I agree. The moments in which he opted for harsher, raspier vocals weren’t much better. Not too criticise too harshly though, this is something he can definitely improve on and better refine with time.

The crowds stayed fairly conservative for most of the evening, but it was fairly clear from the get-go to tell which demographics were here for which bands. As Melbourne’s Holy Diver took to the stage, a lot of the veteran rockers moved out to see the band play tribute to the legendary Ronnie James Dio. In an unexpected turn, Holy Diver pretty much stole the night for me. It’s rare the case when you can find a tribute band that outshines the other acts on a bill, but such was the case last night with the Melbourne based Dio tribute band. To knock this out of the way early, vocalist Aliz AJ was spot on for their whole set. The Singaporean born vocalist truly captured the style and essence of the man himself: even down to simple things as the particular movement and grace at which Dio raised the horns. Aliz had it down to an art. He sang every line with wonderful fervour and vivacity, and you would never have thought otherwise.

Not to take away from any of the other members either, because they were just as talented and entertaining to watch; especially when it came to lead guitarist Adam Ryan and keyboardist Len Kopilas. These guys felt like the backbone to the group, and the mix Holy Diver were given for their set was top notch. Nothing was ever drowned out, and the keys for example always swayed above the other instruments; giving the sound that mystical quality that the original Dio lineup had. Whether it was in their renditions of “Heaven And Hell”, “Hungry For Heaven”, or “Rainbow In The Dark”, this band brought new life to the evening that I really enjoyed. “Don’t Talk To Strangers” was another notable moment, with the atmosphere of the intro a particular highlight.

Closing out the evening was main headliner and the organiser of tonight’s event, Rocky Ravic. Back down under from his US adventures, Rocky took to the stage with his trademark confidence and style that is a throwback to the glam metal bands of past decades. After giving thanks and calling out to the crowd, “Let’s get wild!”, the initial energy was halted for a moment when drummer Jarryd “Jerkchop” Chircop confused his cue and they abruptly stopped. Soon laughing it off, however, Rocky Ravic and the other two members of the three-piece kicked things back up into high gear and tore through.

Rocky cried out, “Musicland! I want to see you bang your head!” as the band tore into a cover of Quiet Riot‘s “Bang Your Head.” Perfectly setting the tone for their set (which, before this, I hadn’t known what to expect), it set their set apart from Rocky’s other project, Mystery; which, in this case, was the right decision. Bringing a sleaze and heaviness to their set that was welcomed, it also gave Rocky many moments to bust out his impressive guitar skills; soloing directly to those at the front of the stage. Soon ripping into covers of Megadeth‘s “Symphony of Destruction” and Men At Work‘s “Down Under”, we in the audience were then introduced to a fellow named Andrew Sparrow, apparently a YouTube personality and a close friend of Rocky’s. Got to give this guy props – he had a shitload of confidence and had no qualms screaming his guts out like a lunatic or thrusting people up onto his shoulders.

While there were occasional moments in the set where Will Saw’s (of Skärlet) bass felt out of sync with the drums, and the vocals weren’t always spot on (feeling a little strained at a few moments), it all amounted to an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable set – which met its end appropriately with a cover of “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by the Beastie Boys.

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