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Live Reviews : Fear Factory, Circles & Tensions Arise @ UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney 03/06/2016

By on June 4, 2016

Words & Images: Martin Michea

(Click here to view the full gallery)

Due to heavy Vivid traffic I arrive at the Roundhouse a bit later than expected on this very gloomy Friday evening. Turns out that didn’t matter too much though as for some reason doors had been delayed thirty minutes. The first memorable moment of the night was when some woman that apparently had jumped the queue was forced by security to step out of the line, which the Fear Factory faithful that most likely had lined up for hours found very amusing.

The UNSW Roundhouse is about to close down for a year due to renovations and I was keen to see if this lineup would be a worthy finale. I have attended quite a few gigs at this venue by now and it is by far my favourite one in terms of design and audio quality.

Tensions Arise

Tensions Arise

The local opener of the evening is Tensions Arise. A band completely unknown to me, they had the tough task of trying to warm up the Sydney crowd. I’m not sure if the plan was all along to seal off the upper section tonight or if ticket sales had been poor, but let’s just say that there weren’t many punters out on the floor supporting the local metal scene, which is always a shame. This didn’t deter the guys in Tensions Arise though, they played a solid set filled with groove, energy and they were boasting a very entertaining live show. I can’t quite work out how I feel about K. Kage’s vocals however, they are not the best harsh vocals I have heard in my life, but for some reason they fit the music really well. I can totally see why this band was selected as the local opener, the music might not be the same genre as Fear Factory, but there are definitely similarities and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Tensions Arise gained some new fans tonight, despite the pretty chilly welcome.

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Circles

After an intermission that seemed unnecessarily long it was time for the Regeneratour’s nationwide support to take the stage. Circles is yet another band that I haven’t listened to in the past. This is about to change big time though as the Melbournians immediately caught my eye (ear). The last couple of years I’ve become a sucker for prog metal, and it seems like there’s an endless supply of great Australian prog at the moment. I’d actually go as far as saying that Circles were more interesting to watch than Fear Factory tonight. Fantastic musicianship across the board, in combination with incredible sound created one of the most surprising sets I have seen so far this year. Now, I never really expected a band like this to go well with Fear Factory’s “straight to the point, in your face” music, but the fact is that the crowd is thoroughly enjoying the set. About halfway through the Sydney punters start to wake up and from that point forward it only gets better.

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Fear Factory

Circles’ set is over way too quickly for my liking, Alas, the hour is already getting quite late and it is the industrial gods that everyone is waiting for. Close to 10.30 the entire floor is chanting “Fear Factory!” time and time again, and to massive roars the band finally takes the stage. They open up the show in a ferocious tempo, firing off “Demanufacture”, “Self Bias Resistor” and “What Will Become?” in quick succession. It takes about 15 seconds before the first crowd surfer reaches the barrier, and it only escalates from there.

Fear Factory have expressed their love for Australia on multiple occasions, and it is evident how much they enjoy playing here. It’s little things like Burton high-fiving a crowd surfing woman as she reaches the barrier that makes a world of difference. It shows how humble the band is, and I think that in the long run it’s partly what have built Fear Factory’s career. The riff machine that is Dino Cazares is looking like he’s enjoying himself up on stage, and in combination with the rock solid backbone consisting of bassist Mike Heller and drummer Tony Campos they produce some of the tightest sounding metal I have heard in a long time. Burton’s vocals are absolutely on point for most of the evening, the highs more than anything. It doesn’t really matter that he’s getting noticeably tired towards the end, because the band’s energy is their main weapon.

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Fear Factory

To me who’s not a seasoned Fear Factory fan, the band’s high octane industrial metal is a double-edged sword. On one hand it works so incredibly well in a live setting, but it’s also a bit one-dimensional. I felt that when I had watched 45 minutes of the set I had seen everything that the band had to offer. It’s not a big negative though, as what Fear Factory does works so well.

Before Fear Factory came out here fans were able to vote for three songs they wanted to hear on this tour.  I’ll admit that I don’t know much of Fear Factory’s discography other than Genexus, which I think is a brilliant album, so I’m not sure which songs that would’ve been included based on the fan vote. I assume one of them was Resurrection, which was played for the first time since 2013 in Brisbane. The band also live premiered Anodized this week, and it worked extremely well.

 The first time I experienced Fear Factory live was at Soundwave two years ago. Their energy surprised me back then, and I was really curious about what it would be like to attend one of the band’s headliner shows. I was given pretty much what I expected: Tons of energy, tons of amazing riffs and a wild Sydney crowd. It wasn’t really too different from watching the band in a festival setting, and they might not be the most adventurous band I have witnessed live, but the music is pretty much made for concerts.

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Fear Factory

A massive industrial metal party is what the audience wants and it is what they get. A worthy send-off for the UNSW Roundhouse for sure. I can’t really find any true negatives about Fear Factory as a live band. I’ve been struggling for the past year to truly delve into their back catalogue because I’m not a fan of the production most of the time, but the songs shine in a completely different way live.

Fear Factory hit Melbourne tonight for their sold out show, before returning to play their second, final Melbourne show tomorrow. They then wrap up their Australia ‘Regenerator’ tour in Adelaide and Fremantle. Tickets available from Destroy All Lines.

Saturday, 4 June – SOLD OUT!!
Prince of Wales, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets: Destroy All Lines (SOLD OUT!)

Sunday, 5 June

Prince of Wales, Melbourne (18+)

Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Tuesday, 7 June
HQ, Adelaide (18+)
Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Wednesday, 8 June
Metropolis, Fremantle (18+)
Tickets: Destroy All Lines

About

Martin is an aspiring music photographer/videographer. He is originally from the southern parts of Sweden and now he's living in Sydney, Australia. Thanks to his older sister, he got into Rammstein at the age of 9, and since then he's been into all types of metal/rock. He loves to combine photography and music, but also filming concerts and produce live material. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website.