Live Reviews : Apocalyptica, We Lost The Sea & Sydonia @ Prince Bandroom, Melbourne 23/09/2016

Images: Rebecca Houlden
Words: Jonathon Besanko

After their trip down under last year for what would be the final Soundwave, Finnish cellist heroes, Apocalyptica, are back in Australia, promoting their latest release; 2015’s Shadowmaker. Performing at the Prince of Wales Bandroom (otherwise known as the Prince Bandroom), this was my first visit to this venue, and thus my first time seeing a band live here. There are many things about it that I quite like, as well as a few things that I didn’t. Situated along Fitzroy St just off The Esplanade, not far from Luna Park and the Espy, the Prince Bandroom was already buzzing with anticipation from an already sizeable crowd long before doors opened (something made more impressive when you consider Immolation were also performing in Melbourne tonight). Whilst the night had been partially plagued by small pieces of misinformation (such as the original poster showing the wrong venue, and doors unrevealed on the main pages until the day of the event), thankfully, this didn’t appear to deter too many, even with the discovery that Apocalyptica wouldn’t be taking to the main stage until 10:20pm.

© Rebecca Houlden 2016 | www.witheverylight.com

The first act of the night was Sydonia, a band I was having the pleasure of seeing for the first time tonight. After ascending the stairs to an impressively opened area, the stage was situated in the right corner of the room, making it generally visible from whatever side of the room you’d been able to find station at. Whilst the strong blue lights that surrounded the stage were unpleasant, once each of the bands began, it didn’t detract too much from things. Riding off the back of their recent Australia single tour for “Eyes of Sand” in July/August, Sydonia are an alt-rock band who have been around almost as long as Apocalytpica. Whilst it was unfortunate to have the band already kick off their set while people were still being passing through the doors, Sydonia held it in their stride and were nothing short of stellar. Impressive from the moment-go, Sydonia are so much more than a mere alternative rock band. Tapping into influences wide and varied, there were strong prog moments to their set, as well as even unexpected moments from vocalist Dana Roskvist where his clean register dropped to a guttural style to accommodate the heavier and darker moments in the music. The sound quality of the venue was perfectly tailored to the dynamics of Sydonia’s set, with each element of the music and vocals given its equal due and sounding as crisp and as sharp as you’d want it to be. Roskvist’s vocals resonated throughout the venue, with Sean Bailey’s drums and samples adding another layer to Sydonia’s performance. Even more interesting was bassist Adam Murray’s percussion, something that heightened the impact of their music. An eclectic mix of styles to their sound, Sydonia have what it is easily one of the tightest lineups to a band in Australia, and despite the rather overbearing nature of the flashing lights in their set at times, still gave one of the more memorable performances of the evening.

© Rebecca Houlden 2016 | www.witheverylight.com

Filling the national support slot were Sydney’s We Lost The Sea. After a rather long setup due to some technical faults and the like, We Lost The Sea began with an introspective and soothing guitar intro. Courtesy of guitarist Brendon Warner, it set the mood well: one that was relaxed, yet emotionally exposed. What is first made immediately prevalent with We Lost The Sea is that there is no singer. This band classify themselves as an instrumental act with “crushing guitar noise and dark melodic atmospherics”. It is about as apt as you could get when it comes to this sextet. With three guitarists including Mark Owen and Matt Harvey (giving their sound real impact), as much as I enjoyed the atmosphere and ambience to their set, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were a somewhat awkward follow-up to the energy of Sydonia, as well as a rather strange choice of opener for Apocalyptica. We Lost The Sea are the kind of act that are better served in individual doses; the type of band to lose yourself to when working creatively. Creating incredible soundscapes that were at once light and poignant, and at others raw and unnerving, you can tell there music is designed to be absorbed and observed. Given their effect over the crowd, despite being the national support, We Lost The Sea would have been better served opening the night’s proceedings, instead of being smack in the middle where it seemed it was both an awkward way for them to perform a half-set of what they usually would, and further with a sound that appeared to throw a fair few people off. There were moments where the audience would cheer thinking the set was over, when in actuality, the music was quietening only to build up once more. We Lost The Sea are undoubtedly talented and diverse musicians, but this didn’t feel the right place for them. Whilst it was good to still see them earn strong applause, they were a difficult band to read, and the lack of crowd engagement in place of building atmosphere again contrasted strangely against a set beforehand and one to come which instead revelled in this aspect. What cannot be denied, however, is how well We Lost The Sea build an air of cerebral, intriguing atmospherics that at once can make you sway and feel light-footed, and at others explode with aural ferocity.

© Rebecca Houlden 2016 | www.witheverylight.com

When their time had arrived, Apocalyptica took to the stage to uproarious cheer and applause. Bathed in red lighting, the cello metallers wasted no time kicking into gear, conjuring an air of classical wonder and smooth heaviness. One of the best aspects to Apocalyptica’s performance was how easily the four-piece were able to get the crowd pumped up and involved. Between the three cellists, Eicca Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso, and Paavo Lötjönen, each member would rush from one side of the stage to the other to play directly to those not only in the front, but with shout outs to the back. They have been doing this since 1993, yet none of that energy, excitement, or camaraderie seems lost on any of them. They all would play to one another with wide grins across their faces, and then cry out to the audience in regular bursts if we were having a great time; to which was always met with great enthusiasm. To again reiterate the earlier point of the sound quality here, the Prince Bandroom was a wonderful choice of venue for Apocalyptica’s style; with the cellos – as well as the monumental drumming of Mikko Sirén – ringing through with great clarity and power.

Expanding to a five-piece for the Shadowmaker portion of the set, Toppinen invited out vocalist Franky Perez to take to the stage. This man had charisma, and from the moment he took to the stage he knew how to wound up the audience; first offering praises to, and I paraphrase, the four fine musicians before him, he then launched into song, “House of Chains”, with vigour and grace. Every step of Apocalyptica’s performance was lit with the excitement of both band and crowd, and by the classical perfection of their playing. Even when Toppinen or Kivilaakso would headbang wildly to Sirén’s note-perfect drumming, they didn’t miss a single note themselves or ever sounded out of key. It was pitch-perfect, so to speak, and they are a band that never fail to bewilder and impress given how well they perform metal music on instruments not designed for that. Kivilaakso’s solos, if you hadn’t a trained ear or didn’t know any better, could very well be mistaken at times for believing them to be a guitar solo. It was utterly convincing, and he clearly had no qualms about enjoying the moment either, as there was a part where Perez almost broke key when Kivilaakso had him laughing by faces he’d pull when Perez turned to look back at him. The crowd was in with Apocalyptica for every step of the way, and the band performed an amazing set that covered a wide array of material from their career. Unsurprisingly, when it came time for the Finnish metallers to break out with some of their Metallica covers, the crowd erupted into a flurry of headbanging and screams when everyone recognised the opening notes of “Master of Puppets”. Played a couple steps faster than usual, no one seemed to care as the venue was filled with the chorus of the song sang entirely by the audience.

© Rebecca Houlden 2016 | www.witheverylight.com

The whole set seemed to whiz by in a flurry of classical music (including softer moments where Apocalyptica really had the opportunity to show off their wondrous talents), heavy metal, laughter, and excitement. Toppinen would often raise his cello above his head, and he and the others would clap furiously to get crowd claps going, chanting, and the raising of fists and horns. One of the better live performances I’ve seen in a while, the night was topped off with their excellent heavy metal ode to Edvard Grieg‘s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. Their encore which included an excellent cover of Metallica’s “One” (which, again, had the crowd singing in time to the chorus) and “I Don’t Care” ended the night on a high note, with the wowed faces and smiles of many still planted across their cheeks as Apocalyptica left the stage and the lights went up.

Apocalyptica hit The Metro, Sydney tonight, before wrapping up at Max Watts in Brisbane tomorrow (Sunday, 25 September). Tickets are available now through Destroy All Lines!

tickets.destroyalllines.com

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