Live Reviews : Unleashing The Extreme tour (Melbourne) – 27/06/2009

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Unleashing The Extreme tour

w/ Psycroptic, The Amenta, Ruins, Tenth Dan and Guild of Destruction

The Corner – Melbourne, 27th June 2009.

The 27th of June was to mark the final date of the Unleashing the Extreme tour at none other than the Corner Hotel in Melbourne and this was one gig that most certainly lived up to its name. Boasting three of the most well known Australian metal acts Psycroptic, The Amenta and Ruins along with other supports Tenth Dan and Guild of Destruction it was guaranteed to be a successful show. After coming to the sad realisation that ‘how many women does it take to screw in a light bulb’ jokes do have a place in this world when myself and my other two female housemates couldn’t figure out that when a fuse blows you just turn it back on at the metre box, I was finally on my way to the gig where good times ensued.

After purchasing a copy of the new Ruins album I headed over to watch the first band of the evening, Guild of Destruction. I have seen this band before and always get them confused with Dawn of Retribution, not because the music is similar but that the name is, so once I had clarified which band I was watching I was able to see that these guys put on a pretty good show. I am continually impressed as of late with the decent turn outs metal gigs have been receiving at the beginning of shows, tonight was to prove to be no exception as the venue was already filling at the beginning of their set. Overall they played a pretty tight set with some catchy riffs and it was a nice brutal way to kick off the evening.

Next to take the stage was Tenth Dan and upon commencing their set I immediately felt that the genre of thrashy/hardcore metal would clash with the rest of the evening’s proceedings. When I go to a gig I like the selected bands to mesh well together, again this is just my personal preference so I was a little disappointed to hear the style of music that Tenth Dan played. None the less they put on a good show, I was pretty impressed with the drumming and although I am not a fan of the vocal style the vocalist was still a good front man. They played some catchy tunes that were easy to headbang along to and received a fairly positive response from the audience.

The first of the final three to play were Ruins who have long been a personal favourite of mine so I was looking forward to this all evening. As I had only just purchased the new album I was pleased to hear two of the new tracks for the first time during their live set which did a great job translating live as they appeared to have a bit of a rockier edge than their older stuff, especially the drums.  Older Ruins showcases some pretty intense drumming but with Dave Haley behind the kit it is most certainly something they can deliver live and tonight was proof of that. Highlights of the set were Where Time is Left Behind, Cold Dark Sea and Suicidal Pulse which went down really well with the audience. Their music comprises just enough brutal blast beating to draw in the crowed whilst still taking it down a notch to slow the tempo and bring about the highly atmospheric guitars and the smooth transitions between the two showcases a highly successful live act. Through the addition of corpse paint and the enthusiasm of front man Alex Pope with some chilling guttural vocals, Ruins were able to set the scene for a solid set of demonic Black Metal, Tasmanian style.

After a brief period of nostalgia when hearing the sound check in the mimicked voice of The Count from Sesame Street, One ha ha ha, Two ha ha ha etc it was time for The Amenta. I wasn’t sure what to expect from these guys as the last time I saw them was in 2005 (if I remember correctly) at The Tote a little after they had released “Occasus” and sporting a different line up. The first thing I noticed when their set began was that the guitars were virtually inaudible, as the set continued it became better but they still didn’t sound great, what did however were the drums. I also noticed a fairly significant difference between the old vocalist’s style and the new one and unfortunately I would have to say I prefer the old as the new sounded almost hardcore like and the talking in between songs seemed to ruin the ambiance that The Amenta have the capacity to create through the sampling and the general just stepped out of a burning wreckage look. Another noticeable aspect of their performance was the interaction from the member in charge of samples/programming who in my opinion probably amped the crowed more than the vocalist did. All this isn’t to say that they didn’t put on a good show, it is easy to see why they have become as popular as they have as they played a tight and extremely brutal set, I just think I prefer the older stuff. At one point during the show someone came out in full corpse paint and piggybacked the singer which was quite comical, it may have been the singer from Psycroptic but from my vantage point I really have no idea. Alex from Ruins also took the stage for the final song of the evening Dirt, which funnily enough I felt was one of the stronger tracks from the new album. If there is one thing for certain The Amenta definitely got the crowed hyped for the headliners of the evening Psycroptic.

You know a band is good when you watch them live and want to go purchase the CD, you know a band is really fucking good when the genre and music itself is not really your cup of tea but you enjoy watching them anyway, this is how I feel about Psycroptic. I have never been heavily into their particular brand of metal but these guys are fucking phenomenal live which I think has played a huge part in making them as big as they are. The dynamics between the members of the band are spot on and translate to the audience which in turn gives the rare experience of having an Australian metal band asking the crowed to create a circle pit, put their hands in the air, chant etc and have them obey which is something International acts are usually only able to do. Highlights of the performance were Isle of Disenchantment, Alpha breed, someone’s new born baby on the projector and the final track of the evening Colour of Sleep. It is really impossible to pick any kind of flaw in their performance whatsoever, having seen them numerous times however I would say that this was one of the best shows I have seen them play. The vocalist knows exactly how to get the best out of the audience as any professional should and the guitar, bass and drums deliver a disturbingly tight set every time. If there were ever an Australian band to use as a poster child for what can be achieved through hard work, plenty of practice, drive, determination and persistence Psycroptic is it. Psycroptic’s live show is the pure by-product of a well oiled machine that delivers an entertaining performance every time for every kind of metal head.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this gig through the help of some talented bands and the homey hospitality of the Corner Hotel. Every band delivered their creative craft to the best of their abilities and made for a highly entertaining evening that is really hard to pick fault at. The combination of three of the bigger Australian metal acts resulted in a really decent turn out and hopefully we will see more local gigs of this magnitude in the future.

For more information on any of the bands visit the following websites;
Psycroptic – www.myspace.com/psycroptic OR www.psycroptic.com
The Amenta – www.myspace.com/theamenta OR www.theamenta.com
Ruins – www.myspace.com/ruinsblackmetal OR www.ruinsband.com
Tenth Dan – www.myspace.com/tenthdan
Guild of Destruction – www.myspace.com/guildofdestruction

Review by Holly McBride