HEAVEN & HELL – Brisbane, Australia 14th September 2019

admin September 16, 2019 Concert Reviews

With an eclectic crowd of Power Rangers, Rainbow Fairies, fellow bright coloured hair weirdos and the gang wearing timeless black band t-shirts, I felt right at home on the grassy hill at Riverstage. Sipping my vodka & redbull, munching down on some lunch from the local food vendors and enjoying the Saturday afternoon sun.

With short intervals between bands; having split the stage for the first eight of ten acts, the fast-growing crowd was able to stay captivated without the lull between sets.

First cab off the ranks was Nerve Damage, who only secured the spot three days prior due to original act Southeast Desert Metal unfortunately being unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. However, their loss was the Gold Coast six piece’s gain. With thick and heavy sounds, monstrous growls and so much passion behind their work, the guys really kicked off Brisbane Festival’s Heaven and Hell concert.

Sporting white shortie shorts and tattoo covered legs, vocalist Shaun started off with the acknowledgement of country by paying respect to the traditional owners of the land on which we stood. Mentioning the Closing the Gap initiative by introducing their song Poison the River and showing his support and respect for fellow sufferers of PTSD and other mental health conditions supported by the lyrics to battle a “war inside my head” every day.

Opening with the very optimistic line of “I promise we don’t bite”, Endless Heights vocalist Joel Martorana enticed the crowd to move in closer out of the hot sun to come and enjoy the music. The Sydney five-piece played their brand new single Cold Hard Kiss, along with other great tracks. The guys played a great set which was received with a great reception from the crowd. Endless Heights; a band I would definitely go see perform again, just for a longer setlist.

Starting the event’s first circle pit, Melbourne four-piece Pagan, led by powerful female vocalist and screamer Nikki Brumen, kicked the festival up a notch with their hard-hitting songs, catchy riffs and her strong stage presence. Along with her athletic prowess, high kicks and windmilling, this Late Night Death Disco band is set to continue kicking arse.

With strong opening drums and guitar riffs, Thornhill entered the stage to a WWE-style video, introducing each band member with their name, photo and such honest and teasing pros and cons. Despite the volume for vocalist’s mic being too soft for the first half of the opening track, their set went off without a hitch.

Thanks to the sound tech for quickly fixing that issue, as vocalist Jacob Charlton has a captivating Kim Benzie (Dead Letter Circus)-esque tone, with deeper growls. All matching in their lame hipster t-shirts, their performance was anything but. The track Lavender was a personal favourite as their heaviest track, reminds me of the sound where tranquility goes to die.

Void of Vision followed on with their hard-hitting, fast paced metalcore sound. After releasing their second album the day prior, the guys showed their grit and belligerence that is deeply engrained in their performance. Opening the pit up to a spiralling vortex of aggression, anger and angst, making the perfect alliteration to any energetic mosh pit fanatic who is enthralled in the moment of violent release. Ending on a high, lead vocalist Jack Bergin enjoyed a five second surf on the arms of fans for a finale to a kicker of a performance.

With a kick to the soul, a shredding of eardrums and pulsating drum beat, Make Them Suffer sure know how to play an opening track. And although their heavy metal screams are no longer this writer’s cup of tea, not since my angsty metal kid wannabe teenage years, it was strongly evident that these guys know how to get a crowd riled up and put on a show to get a feisty response.

The first international act for the festival was up next as Crossfaith lit a fire in our bellies with their addictive metal electronica. The Japanese metalheads from Osaka kicked it up a gear to demonstrate their industrial dubstep intensity that they are well known for. With an electric energy radiating from pit to make most bands jealous, this heart attack worthy Crossfaithed mosh was intense.

Props to you if you were lucky enough to be amongst the sweat of it all. Lead vocalist Kenta’s natural charisma was a contagion among the crowd, with something to be envied of and strived for, for any aspiring band in the scene. With two ‘walls of death’ actioned in their second to last song, and their announcement that they will be returning to Australia in 2020 their enthusiasm was that of seismic proportions.

Now I know all artists are talented, with drummers in my personal opinion leading the pack, but Tatsuya’s dexterity and pure awesomeness shone through this already amazing performance.

Proving that punk will never die, are Newcastle band Trophy Eyes. Stepping back into a favourite genre of mine, I couldn’t help but wonder “how the hell have I not seen these guys perform live before?” Their catchy riffs, drum beats and lyrics would put a smile on the face of even the most tainted soul. Starting off with their hit single Friday Forever, these guys brought back nostalgia and forlorn in me for the sadly missed Soundwave festival. Having played the Sydney leg back in 2014, these guys feel like they’ve now earnt a sunset timeslot of the city hopping festival to bring the perfect calm before the storm.

With a tantalisingly long wait, anticipation rose for American rockers Underoath. They showed their reunited passion for the stage after their disbandment in 2013 and album hiatus of eight years. Showing their true Rockstar style through Spencer Chamberlain’s perfectly executed spinning mic, and strong frontman-ship, they got the crowd singing in unison to every song, new and old.

And finally, ladies and gentlemen, the reason we’re all here tonight; The Amity Affliction.
An incredible act if you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing them perform. They bring the house down with their solid riffs, incredibly powerful lyrics and perfect complementary match that is vocalists Joel Birch and Ahren Stringer. With their captivating presence and unwavering vocals these guys have been making leaps and bounds in performance delivery.

With a keen eagle’s eye view over the crowd, newcomer and drummer Joe Longobardi’s raised platform delivered one hell of a drum solo. His precision, speed and execution was enthralling. Adding in a little Enter Sandman intro, before returning from the heavens to jump into Feels Like I’m Dying, the whole performance was absolutely stellar.

You can really feel the raw pain and emotion that the lyrics bring out after the internal battles the guys have gone through. The audio snippet before Chasing Ghosts was quite powerful – addressing suicide. For those who can relate to having depression or any mental health condition, The Amity Affliction is one of those bands that will save you through the darkest of times. From personal experience, the strength their songs can etch into you is so powerful, I’m sure its saved a life of two.