There was a larger than usual queue of black down Swanston St as a sold out crowd turned up to tonight’s show. It was another miserable Melbourne day, so people seemed pleased when they were finally let in. Or maybe it was that they could finally hit the bar?
As people moved in from the cold they were treated to two warm up acts. Truth Corroded and their thrash assault were solid and entertaining. Balls out thrash might seem out of place at a Fear Factory but they were received well by the crowd. The nights middle child, Thy Art is Murder, not so much busted out their deathcore tunes as opened them slowly without a knife. While the instrumentalists were on top of their game, their vocalist sounded much more like cookie monster than he does on record. In spite of this they psyched one guy up so much that he seemed intent on showing his friends how high he could kick his right leg without moving any other part of his body. The room went dark as a dark and dramatic score – the sort of music you would associate with the ex-governor of California –started thundering through the PA and Fear Factory took the stage.
The first thing that hits you is Dino Cazares. The man is huge and even discerning fans will struggle to tell which is heavier, the riffs or the guitarist. In spite of (perhaps because of?) his size Dino was all over the stage, regularly switching sides and waving to pit rats. Dwarfed by Dino was Fear Factory’s new bassist, Matt DeVries from Chimaira, who suits the band to the point where he may as well be an old bassist.
Mike Heller is the other ‘new guy’, and he is more than capable of filling the shoes of Gene Hoglan. But maybe not the the pants. The final member, Burton C. Bell, is a brilliant frontman. He is absolutely brutal, but friendly and without ego. His voice is wavered a little on some of some of his higher vocals, but aside from this the band sound like their studio albums.
Fear Factory smashed their way through a solid setlist which mixed newer releases with old favourites. The pit was a mass life form during their hits Edgecrusher and Can’t Tear Me Apart. There was a particularly energetic reaction to Bell’s announcement that they would play material from 95’s Demanufacture.
A sold out show with a great vibe – it would suck to have not gone due to the absence of the former members.
BY OSCAR SCHIESSER
LOVED: The guy with the original ’92 tour shirt.
HATED: Cookie Monster vocals.
DRANK: Bourbon.
