On what was an astonishing night for metal, the Corner Hotel was graced by a completely local lineup. Up first were sludge punks Batpiss, delivering a well rounded set that showed they’re all fired up for the release of their new album next month. Although known for playing tight, abrasive sets in smaller venues across town, their sound carried exceptionally well, heralding a night of top-notch sound quality at the Corner. The drone of the bass, the howl of the vocals and the gritty twang of the guitars carried through the venue, paving the way for metalcore stalwarts Collosvs to rip the walls down. Tonight they played an expectedly punishing set full of blast beats, shrieks, howls and riffs as sinister as the fiery descent into hell itself.
Up next were High Tension, pumping out crushing punk-hardcore melodies with a variety of metallic genres tossed into the mix. Throughout a solid and varied set, where no two songs sounded similar, Karina Utomo’s vocal shrieks pierced through the air. Sharp, stabbing guitar and choppy drums incited crowd surfing from fans and the band alike. As their set wound up, one would assume the opening three bands had adequately warmed up the hall for the almighty King Parrot. But we were soon proven so very wrong.
King Parrot’s set was as fast as it was relentless. Drums and riffs were shot out with chain gun intensity, and within ten seconds, vocalist Matthew Young hurled a beer into the crowd and started screeching like an orchestra of wounded bats, causing the venue to explode into primal carnage.
Despite creating puddles of sweat and fleshy mosh-pits in the crowd, the various members submerged themselves in their craft. Youngy screamed viciously, maintaining the persona of a goblin on crack, bass player Slatts pulled a ridiculous succession of curiously excited expressions, and the rest of the band smashed out vicious riffs that ranged from ominous to skull crushing.
At the end of the set came a duet between Youngy and High Tension’s Utomo, before Shit On The Liver was howled much to the delight of every claw-handed metal-head in the packed venue. The venue cleared, leaving no eardrum un-shattered.
BY THOMAS BRAND
Photo by Emily Day
Loved: Slatts’ face.
Hated: Forgot earplugs. Sorry mum.
Drank: Yeah man.
