Gloom lords Departe opened the night, being the only Australian band on the lineup. The Tassie natives delivered sinister and expansive soundscapes, treating the crowd to a crushing wall of noise. Their first full-length Failure, Subside was met with monolithic acclaim last year, eerily balancing droning post-metal with shattering blast beats and reverberating vocals. One thing to be taken from the set was that the Australian black metal definitely has a leg to stand on in the greater global scene.
Keeping things diverse, New Zealand’s Ulcerate were up next. With the crowd already bathed in sweat, the Kiwi outfit provided face-melting speed with utmost dexterity and precision. The jolting death metal assault was clearly a crowd favourite, given the sea of metal horns emerging from the teeming pit.
The first European band of the night proved what fans already knew – Polish black metal is savage as fuck. MGLA emerged from the shadows in black, hooded garb, which allowed them total anonymity to wreak havoc and invoke an aura of desolation. With a set that was equal parts vicious, rumbling and dark, the bandroom was quickly converted to a bleak realm of dissonance.
Compared to MGLA, Gorguts offered a sonically diverse extreme metal stew; while the Canadians sprayed the crowd with cranium-shaking blast beats one minute, the next they’d descend into darkness with swells of ambient guitar feedback. Vocalist and guitarist Luc Lemay resembled an evil J Mascis, with windswept hair blown in all directions as he abused his six-string. Bassist Colin Marston certainly upped the ‘tech’ ante with nimble fingers running laps up and down the neck of his bass. The 33-minute epic Pleiades’ Dust took up the bulk of their set, while closer Obscura brought things to a frantic finish. They promised to return soon, before leaving the stage ahead of the night’s headliners, Marduk.
The Swedish outfit are known for their chaotic union of black metal, thrash and death metal. With corpse paint smeared bloodily across their faces, Marduk unleashed the entirety of their 1996 offering, Heaven Shall Burn…When We Are Gathered. Though the release is but one of 13 studio albums, it has a cult status among metal enthusiasts for its seamless combination of genres. Opener Summon The Darkness showcased black metal ambience in a tight 20 second timeframe, before tearing into balls out thrasher Beyond The Grace of God. The absolute highlight of the set was when they hit just over halfway through the album, and despite the fatigue that was fast afflicting the crowd, a surge of ferocity engulfed from the first notes of The Black Tormentor of Satan.
Words by Bel Ryan & Jack Pilven
Image by Sally Townsend
Highlight: MGLA.
Lowlight: Some dude’s luscious mane whipping me in the face – but I ain’t even mad.
Crowd Favourite: Marduk.
