Venue: The
Cambridge Hotel Newcastle (NSW, Australia )
Date:
10 May 2014.
Special Guests: Grim Demise, The Seer, Eternal Rest, A Million Dead Birds Laughing.
I finished work and then
headed up the freeway to The Cambridge Hotel in Newcastle . There was a small crowd already
inside the venue when I arrived. Once Grim Demise started there were a few more
people in the venue. Unfortunately due to another show around 20 minutes down
the road which started earlier than this gig, this amazing gig with some truly
talented bands didn’t get the crowd which it deserved. I spoke to a few people
who were also disappointed with the turnout, with roughly only 100 people turning
up for this gig. Because of the low crowd turnout, the crowd that was there
was treated to what was an amazing gig, and it felt like our very own private
gig.
Grim Demise (Newcastle ,
NSW, Australia ).
Genre: Blackened Death / Thrash / Australian Metal
Band Members:
RiCho – Vocals
Pendo - Lead Guitars
Mungo – Bass
Dave – Drums
Matt Ohma - Guitar
Set List:
1. Evil, 2. For They Bleed, 3. The Forgotten, 4. Left With Nothing, 5. Wretched
Harvest.
I saw these guys around 5
weeks ago for the first time and they were brilliant … and that was Matt’s
first gig with Grim Demise. It looks
like he has settled in very well with the band. Tonight’s gig is different as
these guys stepped up to the mark big time as the opening support for Origin. From
the very start of “Evil” right to the end with “Wretched Harvest”, Grim Demise
were fantastic. Unfortunately they only
had enough time for 5 wicked songs. The band was having a lot of fun on stage
and they even set the vocalist up with a song with clean vocals, which
surprised even him as it wasn’t meant to happen. He said, “They made me do it”. After their set, I ended up getting their
album called “Nameless Graves” which I started blasting on my way home. I got so engrossed in the music. It was fantastic. I wasn't paying attention to
where I was going, due to head banging, and ended up driving in the opposite
direction … I took an extra 30 minutes to get home … but that was OK as I got an
extra 30 minutes of blasting this album. Stay tuned for another CD review … lol!
The Seer
(Newcastle ,
NSW, Australia ).
Genre:
Symphonic Death Metal
Band Members:
Ryan Huthnance - Vocals
and Guitar
Daniel McInnes - Guitar
Allan Swaffield - Bass
Tom Taylor - Drums
Daniel McInnes - Guitar
Allan Swaffield - Bass
Tom Taylor - Drums
Set List:
1. Thanatos, 2. Timeless, 3. Condemnation, 4. Demise of the Gods.
I last saw The Seer at the
start of the year and they were brilliant, and tonight they were even better.
With a new album under their belt, they were ready to let lose with some new
songs off the album. As usual they were very tight and intense. Due to time
restraints, they only had enough time to smash out 4 incredible songs. After
their set, I ended up going to their merch stand and pre-ordered their new album.
I can’t wait for it to arrive. This was The Seer’s second gig for today, as
they came straight from their set at Hexham’s (Newcastle )
Metal Bloody Metal festival to the Cambridge .
The Seer have been pushing themselves and their music, to the limit in their
performances, that they have been selected to support two of their biggest
influences, the brilliant “Septicflesh” and the amazing “Fleshgod Apocalypse”,
on the Australian tour, in early-mid May 2014, at The Manning Bar in Sydney. Just goes to show that hard work does pay
off. Good luck guys and I look forward
to seeing you all again.
Eternal
Rest (Brisbane , Queensland , Australia ).
Band Members:
Lochlan Watt – Vocals (The
Racket)
Mick Hunter - Drums
Jake Kaiser - Guitars
Chris Clark - Guitars
Jannico Kelk - Bass
Jake Kaiser - Guitars
Chris Clark - Guitars
Jannico Kelk - Bass
Genre: Death
Metal
Set List: 1. Manifestation, 2. Preaching the
decimation of spheres, 3.New, 4. song, 5. Onset of destruction, 6. Remnants, 7.
New song, 8. Prophetic.
I haven’t seen Eternal
Rest for quite some time and I was really looking forward to seeing them. Last
time I saw them I really enjoyed the show.
This time was no exception. It’s
obvious they have grown as a band. They
hit the stage and just smashed it. I have always enjoyed their sets as the music
is heavy. Their stage presence was
awesome and they always seem to have so much fun on stage. They played some new
songs which were brilliant. For some reason I have always admired the way both
Jake and Chris play guitars. I can’t
explain why, buy you just have to watch them live to see what I mean. They have a presence on stage that commands
respect. They are both very talented guys
who complement each other with their playing styles and technique. This is not to take anything from the rest of
the members in the band … the bass player is a real character, the drummer is
insane and the vocalist demonstrated great range and talent. Eternal Rest always put on a great set, but tonight’s
set was just brilliant. The time went by
too fast and their set was over before I knew it. It’s amazing how much these guys have matured
in such a short space of time. I look
forward to seeing these guys live again and to any future albums.
A Million Dead Birds Laughing (Melbourne , Australia ).
Genre: Death
Metal/Death Grind
Band Members:
BB - Guitar.
DT - Drums.
SA - Bass.
DL - Vocals
DT - Drums.
SA - Bass.
DL - Vocals
Set List:
1. Conduit, 2. Seppuku, 3.VII, 4.Rashomon, 5. Defaced, 6. Nest, 7. Beast, 8. Fortress
9. Defiants, 10. Agony, 11.Warlord, 12. Imperium, 13. Axiom, 14. Empress, 15. King,
16. Zombie.
I know of these guys, but
have never seen them live before tonight. AMDBL were fantastic, very heavy and
brutal. These guys have to be seen to be believed how really good AMDBL are. DL’s vocal range is some of the best I have heard
live. AMDBL have a cult like following. From what I saw and after witnessing
their brutal assault on the Cambridge ,
I can understand why. This was AMDBL’s first ever gig at Newcastle and hopefully they will return in
the near future. AMDBL brought out a new album at the end of last year (2013) called
“Bloom”. It’s a very heavy, intense and
brutal album. They played some songs
tonight off the new album to which the crowd loved. AMDBL have been playing
some insane supports over the last 12 months. They played the Sonic Forge Festival, The
Australia Day Party, support for Nile & The Face Tour 2013, as well as
Psycroptic’s 'Inheriting the Sickness' Australian Tour 2013 as well. So these guys know a thing or two on how to
destroy a venue or two with some seriously heavy music. If you get a chance to see these guys, make
the effort … you won’t be disappointed.
Origin (Kansas/California/New York , USA ).
Genre: Death
Metal
Band Members:
Jason Keyser - Vocals
Paul Ryan - Guitars/Vocals
Mike Flores - Bass/Vocals
John Longstreth - drums
Paul Ryan - Guitars/Vocals
Mike Flores - Bass/Vocals
John Longstreth - drums
Set List: N/A
This was my first time in
seeing Origin, and from what quite a few people told me, I was in for one hell
of a show from these guys. Vocalist, Jason, definitely knew how to work a crowd. He is a very charismatic front man. He is a great entertainer with a lot of energy,
never stopped moving around the stage and continuously involved the audience. Drummer,
John, played like a demon. He is easily
one of the best drummers going around in the Death Metal scene today and is
just amazing to watch live. After watching him play, I’m surprised the drum kit
still existed in one piece after the set.
Mike, the bass player, was ruthless with his bass. He beat it, flogged it, slapped it and
brutalised it, in the most musical sense of the way!! I have never seen anyone brutalise a bass like
he did tonight. He was like a man possessed.
Guitarist, Paul, was fantastic. Some
of the riffs he played were unbelievable. The things he can do on the guitar has to be
seen to be believed.
Vocalist, Jason, said he wanted to see a one man “mosh pit”.
There were a couple of people who put
there hands up. Only one was chosen and
he “moshed” by himself until others joined in after a couple of minutes. A solo
“mosh pit” was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. From were I was standing I had a very good
view of the crowd and of the stage, and when the 4 person circle pit got going,
I couldn’t help but laugh. The funniest part was when Jason wanted a 2 man “wall
of death”. The singer from Grim Demise,
RiCho, said he would be in it. I’m not
sure what happened, but another dude got in and RiCho missed out. Jason counted
down, and the 2 man “wall of death” started. One of them got smashed, but he was ok. I
couldn’t stop laughing at them because it looked so funny from were I was
standing. All during Origin’s set there was 3-5 man “mosh pit” and 3 man “circle
pits”. Everyone there was enjoying
themselves so much. The band really knew
how to make the most out of getting entertainment out of their fans. Unfortunately, when their set was over, the cheering
and the roar of the crowd was very loud, considering the turn out was limited. I
definitely want to see Origin again when they return to our shores. We were very privileged that the crowd was not
very large, as we had our very own private performance where the band was able
to interact more with the fans.
What a fantastic night of
metal with some brilliant Aussie metal and Origin (USA) which at times left me
speechless. I was lucky enough to have picked up 2 albums from AMDBL, one from
The Seer and a Grim Demise album. Unfortunately, I spent my “allowance” on the
Aussie bands merch and wasn’t able to grab an Origin CD at the end of the
night, but I will definitely be picking up the Origin CD when they release their
new album in a couple of months.
By Collin Brophy
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