CONCERT REVIEW: Stigmata Promotions, by Collin Brophy, 9/11/2014

DAEMON PYRE (Sydney Death Metal)

Venue: The Valve Bar (Underground) Sydney.

Date: 25^th October 2014

Guest includes: The Schoenberg Automaton, Hadal Maw, Daemon Pyre, Grim Demise and Autolysis.

I left work and headed for the city, met up with some mates, and we made our way to The Valve Bar. I arrived around 30 minutes prior to the doors being opened. I walked around, spoke to numerous band members, and had a few cold beers. Before the doors opened, the band members could be seen bringing all their gear in and setting up for the night. Everyone waiting was pumped for an awesome night of serious metal.

The doors opened just after 8pm, there were quite a few people already inside the venue, and for only $10.00 for 5 very quality Australian metal bands, who could argue. Out of the 5 bands, I had only seen 3 of them before. I have only heard the other two, Autolysis and Hadal Maw, on YouTube, so I was very much looking forward to seeing them live tonight.

Tonight the promoter of this brilliant gig, Stigmata Promotions, decided to do something very different.  They set up a big screen up against the side wall and played 3 cult horror movies (Dawn of the Dead, Halloween and Hellraiser) on repeat throughout the whole gig, and everyone loved it. It was crazy how some of the vocals and the movie images on the screen managed to coincide with each other, which made the experience even better. I had to laugh when a female fan was getting right into the music and when she turned around, she saw a scene from Hellraiser, and screamed … in tune to the music.  It couldn’t have been timed any better.  This was one of the best local gigs I have been to in a while, and by the reactions of the crowd, I wasn’t the only one who thought the same.

Autolysis (Newcastle, NSW, Australia)

Band Members: Adam – Guitar, Legion – Bass, Mitch – Guitar, Dave – Vocals, Macca – Drums.

Genre: Extreme Metal.

Set List: 1. Deacidal, 2. Total Desa, 3. Drill, 4. Cradle, 5. Death Walker, 6. Enslaved, 7. Autopsy, 8. Malignant.

Tonight was my introduction to the slaughter machine that is Autolysis. These guys were tight, hard and fast, with sick riffs from the guitarist. The drummer was awesome, some very fast drumming and he never missed a beat. The bassist was a beast of a man, who beat the crap out of his bass and ended up braking the strings, not once but twice. The vocalist was non-stop, up and down and back and forth.  He was very energetic, with amazing vocal skills. His growls went perfectly to the horror movies playing on the screen in the background. I very much enjoyed these guys set. I’d like to see these guys again, but this was Mitch’s last ever show with Autolysis and this could quite possibly be Autolysis’ last show ever, as they are struggling to find anyone to replace Mitch’s awesome guitarist skills … Or if they found another drummer, then Macca could play the guitar for Autolysis. We at Busuk Webzine wish Mitch and the other band members of Autolysis all the best in their future endeavours … we hope you find someone soon.

Grim Demise (Newcastle, NSW, Australia)

Band Members: Wretched – Vocals, Pendo - Lead Guitars, Mungo – Bass, Silence - Rhythm Guitars, Dave – Drums.

Genre: Blackened Death / Thrash / Australian Metal

Set List: 1. The cursed, 2. Evil, 3. Forgotten, 4. Decay, 5. Abandon, 6. Left with nothing, 7. Wretched, 8. Harvest.

I haven’t seen Grim Demise for a few months now and I was looking forward to seeing them and hearing some new tunes. Not use to seeing these guys play on a small stage, as they are very energetic and like to spread out, but it was great to be up close and personal.  It was good to see Wretched back up and smashing out tunes after having surgery and titanium rods/pins inserted in his right arm/hand.  You could tell that he was in a bit of pain by the way he kept swapping the mic from right to left hand, but there was no way that the pain was going to stop the metal machine that is Grim Demise from playing a great set.  The drummer was brilliant, as was the bassist and guitarist. While they smashed out their own style of metal, it suited the horror movie being played on the screen, Dawn of the Dead. Grim Demise just gets better and better every time I see them, and tonight was no exception. They’ve introduced some new music, which is heavy, fast and brutal. The crowd definitely liked the new music as well. With a new album on the horizon, things are looking up for Grim Demise.  We here at Busuk Webzine would like to wish Wretched a speedy recovery from his injury and look forward to seeing these guys in the future.

Daemon Pyre (Sydney, NSW, Australia)

Band Members: Sam Rilatt – Vocals, Andrew Lilley – Guitar, Simon Tattam – Guitar, Nathan Crofts – Drums, TBA – Bass.

Genre: Melodic Death Metal.

Set List:

This was the first time I had seen Daemon Pyre, formally known as, As Silence Breaks, since they changed their name earlier this year. I was really looking forward to see these guys tonight, as I have been a huge fan of theirs for quite some time now. From the moment they started until the very last note, Daemon Pyre were brilliant. With a new band member, who has only been with them for a short while, they played like they have been playing together for years. Changing their name and with a whole new attitude DP were brutal. They have matured so much as a band together and it showed in their performance. Playing their new music was a massive hit with the crowd who loved it all. DP has a heavier, nastier sound then when they were ASB. There whole persona as a band has changed and I think it’s for the better. A new name, attitude and focus has definitely worked for DP and with their debut album due out before the end of the year, it looks like next year is going to be huge for all in involved in DP. We at Busuk Webzine wish DP all the best with their new album and the launch once the album is released.

Hadal Maw (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

Band Members: Aaron Grice – Vocals, Nick Rackham – Guitar, Ben Boyle – Guitar, Jim Luxford – Bass, Rob Brens – Drums.

Genre: Death Metal

Set List: 1.Sure man, 2.Dissent, 3.Aetas De Morior, 4,Invisible Eye, 5.Hypnoguise, 6.Altar of Ire, 7.Corridors, 8.Obsequia, 9.The Lurid, 10.Coil, 11.From the Mouths of Monsters.

A week before the gig I did a search on YouTube to see if I could hear a sample of Hadal Maw, as I had never heard them before.  I came to the realisation that I have been missing out on one very talented and brutal band. These guys don’t muck around.  They got straight into their set and it was full throttle from the start to finish of non stop death metal. It was inspiring. The drummer was relentless on the skins and his drum kit copped a beating and a half. The bassist was brilliant, the guitarist smashed out some sick riffs as well and the vocalist was an amazing front man, who commanded your attention. This was Hadal Maw’s album launch and by the look of it at the end of the night, they had won over many new fans with their assault on their ear drums. Now I know exactly what I have been missing out on and I definitely can’t wait to see them again.

The Schoenberg Automaton (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

Band Members: Nelson Barnes - Drums, Jake Gerstle - Vocals, Shayne Johnson - Guitar, Zimi Shabanay - Bass, Damien Boorman - Guitar,

Genre: Technical / Abstract Death Metal

Set List: 1. Stopping a God Midsentence, 2. Ghost of Mirach, 3. The Woodhouse Sakati Syndrome, 4. Lost City of Embers (New), 5. All Roads Lead to Rome, 6. The Fragile Ones (New), 7. The Worm Engine, 8. Where are We, In a Cube?, 9. Vengeance (New).

I didn’t want to miss seeing these guys, as it was TSA’s last Sydney gig before leaving “The land down under” as they are relocating to Canada. I last saw these guys when they supported Aborted in June 2014 in Sydney, and tonight there was a good crowd ready for a great set and to see them off in style. I have been looking forward to catching up with TSA before they relocated to Canada to try there luck over there. TSA were awesome tonight. They played their hearts out to a very grateful crowd. It was great to be able to chat to the guys before their set and to personally wish them all the best in Canada. By the time they were ready to play, the crowd had gathered and everyone was anticipating a great set. The guys in TSA didn’t disappoint. Easily one of their best sets I’ve seen them play in Sydney. They gave their all in this performance and by the end of their set, they had absolutely demolished the Value Bar. No-one wanted to see them finish because they knew they weren’t going to see them again for a long time.  I am going to miss seeing TSA, as are a lot of other fans. The Canadians won’t know what hit them once TSA have moved over there. Busuk Webzine would like to wish the whole TSA family all the best and we hope that you guys enjoy your time in Canada and hope it all goes well for you all.  The Aussie Metal Scene is going to miss you, but know you will be working hard over there representing the Australian Metal Music Industry and will do us proud.  Hope to see you guys touring back here soon.

[By Collin Brophy for Busuk Webzine.]