Project Description

HEAVEN AND HELL

METAL FESTIVAL 

Riverstage, Brisbane

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Marissa Newman

Photos: Matt Young

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There is no doubt that The Amity Affliction are Australia’s most successful heavy music exports and yesterday they put on a show to be remembered as they brought Heaven and Hell’ to Riverstage Brisbane, as part of the venue’s 30th anniversary celebrations.

There was something for every metal fan yesterday with a lineup of 10 bands all playing different styles and variations of the metal genre. The day felt like one big party with the perfect weather to accompany the festival. Fans took full advantage of the show that was put on for them with many circle pits and walls of death formed throughout the day.

The Amity Affliction were joined by Underoath, Crossfaith, Trophy Eyes, Make Them Suffer, Void of Vision, Thornhill, Pagan, Endless Heights and Nerve Damage.

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Nerve Damage 

Nerve Damage started of the festival and what a way to start the day. I feel that it is always hard for the early bands particularly at festivals as they are playing for a smaller crowd as more people arrive during the day. I had never heard of Nerve Damage until yesterday, but I am happy that I got to see them play and I will be following them more closely in the future.

One thing that surprised me about Nerve Damage was the fact that there were 3 guitarists and one bass player, upon first seeing this I wasn’t really sure how they would go with so many guitarists on stage, but it worked, and it worked well.

From the second that these guys started they brought so much energy to the stage. The lead singer Shaun Daniel Allen has such a powerful scream, his scream really got the crowd going. Nerve Damage is a band from the Gold Coast, the genre of metal that the band play is death metal/metal core style.

One of my favourite songs if their set was Close the Gap. This is a song about closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous health care. This song was sung with so much passion. It is great to see that a band is so passionate about issues that are close to their heart.

Poisoned the River is another song which was played during the set and singer Shaun spoke very passionately about this song. He, himself is of Indigenous decent and the song is all about making a better life for Indigenous people in Australia.

The band also touched on the mental health of returned service man and women and PTSD, with a song called War, it was great to see a band really bringing light to issues that face so many people.

All in all, Nerve Damage played a great high energy set and it was a great way to start the day. The band didn’t stop moving the entire time that they were on stage and it is great to see a band with so much passion for social issues. If you haven’t heard of this band before and you are a fan of death metal, I recommend that you check them out.

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Endless Heights

Endless Heights are a metal band from Sydney. The band consists of Matt Jones, Joel Martorana, Jem Siow, Christian Hrdina and Jullian Diaz. It is interesting when you go to a festival as you get such a mix of music. These guys were a bit slower than the first band Nerve Damage however they still put on a great show.

Lead singer Joel Martorana has a great voice and engages with the crowd in a great way. I also hadn’t heard of Endless Heights before attending the festival and I must say that they weren’t what I expected but in a good way. That is the thing about festivals such as this one, it is great opportunity to discover new bands and also different interpretations of the metal genre.

It is also great to see that at this festival most of the bands are Australian and I think that’s really important. That Australian artists such as The Amity Affliction provide the platform for other Australian bands to grow their fan base and have opportunities like ‘Heaven and Hell’ festival.

During their set Endless Heights made use of the screen behind them to play videos along with the music. These videos were very unique and interesting, this also added to the set as it is always nice to have a visual to watch as well as the band performing.

All in all I found this to be my least favourite set of the day, being only relatively new to the metal scene it takes a fair bit to engage my attention and to the untrained ear it felt a little repetitive but this shouldn’t take away from the fact that they are all great musicians who put on a great show and the fans were appreciative.

Songs that Endless Heights played included You Coward, Come a Little Closer, Cold Hard Kiss and Drain.

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Pagan

Pagan came out on stage and they defiantly brought it. It’s not every day that a metal band walks out and has a female vocalist. Nikki is amazing and she can scream like no tomorrow. This was a massive shock to me as I didn’t expect her to have such a scream on her.

Pagan are a Blackend Rock and Roll band consisting of members Nikki, Xavier, Matthew and Danny. The band has amazing stage presence and put on a great show for the fans. I feel that this is when the crowd really came to life. This is when the walls of death and circle pits really began to take off.

Lead singer Nikki told the story of how she became a screamer in a metal band. Nikki is now 31 years old and said how one day she was driving with her sister in the car listening to a band that she always loved The Amity Affliction and the album Young Blood was playing. She started screaming along and realised ‘oh fuck I can scream’ and that’s when she decided to become a screamer in a band.

I think that it is amazing when bands get to play on the same lineup as bands that inspire them, and they look up to. I really enjoyed Pagan and this surprised me a little bit, it took me a couple of songs to get into them, but I think that I was captivated by Nikki’s voice. I also love that fact that she is representing women in the metal scene and is someone that young girls can look up to as it is generally a genre that is dominated by men.

Everyone in that band is an incredibly talented musician and this was shown by the quality of the instrumentals and solos in the songs. All in all, Pagan delivered a high energy set, that really got the crowd going. They were very captivating to watch on stage and had a great stage presence.

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Thornhill

I have never seen a band come out to a wrestling introduction but what a way to engage the crowd. I didn’t know what to expect when these guys came on stage and I thought that they might not be as serious as other bands because of their introduction and how they dressed but as soon as they started to play you know that they meant business.

These guys have a very unique stage presence and its kind of ironic how they dress as they all have button up shirts that are tucked in, belts and good shoes. They look more like they are dressed for a fancy date rather than performing at a metal festival. These guys would fall into the Djent genre of metal.

Their heaviest track Lavender really got the crowd excited. This song featured awesome screams as well as crisp clean vocals. The band engaged with the crowd so well and tried to get as close to the crowd as possible. I really like when bands make a huge effort for the crowd as it shows that they appreciate that the crowd turns up.

During their set the boys from Thornhill were joined by the singer of Void of Vision, I love it when artists from other bands join them on stage as it shows that they all collaborate and support each other. This support, I feel is extremely important in music and shows that the metal community really is just one big family.

Songs from Thornhill’s set included Nurture, Coven, Sunflower, Parasite, Temperer, Lavender and Reptile.

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Void of Vision 

Void of Vision are a metal core band from Melbourne. Having released their new album Hyperdaze on Friday, there was much anticipation for this set. This was the first time that the band had played a show since releasing the new album. It’s always exciting getting to see a band just after they have released new music.

Void of Vision consists of Jack Bergin – Vocals, James McKendrick – Guitar/Vocals, Mitch Fairlie – Guitar and George Murphy on drums. These guys played a killer set that was filled with intensity from the get-go.

 The intense drums during the song Grey Area really got the crowd pumping and on their feet. James McKendrick also has a killer scream throughout this song. This was the first time that the band had played Brisbane and you could tell that they were giving it their all on stage.

During the set lead singer Jack Bergin explained how the new album Hyperdaze is a statement of who they are today. It is great to see bands talk with passion about the music that they produce, and you could tell that the band are proud of what they did.

My favourite song during this set was If Only, I really liked how the screaming vocals meet the clean vocals in this song and the singers are backed up by a skilful band. I had heard of Void of Vision before and was really looking forward to seeing them and they lived up to my expectation which was amazing.

Songs played by Void of Vision during their set included Hole in Me, Grey Area, Kill All My Friends, Decay, If Only, Nightmare, Babylon and Ghost in the Machine. If you haven’t really heard of these guys before you should check them and their new album out, I doubt that you will be disappointed.

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Make Them Suffer

Make Them Suffer are a death core band from Perth. The band consist of members Sean Hammanis, Booka Nile, Nick Mclernon, Jaya Jeffery and Jordan Mather. Make Them Suffer featured the second female for the day with a female on keys and vocals.

Having keys used in this set brought a magical and whimsical feel to the music at times. I feel that the keys really helped to bring this set alive.

Once again, I personally found this set a little hard to become really involved in as I found them a bit heavy for my liking and I haven’t listened to much screaming vocals for very long so I tune out at times, but this shouldn’t take away from the set. The crowd really enjoyed the set and get really involved in the music and this was great to see.

These guys are so talented at what they do and put on a great show. The keys were my favourite part and they also used a lot of vocal effects as well which was very interesting.

Make Them Suffer’s set included Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria), Uncharted, Hollowed Heart, Widower, Blood Moon and Ether.

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Crossfaith 

Japanese metal band Crossfaith put on a show that will be remembered by everyone who saw it for some time. The last thing that I expected to see at a metal festival was a DJ platform but that’s what these guys had.

Crossfaith combined EDM (electronic dance music) with heavy metal and screaming and when you hear that you are probably thinking to yourself there is no way that this should work, but it is amazing to hear, and you feel like you are just at one big party.

The crowd went absolutely mental for these guys and they certainly engaged with the crowd at every opportunity. I lost count of the number of walls of death that they organised and got the crowd to participate in during their set.

These guys have such an amazing energy on stage and a don’t think that a single member of the band stood still for any part of the set. This energy that there were giving off was so infectious. The band consists of vocalist Kenta Koie, guitarist Kazuki Takemura, Hiroki Ikegawa on bass guitar, drummer Tatsuya Amano and Terufumi Tamano on keyboards.

Terufumi Tamano put so much energy into this show and even went crowd surfing. I am so happy that I got to experience these guys live. During the set they said that they would be coming back to Australia next year, I know for sure that I will be buying tickets and attending their show when they come back.

I would really recommend that you check these guys out as they have such a unique sound and it’s something that I think that everyone needs to hear so you can understand how cool the fusion between metal and electronica can be.

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Trophy Eyes 

Trophy Eyes are a band from Newcastle consisting of members John – Vocals, Kevin – Guitar, Andrew – Guitar, Jeremy – Bass and Cullum on Drums. The band has a very punk style.

This was my favourite set of the day. I have always really enjoyed anything in the punk genre, so I think that is why I enjoyed Trophy Eyes so much. The boys had such a great energy on stage.

I did however find John’s stage presence odd at times, he can go from standing completely still to so much movement in such a short period of time and this is something that I haven’t really seen before. Out of all the singers on the day he probably moved around the least.

However, this is such a small criticism and I feel that Trophy Eyes absolutely killed their set. You Can Count On Me was my favourite song of the set. I absolutely love the vocals in this song and the song is so catchy. This song was so well received by the crowd.

Trophy Eyes had quite a few fans there and you could tell by the energy in the crowd. I feel that this is really when people started to sing along to the songs in numbers. There was also lots of anticipation in the air as the crowd knew that Underoath and The Amity Affliction would soon be playing.

Songs from Trophy Eyes set included Chlorine, More Like You, Something Bigger Than This, Hurt and You Can Count On Me. If you haven’t heard listen to Trophy Eyes before I think that you should check them out, you won’t be disappointed. I can see big things in store for this band if I continue to go the way they are.

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Underoath

Underoath are an American Rock band from Tampa, Florida. The band consists of Aaron Gillespie, Christopher Dudley, Timothy McTague, Grant Brandell, James Smith and Spencer Chamberlain.

These guys came on stage with an absolutely crazy energy this energy was led by lead singer Spencer Chamberlain. It’s great to see that Underoath has so many fans here in Australia. The keyboard player of the band is absolutely mental I don’t think he stopped moving entire time at the band was playing.

My favourite songs of the set was No Frame I found this song to be very experimental and it’s something different to what I expected. Underoath had such great crowd involvement and you can tell that they are seasoned professionals at touring. Even though Underoath were one of the two international bands on the line up and played on a whole stage as the stage had previously been split to allow for quick transitions between bands, they were so humble and really took the time out to thank the crowd for coming to support them.

Every note that these guys played was with force and an extreme energy. I got tired just watching them. I feel like the crowd’s intensity picked up as their set went on probably as they knew that Amity would be on next.

I really enjoyed the set by Underoath and I loved how much energy they put into their performance. The band said that they will be coming back next year, and I am sure that they gained quite a few new fans last night, myself included. I would happily go back and see these guys again and I really do hope that they come back to Australia in the near future.

Set List 

1 On My Teeth
2 Loneliness
3 The Blue Note
4 It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door
5 Breathing in a New Mentality
6 Ihateit
7 In Regards to Myself
8 No Frame
9 A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White
10 Writing on the Walls
11 Sink With You

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The Amity Affliction  

Then came the time that everyone was waiting for, when Amity took to the stage, their set started with a bang, literally as the stage was lit up with pyro. The crowd went absolutely wild as soon as the started this is what they had been waiting for. The boys from Gympie consisting of Ahren Stringer – Bass and Vocals, Joel Birch – Vocals, Dan Brown – Guitar and John Longobradi – Drums.

Amity started of their set with Drag the Lane, this was high energy from the very get go, I really enjoyed this song and thought that it was a great way to open up their set both the vocals from Joel and Ahren were absolutely on point for the whole night.

Next up was, Ivy (Doomsday), this is when the crowds really got singing the lyrics back to the boys on stage. The energy on stage was matched with the energy from the crowd. I often wonder what it feels like to be on stage and have your own songs sung back to you, but I imagine that it is a feeling that never gets old. I love how receptive Amity is of the crowd and they were defiantly feeding off the energy of the crowd.

Amity, then dedicated I Bring The Weather With Me to Underoath. Joel got so involved in this song and was standing on the absolute edge of the stage to get closer to the crowd. I don’t think that a single band member was still for a single second of this song. I also really liked how Amity made special mention of Underoath, it is great to see how supportive all the bands are of each other. This was also the first time that Amity had played with Underoath.

All My Friends Are Dead, is one of Amity’s newest songs and it good such a great reception when this song was played. This was probably one of my favourite songs of the set as it is so catchy and is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head. I am so happy that I got to see this song live.

This Could Be Heart Break was up next, once Amity gave it their all on stage and the crowd was really pumping by now. This is the first time that I have seen Amity play and it is incredible to see the number of fans that they have show up to support them when they play live. The clean vocals provided by Ahren and the screams from Joel really compliment each other in this song. More pyro was deployed during this song and it really added to the experience of the song.

Shine on, was next and keep the crowd going. I really enjoyed Amity as there wasn’t a single moment that was flat during their set and they kept up the same intense energy for the whole set.

For a special treat for the fans, Nikki from Pagan came out and joined Amity on stage for the song Anchors. It was great to hear Nikki in this song and it was incredible to see just how things can go full circle as Amity was the band that really inspired her to do what she does now.

D.I.E was next and for a song that is abo/to make something like the fact that we are all going to die into something positive.

Open Letter was up next, once again another great song from Amity. They really gave it their all on stage.

Up next was a drum solo by John. This was absolutely incredible and really showcased just how talented he really is. John was also on a scissor lift for the set and during the solo he was elevated so everyone could see and appreciate what is happening. I really liked how they used the scissor lift as it can often be hard to see the drummer.

Feels Like I’m Dying, I really liked the effects that were used in this song and it gave a slight EDM, dance feel to the music for something different. It is good when a band mixes it up a little and that is what Amity is good at doing.

Chasing Ghosts was the next song from Amity. This song starts with a really eerie voice over that features a girl talking about all the ways that she has tried to commit suicide. Fans of Amity would know that lead singer Joel has had many issues with mental health and it is good to see that the band sings about this and raises awareness of these issues.

Don’t Lean on Me was started by the crowd. I love when crowds start songs, it always gives my goosebumps. I just love how you can see how passionate the fans are about the music that is being played on stage.

Next up was one of Amity’s most well-known songs Pittsburg. This song is always well received. It is also a song that really made it into mainstream Australian music, so I feel like even if you aren’t a huge Amity fan you still know this song and that was evident last night.

That was the end of the set for Amity or was it, the usual one more song chant came up and of course Amity came out for their encore where they played All Fucked Up. This was a great way to end their set.

I absolutely loved Amity, it was such a great show, the only small criticism I have is that they didn’t play Youngbloods and that’s just for a selfish reason as I would have loved to hear that song live.

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Check out MATT YOUNG’S gallery of this event HERE

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AMNPLIFY – DB