Words – @jstewby
Photos-@djsedick
Sitting through a day of work feels a little more tolerable when you’ve got a show waiting on the other side, even if you know you’ll pay for it the next morning. That’s the trade-off when a stacked midweek lineup like Born of Osiris and Signs of the Swarm rolls through Melbourne, more so when it’s backed by a local as strong as Ironstone. A solid early crowd gathered at Max Watts, with the sense that things were only going to escalate as the night went on. The intensity was already there from the moment we walked in the door.
Ironstone opened the night to an already engaged early crowd and wasted no time making an impression. Skipping any slow build, they hit with immediate impact, blending heavy, driving sections with clean, emotive passages that felt theatrical without losing weight in the room. Vocalist Edward stood out straight away, shifting effortlessly between soaring cleans and deep, guttural lows that added a real sense of range to their sound. There was a confidence to their performance that felt earned, not forced, tight and polished, but still enough raw energy to keep the crowd locked in. As an opener on a stacked bill, they did exactly what they needed to do: set the tone without feeling overshadowed.
The energy was already well established, but Signs of the Swarm kicked it into overdrive. By the time they took the stage, the room had filled out, packed shoulder to shoulder, and the atmosphere shifted into something far more volatile and aggressive. Their set didn’t ease in; it hit like a wall, dense and unrelenting from the first note. There was a weight to everything they did, driven by punishing low-end and a performance that felt deliberately suffocating, the kind that makes you feel almost at peace with the idea of never catching your breath again.
Vocalist David Simonich is a destructive presence throughout, delivering an onslaught of gutturals, highs and inhuman-sounding lows that felt as physical as they did audible. It wasn’t just about range; it was the control and consistency that made it land. The crowd fed off it immediately, with the pit opening up and staying in constant motion as the set pushed forward without missing a beat.
There’s not a lot of space in a Signs of the Swarm set for subtlety, and that’s exactly the point. It’s crowd engagement through sheer force, and live, that intensity doesn’t let up.
Where Signs of the Swarm thrived on overwhelming force, Born of Osiris brought a more controlled, calculated intensity to close the night. From the moment they stepped on stage, everything felt locked in, tight, precise and deliberate. Their blend of technical riffing and layered synths cut cleanly through the room, giving their set a sharper, more dynamic edge.
There was a clarity to their performance that stood out, with each transition landing exactly where it needed to. The balance between melody and technicality felt effortless, never sacrificing weight for complexity. It wasn’t about chaos. It was about execution, and they delivered it with consistency from start to finish.
The crowd responded differently, but no less intensely. Where the previous set leaned into disorder, this felt more focused. It was a reminder of how varied heavy music can be, with Born of Osiris closing the night through precision rather than pure force.
A night like this doesn’t just show how heavy things can get; it shows how diverse it’s become. From Ironstone’s melodic edge to Signs of the Swarm’s suffocating intensity and Born of Osiris’ technical precision, each band brought something different without losing the thread that ties them all together. For a midweek show, it was a solid reminder that some lineups are worth the lack of sleep.
Huge thanks to the Max Watts crew, Born Of Osiris, Signs Of The Swarm, and Ironstone for having us.
