Words & photos – @photo.amai
It’s a stinky hot night in Melbourne and with the end of the year drawing near its pretty much the perfect time to drink some beers with your mates and get your face melted by none other than Dying Fetus.
With the show officially sold out, I arrived at the Northcote Theatre to a ocean of black shirts that wrapped around the entire block.
Up first ASHEN Australian Death Metalers from Perth. I had their record ‘Ritual Of Ash’ on heavy rotation and with it being one of Everyday Metal’s top records of 2023, I was very keen to finally see them live. Ashen did not fail to impress, their style of authentic death metal is the perfect way to warm up an increasingly heaving crowd. Ashen rounded out their set with some tracks off ‘Leave The Flesh Behind’ their latest release and a must listen for any Death Metal fan.
Up next is 200 Stab Wounds from Cleveland USA. Not being super familiar with the band prior the announcement of this tour I gave their catalog a preemptive listen and I really enjoyed their groovy yet chugging take on Death Metal. Hitting the stage I was really impressed with their presence, the bassist rocking a cut off shirt, shorts, cowboy boots and a some serious mutton chops. They effortlessly ripped through their set and managed to keep their cool in a scorching and immensely sweaty Northcote Theatre.
It’s always tricky pulling double duty, shooting and reviewing, you can get caught up trying to capture shots and loose track of what’s happening musically. I was about to find out first hand just how hard it can really be.
Our headliners for the night DYING FETUS entered the stage, to a rapturous roar from a well lubricated audience. It only took one song for the crowd surfers to start launching, I did my best to avoid them and capture the moment yet got totally creamed against the stage by a wayward audience member, ironically during their 3rd song of the night ‘Subjected To A Beating’.
With a career spanning 35 years, Dying Fetus’s set was filled with 14 tracks of technically skilled brutality. It is truely a privilege to witness such seminal bands live on Australian soil.
A massive thanks goes out to the Northcote Theatre crew, Ashen, 200 Stab Wounds, Dying Fetus, Sound Works Touring and of course Cult Etiquette PR for having us.
