Words – @tomasdgraves & @baxtar_k
Photos – @djsedick & @lime.splice
It was a Saturday morning, waking up with two coffees and some jackfruit and eggs to start the day. The sun was blazing, and shining down on the grounds of Singing Bird as we marched in to enjoy Flippin’ The Bird. This was my first time at the festival, but not my first time at the venue. So I had some idea of what to expect for the day.
INSCRYPTIONS started the day off strong. The first thing I felt was the energy of the vocalist; he was moving around, banging his head and jumping on stage, really enhancing the entire band’s performance. They refer to themselves as beatdown sludge metal on their instagram and they fit that description, with moments of slow and low guitars, while also a lot of aggression in their sound. The guitar tone they had was loud and crunchy, creating a massive wall of sound. Throughout their set, they started a small competition; they brought in a Garfield plush toy, gave it to the audience, and whoever had it at the end won a prize. It was entertaining to watch the pit fight over possession of this toy, and to watch it slowly get torn apart. The singer added to the entertainment by eating some of the stuffing that had come out of the toy. Towards the end of their set, they got someone from the crowd to get on stage and to jump in and crowd surf, to which the crowd carried him all the way out of the building. Inscryptions had a very entertaining set with both crushing music and funny shenanigans.
Next up was CRUSTY KILL SQUAD.
They were playing in the dungeon, which was a much smaller room, but that did not diminish the power and sound they were able to create. Playing some old school punk rock, they had energy and aggression, which had the crowd going absolutely feral. There was a mosh pit that nearly took up the whole room. The singer was yelling with a lot of ferocity at the crowd, and he was backed up by his bandmates providing backing vocals in a sort of chanting way. The songs were fast-paced, angry, short but sweet, leaving me wanting to listen more. If i wasnt reviewing them, I would’ve been in the pit joining in the feral crowd.
As BLUDGER were getting ready to start, the singer called out to the audience, yelling at the top of his lungs to really get the crowd going and as soon as they started playing, a pit was raging. They played some nice and heavy thrash metal; despite only three members being on stage, they still created such a massive wall of sound. They were fast, they were aggressive, and they were also tight, playing together and playing as a unit. I could feel my head wanting to bang and move as they played. The music felt so raw, and the vocalist had such a presence that I could just feel the emotion coming from his brutal screams. Jonk was on drums, and when he’s on stage, you know you’re in for a good show, and he did not disappoint. Killer behind the kit elevated the band’s sound to another level. He had such force when he played that it just glued the whole band together. Overall I will definitely be listening to BLUDGER more and going to more of their shows.
Back to the metal stage, I await to see METHO. And I see 4 members on stage, not knowing anything about this band. I was pleasantly surprised with some punk rock. The 4 of them were a unit, keeping up the vitality, and maintaining the sound between each other. At first it was one guitar, one bass, drummer and the singer, then after a song the singer picked up a guitar, then a couple songs later the other guitarist took lead. I loved how they kept me on my toes throughout the performance. Also great to see all the band involved in backing and chant vocals. Another great act to get through the day.
Back to the dungeon for DEATH TAX. Watching them set up and hearing them test their sound with their low gutty guitar sounds. I knew I was in for a good time, and a good time they did provide. With a very hardcore and beatdown inspired sound, they ripped the room apart. The vocals were low and brutal, the guitar was chuggy, the bass was booming and the drums absolutely crushed. Jaime from Trepacide filled in for them and he did not dissapoint. The 4 of them together created an enormous sound, absolutely destroying the room, in my opinion they deserved a bigger stage, as people were pouring outside the dungeon clearly wanting to be apart of the action.
The legendary KING PARROT last time I saw them was at Knotfest 2024, so getting to see them again and at a much closer look was a treat! Once again they showed off their skills and power. Still keeping the same rowdy energy that I saw from them at Knotfest. Matt Young is still a powerhouse on stage, with his screeching banshee like vocals, and dominating presence, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Everyone was going nuts for them, and rightfully so, who wouldn’t? Their music is crushingly heavy, and seeing the is always an opportunity to let loose and let go of some of the built up anger from life. The sound was killer even from far back in the courtyard where I was standing, I could hear every player, every note, every snare hit, and it was awesome. King parrot kill it every time.
Coming down from Sydney was the death metal band SLAUGHTERCULT.
While I had no idea what to expect, I was absolutely blown away by the sheer talent they showed. The drummer was able to constantly blast at such a speed and power through their entire set, I was so impressed, knowing some drummers, I have been told the amount of discipline and strength needed to perform what he did. The other two members are at that same level, able to play so fast while both of them unleashing some deep gutturals, leaving me entranced throughout their entire performance. If they ever come back or if I find myself in Sydney, I’ll be going to see them without a doubt.
Keeping the death metal train rolling, CARCINOID set the stage. Starting off with an ominous backing track, peaking my interest, only to crush my eardrums with the speed and ferocity of their music. The first thing I noticed was the snare sound, it just pierced through the mix, and hit me hard. As it is with every death metal drummer, he was fast and strong, keeping every hit constant and brutal in the set. The whole band had a massive sound, having 5 members on stage definitely contributed to that. I only wish I could hear the vocals that little bit more but that is in no way a reflection of the band. Despite that, I loved every minute of the performance.
To wrap up the day for me was BEANFLIPPER. The punk band from before I was even born, and it was great to see them return to the stage after their long hiatus. Their vocalist came on stage with a goal, to show what he is made of. Running, jumping and letting it flow as he banged his head, yelling at the crowd, putting in maximum effort. The rest of the band didn’t hold back either, all of them showed that age doesn’t stop them from putting on a good show. They were changing up the tempo of the song mid song, and I was a big fan of it, allowing the music to slow to give a chance to breathe, only to go right back up and get people rowdy and into it. A great band to end off the day, and a great performance from such a legendary band.
Overall, despite the muggy heat, Flippin’ became a day to remember. I was surely gonna feel sore and tired the next day. However, seeing the band and the crowd enjoying their day, the laughter and the cheers, it was all worth it.
REVIEW OF THE 2ND STAGE HEADLINER
BY @baxtar_k
While Tommy was busy watching Beanflipper at the metal stage, I was in the courtyard stage watching local Frankston band THE GNOMES, and I will say for gnomes they didn’t seem that short…. Starting of their set slow and groovy, then jumping straight into their fast pace quirkiness, the crowd was dancing and moshing around! Gnomes kept up such a great energy thrashing their mop hairdos around on stage! Towards the end of their set out of nowhere the beach balls that had been thrown around were suddenly replaced with a giant inflatable hotdog! Which someone even began crowd surfing on it! They were such a fun band to have playing at the end of the night!
Massive thanks to all the bands that played today as well as Stu and the baller team at Singing Bird for making Flipping the Bird such a dope day. As always – thanks for having us along we love to get amongst it.
