Words & photos – @photo.amai
Tonight is bittersweet; this is the last show that I will be shooting at Stay Gold before it’s closed later this year. Founded in 2018, Stay Gold has been somewhat of a rite of passage for so many bands and also live photographers like myself who honed their skills while being bashed around in the mosh pit.
I have shot everything from local legends going absolutely ham to now deathcore heavyweights Fit For An Autopsy touring some of their first Australian headline shows, and recently supergroup Sumac, who brought their cathartic post-metal to dedicated Australian fans.
Tonight we will be treated to a night of teeth-rattling technical death metal from none other than ORIGIN, who have a back catalogue spanning over 30 years.
Kicking off the night is Snake Mountain, hailing from Queensland, who came out swinging. This five-piece wasn’t here to mess around. Technically proficient, heavy as hell and growls for days. The drummer was a standout, absolutely blasting his kit so hard it could be heard across the venue.
Even though it was early, it was great to see old school metal heads gripping the fallbacks to steady their epic headbanging. Snake Mountain’s take on Technical Melodic Death Metal got the audience nicely prepped for things to come.
Next up is WRITHING, who are absolutely filthy, powerful riffs and solid blast beats, their opening track Monolithic Extinction, taken from their latest record ‘Of Earth & Flesh’. Vocals are a standout, consistent deep growls that fit nicely in the mix. The guitarist was shredding so hard he broke a string, the good lads from Nembutolik stepped in and supplied a guitar so they could power on with their set. The same group of metal heads mentioned earlier were having a ball in the mosh, bashing into each other, smiling and having a laugh, even linking arms for a skipping circles in the mosh.
The last support of the evening is the boys from the coast Nembutolik. Their set was complete chaos, somehow tight and loose at the same time. A standout track had to be ‘Angel of meth’, the track name getting a solid laugh from the now full Stay Gold. The set was so energetic that the guitarist accidentally pulled his lead out of his guitar, yet casually plugged it back in, still keeping perfectly in time. What a pro. Nembutolik are proper Frankston larrikins, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s time for our headliner ORIGIN, who, from the first note, were as brutal as expected, with guttural vocals and light speed riffs. Origin powered through back-to-back tracks, whipping the audience into a frenzy, taking to the infamous tiled Stay Gold mosh pit floor. Amongst the madness, it was still easy to get distracted by John Longstreth’s drumming; his speed and precision are mesmerising. Vocalist Jason Keyser took a moment to talk about how this was the fifth show on this tour so far. Other audiences needed some encouragement, but not Melbourne; we already had the headbangers at the front, and the moshers in the middle, the only thing missing was some crowded surfers. ‘This may be your first and last time to crowd surf at Stay Gold, so make it count!’
The stage welcomed a healthy number of people keen for a surf, Jason somehow ripping through his vocals while showing people the correct technique for jumping into the audience.
“That was our last song, get up here so we can take a photo‘ the stage was filled with fans, ‘Just kidding, this is our last song, and you guys are stuck up here with us’. Origin bait and switched the audience into making their final track and last ever Stay Gold show one to be remembered!
Huge thanks to the Stay Gold Crew, Snake Mountain, Writhing, Nembutolik, Origin and Your Mate Bookings for a massive night!
