The rise of the regional tour is back. Thy Art Is Murder have brought their signature brand of deathcore to capital cities around Australia for decades, but tonight we were at the Chelsea Heights Hotel. This was the third and final show for the Victorian leg of the band’s ‘Brutality Across Australia’ tour, supported by Melting, Hate Complex, and Melancolia. I was on double duties tonight, both photographing and reviewing, so with my trusty camera in one hand and my even trustier notes app in the other, I made my way inside.
There’s a welcoming feeling at regional shows that reminds me of smaller local gigs; a sense of equality between the bands and their patrons that sees band members selling their own merch and walking harmlessly through the room without being pounced upon like celebrities. There were dining tables pushed against the far wall, and road cases for musical equipment visible around the stage. But the top production quality and professionalism are still there, with an additional laid back nature. Regional shows are the perfect way to give back to the fans, to reverse the script on making patrons travel to capital cities and instead bring the show closer to home. They make attending gigs more accessible to those who have retired from the intensity of city shows, for those who wish to shorten their commute home as much as possible, and for those who will follow a band across multiple shows without travelling interstate.
Our openers for this evening were Melting, a band whose name I have been hearing a lot recently but haven’t had a chance to check out yet. The local quartet tore through songs from their recent EP You Exist Because We Allow It; a mix of slow, nasty guitars from Alex Bertuna and machine gun kicks. Introducing song Into The Suffer, vocalist Xavier Morris announced “If you know it, fucking get in there. And if you don’t know it, fucking get in there anyway,” knowing that they were in a room full of new faces not yet acquainted with their music. However their driving snare hits (featuring a truly stand out snare tone that piqued my hearing immediately) from drummer Johnny Foti had heads banging from the get go, and the wailing, anguished yells from Morris kept the crowd emotionally hooked. There was rarely a moment of silence, with song sections more likely to slow in tempo and morph into a breakdown – as bassist Tom Kuypers kicked and stomped his way around the stage – or give way to cinematic and eerie backing tracks as in their top single 874.
Now let me tell you, dear reader, that this room was DARK. I’m sure from further back in the room, the constant smoke machines and predominantly backlit array of lights would have looked imposing and cast the band members in harsh silhouette against alternating solid colour green, blue or red lights. However from down the front it was near impossible to see anything, and a good portion of my photos were pitch black. If my camera had shoulders, I’m sure it would have shrugged them in protest.
Next up were Hate Complex. This band was more similar to our deathcore headliners than Melting were, with vocalist Jesse Dylan’s impressively low demonic growls ringing out across the room. From the edge of my vision I caught sight of dozens of raised fists and pointed fingers from the patrons behind me shouting the lyrics of Corrosion back towards the stage. Set against the strobing flickers of the same red, green and blue lights as Melting (still equally as dark), drummer Anthony Coota threw all his energy into his instrument through intricate fills and punching breakdowns that commanded the crowd to move.
When I emerged from in front of the barrier the room had filled in considerably, now with a distinguishable open pit separated from the front and back of the crowd sandwich. Moshers stomped across the sides of the ample dance floor during track Disconnect, and our first circle pit of the night erupted during Parasite as Dylan Stark held his bass high above his head and swung it around the stage like an extension of himself. Mirrored on the other side of the stage was guitarist Stuart Pearson who dropped low into a squat with each headbang in between coaxing his guitar into squeals and high pitched fills. The energy on stage was a match for that of the crowd, with one feeding into the other in a continuous cycle for the 30 minute set.
Melancolia’s performance was more than just musical, but theatrical too. As the Melbourne five-piece entered the stage, bassist Toby Thomas leapt across each of the stage risers to survey the room, watching the crowd like a captured wild animal with a mix of curiosity and hostility. The band were dressed in all white stage outfits, a stark contrast to the all black of the previous bands, and vocalist Alex Hill made a show of spitting directly into the air above his head and catching it in his open palm to investigate the mess. Set to the eerie teal blue/green glow of the stage lights, it felt like we were watching test subjects in a scientific experiment. The band tore through newly released singles All_Is_Rust and Spit!, and were joined on stage by feature vocalist Chris Mackertich from Dregg as he rapped his fast-paced bridge section. These new songs from upcoming album random.access.misery have more of an industrial nu-metal influence compared to their usual blackened deathcore, with bass driven versus and droning guitars from Billy Morris and Joshua Taafe.
The moshpit for the band’s set was VIOLENT. Set to the rhythm of Mason Page’s seemingly infinite blast beats, the crowd’s moves were more aggressive and targeted, pushing the already wide pit even wider during closing song Horror_Ethereal. Between manic banshee wails, Hill called out to the crowd “You can love us. You can hate us. But you will remember us,” and a truer statement could not have been said. Their performance may have been polarising, but their creativity and individuality is surely commended in a sea of monotony across the heavy music scene.
As is tradition with a Thy Art Is Murder show, when the venue lights go dark to signal the start of their set, the final song played over the speakers is We Like To Party by Vengaboys. From my vantage point in front of the barrier, the first few rows of the crowd immediately picked up the energetic vibe of the song despite its stark difference in genre to the prior intermission music. For a brief moment it felt like a nostalgic club night, with spinning disco balls picking up the minimal stage light and groups of friends excitedly singing to one another. Even I had a bit of a boogie with my camera out.
The Vengabus shortly drove away and in its wake the intro to Destroyer of Dreams rang out; the punchy, repetitive rhythm of the main riff increasing in intensity like an approaching army before battle. With energy levels already on high, the crowd was tense with excitement as drummer Jesse Beahler took his place at the back of the stage, matching the overhead riff with an attack on his toms and kick drums. The remaining four members of the band followed out calmly and launched into action as the first verse grew to the crescendo of the fast paced chorus. The barrier that was pressed against my back rattled with the headbanging of the crowd, reaching forward to shout the lyrics back to vocalist Tyler Miller, whose unmatched screams were near-identical in person as they are on recording. During Death Squad Anthem guitarist Andy Marsh disappeared side stage for a quick mid-set vape break and was replaced with his guitar tech Krys Smith, who, like stage right guitarist Harrison Mills, is in my favourite Melbourne band Lune. It was a pleasant surprise to catch both of them here on stage chugging through relentless riff sections together.
After my first three songs in front of the barrier, I retreated to the back corner of the room; one storey above the crowd where I had a vantage point of the whole floor to watch Holy War and 2023 single Join Me In Armageddon. Beyond the first couple of rows of fans at the front, there was a wide berth of space for the opening mosh pit and beyond that, hundreds of patrons spread out evenly with plenty of breathing room between. While this may have made the room appear emptier than the usual city shows – which would typically boast a shoulder-to-shoulder undulating wave of people and crushed ribs against the barricade – the sea of fans tonight got to experience the show in their own way, be that comfortably near the back of the room, high up on one of the many raised platforms, or as close to the band as possible at the front. Now I have to admit that I didn’t take any notes during their set, simply because I was enjoying myself too much. Thy Art Is Murder are a band that I have personally followed for years, through the many stages of their metamorphosis. I wasn’t the only long time fan in the room, as earlier songs Purest Strain of Hate and Reign of Darkness sported the biggest reaction from the crowd. Fists were raised aloft at Miller’s direction, instructing everyone to put metal horns to their foreheads as if the room were filled with demons.
With no encore, the night concluded with fast paced anthem Puppet Master, as bassist Kevin Butler’s driving rhythm kept energy levels on high until the very end. ‘Brutality Across Australia’ was a celebration of one of this country’s household deathcore names, and truly a gift to fans old and new. Ripping through an impressive catalogue of songs from newest album Godlike and beyond to numerous tracks released more than a decade ago, Thy Art Is Murder continue to solidify themselves within the metal community and hold their place at the forefront of heavy music. Adding this successful regional tour to their long list of capital city tours, the last of which being November last year, proves that we will catch them live again and again no matter which part of Australia you reside in.
Huge thanks to the Chelsea Heights Crew and Deathproof for having us!
EVERYDAY METAL – SUPPORT LOCAL HEAVY METAL
