Words – @ladylane____
Photos – @photo.amai
MAX WATTS descended through progressively darker states of consciousness. By the time the night ended, the crowd looked physically drained – sweat-soaked, deafened and dazed – yet nobody seemed eager to leave. That reaction alone said everything about how effective this lineup was. MUNT, THE AMENTA and ULCERATE didn’t simply perform songs; they constructed an atmosphere of sustained psychological pressure that intensified with every set.
Munt opened the evening with absolute hostility. From the first moments, their sound hit with an ugly, physical weight that immediately shifted the mood inside the venue. Their fusion of grindcore, sludge and noise-driven blackened crust metal felt volatile in a live environment, where every breakdown landed with enough force to shake the floor beneath the audience. The guitars sounded filthy in the best possible way – dense, overdriven and abrasive without becoming indistinct – while the bass rumbled through the room like distant machinery collapsing underground.
What made Munt particularly effective was their refusal to settle into predictable rhythms. Just when the audience locked into one groove, the band would abruptly pivot into a blast-driven frenzy or a suffocating slow section that dragged the energy into something almost claustrophobic. Their vocalist, Moth, stalked the stage with complete intensity, delivering vocals that sounded less performed than expelled under physical strain. There was no sense of theatrics for the sake of image; the aggression felt genuine, uncontrolled and dangerous.
The crowd responded quickly. Early on, there was cautious movement near the front, but by the middle of the set the pit had become a constant collision of bodies. Despite the violence, there was a noticeable sense of collective appreciation in the room. People weren’t merely reacting to heaviness – they were recognising a band operating with genuine conviction. Munt set the tone for the evening perfectly: ugly, relentless and uncompromising.
When THE AMENTA took the stage, the atmosphere changed entirely. If MUNT represented chaos in its rawest form, THE AMENTA embodied control through calculated sensory destruction. Their stage presence immediately transformed Max Watts into something cold and cinematic. Smoke drifted across dim lighting while layers of industrial noise pulsed through the venue before the full band even launched into the set. The effect was hypnotic.
Musically, THE AMENTA are devastating. Their blend of industrial metal, death metal and experimental noise achieved an unusual balance between mechanical precision and emotional violence. The guitars cut through the mix with sharp clarity while the electronic textures added an oppressive depth that many industrial bands fail to reproduce live. Rather than sounding like backing tracks pasted beneath heavy riffs, the samples and noise elements became fully integrated into the performance, surrounding the audience from every angle. Vocally, the set was astonishing. The delivery alternated between deep, monstrous growls and unhinged screams that echoed through the room with terrifying force. At several points the vocals seemed to emerge directly from the wall of static and percussion rather than from a single human performer. The effect intensified the ritualistic atmosphere surrounding the set.
The lighting design elevated the experience further. Sudden bursts of strobe lighting synchronized perfectly with blast sections and breakdowns, creating moments where the crowd appeared frozen in fractured flashes of motion. During slower industrial passages, the stage descended into near darkness apart from isolated red and white lighting that gave the entire performance a deeply dystopian aesthetic. It felt less like watching a conventional metal performance and more like witnessing some form of apocalyptic installation art. The rhythm section deserves particular praise. The drums maintained enormous force throughout the set without losing nuance, while the bass added a subterranean heaviness beneath the chaos. Even during the most sonically dense passages, the performance remained tightly controlled. That discipline allowed the experimental aspects of their sound to hit with maximum impact rather than dissolving into noise.
What truly separates THE AMENTA from many extreme metal acts was pacing. Instead of relying on nonstop speed or brutality, they understood how to create tension through restraint. Several songs built gradually through looping industrial textures and slow rhythmic pulses before detonating into complete sonic violence. Those dynamic shifts kept the audience fully engaged throughout the set and prevented fatigue from setting in despite the overwhelming intensity. By the time THE AMENTA wrapped their monumental set, the room already felt exhausted – yet the ULCERATE elevated the experience further. Their entrance was understated compared with THE AMENTA’s overwhelming visual presentation, but the moment the first waves of dissonant guitar filled the venue, the atmosphere shifted into something almost transcendent.
ULCERATE’s music operates differently from most death metal. Rather than focusing on obvious riffs or technical showmanship, they construct enormous emotional landscapes out of texture, rhythm and dissonance. Live, this approach becomes even more powerful. The guitars spiralled around each other in constantly shifting patterns that felt unstable yet meticulously structured, creating a sensation of being pulled through collapsing architecture.
The sound mix throughout their set was remarkable. Every instrument occupied its own space despite the density of the compositions. The guitar tones retained clarity even during the most chaotic passages, while the bass provided immense depth without muddying the overall sound. This separation allowed the complexity of the arrangements to emerge naturally rather than becoming an indistinct wall of noise. Drummer Jamie Saint Merat delivered one of the most astonishing live performances imaginable. Watching him play in person bordered on surreal. His movements across the kit were fluid and almost graceful, yet every strike carried enormous power. Blastbeats erupted with machine-like precision before dissolving into intricate cymbal work and unpredictable rhythmic shifts that constantly reshaped the momentum of each song.
What made his performance extraordinary was not merely technical skill but emotional control. He understood exactly when to overwhelm the audience and when to pull back into quieter, spacious passages that generated immense tension. Several moments during the set felt almost suspended in time, with delicate cymbal patterns and distant guitar textures creating a sense of anticipation before the entire band surged forward again with crushing force. The audience reaction reflected genuine awe. During many technical death metal performances, crowds respond primarily through physical energy – moshing and constant movement. Ulcerate inspired something different. Large sections of the crowd simply stood motionless, staring toward the stage in total concentration as the music unfolded. It was the reaction usually associated with experimental or avant-garde performances rather than extreme metal, and it highlighted the uniquely immersive quality of the band’s sound.
Visually, ULCERATE maintained minimalism throughout their set, which ultimately strengthened the impact of the music. The lighting remained dark and restrained, allowing the sound itself to dominate the experience. Shadows moved slowly across the stage while occasional bursts of backlighting silhouetted the band against thick smoke. The understated presentation reinforced the feeling that the audience was being absorbed into the music rather than merely watching performers entertain them.
The emotional weight of the set became increasingly apparent as it progressed. Beneath the technical complexity and sonic violence, ULCERATE’s music carries a deep sense of bleakness and existential collapse. Certain passages felt genuinely mournful, with melodies emerging briefly through the dissonance before being swallowed again by chaos. That emotional dimension gave the performance a depth that extended far beyond conventional heaviness. The night succeeded because each band contributed something distinct while still fitting together cohesively. MUNT brought raw physical aggression and chaotic energy. THE AMENTA delivered industrialised psychological horror with theatrical precision. ULCERATE transformed extreme metal into something immersive, emotional and almost otherworldly.
Together, they created one of the most intense live experiences Melbourne’s extreme music scene has seen in years. It was not simply a concert designed for entertainment; it was an exercise in atmosphere, endurance and total sonic immersion. Hours later, long after the venue emptied, the noise still seemed embedded somewhere in the back of the mind – dense, dissonant and impossible to shake.
My deepest and profound thanks to MUNT, THE AMENTA, ULCERATE, MAX WATTS, Cult Etiquette PR and Soundworks Touring Australia.
