And so my glorious weekend of metal begins!

Tonight's show was officially billed as a Dismember/Anata show, but the hordes of people who arrived at the Underworld were about to get SO much more. For Tasmania's mighty Psycroptic were also amongst the acts, and if I may put forward a personal view, it's pretty fucked that the promoters left them off every piece of promotional material! Anyway, to the review then...

Opening proceedings tonight were Fall Of Serenity from Germany, whom I was unfamiliar with before this evening. Their sound is heavily influenced by the Swedish melodic death scene, with hints of In Flames, Dark Tranquility and Australia's own Infernal Method detected in their sound. Which is not a bad thing. Tonight, Fall Of Serenity delivered a tight, melodic set with just that right amount of meat n' potatoes riffing to really fire the crowd up. I will definitely be checking out a their new CD "Royal Killing"...

In the sophomore spot tonight were Psycroptic. Performing without usual vocalist Matthew Chalk who stayed back in Australia due to "personal reasons" (replaced for the tour by long time friend of the band Jason Peppiatt), they hit the stage with awesome precision. Those familiar with Psycroptic's material were growling along gleefully, whilst those who were only now realising their glory watched dumbfounded at the clinical ease with which the band played their songs. The crowd was treated to a good mix of songs from both albums, among my favourites "The Colour Of Sleep" (how many different riffs can one song have?), "Carnival of Vulgarity" and "The Sceptre From Jar-Gilon". The mosh pit by this stage was rabid and you could tell by the shit-eating grins on the faces of the band that they were enjoying this just as much as the crowd!

Anata followed, unfortunately I missed their set because I was in the bar having a yarn with a fellow Aussie who was wondering why there were so many Psycroptic T-Shirts in the crowd, he had just watched half their set and not realised who it was he was watching!? However, I was informed by my other Aussie mates that Anata played an awesome set, keeping the crowd suitably fired up for the evening's finale...

Which brings us to the mighty Dismember. The Swedish Legends. Having been on the scene for over fifteen years, only a top notch performance tonight would have sufficed. I needn't have worried, Dismember EXCEEDED my expectations! The brutality of their playing was mind-boggling, their sheer intensity second to none. Playing an agreeable mix of songs from throughout their tenure, they whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. The mosh by this stage was literally a war zone, broken bodies flying, excited punters being tossed around over the heads of the crowd like a beach ball at the cricket. The mighty Dismember kept fuelling the fire, with their heavy cutting riffs, precision playing, and machine gun intensity. After leaving the stage to chants of "Dismember, Dismember!", they returned for an encore, just to ensure that no one was left in any doubt. Brutal, intense and fucking awesome!

Normally the review would end here, but I should probably also tell you all that after the gig, I got pissed at the Worlds End Pub adjacent to the venue with the Psycroptic and Dismember boys! And if you don't believe me check out the photo...

Gaw aka The Metal Master

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PSYCROPTIC


DISMEMBER


GAW (left), AND DISMEMBER