Soilwork are no strangers to Australia, having toured the country 6 times now as singer Bjorn “Speed” Strid pointed out during the show. The fans certainly don’t mind that one bit as we caught the first show on the tour in support of their latest album “The Ride Majestic”, an album that has been received pretty well which translated nicely to the live setting.
After a two year absence, Soilwork have hit Australian shores again and first cab off the rank was the Rosemount. The first band of the night was a real surprise package in the form of Nucleust. Nucleust are new players on the Perth scene and in all honesty, are near on impossible to pigeonhole in terms of their sound. By using doom, sludge, grind influences in their sound, they make for an interesting band to watch. As I was expecting Swedish mellow/mellow death when listening to this band but was pleasantly surprised so I suggest the next time they are playing to go down and listen to them yourselves and make your own judgement, they do come highly recommended. Aside from a few technical issues at the beginning of the set, it was a flawless performance. Of note was the guitarist with outstanding fretwork and overall tone. Vocally as well this band are a stand out taking influences from such luminaries as Soilent Green, Crowbar and Eyehategod, I’m expecting big things from this band in the future.
Next band on the bill was Brisbane based band, deathcore merchants Aversions Crown. Mark Poida, formally of Melbourne based band I, Valiance took control of the stage and the microphone, taking tracks from the band’s only two releases to date , 2011’s album Servitude and 2014’s album Tyrant. I remarked during their set that Satan had entered the room, given the ferocity and venom spewed out by their front man and just when you think you have the band figured out, you are sucker punched about six rows back. The guitar and bass combination was truly awe inspiring and this band deserve more press and attention as I feel they are highly under rated and are only now starting to garner the kind of attention that they truly deserved years prior. Jayden Mason, in my opinion, is one of Australia’s leading extreme drummers. In fact he made it look relatively easy when in actual fact his style and feyness were technically brilliant. Looking forward to what they come up with in the future.
Next up is our headlining act, Soilwork. A lot of bands that have been around for as long as they have say that Australia is their second home, but it doesn’t feel that way. Soilwork on the other hand are the pack leaders when it comes to fitting in and feeling right at home with their fans and the average punter alike. With a seventeen song set list, these guys proved yet again why they have such a loyal and fearsome fan base. Taking songs from most of the band’s career, it kept the first time listener and long term fan extremely happy and their ears glued to the stage. Crowd favourites “The Chainheart Machine” and “Stabbing the Drama” kept the crowd absolutely enthralled.
Soilwork as a band must work off the old saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ as they run like a well-oiled machine and lead singer Bjorn “Speed” Strid seemed to have the crowd wrapped around his little finger. Only a few technical issues during their set marred an otherwise flawless performance. Dirk Verbeuren showcased tonight why he is one of metal’s leading drummers on the scene today. Set closer “Spectrum Of Eternity” was the perfect way to finish a truly breathtaking set and night. The overall feeling from talking with other punters was that this is one of the best Soilwork sets seen in many years.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises And Photography
