It’s been a massive few weeks in Australia for rock and metal fans and tonight it’s Seether’s turn to hit up Melbourne, rock city.
By the time Melbourne prog rockers Orsome Wells hit the stage, the venue was virtually packed. Visually and musically bringing their own unique stylings to the world of prog, judging by the crowd reaction to their set, they are onto a winner. Frontman Michael Stowers definitely winning the award of most engaging stage presence for the night.
A packed Forum Theatre greeted the headliners on stage, with the cross-section of ages in the crowd indicating a mix of fans who have been with the band since they broke big with Broken back in 2004 As well as new fans who’ve joined on the back of recent albums such as Poison The Parish, which incidentally provides the naming rights for this 6 date tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Seether kicked off proceedings with latest album opener Stoke The Fire. Stage dark, sound raw and vocals full of angst, straight off the bat, the tone was set for the night. With the crowd already having warmed up their vocals with pre-show sing alongs to Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me and GNR’s Sweet Child Of Mine, they were more than primed for joining in on older Seether tracks Gasoline and Truth.
Standing left of stage was where vocalist Shaun Morgan remained throughout the entire set, with bassist Dale Stewart playing the foil in the role of frontman. Bounding with monotonous energy, Stewart led the charge as the band ripped through the Rise Above This and Betray and Degrade, with it’s pulsating bass riff and the angst dial of Morgan’s vocals tuned to 11.
Either some technical issues morphed into an instrumental, the transition into the moodier Words As Weapons was a bit of a general vibe killer with the set hitting a general flat spot. However that all changed with Country Song getting a stomping reaction from the crowd, the mosh-pit by this stage heaving. Old and new songs bleeding into one and bleeding ears, I can now see how these bastard childs of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Nirvana have earnt their reputation of coming across way heavier live, than their chart topping selves on record.
Fine Again off the bands debut album was a set highlight for me, a big slab of 90’s styled alt rock. After another brief interlude that hit another flat spot, the sparse acoustic guitars that followed heralded the bands massive hit Broken. No Amy Lee to share vocal duties, tonight that part was played enthusiastically by the crowd, who did their best to transfer some of that energy onto the stage.
Feeding off some of that energy, Seether finished strong with the trio of Nobody Praying For Me, Fake It and Remedy. Whilst not one of the most engaging or memorable performances I’ve witnessed in recent times, the smiles on the Seether faithful who packed the Forum, proving testimony of the enduring legacy and connection these songs still have with fans the world over.
Photos by SAS75 Photography
