The Bureau of Meteorology predicted stormy weather for Saturday night, with 100 km/h winds which would batter Perth to smithereens. None of this mattered though as the new edition of the resurrected Slayfest was happening. Come hail or highwater, the packed crowd would have their fill of metal tonight.
For a bit of context, tonight was a bit of a special one. There were many, many bands from the 90s/2000s who were reuniting for one night only. Lots of these bands I had only heard about before in stories, but finally I had the chance to see live. How great is that?! As it was a three stage fest, sadly I had to miss out on some of the acts or only catch partial sets. This was a real shame as the line-up was packed solid with absolute gold. However, I did my best to catch as much as humanly possible, fighting through both the packed crowd and the ever increasing need to poo (more on this later, so keep reading to find out).
Interestingly the main entrance for Capitol was closed, so to start with we all entered though Amplifier down the side alley. I thought I was late, but I was there just in time to catch the start of Population Control on the Amplifier Bar stage itself. They’ve been making a name for themselves recently as an up and coming grind band and they did not disappoint. Their vocalist wasted no time in getting into people’s faces, with a large ring forming around the stage. Not so much out of the normal first band embarrassment, but more out of the rapidly growing audience’s sense of self preservation. Their set went by in a heartbeat as they blasted through meaty song after meaty song. They are one band I would definitely recommend keeping an eye on and were a great beginning to the festivities.
As soon as Population Control finished the doors to Capitol opened. As people gathered at the main stage, the first of the night’s reunions commenced with Maximum Perversion. Their clothes-less bassist led the way through a series of groovy tunes which rocked my tiny little socks. I’m definitely a fan of grind that sounds like an industrial meat mincer (in a good way), which these guys brought in droves. It’s an iconic sound, which Max Perv performed with skill. I can certainly see why this band keeps getting brought up when discussing the history of Perth metal.
Keen to check out more the fest had to offer I headed back into Amplifier to catch part of Unravel’s set. These guys are relatively new but have been making a huge impact fast, earning support slots for bands like Cattle Decapitation and The Black Dahlia Murder. I’ve seen them quite a few times before and every time they deliver their best. Their HM-2 powered sound hits you like a cement mixer, which then reverses over you for good measure. I would not be shocked if they broke real big real quick, which they bloody deserve.
At this point I decided to head to the Warehouse Stage to check out some of the comedy on offer. The recent trend of stand up comedians at metal gigs is a great one and I honestly hope that it keeps up, as it adds some great variety to the proceedings. Hayden Douglas was the MC for the occasion, a funny guy I had seen a few times before supporting other shows. He was there with his often shirtless pal Sean Conway, who also was there to bring the belly laughs between bands. There was a lot of crowd interaction, with some audience members also coming up having their best shot at telling the odd joke or two.
At this point I had a kebab. It was a felafel one and had hummus on it and it was really tasty!
I got back to the venue just in time to see Mother’s Crutch, another band reforming for the night. Unlike many other groups tonight, these guys were considerably more punk. They were replacing Toe To Toe, who had to pull out at the last minute, but Crutch were a very suitable replacement. Not too fast, not too slow, just right and a nice change from all the grind of the night. I saw my first circle pit of the night, which for some reason was started by people holding almost entirely full pint glasses. Ah well, we all had a good fun with a fun time band.
I moved once again to the Amplifier stage to see the last song performed by Caddis, who had also reformed for the festival. What I saw was a full blown stage invasion in progress, with probably seven people on stage dancing along to the tunes. The song was unfamiliar to me but it sounded like Porn Store Stiffi by Blood Duster, which definitely gets my seal of approval. Really wish I had the time to see more, but the audience who was there definitely appreciated the performance.
And now it was time for a band to play that I had been waiting to see for many years, Choke. One of Perth’s early grind bands and one of the few bands in Australia to have had their album banned from sale. When they came out, the four of them were dressed as a Mexican luchador, cyclist, a gangbanger and every member of Talking Heads. They were definitely not toning it down and keeping it PC, with crowd pleasers like their smash hit Y.M.C.S. (you can look that up). They then brought up the first of their special guests, none other than Mat Jekel of Bunnings Carpark fame, who proceeded to throw uncooked sausages into the audience. Not long after they welcomed to the stage their special guest vocalist, none other than Mark “Barney” Greenway from Napalm Death. Definitely someone I didn’t expect to see that night! Overall they kicked my arse and triumphantly owned that stage. One bucket list band I can tick on my list!
Once Choke finished I headed next door again to see Bare Bones from Sydney. These guys I hadn’t heard of before so I was interested to see what they sounded like. I was surprised to hear a very definite hard rock influence in their sound, which I quite liked. I got my boogie on to them as they rocked Amps. Definitely one of the more danceable bands of the day, even though they were just as loud and shouty!
Back in Capitol (certainly a pattern here) classic Melbourne metal band Abramelin were just getting started. At their first show in 14 years, they didn’t show any signs of the cobwebs. They were one of the bands recommended to me to check out and I’m freakin’ glad I did. It was a lot more brutal than I was expecting and they are one of those few bands who have a unique sound to call their own. I was also surprised that they performed some brand new material, which sounded just as awesome as their old stuff! I really hope they make a full comeback as I would love to see this band all the time, not just as a one off.
Right after that there was no break and I jumped straight into Discord’s set. This was another band I wish I had more time to enjoy, as they sounded fantastic. Just that right about of chunkiness to their sound that I really gets me going. In any case I was able to listen to some of their set and enjoyed witnessing another stage invasion. I do like a bit of chaos of an evening!
To top off the night was the mighty Psycroptic from Tasmania. At this point the entire venue was packed wall to wall with people. Everyone was revved up, ready for the brutality and Psycroptic did not disappoint. Jason Peppiatt’s vocal delivery was strong and in your face, especially if you were in the front row and got a face full of his screaming and spit. Where I was standing I got the full bass tone from both the venue speakers and the foldbacks, which was so good it made my fingernails wobble. Cain Cressall (vocalist for The Amenta/Malignant Monster), who was the main stage DJ for the night, joined the band for a song and added his own particular brand of vocal chaos. They played a diverse set from their whole career, finishing with Cold from their latest album, which was a particularly great ending for my evening. I even got a Psycroptic patch from the merch desk, which I will proudly display on my battle jacket.
Unfortunately due to the schedule I missed out on some bands I really wanted to see, like Beerfridge and Vanadium (also reforming for the night). I would have stayed a bit longer but at this point I was running out of steam, not to mention touching cloth. See, a few days prior I had gotten mild food poisoning from some smoked salmon that was a bit off, so I was still feeling a little crook. I was also extremely reluctant to use the toilets in Amplifier Capitol, as they are notoriously bad and probably have Ebola in them. As such I had to leave prematurely and seek relief at The Belgium Beer Café down the street.
In short, Slayfest rocked my face. At the end of the evening full of pounding drums, blistering guitars and powerful vocals, I can safely say that it’s the best festival I’ve been to in a long time. I really hope it comes back again soon even bigger, although it’s going to be hard to top a night like that. Long live heavy metal and Slayfest!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
