The Black Dahlia Murder returned to Australia this week as part of their world tour supporting the latest album “Nightbringers” and tonight in Perth saw the first stop on the Australian run of the tour with Belgium death metallers Aborted along for the ride which coincidently also marked the release of Aborted’s brand new opus “Terrorvision”.
Now first things first to set the scene the venue itself is a relative new comer to Perth called “Hell Hole”, a small venue by comparison with other more well known night spots and from the out set the place was buzzing and I could just feel a real sense of excitement given tonight’s lineup. Now unfortunately I missed tonight’s first band to take to the stage Xenobiotic but from the rumblings and almost sub sonic baselines I could here from outside I’m kicking myself that I missed the set.
Next up Melbourne death heads Zeolite took to the stage and let it absolute rip, belting out a few numbers from this year’s epic release “Sermones Mortis” and even with very limited stage space these guys packed one hell of a punch! They certainly got the crowd going and are most certainly worth your attention if you haven’t already, well done boys!
Next up were the band that I’ve literally waited for what feels like an eternity to see, Belgium’s mighty Aborted and as mentioned earlier, tonight marked the release of the new album “Terrorvision”. It was complete chaos from the beginning opening with “Devine Impediment”, the set was flawless and frontman Sven De Caluwé had a real ominous presence about him and complete control over the crowd that just commanded respect, charging around the stage like an angry rhinoceros.
The set in terms of song choice was a real mixed bag going back to 2005’s “The Archaic Abattoir” right up to more recent times like “Retrogore” but the stand out track for me though was “Bit By Bit” from the aforementioned album. I could sum up the band’s performance in three words – devastating, exhilarating and methodical. The guitar sound alone was enough to wake the dead and by the end of their set, there wasn’t a body on the floor who wasn’t punished by that sound!
Next up the main event, Michigan’s favorite death metal sons The Black Dahlia Murder took to the stage. Now I’ve seen them on a number of occasions but tonight was them in their best form I have seen them in by far. Being a long time fan it’s always a privilege to see a band of this caliber hit top gear and they are a real party band too, happy to mingle with the fans but once they are up on stage it’s showtime!
Yet again tonight’s set was a real mixed affair, stand out’s included “What a Horrible Night For a Curse”, “Statutory Ape” and “Warborn”. Frontman Trevor Strnad looked as if he was conducting an orchestra of the dead with flailing arms in his typical unmistakable fashion and looking like he was enjoying every minute of it. Young gun drummer Alan Cassidy is an absolute machine! If you want to talk real shop about top echelon drummers then please ladies and gents, look no further.
Circle pits were the order of the night and everyone was truly getting into the action yet again, Perth was witnessing something very special and to have it all packed into one small venue was just pure death metal ecstasy and I’m sure I’m not alone in this train of thought? Well done to all the bands and huge props to the Soundworks Direct team for bringing this stellar lineup down under, still on cloud nine!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
SOUNDWORKS DIRECT presents
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER ABORTED and ZEOLITE
‘NIGHTBRINGERS’ Australian Tour September 21 – 28, 2018
Sept 21st – Perth, The Hell Hole w/ Xenobiotic
Sept 22nd – Adelaide, Fowler’s (The New Dead Metalfest)
Sept 23rd – Melbourne, Max Watt’s w/ Blackhelm
Sept 24th – Hobart, Brisbane Hotel w/ Scoparia
Sept 25th – Newcastle, The Cambridge w/Blade Of Horus
Sept 26th – Canberra, The Basement w/ Wretch
Sept 27th – Sydney, The Factory w/ Anno Domini
Sept 28th – Brisbane, Crowbar w/ Disentomb
ADELAIDE – www.moshtix.com.au / www.fowlerslive.com.au
MELBOURNE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
HOBART – www.oztix.com.au
NEWCASTLE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com
CANBERRA – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
SYDNEY – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.factorytheatre.com.au
BRISBANE – http://soundworksdirect.eventbrite.com / www.oztix.com.au
