It’s been a while since we last saw Murderfest in Perth – 2016 to be exact when grindcore legends King Parrot headlined the metal fest. We’ve missed it and certainly the punters did too as they came to the iconic Indi Bar in Scarborough to once again celebrate heavy music.
4pm kick off for what would be a long but fun day ahead with Lamentia bringing the death doom to the small stage. The band recently came out of the ashes of a previous incarnation that was more black metal oriented but here we have a slower, darker style that appears to gel together even better. It’s always a hard sell as the first band but someone has to do it and Lamentia did it well. Kalvath recently dropped an EP and have been doing the live circuits regularly, their appearance at Murderfest was welcomed as a few more punters started filling the room. A tongue in cheek stage banter provided extra entertainment on top of a scorching set.
Twin Serpents is a band some of us hadn’t seen before but a few recommendations including from Peter at RTR FM’s Critical Mass sold us on having to check these guys out and it was justified. A Black Sabbath inspired stoner rock meets doom metal sound blasted perfectly through the speakers and rocked the Indi Bar brilliantly. Only a 3 piece but boy does this band sound massive, will need to check this band out again!
Death metal veterans Suffer In Rot once again kicked our collective arses with their brand of brutality, kicking off with Cannibal Corpse classic Hammer Smashed Face before moving forward towards further face melting. Wrath Of Fenrir followed with some viking metal and while by this time the room was nicely filling up with punters preparing for the onslaught of the next few hours. Theatrics aside, the band seemed a bit more on point tonight and showed that theatrics aside, when it works it works well.
One man metal machine The Furor spear headed by drum legend Louis Rando is a spectacle all on it’s own. The precision and juggling act of performing this style of death metal solo is something to truly behold, even if the music isn’t your cup of tea you gotta appreciate that fact alone. Another mesmerizing performance! Vulgarite is a relatively new band featuring a collaboration of well established members from various other bands and while they certainly weren’t the heaviest band on the bill with a style best described as “heavy party rock”, it was one of the most fun sets of the night. The Pantera-like grooves were on point, old school vibes with a real upbeat tempo got the crowd revved up plus we got to see the singer dance all over the tables. Great show!
All This Filth have been busy working on their next studio album but in between sessions they have managed to squeeze in a couple of gigs to help quench that live show thirst including this appearance at Murderfest. Pulling probably the most active crowd on the night with some serious moshing up front (including a cameo mosh by guitarist Hayden Harris), the band pulverized the crowd with a bang on performance that was short but tight. Depravity followed with technical brutality, another killer set filled with dazzling riffs and beats showcasing some of the finest death metal this side of the country. Of course Louis Rando pulled double duties tonight behind the kit which made this performance another must-see.
With Melbourne thrashers Desecrator unable to make the trek to WA for Murderfest due to border restrictions from covid, Chaos Divine rounded out the night for the closing set. It had been a little while since some of us had seen Chaos Divine live and while their latest album is still fresh from last year, it was still good to see the band live again. Tonight their performance was exceptional, possibly one of the more polished sets we had seen from them and also a little more heavier. Sonically it was beautiful, crystal clear with a nice punch as the band went back and forth between old and new tracks, the latter from their latest album “Legacies” also some of their best work to date.
Overall Murderfest was a solid event, every band made their mark and really helped showcase the amazing talent we really do have in WA. The diversity of the bill wa also fantatic to see and makes for a much more interesting and fun experience. Let’s hope it’s not another 5 years for the next one!
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Shadow World Photography
Chaos Divine, Depravity
All This Filth, Vulgarite
The Furor, Wrath Of Fenrir, Suffer In Rot
Twin Serpents, Kalvath, Lamentia
