Vanadium have a long history with the Perth metal scene that goes back to what many consider to be the golden age of the scene back in the 90’s, a time when local music was revered and supported in much the same way as the big international acts that come through. After their split back in 1996, the band went on to various other things before coming back and making a triumphant return at Slayfest in 2018. Fast forward to today and Vanadium B.C. celebrate 25 years of their debut album with a special vinyl release of “The Damage Done” which was launched on March 20th at Lucy’s Love Shack in Perth. A solid turnout and a real sense of what the old scene was like was the order of the night with the old school being a running theme.
Heavy Metal heroes Diamond Sky kicked off the night in true power metal fashion. Soaring melodies schematically fitted out with memorable chorus lines had the early punters at ease with their majestic sound. The band nicely got the ball rolling and set the tone for the rest of the night which simply got better with each act.
Like Vanadium B.C, Enforce are another veteran of the Perth metal scene and a new album was their focus as they blasted out some meaty riffs in the form of some old school death/thrash metal. Already punters were pouring in by this stage ready for the power of that old school sound that never gets old, classic and timeless much like Enforce themselves. A killer set ending too short for some but again, a nice lead in to the next band.
Suffer In Rot have been a little absent in recent times so it was good to see the death metallers back to grind out some nasty, aggressive metal. Cannibal Corpse fans will love these guys, a wicked sense of humor mixed with bitingly savage brutality, it was the heaviest thing we saw tonight but the lack of a drummer mixed with some sound issues that popped up through out the entire show slightly brought down what was otherwise a stellar set.
Vanadium B.C. are true veterans of the Perth metal scene and despite the long absence before they returned a couple of years ago, the band don’t seem to have lost their edge at all. The old schoolers were out in full force to show their support of the band’s 25th anniversary of their debut album which sees a vinyl re-release tonight, and it was great to see the place packed out.
The tiny stage was corned by the punters who were right in the band’s face as they proceeded to bring it hard and remind people why this brand of death metal still has it’s place in a genre that has lost control of the list of sub-genres that have spawned since the band’s origins back in the 90’s. Plenty of nostalgia was had but more importantly the band sounded on fire. The buzz was certainly built up and Vanadium lived up to the hype as the band took the crowd down memory lane, busting out tunes from their back catalogue in fine form.
A barrage of guests hit the stage to help wrap things up as they busted out some old Diamond Head in the way of “Am I Evil” and early Metallica with “Seek And Destroy”. Again despite some sound issues, the whole set was brilliant and made some of us very keen to see them perform live again. Congrats on 25 years and let’s hope there’s still a few more in the tank to come.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Molotov Photography
VANADIUM B.C.
SUFFER IN ROT, ENFORCE, DIAMOND SKY
