I want to preface this by saying that this is the review that I wasn’t meant to write. After I was lucky enough to interview 8 out of 11 bands, plus the promoter, Stormrider Touring, in the lead up to the Stormrider Heavy Metal Festival held on August 23 and 24 at Amplifier Bar, I told myself that I wasn’t going to write a review and that I was just going to go along and enjoy the show. That is what I told myself. However, when the first riffs rang out, I was done for. I was so impressed by what I saw, what I heard and what I experienced, that I couldn’t not pull out my phone and make a few notes to write a shorter recapped review about it.
For the uninitiated, Stormrider Heavy Metal Festival is a yearly celebration of metal music, presented by local Perth promoter, Stormrider Touring. This Stormrider Festival was special, as it was the 10th anniversary celebration, and being held over two nights at Amplifier. Both nights were fronted by local and interstate bands who put on such an incredible experience for the fans and what can only be described as ‘if I die now I will be happy’ level excitement.
What happens when you take some of Perth’s best talent and put them in a band together? Undeniable happen. It might be a new band but Undeniable are made up of music industry heavyweights who know how to pack a punch! They were the first cab of the rank debuting their new band and opening Stormrider festival. They were Undeniable-y phenomenal! Thrashing guitars boasted shredding riffs, screaming solos, and pounding drums, and heavy bass notes carried Mick’s vocals out to the half full band room. A good turn out for an opening act! If you missed my interview with Trent, guitarist from Undeniable, you can read it here.
Wrath of Fenrir followed next, with the debut of their new lineup. Clad in leather armour and furs as they took to the stage, you just know you are in for an absolute treat when the band care this much about presenting their image and their sound as though it is an interwoven thread. Singer, Alora, produced a vocal range I didn’t expect just one person to produce, from deep guttural growls to high pitched screams and back again! There were soaring backing vocals complimented by crunching heavy riffs and fast keys, marching drums and stomping bass that felt as if you were marching to a Viking war. Some of the crowd got into the spirit, drinking from a horn as more people filled out the band room. You can read my interview with guitarist Simon here.
The first interstate band for Stormrider were power metal powerhouses, Black Majesty, hailing all the way from Melbourne, Victoria. These legends played the very first Stormrider Festival and haven’t been to Perth since that time. Perth showed them a warm welcome as they hit the stage again and showed us why they love what they do and have been doing for the last 20 years together. They gave the crowd wicked fast ripping guitar solos and epic riffs that have stood the test of time and refined like a fine wine. They came, they saw and they conquered the stage! You can read my interview with Hanny from Black Majesty here.
If you thought Black Majesty were a hard act to follow then you are absolutely correct, but fellow Victorians Hybrid Nightmares did just that. With their black and white Viking-esque makeup, these screaming tortured souls gave fast paced, heavy riffs that almost ripped your face off with their intensity. The skeleton bones logo on stage added to the ambience of a powerful band, slamming you back down to earth with the beat of their drums and the sweat pouring out of them on stage.
Next up were Perth’s own famed progressive metal rockers, Chaos Divine and their set was as if it were rained down from the Metal Gods above. This is a band that has seen many festival lineups in their time, as I got to chat to Mike all about it a week or so earlier, which you can read about here. Their timing was precise and on point as they launched The Formant tour from the Stormrider Festival stage.
The party kicked on after the clock struck 12 as Party Vibes played covers until the early morning and ended a phenomenal first night of the Stormrider Festival. To say I watched most of the bands on that first night with my mouth open, almost catching flies, because I was so impressed is an understatement. I was blown away by the talent Perth and Australia has to offer. What struck me the most was how supportive the bands and the musicians were of each other, which was so damn nice to see.
This brings us to the second night of the Stormrider Festival. Local band VANTA were opening the Festival for the second night, which started earlier than the night before. I once again stood there in absolute awe as VANTA shredded riffs and smashed drums, while singer Aaron screamed these death defying lyrics from the stage. I couldn’t believe this was the same band I had interviewed only a week or so earlier, who seemed so calm and gentle, yet were up there absolutely shredding on stage! I was so damn impressed – my thoughts were ‘holy f*ck!’. If you get a chance to see VANTA make sure you do! Or you can read my interview with the band here.
Following VANTA were local depressive black metal group, Woewarden. To describe this band I would say, tortured souls with a fire inside of them that they are dying to get out and it comes out in the form of their music. Heavy, raging, deep bass and hard hitting drums, carried by soaring guitars like a zipper being pulled too tight. Singer John came down off the stage and into the crowd, being a part of the audience of the art they have created with their music. It was such an intimate experience to share that space, as every inch of the band poured their heart and soul out through their music. Another ‘wow’ moment that left me pleasantly stunned. You can read my interview with John here.
After such a deep act, there was only one that could follow, and that was Buried Shallow. By this point, the crowd were in mega-mosh mode as bass player Brett ripped a wicked bass solo and singer Charlie had just the right amount of crazy enthusiasm that the crowd were frothing off of to get everyone headbanging! I got to interview the Buried Shallow guys in the lead up to Stormrider, you can read my interview with them here.
Following Buried Shallow were Victorian legends, Elm Street. They punched the crowd in the face with their punchy fast paced riffs and charismatic grins as they rolled effortlessly from hit to hit. Next on the lineup were fellow Melbourne rockers, Orpheus Omega, however due to flight cancellations they were unable to make it to Perth in time. Thankfully their friends, Black Majesty had stuck around and agreed to do another set in their place. Black Majesty once again showed us why they are power metal royalty in Australia and why their career of 20 years has had so much success across several albums and international tours. Singer Gio hit the high notes on the head, every time, with a voice so powerful that it made you go ‘wow!’.
Headlining the second night of Stormrider Festival were local power metal legends Silent Knight, Frontman Dan B hitting those high, very high notes while guitarists Stu (from Stormrider Touring) and Cam N shred on, while Dan G and Cam D keep the notes heavy and the drums hard hitting! It is easy to see how Silent Knight have been able to go on a conquering tour of Germany and the UK recently, with more shredding going on than a bag of shredded cheese. Plus they are all-round nice guys, and their reputation speaks for itself! You can read my interview with Dan from Silent Knight here and with Stu from Stormrider Touring here.
The party didn’t end when Silent Knight finished slaying the stage as Band From Hell kept the stage warm with covers until the early hours of the morning. All in all, if I had to describe Stormrider Festival, it would be ‘a bunch of friends having a really great, wicked fun time on stage’. The warmth I felt from everyone on both nights, no dickheads on either of the nights, and the all round just good positive vibes, is reflective of the evolution that the Perth music scene has taken over the last 5 – 10 years. And a great reflection of the wonderful team behind Stormrider Touring for putting on such a great event!
And there you have it – my review that I wasn’t going to write, but ended up writing anyway, because I was so damn impressed with the talent that hit the stage. Make sure you check out some of the interviews I did with the bands in the lead up, here. And get along to the next Stormrider Heavy Metal Festival, or any of the shows these bands are doing, and support live music!
A big thank you to Stu from Stormrider Touring for arranging the access and The Rockpit.
