Bands: Hadal Maw, Burial Pit, Resin Tomb, Deliquesce
Venue: Stay Gold Melbourne, Australia
Date: 08 / 10 / 2022
Words by Ulffe
Images by Ben Eldström
A night of Death and rough venue lighting.
Deliquesce
Opening the night was Deliquesce. Made up of seasoned players of bands such as Disentomb, Lurid Panacea, Odiusembowel, Excarnate etc…
They are a Melbourne based Death metal band that balance the vehemence of technical riffing as well as groove, respectfully positioning themselves closer to traditional death with their first recordings.
Adrian Cappelletti [guitar] is a powerhouse, providing well what is needed to open a Death Metal gig. Swapping between driving technical sections swapping quickly to lead parts consisting of techniques generally overused in shred but in this case used tastefully with feel interesting composition in mind.
One could be satisfied watching him as a one band show.
Tight drumming, tight bass and brutal vocals tie this band together for a strong opening. Unfortunately the stage lighting was harsh and unkind to these guys, but their performance top notch.
Resin Tomb
We next welcome Brisbane’s Resin Tomb as a part of their first interstate tour. Lighting slightly better, at least giving some sense of ambience to the set.
Resin Tomb step in with stomach churning force. It’s worth highlighting their use of abrupt tempo changes and section drops. Guitars playing off each other smashing dissonant chords against vocals that torment the crowd.
Matthew Budge’s vocals deliver ferocious energy to the audience which was paired with piercing eye contact singling out individuals. A great stage presence.
The drums do a lot to drive the audience, building intensity with consistent force, then opening up the space to release tension. The strings section supports this with slower, subdued but powerful riffing.
I’m sure Melbourne will look forward to seeing more of this band on their next venture here.
Burial Pit
Burial Pit stepped up next to change the pace, coming from Sydney presenting their Violent Sludge.
Stand out performance from Scott Tabone, who’s excruciating vocals burst through the instruments, slightly blackening the genre.
Peppered with Elements of death seasoning dissonance over droning sludge riffs, bringing wild energy. Tempo changes are a tool used for drawing in or dissipating their energy- Riffing what might start sounding Death becoming Sludge in doing so.
They bring a crushing and heavy set that will have you banging your head.
Hadal Maw
Headlining were Hadal Maw, over a decade in the making and their current seasoned lineup is stronger than ever.
Plunging their audience into oceanic depths with both rhythm and groove, they have unpredictable structures and compositions and bring a refreshing energy. Well rehearsed and tight, the composition and technical finesse of this band is of a world class standard.
Guitarists, Ben Boyle and Nick Rackham [both coming from A.M.D.B.L and Ben who is in upcoming band Black Lava] play off each other effectively with interesting intervallic movements.
The band is led by vocalist Sam Dillon, with versatility and showmanship of a headlining band. His physical performance is engaging as he contorts his body and face to the rhythm of the music, joining the audience to perform sections of the set.
Overall this was a solid night of performances and energy, much respect goes out to those who played early on with challenging stage lighting, I do hope to see improvement in this area if at Stay Gold again.
Get out and see these bands at a show, if you enjoy their recordings the energy of their live performances will only amplify your experience.
Gig gallery has been archived, please email reviews@hookriffandbanger.net for access