Bands: Black Lava, Earth Rot, Writhing, Deliquesce, Sufferance
Venue: The Bendi, Melbourne, Australia
Date: 17 / 12 / 2022
Words by Ulffe
Images by Ben Eldström
Black Lava and Writhing smolder the Bendi with ‘Soul Furnace’ and ‘Of Earth and Flesh’ album launch with supports.
Sufferance
Not having witnessed Sufferance taking the stage before, this was a solid first impression. Sufferance drew in a decent crowd and delivered a strong set that kept the crowd engaged and moving.
Sometimes the simplest but greatest way to judge a live metal band is to observe the crowd. If you can maintain a crowd’s steady headbang or headnod you’re doing well. This was the case for Sufferance.
They hit the audience with a huge sound, a concoction of tight riffing, brutal bass, blast upon blast and brutal vocals.
There were many standout moments aside from their tight Death Metal riffs that pull you in. In one of their songs (I believe it was Endless Death) had a great ascending rhythm section that kicks in half way through; it builds and then layers with the lead playing the motif before a great solo section kicks in.
Definitely worth checking out!
Deliquesce
This was my second encounter with Deliquesce, (they supported Hadal Maw in October) and I enjoyed this set just as much if not more than last time.
They can fairly be credited on their technical ability in performing live but they bring a huge energy to the stage. Between songs and banter, their vocalists voice smashes through your skull and drives the energetic set by well constructed and exceptionally delivered tight drumming.
Compositionally they are a really enjoyable act, they are staggering, jarring but drive with brutal force. Huge credit to their focus on interesting rhythm.
One thing I didn’t credit enough last time was their bassist, perhaps one of the only guys I’d say has the chops to play a metal as fuck bodied B.C. Rich.
Great set, patiently awaiting an album launch show.
Writhing
Writing hit the stage with a change of pace compared to the two openers. Celebrating their recent release, ‘Of Earth and Flesh’, Writhing starts with a larger focus on tremolo riffing and ring outs paired with energetic kick heavy, driving beats.
Their take on Death Metal focuses more on atmosphere and harmonic movement, but doing so with dissonance.
According to their Bandcamp their debut release will appeal to listeners of Morbid Angel, Gorguts and Immolation and you can certainly hear their influence – but Writhing carry themselves and hold their own voice.
They bring a different energy but this is by no means not a bad thing, high intensity yet slightly more stable guitar work. I enjoyed the dark emotions they were able to summon from deep within
Earth Rot
Aside from triggering some nerds half way through their set, Earth Rot slaughtered the night.
It’s been a few years since I’ve caught them (I’m not sure if it was myself or the band who was in hibernation) but they have come back with hard hitting eardrum melting vocals and riffs, chilling melodies, shattering bass tones and crafted drums that bring this all together.
We’ve had a couple of years to sit with their latest release which is full of varying sounds, and in their music there are clearly multiple influences coming from a dynamic range of Black/Death Metal.
What I love about Earth Rot, their sound is monstrous, live this is amplified to the next level.
They put on an exciting, professional show, heavy, tight, well rehearsed. While dripping with a range of multiple sounds and styles Earth Rot have developed a unique sound for themselves, rich in thematics and dynamics.
They don’t take themselves too seriously on stage which takes me to an unexpected heckle at the crowd and highlight of the night. Upon introducing one of their primarily Black Metal tracks, the audience was met with comments from the band around the lines of ‘Who likes Black metal?’ ‘Nerds… I bet you like Warhammer and Magic the Gathering.’
Hopefully in 2023 we’ll have some more experiences with these guys coming back to Melbourne.
Black Lava
Finally with their debut album Soul Furnace now unleashed to the world we celebrate this achievement with our headliners. While only debuting their first live performance within the last 12 months (god I hope that’s right, it’s been a weird 18 months) this may have been one of their strongest shows to date.
These guys are insane, and unknowingly I’ve been following them all throughout their careers in other projects for a huge chunk of my life. Black Lava are made up of incredibly talented and seasoned players and have unleashed a concise, dark and heavy sound.
There was a huge amount of focus going into their lighting compared to earlier sets which complimented the show and improved tenfold. This is a bunch of players who have put a lot of effort in attention to detail.
Black Lava slay with exceptionally crafted Blackened Death, with a heavy hand dishing out the groove. They had the crowd moving and moshing from their very first moments to their very last. I love their interesting chords and arrangements, the expert driving force of Dan Presland’s drumming. Their entire album comes in just over 30 minutes leaving you wanting more, much like their set.
Anything I say will undersell the experience of this show, they’re incredibly tight, their sound is huge and well mixed. They understand how to compose and bring their listeners on a journey.
They are an asset to the Melbourne music scene. I will watch their career with great interest.
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