Bands: Mammon’s Throne, Kvll, Malignant Aura, Ghostsmoker
Venue: The Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 01 / 04 / 2023
Words by Dave Collopy
Images by Ben Eldström
April fools day 2023 was brought to a chaotic end at the Evelyn Hotel with a night of slow, down tuned screaming guitars and pulsating rhythms that could have ripped a fissure in the earth.
Ghostsmoker
Ghostsmoker were opening for the night and they set the tone for the evening as they delivered dissonant, crushing riffs and slow, hypnotic drums. They played a setlist that could have raised the dead. The sound of the drums was massive and had a steady but chaotic feel. Combined with the guitars and bass, a dissonance was created that resulted in an extraordinarily satisfying tonal calamity.
Some of the more memorable parts of Ghostsmoker’s set came when all instruments played massive open dissonant chords in complete unison, almost voiding the bowels of everyone in attendance.
Malignant Aura
Up next were Malignant Aura. They sounded like an amazing combination of everything that makes death metal so enjoyable. Trudging songs with a mix of faster and slower drum parts with a heavy emphasis on doom, guitar harmonies that reminded me of death/black metal records from the late 80’s and early 90’s and vocals that sounded like they had come straight from the pits of hell all while maintaining a wicked stage presence. Their sound evolved into pure death metal at certain points, only to be dragged back down into the doom territory with melodies and rhythms that ventured into black metal. Malignant Aura really step up to the plate when it comes to the death/doom heavy hitters of old.
Kvll
The 3 piece Kvll have an extremely unique sound. Despite tuning down so low, the fact that they can still manage to retain a greater amount of detail in the music and rhythms of their music is an incredible feat. A guitar that absolutely heaved with feedback in the most satisfying ways, that somehow managed to compliment the riffs rather that completely overpower any of the finer details in what was being played. Complimented with vocals and a rhythm section so incredibly tight and thick that brought to life an atmosphere so dark, it’d provide a fitting soundtrack for an apocalypse.
Kvll managed to keep in sync with each other perfectly, with a bounce to the rhythms that had the whole crowd (which was absolutely packed by this point) bouncing their heads in time to some of the heaviest music I’ve heard in a very long time.
Mammon’s Throne
Headlining the night in celebration of their self-titled record release was Mammon’s Throne. The venue was packed with fans clearly eager to hear the new tunes being played live for the first time. There is something for everyone with Mammon’s Throne, especially with their latest release. Deep growls and soaring vocal melodies, impeccable guitar solos (a particular highlight on the new record is the guitar solo on the track Impure – incredibly tasty solo work), and rhythm guitar that encompassed a lot of 80’s style clean chorused tones. Drumming that perfectly served the song and didn’t overpower any other instruments, as goes for the bass playing. They owned the stage as they played, they shared an incredible chemistry and presence with a clear passion for what they do. With a mix of thrash to doom and everything in between, Mammon’s Throne had the crowd moving with the pit opening up for the first and only time that night thanks to some incredible songwriting, mixing genres of metal that included something for everybody. Check out their new record!
Gig gallery has been archived, please email reviews@hookriffandbanger.net for access