Bands: Triumph of Death, In Malice’s Wake, Mammon’s Throne
Venue: The Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung Country)
Date: 17th August, 2024
Review by: Ulffe
Photos by: Dave Collopy
MAMMON’S THRONE kicked off the huge night ahead at The Croxton, bathed in the green light of the stage, introducing themselves with atmospheric sounds of deep, low octave voices that created a maddening atmosphere.
The drums hit like a punch, a leading melody built onto this and a ringing rhythm continued. MAMMON’S THRONE set the scene. As the riff changed, the early punters who may not know the band were quickly won over.
Having known MAMMON’S THRONE for some time and seeing them perform before it’s great to get the opportunity to write about them. Their influences are quite vast, you hear elements of stoner, doom and sludge in their music, they stand out with an even darker edge thematically with thrash and death metal moments.
Within the first track the crowd were energised. Double kicks engulfed and surprised us, the opening song ended with a huge growl vocal ring out. Various punters were chuffed and impressed at that moment.
MAMMON’S THRONE were well suited to this lineup, at times last night their harmonic rhythms reminded of other Tom Gabriel Warrior projects. MAMMON’S THRONE showed us why they belong on this stage (I wouldn’t have been surprised if they were opening directly for TRIUMPH OF DEATH).
Amesh Perera’s guitar work was a standout, as well as the bands use of dual vocals at certain moments- they added such depth and intensity to their sound.
Despite their short set, vocalist Matthew Millar made note that ‘they’re here for a good time not a long time’. The group made every second count, leaving a lasting impression. With thumping rhythms, groovy riffs and sweet leads. MAMMON’S THRONE proved they’re not just a strong opener—they’re an incredible Melbourne talent.
Check out their self titled 2023 album and keep an ear out for their track Return Us to the Stars for a great showcase of their talents.
The aggression is dialled right up to 10 as IN MALICE’S WAKE took their position. 22 years as a band and multiple releases under their belt they smashed the crowd with their thrashing riffs.
The energy felt even more amplified after the tone of the opening act. IN MALICE’S WAKE thrash the crowd with faster tempos, quick, exciting guitar work, with tight- in the pocket drumming and bass driving the low end with monumental force.
I loved the versatility in their riffing- each section of music had such huge range and so much happening in such a short amount of time. Consider sweeping guitars that move into galloping single note palm muted riffs all while the drums blast your head off and are full of fills. You can’t be bored listening to any of their songs.
Vocalist Shaun Farrugia acknowledges ‘It’s a pleasure to be here in the presence of greatness’ between tracks, while also thanking Hardline Media for their history in bringing on such great acts.
While their set might have been too short for some they crushed the crowd with a full arsenal of exciting metal techniques. Fast soloing, wicked dive bombs, refined death metal vocals- Lots of dedicated punters raised fists, horns and beers to the sky as they took off with a humble thanks to this night that will be ‘fucking magic’.
IN MALICE’S WAKE released their album ‘The Blindness of Faith’ late 2020 so check this out along with their generous catalogue if you want to hear more.
We were in the presence of greatness last night, Tom Gabriel Warrior, a living legend and a founding father who unwillingly influenced and set the genre on new paths.
HELLHAMMER was formed in the early 80’s, and within the short period between 1983-1984 released four demo albums. While criticised and not loved widely during those moments- In time these releases were revered and recognised as hugely influential and became incredibly loved for being considered some of the earliest influences for the Black Metal genre. TRIUMPH OF DEATH perform’s Hellhammer to pay tribute to the legacy 40 years later.
TRIUMPH OF DEATH pulled in such an awesome and diverse crowd consisting of fans from back in the day to fans born well after Hellhammer and (early) Celtic Frost had come and gone.
The set, like the music was raw, the tracks themselves quite simple and contain tropes that would be considered cliché these days. Think of 80% of the tracks having a similar drum fill as the intro, and frequent vocal ‘EUGH!’s’ dividing sections of music (the crowd loved and imitated those all night).
While the above seems like harsh critique, with context it was the perfect formula and we knew what we signed up for. There was constant wild movement in the crowd, energetic moshing, crowd surfing and euphoric contagious love for the experience. These punters of old and young were some of the wildest I’ve seen. This crowd would be what modern bands would be striving to achieve.
The crowd were enamoured with TGW’s personality; a humble man reminding us that he too is in awe. As he is in his older age, he reminded us he was once just a boy from a small town in Switzerland writing songs in his bedroom- he cannot believe people want him to play these songs 40 years later.
TGW was also enamoured with the crowd, complimenting and encouraging throughout. 4 songs in he happily noted ‘We have a nice little mosh pit going!’ before moving to the next song, and doing his crowd work.
Fitting in with the raw theme- there was no shortage of difficulties, a problematic guitar cabinet stopped working and needed tweaking between songs. This made the night memorable. Tom was in his element referencing Hellhammersongs such as ‘Buried and Forgotten’ (like my guitar cabinet) and ‘Triumph of Death’ (of my guitar cabinet). He played into this well and once issues were sorted continued without complaint.
Crowd favourites (based on energy) seemed to be Maniac, Chainsaw and Blood Insanity, while my personal favourites were Messiah (which is catchy as hell) and the track Triumph of Death, which was almost 10 minutes of raw drone-like energy.
This was a huge night, I admire this project for its part in bringing my favourite genre of metal into existence. As a huge fan of Triptykon and loving the unique sounds of modern Celtic Frost it was a pleasure to experience the historical roots of such important projects.
Gig Gallery
Thank you Hardline Media for bringing in this legendary act, The Croxton for hosting these acts, and for being a venue with excellent lighting and sound. Thanks to the support, Mammon’s Throne and In Malice’s Wake- and finally for TGW and the legends of Triumph of Death for the unique, surprisingly wholesome treat of a show.