Artists: Dole Bludger, Hematemesis, Religious Observance, Cardiac
Venue: Last Chance, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 27th June 2025
Review by: Jess JRoc
Photos by: Ben Eldström
Dole Bludger are back in town, and taking over Victoria with 4 shows in 3 days. It’s been just over a year since I first heard about Wellington’s filth, sludge, crust powerhouse Dole Bludger. They came endlessly recommended on their last visit to Naarm in March of 2024, I watched them pummel us at The Fairfield Bowls Club and nothing was going to get in the way of seeing them this weekend.
Cardiac
To open the stacked line up of the painfully fast and the slaughtering-ly slow, the hardcore
punk/grind trio Cardiac make their Last Chance debut on bandroom stage. I’ve seen these guys before, for the first time under a bridge, but never in a venue, so this was even more of a treat.
They opened with a new track, with their vocalist stationed on the floor, right in the thick of the crowd. One thing I always find impressive is when everyone in a trio is mic’ed up, a range of three grim screams throughout their catalogue of heavy fast tracks. They move into Whipped, which is allegedly about mowing your lawns, under 2 minutes of the richest guitar tone paired with an abrasion like a cheese grater to the ears, it rips hard – on their bandcamp a sample blares “there’s only one speed, flat out” that closes the track, that’s Cardiac in a nutshell.
With a false finish, we get one more track, the old part 2, then part 1, they are all smiling ear to ear up there, clearly a show not only us punters we’re keen on, with that, the kit starts falling apart at the seams, a symbol flies off from sheer force, and a guitar string snaps right in the last moments, it was sick.
Religious Observance
ESP Mayhem we’re originally billed for this show, however being winter and with sickness floating around, Religious Observance stepped in for the synth/grind spectacle. “We are not ESP Mayhem, sorry” RO’s frontline represented with two of the finest long sleeve shirts, as a nod to the band who’s seat they keep warm.
You know it’s going to be a party, Wayniac is on stage, which is unusual for him, as he stands above us we wander what he’s going to unleash, it’s cold, but not in here, there’s a dainty cocktail umbrella on The Void’s Roland sampler, setting the mood for this annihilating set. We know RO are one of my favourite local bands, and I could waffle on for days about them, so let me entertain you.
With a setlist heavily boasting tracks from their unreal 2024 release 7 Years of Neglect, we’re kicked in the guts from the beginning, they reach the midway point with Boils (one of my favourites), it begins with a rhythmic guitar and bass hymn, enlisting a feeling of delirium, like you’ve been wandering lost, trying to get out of a dark cave, but you’re so close to reaching the exit. As soon as we hit the minute 20, like a wall of sound and screams, you’ve fallen back in, with no saviour in sight, you’re one with the darkness now.
Closing this neck shattering set, Extinct Exist, takes whatever you’ve got left and flattens you with it, with gritty ear splitting guitar shredding, enormous force behind the drums, a haunting bass line and complete strangulation with vox/noise, you’re finished, and would you believe, there’s two more bands to go.
Hematemesis
Rolling as a “two piece meal tonight”, the trio we’re a member down, with their bass/windmill
powerhouse not able to make it, Hematemesis still crush tonight as the 7 string guitar & drum gore-grind duo for this show.
Pure grit and force, their discography is fast, minute long tracks that slice through you like a blade, they cut into Vasodilatation, recorded back in 2023, which goes from fast to faster as your body struggles to keep up. With a HIWATT guitar head threatening to blow under pressure, the show must go on, nothing is going to stop Hematemesis putrefy this room.
They workshop their setlist as they go, curating a brutal display for their 30 minute slot, Their track Slavery For The Masses, gives the drumkit a run for it’s money, this is grindcore in it’s rawest.
The banter hasn’t stopped all night, with the classic gag, “we’ve got 3 songs left, which is about a minute and a half”, he’s not wrong, one of the final tracks sees the mic head into the crowd, “who’s feeling brave tonight?” a familiar face grabs the mic instinctively, while mouthing, “fuck I don’t know the words” no stranger to the Lasties stage, the face behind the bass of the crust ensemble Enzyme starts making noise, a grind-improv number that doesn’t skip a beat.
Take every chance to see Hematemesis you can, they destroy stages, drains and beyond, as their full 3 piece they are a display your eyes and ears won’t forgive you for missing.
Dole Bludger
Wellington’s finest crust-sludge 4 piece are back once again for a mammoth weekender in town, like I said at the top it’s been just over a year, and their sound is bigger than ever. Taking the stage of their first of 4 very different shows this weekend, Dole Bludger get into it, starting off with a fast one, there’s no time to hesitate, hold onto your pints everyone.
Their second track is the opening number from the 2023 record Demonstration Tapes, I bought this as soon as I saw them – it gets a few regular spins in this household. Titled Infection, it’s bellowing, their influences are felt immediately as the fuzzy slow guitar tone supports the truly guttural vocals that you can feel through your veins, if your earplugs don’t feel like they are working anymore, it’s because the drowning nature of their sound is swallowing you, it’s so fucking good.
If that wasn’t enough, they speed things up, as their set boasts a healthy mix of the
punk/sludge/doom/crust genre-soup they deliver. Their faster tracks have a groove that moves your body for you, fists hit the air, the pit has truly erupted, The Last Chance is now moving like an old school washing machine in your mum’s laundry, jumping and pushing furiously into whatever is around it.
We’re told “get ready to kiss your friends, this is a sludgy number” I couldn’t support this romantic gesture more, nothing is more of a smooch soundtrack than a filthy slow massacre of sound.
As not so far away neighbours, much like the beloved pavlova, we would keep these kiwi’s and call them our own if we could. Their vocalist reminds you how far they’ve travelled, they recently printed new merch, and supporting them helps them get back out here, so if you get the chance to snap up some booty shorts or a sick new t-shirt, or even something from their Bandcamp, I suggest you do.
Gig Gallery:
