Artists: Mammon’s Throne, Algor Mortis, Munitions, Who Bastard
Venue: The Bendigo Hotel, Melbourne, Australia (Naarm, Woiwurrung country)
Date: 29th August 2025
Review by: Omi Kou
Photos by: Ben Eldström
The Bendigo Hotel is arguably the beating heart of Melbourne’s heavy music community. Since its revival a year ago, the room has seen its share of chaotic mosh pits and sweaty nights. The Friday 29 August anniversary show was an extra night of riffs and resurrection with blackened death legends Mammon’s Throne headlining an amazing line-up of Algor Mortis, Munitions and Who Bastard. A celebration of the spirit that kept The Bendi alive.
Who Bastard
Who Bastard opened the night with a blackened punk sound, laced with their signature rock swagger. A three-piece featuring new addition Rhys Brennan on guitars, Jack Thomas on bass and now taking vocals, and Ben Barclay on drums, they’ve already carved out their own odd little corner in the local scene.
This is band I have listened to many a time at home, and seen their name pop up on bills all over town for a while. Almost like the one that always got away, it took me this long to finally see their honestly delightfully unique sound live. Hearing tracks from their 2023 Necromancer EP for the first time in person really made their music come to life, grim and raw.
Thomas spat out vocals with a snarling grin, while Barclay’s drumming cracked like gunfire against the walls. For a small band, their sound is big with riffs undercut by wink of melody. By the end of their set, the cobwebs had been well and truly blown off the room, and punters were shoulder-to-shoulder up the front. They played a tight set.
Munitions
Next up, Munitions brought a dose of straight-up death metal. No frills, just heavy riffs and brutal precision. The band may only be a couple of years into their existence, but its members are hardened veterans of the local scene (with histories in Desecrator, Blunt Shovel, Nemesium and more). Their 2024 EP Remote Death gave them plenty of ammo, and tracks like Scum and the title track landed like hammer blows.
Vocalist Clint Williams was ferocious, leaning into the crowd with every growl and a few cheeky chats between songs, while bassist Jared Roberts held down the low-end with punch and presence. The guitars buzz-sawed with sharp riffs and the drums snapped with force. In the Bendi’s intimate bandroom, the sound was suffocating in the best way with Munitions’ unmistakably Aussie grit.
Admittedly, Munitions wasn’t a band I was familiar with before heading to The Bendi on this cold and wet Friday night. What they did was bring my attention to their music and very quickly warm me up from the weather. I wasn’t alone. You can feel the rest of the room rapidly fill whatever few gaps were left as we headed into the rest of the evening.
Algor Mortis
Algor Mortis followed, upping the heaviness even further. Since forming in 2020, the band have become one of Melbourne’s most exciting death metal exports, and with their Stages of Death EP (released via cult label Maggot Stomp) they’ve put themselves on the international radar.
Frontwoman Cecilia “CC” Keane’s gutturals are an inhuman force, and she wasted no time in enchanting the crowd. Also the most grateful musician on the stage all night, wrapping up nearly every song with a polite “thank you”. The set mixed fan favourites like Rotten To The Core with a handful of brand-new songs, teasing what’s next for them before they head to Japan later this year in early November.
The dual guitars snarled and slammed, while the rhythm section drove everything forward like a tank. But the pride in being back at The Bendi was clear. There was a connection between band and crowd here that you can’t fake and people weren’t just watching, they were part of it.
Algor Mortis are a band I truly admire. They feel big on stage, not only because they squeezed five musicians onto the The Bendi’s small platform, but also in their sound. Seeing them live for the first time realised that sonic edge they have over other brutal death beatdown bands out there, and I’m keen to hear more of their new music soon.
Mammon’s Throne
Closing the night was Mammon’s Throne, Melbourne’s doom lords and one of the first heavy bands to back The Bendi’s revival. Their 2023 self-titled album cemented their place in Australia’s extreme doom scene, and on stage the songs stretched out into massive journeys.
Vocalist Matthew Miller brought both menace and melancholy, while guitarist Amesh Perera’s leads carved through the atmosphere with aching precision. Johnny Chammas (guitar), Sam Talbot-Canon (bass) and Nick Boschan (drums) created a steady pull that drew the room deeper into the sound.
Tracks like Return Us to the Stars and Mammon’s Throne (Reap What You Sow) hit with both weight and sorrow, a fitting band to close the evening. With their upcoming support slot for My Dying Bride on 16 September in Sydney and 17 September in Melbourne, it felt like we were seeing a band ready to step onto even bigger stages.
By the end of the night, I felt the energy of The Bendi that I used to feel years ago. Sweaty bodies, ringing ears, and that unmistakable sense of community that makes Melbourne’s heavy scene what it is. Each band brought their own flavour, in a delightfully diverse night of blackened and death metal. It’s been a while since I was last at The Bendigo Hotel but I’m happy it’s truly back.
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