Artists: ISUA, Burial Pit, Ghostsmoker
Venue: The Bendi, Melbourne, Australia (Woiwurrung country)
Date: 31st October 2025
Review by: Jess JRoc
Photos by: Dave Collopy
The night of nights is finally here, after an enormous return of Halloween to The Bendigo Hotel in 2025, with the best in the biz Mikey organising the hoorah, with ISUA bring the best of Electric Wizard to Collingwood, with the support of NSW giant Burial Pit and local heavy hitters Ghostsmoker.
The costume competition again brings out both the large and small efforts, yielding big impact across the board. A band room and beer garden filled with aliens, famous musicians, 70’s horror film characters, modern villains, sexy vampires, an assortment of religious affiliates and more, the pub is dark, and packed early on.
Ghostsmoker tear the packet open, a sea of camo cargo pants and food stuffs take the stage, speed dealer sunnies on a taco in the form of vocalist Nathan, says a quick welcoming note before we are kicked in the teeth with the familiar grumble of Elogium.
My fists, among all others are firmly in the air as Braydon the Banana pummels the living shit out of his kit, somehow The Bendi stage doesn’t seem big enough and the room starts to swallow you, as the rhythmic slams almost synchronized by Rhys & Ben on guitar & bass start to hypnotise you and you start to forget where you are, and by looking around and seeing witches and skeletons by your side, I don’t know where I am either.
We head into a track from their latest release from March of this year, Inertia Cult, Nathan’s vocals cut like a blunt scythe tearing open your skin as you wear it, it’s 7 minutes that goes forever, but as the 5 minute mark hits, we’re left in the air with a breathless moment before being pummelled into oblivion, as we deserve.
Burial Pit are named as violent sludge, from Sydney (mostly), and I say describes them perfectly. Disguised in heavy black cloaks, and masks leaving the band faceless for this ritual, leaving you uneasy as they take position with a hazy red lit stage, this is going to be fucking heavy.
The 5 piece recently released a track earlier this month, and it couldn’t have come in more perfect timing for us in Naarm to be able to witness them play it live. The track is brutal to say the least, Skin Eater containing themes of the devastation of our recent Australian bushfires and the wildlife that tragically perished as a result, “Scorched earth, Ritual, Of the body, To the flame”. You can feel the frustration, helpless rage and painful grief through this track, it is best listened to live, or at least loud.
The ominous air holds longer, the band don’t say anything outside of playing their 4 planned tracks, the bandroom is absolutely jam packed with bodies, the air grows thick, and Burial Pit brings the true spirit of a Bendi Halloween as they deliver Varment and close with Disgrace from their 2021 record Subhuman Scum.
Here comes the main event, the show ISUA have been rehearsing for, for months. To make this set even more historically appropriate, without realising until after this event was public, Electric Wizard’s last Melbourne show was on the same day, 20 years ago, and when guitarist Dharma found out, the most incredible series of events took place.
Liz Buckingham used a Marshall amp loaned to her for the Melbourne show, and the riff lord herself Dharma was able to get her hands on this very same amp to use for the show, and god it looked good on that stage, how fucking sick is that, honestly!
I’ll tell you, this was a night for the history books, one your grand kids will say “ok sure grandma, ISUA did an Electric Wizard best of set in 2025 on Halloween” I’ll tell everyone about this one.
Opening with Return Trip, the first chords send the pit into pure mayhem, every single ghoul, ghost and gremlin in the room was about to lose their minds. There’s several microphones set up, as these tracks require all voices on deck like the heaviest, doom choir you’ve ever seen.
They invite the one and only Count Drugula, familiar to this stage is Matthew of Mammon’s Throne takes the mic to join for Satanic Rites of Drugula. It was truly a who’s who out there, along with the crowd, the band was having the time of their life with every riff.
This setlist is impressive, with favourites and deeper cuts from Electric Wizard’s hefty discography, the 2000 record Dopethrone and it’s title track have the entire capacity of the room moving around like smoke from the biggest toke you’ve ever seen, bodies are carried back and forth as the crowd surfers can’t control themselves.
The costume competition comes as the final track approaches, with an impeccable Christopher Lee of The Wickerman, The VVitch and an Imperial Triumphant tribute taking prized positions, there’s only one thing left now, and that’s the track we’ve all been waiting for.
ISUA vocalist Mikey, dressed as a preacher of the dark lord, climbs into the crowd for the final closing number of the one and only Funeralopolis, what a way to finish a display we won’t be forgetting anytime soon, even once the facepaint is washed off.
Karaoke happened, or didn’t it? If you weren’t there, you’ll never know.
I’m off to sleep for a year, see you in 2026 Satan.
Gig Gallery:
