Artists: Deafheaven, SPY, Peace Ritual
Venue: The Forum, Melbourne, Australia (Woiwurrung country)
Date: 9th July 2026
Review by: Ziggy Thunders
Photos by: Dave Collopy
Peace Ritual
Peace Ritual kicked off the night’s festivities, the Sydney-based five piece jumped on the lineup last minute after a late change and I feel they were a perfect fit for the void that shoegaze legends Nothing left. The Forum was filling up fast as the vocalist beckoned everyone closer, with the promise of being a gentle band, the crowd shuffled in and Peace Ritual delivered a set of energetic, uplifting shoegaze tunes.
There’s a calm warmth to Peace Ritual that I immediately became fond of, their energy and presence just makes you feel good, this might sound weird but to me they sound like how sunshine feels. Their compositions contain infectious riffs and vocal melodies that I’m sure will be stuck in my head tomorrow. They seemed at home on The Forum stage, full of energy and clearly grateful to be living this experience all together as the audience warmed up and jumped along with them.
I love a mixed bill and so do Peace Ritual, with the vocalist stating so during their set, encouraging everyone to go make music, make friends, make bands – because it makes evenings like this possible. To experience such diverse line ups is always a treat, and to have witnessed and discovered Peace Ritual on a stacked line up like tonight’s was an absolute blast.
SPY
Let me tell you, I was not prepared in the slightest for Spy. The fast paced intensity from the Bay Area Hardcore five piece immediately threw the crowd into chaos. The vocalist stalked the stage with unhinged ferocity while unleashing harsh vocals full of intoxicating rage. The band switched tempos seamlessly flipping between rapid punk sections and menacing hardcore breakdowns in their compositions.
Spy ripped through their short compositions with brutality and intent, they had the crowd completely enthralled, you didn’t know where to look on the stage as the members embodied the chaotic energy of their tunes. Guitars were getting lifted in the air and thrown around which created abrasive walls of heaviness, the bassist stomped around the stage continuously hammering the strings as their gritty bass tone roared through the venue, the drummer held down the furious beats and served as the anchor for this performance of powerful intensity. All while the vocalist confronted the audience with a presence that could convince you to destroy everything.
This was my first time ever seeing and hearing Spy and holy shit they are so fucking good. Their presence, their chemistry, their compositions – the tightness of them as a live unit – unreal.
Deafheaven
The Forum is packed. The mood is electric. The Lonely People With Power Radio rages over the PA as it has between sets. I’m having the time of my life dancing to Sebastien Tellier’s Look which I never expected to hear play before a Deafheaven set while the excitement goes to my head. No doubt we’ve all been looking forward to this since their latest record Lonely People With Power dropped. It’s been three years since Deafheaven toured here and after the tremendous response to LPWP, I believe this is their biggest Australian show to date and it feels so well deserved.
A sharp tone cuts through the room, the ambient haunting sounds of LPWP’s opening track Incidentalfilled the venue, the band appeared onstage to applause and screaming – we all know what’s next. Doberman. The second track off LPWP grips the crowd, I can see everyone on the floor jumping as they tear through it. Vocalist George Clarke commands the room with ease as he prowls across the stage, conducting the crowd through movement as though he’s possessed by the music.
Magnolia – the first single from LPWP – sent the crowd into a mosh. Guitarists Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra tore up the stage with the fast paced black metal inspired riffs. Hearing everyone around scream ‘my love is endless’ as the band hit the peak of this song was pure aural ecstasy to witness live.
New Bermuda’s Brought to the Water followed with more black metal inspired ferocity, with drummer Daniel Tracy beating the shit out of his kit with unfathomable speed and precision. I’m glad I was at the back of the room because the crowd looked like a pit of demons and you can only imagine how that energy changed when they played the introduction to Sunbather, title track off the widely acclaimed record, an 8 minute plus long epic. The most furious display of delight from a crowd I’ve ever seen.
Clarke beckoned everyone forward to the stage for LPWP’s The Garden Route, the emotional journey of this track induced goosebumps for me. Bassist Chris Johnson’s bass lines that rumbled through the floor were the only thing keeping me grounded as they hit the climax. Body Behaviour – which Clarke stated as his favourite – kicked off a dance party in The Forum, the high energy track saw the first crowd surfer of the night as the audience and band exchanged energies. From dancing to crying, we were thrown into Amethyst – my personal favourite off LPWP. The audience raised their hands in the air to Clarke as the slow, moody guitars played. It felt like we were about to be saved.
Amethyst is a showcase of everything that makes Deafheaven special to me – the composition finding beauty in the intense heaviness, the lyrical content reading like poetry telling a raw, honest story, knowing when to hit hard and when to strip it back – all of this combined created magic. This performance floored me. I was a mess. I can’t convey it to you in a way that would do it justice, you need to see Deafheaven live and hope they play this track.
Incidental II felt like a fucking fever dream as Jae Matthews from Boy Harsher’s voice filled the room before we were thrown into overwhelming frantic chaos, which was one of the heaviest most bat-shit crazy things I’ve witnessed. Revelator brought the riffs and fury that saw what I’m assuming was a wall of death and crowd surfers soaring over the chaos as the band ripped through it.
The set list was going from strength to strength so I wondered what was next. Dreamhouse. The euphoric riffs possessed us. Everyone in the room, even people at the back were moving. This is not a small venue. 2000 capacity. Close to a sellout. To see the entire venue moved by Dreamhouse was something special to behold. Clarke jumped to the barrier and shared the microphone with the crowd while hands raised in the air reaching for him, an entire venue screaming ‘I’m dying’ along with him. Is it blissful? It’s like a dream.
I didn’t want this dream to be over yet. I could only think of one song that could ever top Dreamhouse as the encore. Clarke took a moment to appreciate the crowd and tease us with the promise of returning soon and when they did, they’d have new music (hell yes) before confirming my suspicions.
Winona. Whirring guitars built anticipation to a euphoric build. All attention was on Tracy, he nailed the drum solo that wound up the crowd as they ripped into the song. Everyone let loose for this last song. McCoy and Mehra exchanging riffs and melodies as they bounced across the stage, Johnson delivering an infectious bassline that swayed underneath with pure joy, Tracey bringing the blast beats that we all lose our collective shit over and Clarke’s vocal delivery hit hard as he screeched some of their strongest lyrics to date. The perfect, cathartic release of energy to end one of the most brilliant live performances I’ve ever seen. Go see Deafheaven. You won’t regret it.
Gig Gallery:
MASSIVE THANK YOU to Deafheaven, Spy, Peace Ritual. Destroy All Lines, The Forum, the staff and security, everyone involved with sound and lighting and everybody and everyone behind the scenes. We wouldn’t get to have these experiences without you.
Endless gratitude to Lochlan Watt for organising this tour. You’re a legend. We’ll never get over this tour. Thank you.