We really are that old.

Attracting a disappointingly small but loyal crowd of Brisbane’s geekiest, hipster metalheads, the HiFi tonight played host to Australian tech-metal exports Circles out of Melbourne, as well as Brisvegas’ own The Schoenberg Automaton, Dead Letter Opener, Humality, and The Archivist (whom I unfortunately missed, but hope to catch another day).

Second cab off the rank, Humality belted through a solid pile of bass-driven metalcore. More ‘djent‘ than ‘tech’, these guys nailed a short but brutal set. With a slap-bass to rival Jaco Pastorius, Humality represent the local alt-metal scene with confidence an power. Rating: Solid.

What can I say about Dead Letter Opener? Fucken amazing – these guys absolutely blew me away.

Playing a doom, sludge and thrash laden set of what I’m going to call ‘stoner-tech’, these lads have all the enthusiasm and wizardry to someday blow the likes of Meshuggah clean out off the charts. Six string mastery from both bass and guitar; solid, brutal drums; and the most metal piano piece I have ever heard in my entire life – these boys are deadset contenders. Rating: Worthy.

Showing all the polish that saw them signed to indie label Basick Records, Melbourne’s Circles pounded their way through a solid if not predictable set.  I think what I discovered tonight is that I prefer Circles on my stereo at home more than live on stage, which is unusual for both myself and metal generally I think.

Tight, proficient and motivated, it felt like Circles were going through the motions. That’s not a criticism, mind you, merely an observation. I enjoyed the set but it mostly served as a melodic interlude to tonight’s main course. Rating: Lukewarm.

Taking to the stage just hours after announcing the imminent departure of vocalist Colin due to medical reasons, The Schoenberg Automaton showed no signs of sadness, angst or hesitation. Renowned as one of Brisvegas’ most energetic live acts, the lads didn’t disappoint. Hammering through a tight set of world-beating tech-metal, you can’t help but wonder why these guys remain unsigned. Colin’s infamous prowling stage presence can make you a little dizzy if you let it, but it provides an amazing contrast to his affable banter and surprisingly charismatic audience engagement.

It will be interesting to see whether Colin’s departure represents a low point or a new beginning for The Schoenberg Automaton, and I for one can’t wait to see and hear the next chapter. Rating: Future Legends.

‘Bakery Lane’, ‘Brisbane Marketing’ Stage

I first met female Aboriginal duo The Stiff Gins in Canberra nearly eleven years ago, and still have an autographed copy of their first EP. Still with the absolute and beautiful simplicity of vocal harmonies and a single guitar, these ladies were as soulful and melancholy as ever. 

 Like most Aboriginal singer-songwriters, Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs are consummate story-tellers, inviting us into their world, their lives, and painting us a picture so that we could take this journey with them. It’s hard not to feel like they were not only singing, but teaching as well.

Almost appropriately on an outdoor stage, hearing the girls sing in their Aboriginal languages brought a smile to my heart. The only disappointment for me was the small crowd, on an apparently sold out night. Those who arrived late missed a real treat.

Feeding us country and western crooning and singalong party anthems, six-piece Melbourne outfit Eagle and the Worm picked up the pace. With a twin-bass (not to be confused with double-bass) rhythm section, a steel-lap guitar, vocal harmonies and wailing trumpet sound, these indie-rockers were reminiscent of acts such as The Fauves and Custard.

Although the singer had a habit of waffling between songs, these lads had a tight, clean sound that was unfortunately cut short by time restrictions.

Six-piece funksters The Melodics quickly had the punters dancing right from the first track. Obviously enjoying themselves, front man Jeremedy‘s enthusiasm was a welcome departure from the usual ‘hipster-disaffect’ stance being seen at gigs lately.

Not ashamed to borrow sounds, the track Superhero even included an homage to the epic solo from GnR’s equally epic track November Rain. This was quickly followed up with one of the greatest sax-offences of all time, the solo from Baker Street.

Danceable, singable, enigmatic funk, these guys brought to mind the likes of now-defunct Australian outfit Swoop.

Brisbane locals Dubmarine are yet another essential piece of a growing scene of live instrument dance groups. Epic basslines, jacked up on synths and a twin-trombone horn section, this eight piece put on what was for me the most energetic performance of Big Sound so far.

With rapper/vocalist D-Kaz Man painted up in traditional Aboriginal markings and female vocalist Cat Walker reminiscent of a 1960s go-go dancer, this pop outfit was just as much about the performance as the music, entertaining every sense that we had in our bodies, and a few extras to boot. Even Elefant Traks kingpin Urthboy couldn’t keep still, lurking quietly in the crowd.

Just quietly, big ups to the two drunk guys who tried to chat-up Cat Walker as she met with friends after the gig. Stay classy.

Brisbane hip-hop stalwarts The Optimen treated us to their usual brand of rhymes and humour under the marquee at Bakery Lane. With guest appearances from The Kelly Gang’s Kel Timmons and Aussie hip-hop legend Rainman, The Optimen put together a tight, rambling set.

Touring on the back of their first album in five years The Out of Money Experience, The Optimen are doing a string of shows in Brisbane this month for both Big Sound and Valley Fiesta.

‘The Club House’, Tempo Hotel

As I arrived in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, touted as Australia’s only dedicated entertainment precinct, resplendent in all its hipster glory, the vibe was strangely expectant. Along with the usual roaming hordes of mismatched youth, there was a new crowd in town – crumpled suits, disheveled ties, briefcases, Blackberries – Australia’s music industry was in town.

I was disappointed to only catch the tail end of Melbourne based kiwi-import Kimbra’s opening set at the Tempo Hotel’s downstairs venue The Club House. What I did hear was a booming yet soulful voice, an interested and enthusiastic crowd, and a chorus singalong that indicated a pretty good following for this young lass.

Along with the other out-of-place un-hipsters scoping the scene was the one time ‘most powerful man in Australian music’ Mr Michael Gudinski.

Watching Oh Ye Denver Birds set up with synths, a Macbook Pro, violin, maracas, and a tambourine, I was immediately concerned about the impending hipster-pocalypse. But these young men and women delivered a strangely coherent wall of sound that pleased the crowd.

Mixing loops and feedback with live instruments, this keyboard-driven indie-pop outfit sometimes had too much going on all at once. Taking a leaf out of Chef Gusteau’s book “anyone can cook”, Oh Ye Denver Birds were like one part B-52s and one part Talking Heads, with just a smattering of The Grates thrown in.

Although I couldn’t help but feel they jumped the shark with a bit of rapping thrown in, these guys were tight, enthusiastic and energetic. And their bass player is really, really tall.

Bordering on ‘ambient stoner pop’ (yep, I just made that up) Disco Nap initially reminded me of UK indie rockers Ash. Although at times they mixed it up with synth sounds and what sounded like marching drums, this tight four-piece were most consistent when sticking to a more traditional straight-forward rock format.

At times very familiar and comfortable, Disco Nap‘s sound revolved around their drummer, and the band collectively were clearly fans of the big rock flourish to finish out a song – something of which I will always approve.

However, the lingering thought that I was left with was “are these guys old enough to be in a licensed venue?”

Before Bridezilla even hit the stage, a random groupie (“the record is a bit underdone, but their live sound is awesome – I’ve seen ‘em five times!”) was already selling me on their virtues.

Like all the multi-instrumentalists that had hit the stage beforehand, these quirky ‘chick-rockers’ also prominently featured saxophone and violin, as well as hotpants – where could we possibly go wrong?

The opening track was an ambient, acid whitewash of haunting noise, and musicians and punters alike were well advised to give the group’s violinist a wide berth. Mellow probably doesn’t even begin to describe Bridezilla‘s overall sound.

Whilst these ladies (and one fella on the drums) were certainly engaging, and entrancing, they could use – to borrow a phrase from the Australian Idol playbook – some ‘light and shade. With a well constructed and deliberate setlist however, Bridezilla had me sucked in by the end of the night.

Knives at Noon‘s big rock opening soon had Michael Gudinski back in the room. These grungy kiwi rockers with their dirty synths and big vocals had an almost Doors-like quality about them. Clearly this was the most polished outfit of the night.

Sometimes slipping into almost ‘noise band’ territory, these young crowd-pleasers would do well on a much bigger stage, with more time to belt out a longer setlist.

I was reminded by a good friend that the last time I saw Soulfly was some eleven years ago, at the 1999 Big Day Out in Sydney. I also saw them the night before at the Coogee Bay Hotel, in the infamous ‘Selinas’ concert room.

Back then Soulfly was still considered Max Cavalera‘s ‘other’ band, formed on the back of his departure from Brazilian thrash legends Sepultura. Reinvented and rejuvenated, the Soulfly of today is every bit as loud, heavy and politically charged as ever.

Looking every part the elder statesman of modern heavy metal, Cavalera‘s vocals are as ball-tearingly strong and emotionally wrought as at any time in his twenty or more year career. The dreadlocks are longer, the beard is scruffier, and the tattoos are fading – but that voice? Well, to quote Soulfly themselves, the song remains insane.

Attracting a mixed crowd of hipsters, punk rockers, long hairs, nu-metallers (and their mums and dads), The HiFi also played host to two fresh support acts.

Fronted by Max‘s step-son Ritchie Cavalera, new outfit Incite warmed up the crowd perfectly. With a tight, heavy, clean sound, these young guys are certainly heavy metal’s up and comers.

Canadian melodic-bordering-on-prog metallers City of Fire provided an interesting if not unexpected interlude. Rising from the ashes of Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad, this Burton C Bell fronted outfit kept the mood light, keeping us warmed up, but also suitably mellow in preparation for the main course of the evening.

But Soulfly blew the all out of the water. As always, new and old Soulfly material was interspersed with Sepultura classics, including Roots and Troops of Doom. Cavalera and guitarist Marc Rizzo even treated us to a few bars of the opening riff and chant from Pantera’s gritty anthem Walk.

As usual (in this reviewer’s humble opinion) The HiFi provided great sound overall, but lacked atmosphere. However it mattered little in the face of Soulfly‘s perfect metal storm.

2010 has already been, and continues to be, a great year for metal tours in Australia. Soulfly have certainly made their contribution. 

In 2001, I was invited to Tokyo, Japan to deliver a keynote address to the World Youth Volunteer Summit. Amongst the myriad young people I met there was a small Australian contingent, including a young Aboriginal lad from Newcastle.

After spending only a few short days with Joel Wenitong, I knew this lad was gonna blow up in a big way, whatever he chose to do. Flash forward nearly a decade, and MC Weno has come a long way from his beginnings as party DJ ‘Gammin Jammin’.

After a successful stint with his previous group Local Knowledge, Weno has now teamed up with his sister MC Nay and old friend DJ Jaytee under the banner of ‘The Last Kinection’.

Playing the second of three slots at this year’s Dreaming Festival, this tight, funky hip-hop outfit treated us to eight tracks from their 2008 debut ‘Nutches’.

Showcasing the talent that saw his mixtape “Yes I Used a Computer” storm the Australian underground hip-hop scene, Jaytee smashed the Blacktraks stage with phat beats, rock samples, and some of the best scratches and breaks you’ll hear this year.

Laid over the top of this was the tight, flowing, tag-team vocals of brother and sister duo Nay and Weno. Infused with family, culture, spirit and determination, these two treated us to a very personal journey through each track, taking the time to tell us the story behind each track and give us some insight into their lives growing up in downtown Newcastle.

Experienced spitter Weno was more than ably partnered by Nay, who has come a long way from her days with 90s commercial pop duo ‘Shakaya’.

After being told ‘Local Knowledge’ were “too political”, Nutches is enjoying healthy commercial airplay, ironically with the track ‘Commercial Radio’ which pokes a bit of fun at the pop media industry.

Asked about their recent signing to the Elefant Traks label, Weno says “we’ve been mates for a while, this was really just a formality”.

‘Nutches’, featuring fellow Elefant Traks signing Brothablack and Elefant mansion stalwart Urthboy, is available through Shock Distribution.

*nomadiqueMC is a freelance writer and blogger, and was a guest of ‘The Dreaming’ as a part of the ‘Cyberblaggies’ forum. This review was a personal aside.

Rage Against the Machine (Rage Against the Machine)

Debate will rage for eternity about the categorisation of RATM. Mainstream reviewers still consider them the pioneers or rap-rock, or so called ‘nu-metal’. Die hard fans still consider them to be out and out hip-hop. Metal fans point to Tom Morello and claim him as rock’s axe-wielding messiah.

Whatever you call them, there was never anything like RATM before RATM, and there really hasn’t been anything since.

Although the debut single from the album was the opening cut, Bombtrack, RATM really hit the scene with their scathing, twisting, grinding and infamous track ‘Killing in the name…’

With its gritty live action video clip and little fanfare, ‘Killing in the name of…’ changed popular music. Heavy, political, equal parts offensive and accessible, and appealing to the disaffected masses of youth all over the world, pretty soon “…fuck you, i won’t do what you tell me…” was the anti-political chant of choice.

But it didn’t stop there. From the thought provoking challenge of ‘Know Your Enemy’, to the history lesson of ‘Township Rebellion’, RATM dared us to not only bang our heads, but use our heads too.

Cowboys From Hell (Pantera)

Although not technically a debut for Pantera, 1991’s Cowboys From Hell introduced us to a young, dynamic Texan frontman by the name of Phil Anselmo.

Like Tom Morello of the aforementioned Rage Against the Machine, Pantera’s ‘Diamond’ Daryl Abbott made his guitar sing in a way that few others ever could. Evidence the opening licks to the opening and self-titled track.

“what is that? a power drill? a chainsaw”  “nah man, that’s an AXE!!”

Introducing us to a ‘new’ sub-genre that would later be called powergroove, among other names, Pantera made us wanna bang our heads and dance at the same time. If ever there was a soundtrack to world’s biggest circle mosh, the closing track “The Art of Shredding” is probably it. Following all the rules of metal, from falsetto high notes (which would never really be heard again on a Pantera album), to classic storylines (Indian medicine men, rocking out, stuff about priests and cemeteries) yet breaking all the conventions at the same time, Cowboys from Hell is a debut that will go down in history.

It will always be a shame to consider Anselmo’s subsequent erratic nature, and ultimately the loss of Diamond Daryl.

Slipknot (Slipknot)

Also not technically a debut album, but Slipknot’s subsequent ‘Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses’ is evidence enough that even Slipknot themselves rarely acknowledge the existence of the creepy EP ‘Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.’

Slipknot’s first album achieves everything that Corey Taylor (AKA #8) claims in his monologues on their later live double album ‘9.0: Live’. They stick it to the establishment.

Like RATM, these guys are often written off by the ‘nu-metal’ tag they are usually lumbered with. But they are so much more. In some ways these guys are more metal than metal.

Nine members? WTF?

Masks and costumes? WTF?

‘Custom’ percussion? WTF?

These guys take everything that metalheads call tacky and make it cool all over again. They do it with brains, balls, and integrity. Few bands could ever pull any of those elements off any more, let alone put them all together.

One of the things that sets Slipknot apart is its collective and individual creative integrity. Far from being damaged and torn apart by side projects and differences in direction, Slipknot thrives on it, builds on it, smashes it all together, and makes it something new and great.

Amongst my own peers, I’m part of a small minority who thinks Slipknot have actually gotten better with every album they’ve released. But as an introduction to the world, this eponymous release makes a statement that won’t be repeated.

Kill ‘Em All (Metallica)

Although few will ever admit it, pretty much every american band who picked up instruments and claim to make ‘heavy’ music owe their very existence to this band, and this album. Contained in these 10 tracks is the roots of thrash, death metal, speed metal and glam rock, all wrapped up together.

Kill ‘Em All is the quintessential, post-NWOBHM, american metal album.

Whatever you may think of Lars Ulrich now, with this album he achieved exactly what he set out to achieve – with a single album, he launched american heavy metal into the stratosphere and left european hard rock in his wake.

Right place at the right time? Perhaps. What we have here is the perfect concoction of Ulrich’s ambition, Hetfield’s angst, Cliff Burton’s insistence that the band relocate to the heart of the San Francisco’s Bay Area Thrash scene, and the insight of the now legendary Johhny and Marsha Zazula at Megaforce Records.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Motorhead (Motorhead)

With just 8 tracks, at least 6 of which most metalheads couldn’t even name some 32 years later, this short, sharp eponymous rock and roll album heralded the arrival of one of the greatest forces ever in heavy music.

After ironically being tossed out of seminal psychedelic rock band Hwakwind for (allegedly) not taking enough hallucinogenic drugs, Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister spent nearly two years playing dingy clubs with good mates ‘Fast Eddie’ Clark and ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor. Naming themselves after the last track that Kilmister wrote for Hawkwind, Motorhead struggled to gain attention until a chance meeting led to the recording of their 1977 self-titled debut.

Although it was probably their second album Overkill that gained them a bigger following, particularly outside of the UK, Motorhead the album is a classic in every sense of the word.

Opening with the ‘title’ track, this version of the Hawkwind cut, this time without hammond organs, saxophones and mid-70s era synthesizers, is a biting, kicking, scratching wall of noise – hard to fathom from a tight dirty three-piece. Don’t believe it can be done? The proof of this pudding is in 1981’s live album ‘No Sleep ’til Hammersmith’.

Few metal bands today will go past Motorhead when naming their influences. But this understated release may yet be one of the most important heavy metal releases of all time.