It’s that time of year again, for Soundwave to hit our capital cities like an uncontrollable force of fury. With a cocktail of hardcore, metalcore, screamo, rock and straight old fashioned punk is what simply confines this forever growing festival and for the first time as a national tour, the evidence is clear as to how popular this event will become. After sell out events interstate, this week it was time for Melbourne to have a share in the destruction. When these festivals tour Australia, one would expect a handful of side shows and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to hear that the following were about to lose their sh*t in the same room on the same night!

I pulled into Billboards venue quite early, obviously knowing that the night’s line-up was an absolute pearler and I honestly couldn’t say that I was looking to buy some time. The event opened with my much-loved favourites; Haste The Day. Initially this Indianapolis quartet kicked their career off in 2001 with original vocalist and founding member Jimmy Ryan. But after Jimmy announced his decision to leave the band in – œ05, he was replaced by current vocalist Stephen Keech. Even though Jimmy certainly had a unique voice, by no means at all did Stephens’ recruitment kill the band. I guess you could say that Stephen’s vocal range is more variable but also more approachable to most. You’ll understand when you check out their original LPs.

Come 8.30 their list grinded into gear with their most recent album track title, Pressure The Hinges. It sure took some time for the crowd to warm up but considering this was a first to Australia for Haste The Day as it was for the following two support acts, punters may not have been familiar. But what can you do? Their set list consisted mainly of tracks from Pressure The Hinges. A sprinkle of their set consisted of White Collar, The Minor Prophets and my two favourites, Stitches and Needles. They successfully closed with their 2005 album title track, When Everything Falls. For all those who will be kickin’ it at Soundwave this year, you should get a taste of more of the original Haste The Day.

Second off the line was Fall Of Troy. Only recently have I been into these lads but regrettably they don’t seem to tickle my fancy. Instrumentally fantastic but the vocals will need to grow on me. Mind you their front-man/guitarist Thomas Erak was interesting to watch. Spitting in the air and catching it in his mouth together with some one-handed fret tapping whilst giving the onlookers his middle finger is always entertaining. I guess being in a three piece he’d be considered as the – œflight’ of the band and he need to do what he has to. There were certainly no complaints from me though.

When the clock hit 10.30, second support and yet another in my list of favourites, Still Remains, had their shot in turning up the heat. The air fisting and head banging had begun and enthusiasm mildly kicked in on this chilly Wednesday evening. Promoting their latest album, The Serpent, saw them open with the title track itself after Ben Schauland effortlessly punished the keyboards. This certainly moved the floor to and fro. The Wax Walls Of An Empty Room, Stay Captive and the hit track, White Walls, from their previous LP Of Love And Lunacy caught the ears of the viewers.

I respect band members who are authentic and interact with fans not simply for entertainment but loyalty towards their fans I also believe it reflects passion for the band itself. I mean at the end of the day you don’t really want to be viewing a bunch of stiffs all night. Lead vocalist TJ Miller was the perfect example of this. His stage movement, sporadic skipping and facial aggression was superb and spine tingling. Closure came with another older track, In Place Of Home and there was a little bit of sweat on everyone’s brow at this point.

Well it certainly wasn’t a first to Oz for headliners and Christian metalcore gods As I Lay Dying and judging by the restlessness of the pit, the evidence was clear that they were more than welcome to return. After rolling out their skull silhouette screens on stage and a final testing of the sound, the blue ambient lights had dimmed and the mist of smoke had crept across the crowd. Straight up, Nothing’s Left kicked into full force. The pit was circling but not many punters were too keen to test out their sustainability. It looked brutal. Yet another great combination of aged and recent tracks from the San Diego five piece.

The intensity of vocalist Tim Lambesis’s throat is enough to blow the socks off anyone and more entertainment was brought by their drumming powerhouse Jordan Mancino, somehow managing to sustain dizziness after circularly thrashing his head over and over. It looked amazing. Variable and progressive double kick is certainly ASILD’s specialty and this was shown with precision in Through Struggle and Meaning In Tragedy. As The Darkest Nights was good to go, crowd surfing became slightly more accessible as the pit closed a little. One fella had a fair dip at diving off the stage only to have been captured and escorted soon after around the back by security. The Sound Of Truth and another beauty from Shadows Are Security; 94 Hours followed. An energetic performance by these guys came to an end with Confined, just after 12.30.

My honest opinion is that the atmosphere just didn’t seem to be evident on the night. I’m also a little disappointed that the gig didn’t sell out both because the promotional efforts were exhausted for many months and there wouldn’t have been a better line-up of metal side show for Soundwave.