Against the Grain (ATG) is a twelve hour metal marathon that, this year, was one of the few gigs around the place that are advertised well in advance, promoted effectively, and were generally looked forward to by both local punters and bands heading to Adelaide from interstate.

A word of warning: this is a huge review – I try to give each of the bands on the bill a bit of space, because they all deserve it, so it’s quite long. You’ll get a lot out of it if you stay with it though!

The day dawned bright and got really warm. Perfect weather for heading out to a huge metal show in town. It got warmer as the day went on and, eventually, the wind died down enough that you could have a smoke outside without having to hide in a tiny corner in some wanky part of the lane between Fowler’s, UniSA and the Jam Factory. The weather brought the best out in people too: as a taste of early summer, people were happy and excited to be there.

We rocked up just after the first band, Asphyxia, had finished. This was a real goddamn shame, because by all accounts they were the best band on the entire bill. Lee Gardiner ( Double Dragon and Truth Inc. Records ), one of the organisers of the show, told me that despite only being a young band, in the vicinity of 17 years of age, they ‘owned all the other bands that played tonight’. What a shit we missed ‘em! Sorry fellas – hopefully we’ll catch you at another gig sometime soon.

The second band up was local act Se Bon Ki Ra, a band that I’ve always somehow missed when I’ve been out and about at local gigs. I finally got to see them at ATG. This band plays a style that seemed to me to be heavily influenced by old Sepultura and Pantera, and a bit of thrash from the old days. They were reasonably good, playing well-paced metalcore with an edge of brutality. It had a bit of speed, and they were pretty tight. Their percussion was tom-heavy which, in their style, worked fairly well especially given some of the syncopated rhythm. Se Bon Ki Ra started out enthusiastic and energetic, but I was surprised to see them looking nearly knackered when they were only just getting towards a half hour set! It bodes ill for a young band if they can’t keep up their momentum for longer than that, especially visually – coz it can put a crowd off. Luckily they played early, so that the punters were enthusiastic enough not to notice.

Drawbacks of the Se Bon Ki Ra set for me was a hardcore vocal that didn’t have enough variation. Anyone who knows me will know that this is a pet hatred of mine. I am a moderate sort of critic, as far as critics go, and I can appreciate a style different to one that I personally dig, but when a hard/metalcore act has a vocalist with a death of variation in his repertoire, it grates. The reason is grates is because it takes all the enjoyment out of a set; a listener needs some variation to keep ‘em interested. Still, they are a fairly young band, and I hope that they take the path of evolution rather than stagnation.

Musically, Se Bon Ki Ra were on the money. The percussion was great (though, over-reliance on your toms is gonna cause tedium too guys!) especially with some judicious splash thrown in, the guitars were good, and some parts were pretty old school.

Next up was the Red Dawn. They’re a popular local act, and by this stage more punters had turned up – and more had stayed inside – than for the previous act. The Red Dawn are very typical of your local Adelaide take on metalcore, though I must say that a vocal approximating a growl is much more appreciated than the average monotone scream. This band utilises what I like to refer to as a ‘rolling break’: the moving away from solid breakdowns to a style that keeps an essence of the breaks without stopping things in their tracks. It is so much more preferable to a complete breakdown that I can’t begin to express my appreciation of it.

The Red Dawn were a bit more into interacting with the crowd – always a plus – but the comment about Against the Grain being like the ‘real Big Day Out’ was a bit much. Sure, guys, it’s a great twelve hours of metal and mates, but it doesn’t approximate the Big Day Out for variation. If there was some black metal, some thrash, some black death, more grind, a bit of everything, then you would have your metal BDO. Who knows? We might get there one day. Ahh, for Australia’s own Wacken, eh?

Anyway, after the Red Dawn I went to scout more beers, catch up with mates, have a smoke, the usual. On my way I happened to notice that there was food. Yeah, there was your regular shitty pastries, but the venue had put on tomato soup and a barbie as well! It was great: cheap, steak was tender, good range of sauce and mustard. Steak for $2.00 is something you just can’t go past, in my opinion, especially when it was so tender. My only criticism is on two counts: the first, that it wasn’t announced to the punters – they had to just either follow their noses or find it without a sense of smell; and the second is that the barbie wasn’t outside, manned all day, and in your face. Rather, it was cooked out the back, and sold from the bar. It would have been more festival-like if the barbie was outside, but maybe there were issues with that? Who knows. At least they had one! It came to my rescue on more than one occasion!

The third band we caught was Skintilla, Adelaide scenesters of old. I hadn’t seen this band for so long. It’s funny how you go to a show featuring bands you know are playing regularly, but having not seen them for years for whatever reason. It was a good night to catch up with lots of these regulars of the town. The vocalist for Skintilla is clearly a huge Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson fan, and the band plays a style of classic metal underpinned by some metalcore elements. And it is, I must say, very refreshing to see!

What was particularly interesting was to see the young kids getting into this style. It verifies my personal observation – and that of bands around the world – that the kids are getting back into the classics and really enjoying them. Having said that, though, there were more older punters piled into the band room for this band too. Skintilla might be more mature in terms of age and style, but they are also more mature in terms of their stage presence. Having been doing their thing for a quite a long time, they seemed to be far less constipated on stage than any of the other bands up that had played up to this point. They look like they enjoy themselves, and their thrashy classic style was so good to see.

Next up was State of Integrity, a band from Brisbane. Now, to be clear on this, all the bands from Brisbane that I’ve had anything to do with in terms of review in the past year, have all been completely and utterly, mindblowingly fucking brutal. Think Limb from Limb, The Dead, Misery. Coming from this point of view then, it was enormously disappointing to see this band. They played a formulaic Panteraesque metalcore, which, coming from a group of dudes that look like they’d play something more extreme was even more disappointing than the first let down!

State of Integrity bored me to tears, quite honestly. The clicks on the drums were ok, the growl was passable, the windmills were certainly not warranted, and the music lacked soul. The crowd didn’t seem to gel with them either; there was something indefinable missing about this band. They were energetic but played pedestrian music, the punters could have taken or left them, and their entire approach was a little bit aggressive.

One bloke I talked to at the show later in the night recounted the notion that Adelaide fans tend to stand still, arms folded in front of them. But it doesn’t mean that they don’t like a band. This dude said,

‘If I love a band, I’ll go like this,’ nodding his head pretty seriously. ‘But I’m not gonna go and throw myself around to show ‘em I love ‘em,’ he emphasised, telling me that he used to go nuts way back in the day, and now can’t mosh because he stuffed his neck. He said, ‘And the bands that ask people to go nuts, get people going nuts. Bands that demand action get people walking away. They don’t wanna be told what to do – they’ll go get a beer instead.’

This held true for State of Integrity. They were a bit demanding of the crowd, and the crowd couldn’t give a shit. If they evolve a bit, started to play something more interesting, and if they learned to put their souls into their music, they’ll go a long way. If they don’t, well… they’ll just disappear.

Local band Diatribe was next up. Diatribe are always popular; punters jammed themselves into the main room to watch them play. They play a similar style to many of the other band on the bill but with an energy and enthusiasm that was infectious. One of the best things about their set was the dual vocals, which makes it more pleasant because it gives the music a bit of variation that it would otherwise have lacked, and a bit more depth. If I’m gonna criticise anything, I’m going to get pedantic and say to the bassist: man, your shit just isn’t metal. Just like atracksuitisnotappropriatemetalapparel (so Blood Duster tell us on their album C*nt), a silky shirt didn’t really fit the occasion. Yes, I’m shallow! Sue me. Nah, seriously, if he wants to do this, I don’t really care. Good on ya man for being a bit different.

A surprising addition to the show was The Oscularis Infernum, hailing from Melbourne. They played death metal with a bit of a groove and it was really very good. They were also incessant hecklers – something that the young kids who were present didn’t know how to take. The Adelaide metal scene used to be great for hecklers; a band could never play a set in this town without getting the shit heckled out of them, but the young kids just aren’t exposed to that sort of culture any more. It’s a real shame, because it let the entire vibe of the set down.

The Oscularis Infernum had played a show in Melbourne on Friday night, ending at three in the morning; they then drove straight to Adelaide for ATG, and so ended up playing their set without having had a wink of sleep. The punters didn’t quite know how to take their style either, most of them being into the metalcore styles, rather than your more extreme acts. Hence, the vocalist:

‘We drove all the way here only to be on stage in front of a bunch of boring Adelaide fkng c*nts!’

Additionally, the circle pit just doesn’t cut it when faced with something more extreme. Kids tried it, but ended up just standing there and banging their heads instead, after being bewildered that their ‘usual thing’ didn’t seem to fit.

While they were getting their shit together, one heckler yelled out: ‘Play a fkng song!’

To which the reply was: ‘Fk you, man. I’ll play when I fkng want to.’

This band played a good set of short, grindy, deathy tracks. Hearing breaks was disappointing, but The Oscularis Infernum played an interesting blend of styles. Their stage presence was good, too, and their heaviness combined with windmills from the band members gave them an almost European-style appearance. I hope I get to see them again because it was a pretty good set.

The sound at Fowler’s was, for a change, incredibly good for most of the day. For once, you could stand nearly anywhere in the venue and be able to hear all of the elements of the music. It wasn’t too bassy, there wasn’t too much treble, it was nicely mixed. Unfortunately, about halfway through – unless I am much mistaken – there was a changeover in the sound dudes. A change for the worse. Rather than the brilliant mix of the first half – done by some wiry looking guy who obviously knew his shit really well – the second half was muddy, the mix was fkng shit, and it got worse and worse. The most unfortunate thing about this changeover was that the change was incredibly obvious, and that the worst mix was what the headlining acts copped. And that is unfair as fk. I don’t know who the second fella was, but he clearly didn’t have an ear for metal, he couldn’t leave the mixing desk alone and fiddled with things continously (making the sound worse rather than better). The on-flow of this was that the punters’ enjoyment left the building with the good sound, and people started to get less enthusiastic generally.

Still, the change-over hadn’t happened yet – and Dyscord from WA was the next band to take the stage. These guys are confident and energetic on stage, they clearly love what they do. There was always something going on up there, and the focus was less on the vocalist and more on the band as a whole. This was great! It was more like the band is a group of mates, rather than one dude who likes to pose in his mirror at home and take all the glory.

Dyscord played a fairly regular style of hard/metalcore, with early Cannibal Corpse elements to some of their stuff, and a bit of Napalm Death influence (just look at their vocalist, for instance!), and it was heavier than your run-of-the mill bands. However, in comparison to a lot of the bands, the drummer was quite boring. The other criticism of this set was that some of the vocals were a bit flat, but I’m not going to suggest how to get over this problem. Mayhap it was something to do with foldback issues, which seemed to plague the bands throughout the day? And live they are more hardcore than they are recorded – but this could simply have been their set list.

Who knows? All I do know is that there is something about seeing an energetic, enthusiastic, tight band – one who clearly enjoys what they are doing – on stage in your own town. It makes them really seem like foreigners, and that can be a really good thing. Dyscord’s enthusiasm infected the punters easily and naturally. They worked hard to get a favourable punter reaction, and they got it in the end. Bands that work hard and enjoy themselves in Adelaide get a great vibe from the crowd, and Dyscord seemed to be able to use that to their advantage.

Truth Corroded were next in line. They are another local act with a long history – I think I started seeing these guys at many shows way back when I first moved to the town – and they always pull a great crowd. This show was no exception, and the room was crowded with punters who were enthusiastic and excited. This band is still as popular as it was eleven years ago – and that’s nothing to be sniffed at.

Vocalist Jason – the other half of Truth Inc. Records that is behind ATG – yelled out to the crowd:

‘Stop standing there like a bunch of poofs and prove that Adelaide metal is fkng king!’

Truth Corroded played a great, tight, excited set. Darren (ex- Fury) filled in on guitars for Cory and did a great job, and their set was much heavier than I recall from the last time I saw them, which admittedly was quite a long time ago. There was a lot of moshing right through the venue, a sea of horns for the band, and it generally went down a treat.

At this point in the festival I went out for food and catch-up time (and to sit down: the lack of seating at Fowler’s is abominable over twelve hours), and in the process missed Picture the End. Sorry fellas! Next time, eh?

Double Dragon took the stage next, and played a tighter set than I think I have ever seen them play. It was very enjoyable. I always say it, but this band improve every time I see them, and I really mean that. Against the Grain was no exception to this rule. Perhaps they were socially excited (read: a bit pissed), but who cares if they were? They played a really good variety of tracks, from your hardcore, to your bassy groove, to some slower stuff, to some tracks that were a bit more brutal.

Double Dragon have (so far) proved that they are able to evolve: a rare enough thing in a small town, with a hardcore set of fans. We all know that metal fans really dislike change. I think that their performance of Inflictor was the best they’ve done. For the last song of the evening, punters piled up on stage at Lee’s invitation, thus relieving him of the mike as they randomly took turns at vocal duties. Happily, the security didn’t seem to give a shit, and it all went down splendidly.

I suspect that Double Dragon’s set would have been hard to follow. Daysend were the (un)lucky band who had this responsibility. I hate to say it, but they play pretty crappy, boring music that lacks life. They got as cool a reception initially as State of Integrity, playing some fairly prole hardcore. After DD’s set, it just lacked lustre. To their credit, the faster tracks that were a bit harder seemed more fitting, and like the band enjoyed them more. It’s a good rule: only to play tracks that they enjoy – otherwise everyone in the venue can tell that you’re not enjoying yourself, and hence go outside for a smoke instead.

It was at this point that the sound got muddy as hell, so I suppose that didn’t help Daysend’s cause. It sure as hell didn’t do anything for Blood Duster, one of my favourite bands, who were next in line. But even though I really love Blood Duster, despite having seen them for years and years, despite having most of their releases and making a point of going to gigs where they play, this is the first set of theirs that I did not enjoy.

The clicks on the drums were shit, the sound was muddy as hell, the band members seemed shitty at the world – especially the crowd – and their heckling just went over the crowd’s heads. In addition, the kids who were there didn’t seem to really know Blood Duster’s tracks at all. The most famous of their tracks, Derek from their album Fisting the Dead, wasn’t even requested! It usually is – in fact, it’s in my top ten of all-time favourites – but the kids just didn’t know it. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen (and perhaps one of the saddest): Blood Duster falling flat.

Maybe it was the time and the weather. By now it had started to rain, people were knackered from standing up all day without any relief, and it was all getting a bit much. But I think it was also the fact that Blood Duster are used to being continuously heckled by a crowd, and this mob didn’t oblige. At all. Not even in response to the band themselves.

The most winning moment was when, towards the end of the set, the crowd was asked to move backwards five paces.

‘Are you serious?’ one punter enquired.

‘Yes I’m serious,’ the bassist replied. ‘Move back, go on, backwards. Make some space.’

As the punters moved dutifully backwards, with the band waving their arms to keep them going, they then told the crowd:

‘Now keep going back home before Psycroptic are on.’ And then Blood Duster left the stage to a room full of laughter. What a shame a moment like this hadn’t occurred earlier in the set: it warmed the crowd to the band immediately, right at the end of their set.

The second headlining act, and final band of the night, was Tasmania’s Psycroptic. For those who weren’t aware of band-label trivia, Psycroptic were signed fairly recently to metal label heavyweights Nuclear Blast – an awesome achievement. They played a reasonably good, tight set – which you expect from a world-class band – and the punters were enthusiastic as hell about seeing them.

But, like with many of the other bands from interstate, Psycroptic played a less-than-brilliant set at ATG. Maybe it was the fact that they’ve been touring a lot, maybe it’s the fact that it was late in the day of a really long show, maybe I was just over it a bit after having stood around with sore feet, but they played a set that was disappointing. Although nearly everybody was crammed into the room for this final set of a great, long day, some of those who didn’t stand up to watch were faintly surprised to hear that the band was Psycroptic.

‘Who’s playing now?’ I was asked. On telling the fella which band it was, he replied: ‘Oh, it is Psycroptic. I wasn’t sure.’

They played some old tracks as well as some material off their forthcoming Nuclear Blast release; they were energetic on stage, and interacted well with the crowd, but they seemed a bit tired and played their music like they’ve played all the tracks a million times and could therefore play them well using muscular memory rather than enthusiasm or enjoyment. Despite this, it was a fitting way to end the day, and a great send-off to all of those who stuck it out until the final moment.

Against the Grain is a great twelve hours. The fact that this event has been run four times now is a testament to the desire for people in Adelaide for long metal shows – something that used to happen pretty regularly but seemed for a while to be a thing of the past.

All of those involved in this mega event need to be congratulated on the fact that everything ran according to schedule, that time didn’t blow out, that there was food and booze and a reasonable variety of metal. The merch table was beseiged by fans nearly all day, and I hope that the bands who had material there sold a good amount of product – well, Se Bon Ki Ra sure did, judging by the amount of shirts that popped up on punters throughout the day – and Fowler’s did a great job. Well done also to all the bands who played a great set, it’s a pleasure to write good things about ya!

If you didn’t get to Against the Grain this year, you really fkng missed out on a great day of metal. For thirty bucks you certainly got your money’s worth with this festival. All in all, it was uber-enjoyable and I look forward to next year’s show!