Sacrifire, Five Star PrisonCell and Psycroptic @ The Pub,Bendigo (20/11/08)

Fri 21st Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

It is not often that Bendigo plays host to an event such as the one at The Pub on Thursday. Local metal titans Sacrifire have continued to enthrall fans and curious punters since their first appearance on the scene in September of 2007. Their position on a bill next to Melbourne’s Five Star Prison Cell and Tasmania’s technical death-metal heavy weights Psycroptic, I thought, was sure to drag even the broodiest of metal heads out from under their anti-social rocks for a pit, the likes of which the tiny venue could never hoped to prepare. How I was wrong.

The floor was empty when I arrived and by the end of the night there was only minimal change. This is not to say that the performance was bad, quite the opposite, an effort of the highest calibre was put up by all of the bands.

Sacrifire were, as always, a joy to watch. Even in the cramped amount of space provided by The Pub’s minute stage, Sacrifre managed to exude a rampant, maniacal aura as they laid down track after track including the previously unheard, No Place in This World. It was unfortunate that loyal fans of the local outfit were robbed of a more extensive set when the band’s reign was ended after only twenty minutes (due to no fault of the band, who wanted to keep going).

Some of the people I spoke to that night had not before heard of Five Star Prison Cell and were curious as to their sound. I tried to explain it but found myself at a bit of a loss for words, and simply stated that they are definitely worth checking out. Curiosities were answered, and interests were perked as FSPC blasted the audience with their erratic madness. Since the last time I saw FSPC, they have come a long way, honing in on their unique qualities and creating a sound that is brilliant in its baffling, technical absurdity.

The highlight of the night had come; it was obvious by the flow of old-school, death metal fans through the door. They were only interested in one thing that night and that thing was Psycroptic. From the moment Psycroptic appeared on stage there was a change in the atmosphere. People that stood against the barrier for the previous bands were now joined by many others, that before had decided just to stand back and watch. It was not a large crowd, but it was an eager crowd.

The band began and the pit became all thrashing heads and devil horns. The crowd was a ravenous black mass (if you can count thirty -forty people as a mass) fed only on the brutal, adrenaline pumping tracks of Psycroptic’s set list and booze. Eager to feed this mass was vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, exiting stage-centre to join the crowd on the floor, inciting the best circle pit a crowd of this size could muster. Never before has there been a more chaotic or truly metal moment in The Pub’s history.

This gig was something that Bendigo audiences have been begging to see for a long time, it is just unfortunate that more were not there to see their wishes granted. It was, however, great to see bands of such high-regard and talent not only performing in a smaller town, but, never for a moment letting the size of a crowd stop them from giving it their all.

CHECK OUT THE PIX FROM THE GIG HERE