Cult Of Luna, Laura, A SecretDeath @ The Tivoli, Brisbane(12/02/09)

Mon 16th Feb, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Check out the all pics from this show right here.

From the outset it was apparent that the devoted few had made it to The Tivoli to see Sweden’s post-metal heavyweights Cult Of Luna, with only a scarce number of patrons gathered within the venue. Definitely not the most appropriate choice of venue for an act whose name may not conjure anywhere near as much recognition as The Arena-filling Opeth; perhaps The Zoo may have helped to keep the crowd looking fuller and the lights looking gloomier – it worked for fellow post-metal act Pelican on their last tour. But despite the lack of numbers and subsequent non-enthusiasm, Gold Coast’s A Secret Death put all their energy into their set of progressive deathcore to try to entice the audience into a frenzy, and even though it was to no avail, the Queensland heavies left their mark on the night. Technical precision combined with fast and heavy melody, the five-piece provided an energetic and furious beginning to the evening as the group tore through tracks from their self-titled album and Fear Is The Driving Force record with sheer power.

Melbourne sextet Laura added some post-rock to the night’s proceedings, providing a magnificent contrast to the frenetic sounds of A Secret Death. Calling to mind the swelling atmospherics of Mogwai and Sigur Ros, but with the heavier touches afforded to acts such as Sunn O))), Laura brought the loud-quiet-loud aesthetic to a graceful head in an evening where competition for loudest performance was closely fought. Not evoking much of a response from a mixed-genre crowd wasn’t necessarily a surprise, but much like their fellow support act, the Melbournians gave it their all as they melded heavy bass, soaring guitars, rhythmic drumming, forlorn cello, and at times drifting vocals into one well-crafted package of heavy ambience. With the crowd seemingly more anxious to see the Scandinavian headliners perform, Laura departed the stage to decent applause and a relatively quick set change heralded the presence of the main act.

Acting as the sum of two parts – the heaviness of A Secret Death and the ambience of Laura – Cult Of Luna descended on the Tivoli stage in a shroud of gloom and wasted little time in emanating the ballroom of the venue with their doom-laden rock. Their first visit to Australia since forming a decade ago may not have resulted in as glorious a welcome as hoped from the band’s perspective, but for the few who had made the effort to witness the show this evening it would prove to be a worthwhile experience. With no real audience interaction whatsoever, apart from the very occasional thank you, Cult Of Luna let their music and their chilling stage presence do the talking for them as they crushed through their 10 year back catalogue of post-metal much to the gracious audience’s appreciation.

It’s refreshing to see the metal crowd mixed in with a few other different scenes to unite as one enthusiastic group in the name of the love of music. With the title track of the group’s latest album Eternal Kingdom proving to be one of the night’s most emphatic tracks, the Swedish metal maestros have proven that they are still as intensely amazing as ever with their vast sound enveloping the entire audience from beginning to end. With almost an hour and a half of songs performed, the Lapps ended their set in a wall of brutal sound that won’t be matched for quite a while at the venue, and the overall experience was ultimately worth the ringing in the ears of the ticket holders by night’s end.