Coopers continued its support for the local music scene with harder prog acts lighting up the Ed Castle stage for Coopers Alive.

Hardcore act Bronze Chariot opened the Ed Castle leg of the Coopers Alive Showcase event. Vocalist Ben Cooper had some intense throaty vocals whilst former Swords member Mark Draper’s bass rounded off and really drove the act’s sound. The act features a fantastic drummer with some great rolls pushing the act’s momentum. A couple of arrangement of Bronze Chariot were not entirely dissimilar from Tool. The band isn’t far from polishing and perfecting their sound and their heavier style music could see them win over a range of punters at Enigma Bar.

Thunderclaw, feature Joel Crannitch of Leader Cheetah on drums and Matt Barlow from Bronze Chariot on bass. The former is able to show off his talents to a greater degree in this act. The band is wholly instrumental with an almost math rock element to their sound. The act has its merits with some hypnotic grooves and intriguing patterns, but the nature of the format has its limitations. The musicianship is excellent but perhaps an x-factor thrown into the mix, perhaps some crazier off kilter guitar could help take the act to another level. The act verged on boring at times, even though they held their form and maintained their patterns. At times they were a little like a metal or hardcore band without a vocalist, which isn’t what they are going for.

Like Leaves was the headline act for this Coopers Alive performance. Guitarist Dan V’s vast array of pedals verges on ridiculous, but does allow for sublime layering. As usual the guitars and Juliet’s violin work beautifully well together. The violin had an eclectic and manic sound to it which brought out a raw edge in the overall mix. Like Leaves can be the tightest most complex band going around Adelaide. As musicians the coordination of Dan and Pat in singing whilst riffing is indicative of their admirable musicianship. One thing that stood out at this gig was Juliette’s stirring vocal delivery. This band could step up another notch merely by greater utilisation of her voice. As always Ryan Mano put out a magnificent display of drumming and the band benefited from having Matt Hills mixing their set.

Whilst, as predicted Like Leaves was the pick of the acts tonight, Bronze Chariot were very impressive and arguably had a more consistent aura about their set. The act looks set to build a solid profile in Adelaide and perhaps beyond within their scene.