Local act Far West Battlefront opened the evening with a set which could only be described as dominating. Each member could have easily tackled the stage solo. Their lively performance was reflected in the music but unfortunately not in the punters. With the exception of Sun and Saltwater, the band’s entire set was made up of new material which hopefully indicates a debut release somewhere in the near future.

Geelong’s princes of Death Metal The Red Shore are regulars in Adelaide, and it seemed as though as many people had showed up to see them as the headliners. Despite being without vocalist Jamie Hope, the band put on an impressive show opening with Sink or Swim. Playing a mixture of songs from their two albums, The Red Shore performed at their usual best with songs such as Flesh Coutoure and Valentines Day Massacre sending the pit into a spin. Their ability to adapt to small venues such as The Underground, and still sound like they’re playing to a crowd of hundreds, is one of the reasons they have such a reputation for being a captivating and enjoyable live band.
Closing on crowd favourite Forefront of Failure, The Red Shore paved the way perfectly for what was to come.

Adelaide missed out last time Boston’s The Acacia Strain toured Australia. They made up for it this time with a combination comedy and metal show. Vocalist Vincent Bennett asked for some audience participation, and he got it. The circle pit started, as did the stage-diving. Unfortunately for some, the crowd wasn’t quite big enough for either of these activities to be considered safe.
Playing songs predominantly from their previous two albums, 2006’s Continent and The Dead Walk from 2008, the band performed a mix of their biggest hits and lesser known songs including Angry Mob Justice, JFC, Whoa! Shut It Down, and after a short rant about how terrible the internet is, Skynet.
There was plenty of band/audience interaction, with Bennett talking to punters in between most songs about anything from his disappointment with how boring Adelaide was, to encouraging everybody to give the band’s fill-in guitarist a hard time for “not knowing how to play guitar”.

The Acacia Strain were energetic and did not disappoint, however they did not bring anything that has not been done, often better, before. The short set time and restrictive stage did not do them justice, and their frustration from the latter was clear. Despite this, they made the most of it and gave fans what they went there to see, a good metal show.

Fans will be pleased to know they plan on returning to our shores in 2010.