Behemoth, Job For A Cowboy,Goatwhore @ The Hi-Fi(17/4/2010)

Mon 19th Apr, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Opening tonight’s metal feast is Melbourne’s The Amenta, who’s eclectic sound combines Grindcore and Industrial, as well as slight black metal undertone (due in part to their semi-corpse panted stage attire). But despite having a borderline lunatic for a frontman and having an absolute drum machine behind the kit, the most band receive for their breakneck efforts is polite applause.

With a vibe that conjures up Venom, Slayer and Celtic Frost in a drunken brawl, Goatwhore finally brings the crowd alive with a frankly spectacular set. Playing as if their lives depended on it, the New Orlean’s four-piece deliver forty-five minutes of metal worthy of a headliner slot. Focusing on their latest record – Carving Out The Eyes Of God – vocalist Louis Benjamin Falgoust II commands both the stage and the growing crowd, and subsequently wins over around 400 brand new fans.

Humourlessly taking the stage to the delicate theme from Inglourious Basterds, Arizona five-piece Job For A Cowboy return to Brisbane for the first time in three years. Straight from the start however, JFAC frankly seem limp and slightly lifeless, no doubt partially because of the highly impressive showing from Goatwhore before them, and it takes a couple of numbers into the bands set before the crowd actually starts to show signs of movement.

Led by the wiry Jonny Davy, the vocalist’s growls are impressively savage, but his higher screams completely fail to cut through the mix, and his inter-song banter seeming rehearsed and forced. Songs off their latest offering Ruination such as To Detonate and Exterminate and Constitutional Masturbation are drenched in complexity and full of technical playing – but it’s the older songs of the infamous Doom EP that gets the biggest crowd reactions tonight. While it is highly commendable that their sound has matured significantly, JFAC’s songs simply lack any hooks – and their set seems to fly by without any truly memorable sections.

With a huge wait between acts, the tension is paramount for Behemoth – not least because of the haunting drone replacing the usual between-band tunes being played through the P.A while the band sets up behind at tightly drawn curtain.

Five seconds into opener Ov Fire And The Void, Behemoth instantly dispel any memories of JFAC’s somewhat lacklustre set. The cut from Evangelion subsequently sets the tone for the rest of the evening, with frontman Nergal absolutely dominating the stage. Backed by the in-human talents of drummer Inferno, the corpse paint covered Behemoth simply destroy the Hi-Fi with a truly ferocious, but criminally short, sixty minute set.

The blistering Slaves Shall Serve, Conquer All and As Above So Below send the crowd into hysterics, with Nergal and his lieutenants Orion and Seth ’s synchronised windmill headbanging almost enough to distract the heaving mass from the monstrous songs on offer.

After Nergal’s genuine voicing of appreciation for tonight’s strong turnout, Behemoth closes tonight’s awe-inspiring show with the blood spitting theatrics of Chant For Ezkaton and the epic doom of Lucifier.

As the black shirted horde descends out of the Hi-Fi onto the rain soaked streets of the West End, it’s safe to say that tonight has belonged to the frankly amazing talents of Behemoth. Conquer All indeed.