Dead Letter Circus, Sydonia @The Hi Fi Bar, Melbourne(28/05/2010)

Mon 31st May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

This Is The Warning, the long awaited debut release of Dead Letter Circus (also known as DLC) has set the standards high for Australian prog rock. Long tipped to follow in the footsteps of The Butterfly Effect and Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus are quickly securing their place in the Australian prog rock scene, with their current tour selling out every show so far. Friday night at the Hi-Fi Bar was no exception with This Is The Warning, #2 on the ARIA charts.

Melodic Melbourne metal band Sydonia are always enjoyable live. Their perfectly synchronised performances position them one as of the most impressive local acts of the genre. During their set, members of DLC were invited to join them on stage for a brilliant synchronised drum song. Carrying an appeal that stretches beyond the metal genre , Sydonia rarely disappoint and are certainly worth checking out at least once.

When Dead Letter Circus hit the stage, you would expect them to open the show with a bang, with something like EP classic The Mile. Instead, vocalist Kim Benzie starts the show with The Drum, a slow building epic from This Is The Warning. Shrouded in darkness for most of the track, we hear the band, but barely get glimpses of them as they play. As the crescendo of The Drum hits, the lights blast and DLC well and truly make their mark on the Hi Fi crowd.

This Long Hour is an excellent display of DLC’s capabilities as a band. An early set highlight is in Big, one of the best off DLC’s debut album. However, I can’t help but feel that DLC are still somewhat testing the waters in terms of how to perform each new song live. Benzie is usually bouncing all over the stage, getting right into the thick of the performance, and tonight, it was difficult to see this… at least not during the first three songs.

When EP favourite The Mile begins, it’s obvious that Benzie knows where he feels right at home. His usual fast paced performance begins, and the crowd are once again given the full fledged DLC experience after a somewhat slower paced opening. Drummer Luke Williams is an absolute machine on the kit, his methods of performance are astounding. His drive and energy would be hard to match. Are We Closer starts with a semi-remixed beginning, lyrics rearranged to give the song a building introduction, which upon end leads into Reaction, originally an EP song, but now an addition to This Is The Warning.

Taking a moment to talk to the crowd, Benzie thanks those who bought the album, taking them to #2 on the ARIA charts, and selling out the show. “This is amazing; we even have Justin Bieber tied up backstage!” We can only hope that Benzie is joking.

New song Cage was described to me the other day as ‘a bit of a rave song.’ It is certainly a huge step forward in terms of sound from DLC, breaking the boundaries and usual style that their music is written in. This is in no way a bad thing as, when the chorus for Cage starts up, the pit is intense. Punters are crowd surfing, waves of people move up and down and Benzie looks on, beaming as he and the rest of DLC belt it out.

Guitarist Rob Maric laps up the crowds intensity, especially during One Step. Maric’s delivers an extremely passionate performance; his awe-inspiring style is one that can be compared to that of Drew Goddard from Karnivool. The same can be said about bass player Stewart Hill, who takes the whole performance as it comes, but never falters once in timing and execution with Benzie’s vocals.

Here We Divide, the opening track of DLC’s debut, really pushes Benzie’s vocals, but this is brought down a notch for The Design. A few new tracks later, and it’s back to EP territory for DLC, with Disconnect and Apply. With the entire Hi Fi crowd singing along, Benzie holds his microphone out afar to the crowd, as they close the track with DLC’s most infamous lyric, “See you at work on Monday.” As the song ends, Benzie pulls back from the pit, and thanks the crowd, bowing.

EP track turned album inclusion; Next In Line receives a raving cheer from the crowd, with Maric shredding his guitar, playing the signature riff. Security pulls crowd surfers from the pit, and everybody is having an absolute blast. The Space On The Wall is performed right towards the end, with everybody singing along until we reach the finale of the night, album title track This Is The Warning. As DLC depart the stage, the crowd chants them back.

A slight technical delay with one of Maric’s guitars puts the spotlight (literally) on Williams, who performs an impromptu drum solo, before DLC close their sold out Hi Fi gig with EP classic, Lines.

As a longtime fan who has followed Dead Letter Circus long before the release of their EP’s, it’s been amazing to watch their fan base and music grow into something so incredible. Dead Letter Circus have well and truly landed in the Australian prog rock scene. Watch out world, this is the warning: Dead Letter Circus are here.