In League @ Amplifier, Perth(29/01/11)

Wed 2nd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

After little more than a year on the scene, Perth’s own post-hardcore band In League released their debut album, Where The Silence is Easy on a humid, sticky, cyclone-warning Saturday night at Amplifier.

Afraid of Heights opened the night, giving a solid performance to a satisfactory crowd for the early set time. Drummer Angelo Bosso kept the band tight with his consistent drumming of deep and fast-paced beats, and although Kyle Finlay’s screams were on form, he needs to pull away from taking too much on board and leave the clean vocals to the more than capable guitarist.

Only Hope kept the energy going as the sweltering heat took over the band room along with vocalist Jacob Humphreys who chose to rip up the floor rather than the stage for their set. With some furious guitar shredding and drumming you couldn’t pull your eyes away from, Only Hope was in an energetic frenzy during their set that worked to their advantage.

Hailing all the way from Indonesia, Divide tore up the stage with party synths and killer breakdowns. Timed head-bangs weren’t the only novelty factor from these guys, as the clean vocals hit every note and screams were faultless. Everyone packed in the stage area and the unsuspecting crowd were blown away. In League’s screamer, Ricky Thomas made a pre-show appearance to take over on throats for one song, which set the scene for the set ahead.

The six-piece found enough room to thrash around their guitars and bodies creating a rumble through the Amplifier floor and out into the beer garden. They drew the crowd to the front of the stage and showcased what incredible talent they have to offer. They stole the show and left with a hell of a lot more fans than they came to Perth with.

There was a certain urgency and easy proficiency to Sleepwalker’s front-man George Green. He put obvious effort into each song whilst using his eyes to connect with the audience. This, combined with the natural chemistry of the band, enhanced the effect of the songs from their recently released debut, Living Dead. Their quintessential exchange of genre-pushing tracks and intense performance showed Sleepwalker to be on form, as always.

Opening with This Will be the End of Us, In League took to the stage and hit straight into heavy guitar riffs with an audience that was pumped from the first sight. Thomas’ screams fused with Ben Blondel’s soaring vocals provided the perfect amount of melody to each transition between songs whilst Ben Broadley’s bass thumped throughout the band room in a shudder of satisfaction.

Design, Pattern, Intent had a defined mix of cleans and screaming with a mellow intro and almost catchy chorus that had some of the audience singing along. The energy poured from the slightly obscured Darcy Shaw on drums at the back to Dan Rose on guitar with Colyn Prater following closely behind throughout Foundations. The lack of mosh was a huge downside to the night – this should have had a mental audience, along with Tides, but perhaps the heat wore everyone out.

Speak Now or Forever Lose Your Peace brought on a switch of keys for Blondel and gave some of the guys a rest. The song took on a different approach which showcased Blondel’s pure and powerful vocals in a melodic, mesmerising explosion that would leave a lasting impression on any critics who thought they couldn’t be diverse.

The band are tight, polished and have passed the teething stage in record time as they hit straight back into it with Stories Of and developed a well defined harmony for Where The Silence is Easy. Unread Page, I’m Ready finished the night with a heavy breakdown and an eruption of ecstatic cheers showing they absolutely killed it.