House Vs Hurricane, YourDemise, For Today, NazariteVow @ Rosies, (2/4/2011)

Mon 4th Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Rosie’s looks to be exceptionally rowdy tonight as a long line of twenty-something scenster kids are hyped up and ready to party with some of the best local and overseas post-hardcore bands around.

The band room is already heating up and Nazarite Vow are underway as the crowd are still coming downstairs. They are fast and hard and are a perfect opener to this evening’s gig. Unfortunately, the doors weren’t opened on time, and half the punters are still outside waiting to get in when the band hits the stage.

For Today are the second band on the bill and they seem to have quite a following in Brisbane. They are a little more brutal than their predecessors but still with a punk feel that really has the punters moshing. The pit is growing by the minute with people almost standing on the bar to make room for the arm flailing idiots that comprise a circle pit of this nature in this small a venue, and the band egg them on.

The American quintet is a talented act; the vocal roars are deep and commanding and the beats coming from the drums are the fantastic heavy type that make you blink involuntarily when the skins are smashed.

Your Demise hit the stage next and they remind this reviewer of Cancer Bats. Not just because they are led by a diminutive front man, but because they have that awesome thrash energy and similar onstage vibe as well as similar fast paced music. The five UK lads set fire to Rosie’s, quite literally in fact as the venue is evacuated into the rain due to actual flames.

During the interim in the side alley next to Rosie’s, Tim Barry who is playing the upstairs part of the venue puts on a brief acoustic performance that some of the punters enthusiastically sing along too.

After a short amount of time, back inside everyone goes and Your Demise has a chance to finish their fast-paced and brutal set before an appreciative crowd.

A very quick turn-around sees House VS Hurricane hit the stage for the final show on their tour.

The crowd are pumped as the Victorians bounce around the stage. The screaming vocals from Chris Dicker are brutal and the clean vocals from Ryan McLerie rise well above the music and carry to the back of the room. The bass lines are heavy as anything and the melt-your-face-off riffs have almost everyone moshing along.

The lads are writing a new record which they announce is due out this year, but they keep the set-list to tracks off their first EP and album.

Songs such as Forfeiture and Positively Shifted really have the crowd going wild, but The Only Virtue is the best song of the night.

House Vs Hurricane are consistently one of the better progressive post-hardcore bands in the Australian scene at the moment and if they continue to put on performances such as this and to push their creative boundaries, they will be a major force to be reckoned with.