As Silence Breaks, Immersion,Deliverance We Pray, Na Maza @The Basement, Canberra(16/9/11)

Sun 18th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

You would never have guessed that at 8pm on Friday, The Basement was about to host some of Canberra’s best hardcore performances. The place was relatively quiet and nowhere near capacity, with reports from staff that only about 50 people came through the doors, the heavy vibe was questionable.

Nonetheless, Canberra-based Ameliah Brown, delivered exactly what the crowd was waiting for, and their total silence between songs left even the most uninspired audience member hanging for more. Frontman Stewi Keyes delivered a stellar performance, with piercing vocals that brought even the unwilling to at least a soft headbang. Ben Swayn on lead guitar managed to deliver an expected spectacular performance alongside rhythm guitarist Glenn Jones who, along with bassist Timmy Purcell performed incredibly well despite a busted thumb. Pete Eldridge on drums was as much a driving force of the crowds off-stage presence as the rest of the band. Apart from a few minor foldback issues, *Ameliah Brown’s set, which ended with their new demo Inception was flawless, those there will be screaming “I will dig your grave,” for weeks.

Up next was long-time Canberra band Na Maza, who opened with a cover of A Perfect Circle’s Pet, which did more than justify the original, proven by the 30-odd strong crowd at front of stage for its duration. Following its conclusion, a short but not easily missed sound check seemed to deter a few mosh-goers from the immediate front of the stage, and numbers only seemed to fall after two more songs. However, this didn’t at all deter singer Mila Haske, whose stage presence was at full throttle the entire set. Drummer Nick Tartaris’ excitement was also visibly tangible, whilst Simon Fraser on bass and Ian Martin on rhythm guitar seemed to be lacking in enthusiasm at first, though their stage presence picked up after a few songs. Haske ended the band’s set by crawling over the stage barrier and creating his own mosh, which went considerably well with only 14 people at front of stage, but with a song like Na Maza’s Misery, it was only fitting those left standing be rocking out.

Melbourne-based Deliverance We Pray’s lead singer Nick Fox brought the entire venue’s attention to the stage when he took to it with a belted scream, proving quickly it was the best way to get anybody’s attention at a metal show. However, getting attention didn’t seem to be enough to hold it for the duration of their set, which kicked off with Utilized and closed with Born From Animosity. Dave Bickerton on guitar thanked all the bands which was refreshing, and their stage presence was energizing. Fox’s vocals rang out strongly through the bar, and despite a few more foldback issues, their performance proved popular to the few left. If that really wasn’t enough, Keyes and Eldridge from Ameliah Brown came roaring through to push and shove the crowd into a mosh whether they liked it or not. Support for the interstate band was awesome to see.

In all-black, As Silence Breaks made their presence known, despite front of stage being completely empty at the beginning of their opening song Wrath Will Be Delivered. By its conclusion, they were faced with a nearly 30-strong crowd. Ben Irwin on guitar and vocals delivered some incredible vocal talent between screams from singer Sam Rilatt, whose voice carried the span of the venue. By the end of their second song Dawnbreakers, the entire bar was at front of stage in order to catch a glimpse of what was turning out to be an extraordinary set. After some great audience involvement, the crowd set off on a running circle, and people were carried, thrown and backflipped all over the floor. Eldridge and Keyes could be spotted again in the midst of the now-dwindling crowd. After some heavy breakdowns in the rest of their set, As Silence Breaks went to close with their new single Shores of Acheron and surprised fans with an encore of Condemned to Inferno.

Unfortunately for Canberra band Immersion the crowded had dwindled with about 20 punters left, as it was already past midnight. Hayden Brown and Adam Kluckers wowed on vocals, with their voices ringing out, with deep, harmonic noise and an awe-inspiring scream. It seemed clear that the lack in crowd numbers caused the boys to pull back a little; a larger audience would have really benefited their presence.