VOYAGER

Amplifer Bar

Friday, July 31, 2009

There ain’t nothin’ like a metal crowd. From the minute you walked into Amps tonight the vibe was apparent, and it’s an atmosphere that for the most part goes hand-in-hand with this genre. There’s a weird unity in the metal community, an ownership and pride of the scene and those who support it, a family that the Hell’s Angels would call the ‘one percenters’.

As Red Descending unleashed their thrashy cacophony, the masses swelled and the horns transcended the pina colada fog in harmonised salute. The symphonic overtones flirted about atop the Carcass flavoured riffage, complemented by Bernard Shaw’s vocal rasp and the urgency of the material.

While these guys are all capable players, their show lacks the top-tier polish that Perth’s premiere heavy music acts sport. The drums especially need addressing. While the electric kit may be a winner if you’re wanting to jam at 3am without waking old man Johnson next door, it’s not really going to get the job done at the Amplifier Bar, sonically, or aesthetically.

With their European tour looming, Chaos Divine took to the stage looking to solidify their live show before tackling metal’s Mecca. As the brutality of Refuse The Sickness kicked in, you couldn’t help but spare a thought for those poor, unsuspecting Europeans, ignorant of the metal juggernaut that will soon be heading their way.

Perhaps the best reason to respect this band is that tonight, they weren’t at their peak… and they were still fucking good. Whether it was pre-game nerves or a lack of gig fitness, Chaos showed a few hairline cracks that were almost a privilege to witness. Ryan Felton’s fretboard precision went wayward on more than one occasion while vocalist David Anderton seemed to be working harder than usual to reach notes that usually seem effortless.

The band worked some new material into the set, and while there was indeed gold within the epic arrangements, the best incarnations of these tracks may be an edit or two down the line. Leaning heavily toward the indulgent school of melodic / prog metal, Chaos Divine are exploring their songwriting chops, which is fine, as long as they remember that their greatest strength will always be rooted in brutal riffs and face-shredding vocals.

Voyager are about as close to a sure thing as you’re going to get in Perth. You know every time these maniacs take the stage, everyone in the house is assured a cracking night.

Led with fearless exuberance by Daniel Estrin, Voyager laid waste to the room with their gothic tales of mythical protagonists and perilous adventure. The band was quick in getting up to pace, so when Bernard from Red Descending reappeared to help smash out Soilwork’s As We Speak, the lid just about came off.

With the crowd and band feeding off one another in a beautiful dance of dependence, Voyager took things home with a heartfelt farewell and the punishing grooves of To The Morning Light.

_GRANT MCCULLOCH