Reviewed on Sunday October 6.
There are few times, if any, when I have feared for my life. The cavernous surroundings of the Hordern were swarming with an assortment of coloured hair, metal-faced tweens, slogan tees and merch-flaunting 50-somethink-year-olds, and I was still only just processing this all when Crossfaith’s Kenta Koie hunched over his microphone and demanded, “EVERYBODY JUMP THE FUCK UP!”
The Japanese deathcore band belted out tracks that arrested the crowd, delivering savage tracks from their latest album Apocalyze, and putting a stake through the ‘first support act’ stigma with sweat dripping across the room. Three songs in and a circle-pit had already devoured the crowd, tattoos flying acroos the room as Koie’s screamo theatrics echoed throughout.
The night marked the second round of touring Down Under for Yorkshire-based headliners Bring Me The Horizon, following two consecutive number one albums; their latest record Sempiternal teaching everyone a new word and growing their legion of fans internationally. So being sandwiched in between the impending apocalypse and a fantastically catastrophic opener, one would expect Of Mice & Mento fall into the mousetrap. Wrong. The star-spangled five-piece launched into their set with the most epic Star Wars intro conceivable, leadman Austin Carlile declaring “I’m coming in hot / I’m coming in fast” before bellowing out “WIDER!”, using his mic to part the now-red sea of people into a Wall Of Death. Succeeding, he propelled the mic into the air and tilted his head so the cord swung violently and wrapped itself around his neck. Therein, it was fist pumps, emphatic singalongs and more enthused formations in the crowd. An incredible sight.
Then the lights dimmed, the crowd silently regaining strength for the show’s heroes: Bring Me Horizon. Sheer curtains went up and the silhouette of each member was projected with beaming strobes onto the surface. The sheet fell, glitter confetti poured down from the heavens and Oli Sykes cried out the opening lines to ‘Can You Feel My Heart?’ Everyone absolutely lost their shit; the speakers were cranked up by a hundred and the lighting show drowned the crowds who were trying to outsing each other. ‘Shadow Moses’ saw a moving (literally) call-and-response exchange with the audience, who yelled, “We’re going nowhere”. A few spins off past records snuck in, ‘Chelsea Smile’ still proving a highlight, but the majority of the set was a showcase of the new album, undoubtedly converting many to consider it their best one yet.
Sure, it was a little over-rehearsed, the vocals in the mix could be heard a little too loudly sometimes and sailors would fucking blush over the fucking overuse of fucking f-words – but hey, by the end of the night my septum was out and I could feel the strain in my neck. It was great.
By Mina Kitsos
