Written by: Tom Wilson
Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan >> SEE PHOTOS

The Brightside - Wednesday 14th August 2024
w/ THOU, SUPER DEATH + CROSSFACE

CROSSFACE open the proceedings with all the subtlety of a punch in the nose, which is entirely appropriate for a hardcore band. Vocalist Matt is stalking up and down the length of the pit, roaring in our faces, and as their set gains momentum with a new track and some tasty blast beats, the first pit karate breaks out, and the less hardy have to duck for cover. At 6’7”, SENSE is at the ideal height to catch a windmilling fist to the eye, and I don’t want any of that smoke, so I hide in the corner while they do their thing. This is my first time catching CROSSFACE. It will not be the last.

Next up is SUPER DEATH, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but my expectations were still somehow confounded. BLIND GIRLS guitarist Luke Sweeney is onstage now with a drummer. He’s got his shirt off, and is pulling on a black leather pup mask. Then, some samples come screaming out of the PA at approximately 3000db, and SUPER DEATH kick off the strangest set I’ve seen in 2024. I spend the first twenty minutes pondering how the hell I’m going to describe it. My first attempt: “what if FRONTIERER tried to create a rap album?” With live drums pounding over a grinding assault of glitched-out samples that threaten to disrupt us on a cellular level, Sweeney is careening around the stage, roaring and rapping and sending a torrent of spittle out the snout of his dog mask, and the crowd is either banging their heads or completely bewildered. SENSE is both, and we love it.

I’ll come right out and say it; THOU and FULL OF HELL are a strange pairing, on paper at least. Sludge and grind don’t have a great deal in common, but what unites these two very disparate styles is a firm belief in creativity and disregard for convention. The main floor and both balconies are absolutely rammed as THOU take to the stage, and kick off a slow, lumbering assault. Riffs the size of weather formations shake the floor of The Brightside, and we are transfixed by frontman Bryan Funck. A world away from the polite southern bloke who called me “sir” at the merch desk earlier, Funck’s glaring eyes are locked at something in my direction as he unleashes piercing, almost black metal screams. You can’t take your eyes off him. A mesmerising set.

A video feed of glitchy, abstract horror visuals flickers to life on the screen above the stage like something out of The Ring, and FULL OF HELL come slowly buzzing to life – Dylan Walker bent double over a selection of noise controls, working up an eerie storm of electronic malevolence. Then, they count in, and the band explodes into Deluminate. Walker is flailing around like a man possessed, firing off rapid-fire screams reminiscent of KING PARROT’s Youngy.

The pit erupts, and we are battered over the head with a grindcore assault, before we lurch to a stop, he snaps into a smile and gives us a wave. “Hi Brisbane!” The Jekyll & Hyde routine will continue throughout the night, both in terms of interacting with the audience, and the music itself. Every few songs, Walker goes back to his tools and whips up another batch of eerie screeching, before we plummet into chaos. Vessel leads into a jaw-dropping drum solo, and the musicianship on stage tonight is relentless. FULL OF HELL are the thinking man’s grind band, and worth every bit of hype that get thrown their way. And then, just like that, they screech to a halt and say their goodbyes. No encores, no flair for the dramatic … they’ve just said all they need to say. Absolutely stunning.

Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan
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