GOJIRA - Good Things Sideshow - Brisbane
w/ LACUNA COIL - Tuesday December 6th 2022
Words by: Tom Wilson - Sense Music Media | Tuesday 13th December 2022
Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan
French Eco-Warriors Bring the Heat to Brisbane
It’s the middle of a heatwave, and the mercury is already spiking when LACUNA COIL take to the stage in the Eaton’s Hill ballroom, and I realise that as hot as I am, I could be performing in a full jumpsuit and corpse paint.
Dressed like a black metal SLIPKNOT, the Italian gothic metal crew launch into Blood, Tears, Dust – drummer Richard Meiz standing up behind his kit, giving us his best Lars Ulrich hype moves as a pink haired superfan in the front row loses her goddamn mind. The vocal team of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro are on fire tonight, trading guttural roars and soaring melodies, and after a storming ten-song set they get fists pumping in the air to chant “We fear nothing” and kick off Nothing Stands in Our Way. The pink haired superfan is personally handed a drumstick for her loyalty, and a very grateful band leave the stage.
In a crowded metal scene, it takes a lot to stand out sonically, but GOJIRA pull it off. With the biggest guitar tone this side of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, a socially conscious message, a knack for stomping riffs and an overabundance of talent, the French warriors come out swinging, and when Joe screams that they were Born for One Thing, you believe it. SENSE is front and centre on the barricade with the best seat in the house to witness the guitar hero in action, but I notice that there are no photographers in the pit for the first song. I’m about to find out why.
Joe screams into the mic, “This is Back-fucking-Bone!” As the riff kicks in, high-powered jets of smoke erupt over the pit, and as the crowd explodes, photographers cautiously filter in and try to work without getting their heads blown off. It’s spectacular. Drumming prodigy Mario is shirtless behind the kit, while bassist Jean-Michel Labadie is spinning around like a whirling dervish. The squealing riff of Stranded wreaks havoc on the pit, and the temperature skyrockets. Whale song unfurls through the speakers, before Flying Whales kicks off, and that fucking riff sends us all into hysterics. Joe muscles through some technical issues with his in-ear monitors, but you couldn’t tell from the pit – the band sounds phenomenal.
At several points during tonight’s set, the band disappear side-stage, either to remedy gear issues or just suck down water, but Mario is at his kit all night. At one point, while hammering out a drum solo, he stops, and looks at us like he’s pissed off. He holds up a sign – “LOUDER FOR FUCK SAKE” (sic). The crowd roars, and, smiling, he spins the sign around. “PERFECT”. Joe leads the crowd in an epic singalong for The Chant, before they bring the set to a close and leave the stage. The chants of “GOJIRA” grow louder and louder, before they emerge for the encore. New Found is epic, before Joe dedicates the last song to the indigenous people of Australia, and Amazonia brings the house down. A glorious end to a brilliant night.