This was a night I had been waiting for since early on this year. I
caught the Soilwork announcement when I was at work and literally yelped
in sheer happiness much to the surprise of those around me. When asked
what I was getting so psyched for, I merely said, "Soilwork" and
flashed.... a grin, guys, a grin. Guessing that it was probably one of
the many 'loud noise' bands I listen to, no one further questioned me.
I got off work as early as I could on Thursday evening (October 3rd) to get home, and then head to the Manning Bar for one of the most epic nights ever. The bar is inside the University of Sydney campus which is insanely and rather annoyingly huge, I worked up a good appetite before getting into the gig, leading me to be a starved soul for four and a half hours but the pangs of hunger were soon forgotten. The doors opened later than scheduled but the best part about gigging is the wait. I kept myself entertained watching a couple of very drunk, rather Giant-like, Irish metalheads explicitly bantering about their respective body parts, followed by them bouncing up and down like little girls. It was hilarious and quite hot. I do like me an Irishman. A long-haired metalhead at that.
I entered, found a good spot to chill, Tensions arise were just about done with their soundcheck and with no prior warning just took to the stage like raged bulls. They had this energy about them that I really admired . Fun and rather unique music, they had a little bit of everything from heavy to hardcore going on in their set! I'm only a few gigs old in Sydney, but I know for a fact that it is common decorum to not miss out the opening acts just to wait and see the headliners. Every band works hard to be up on a stage in front of people, but somehow some people don't seem to get that. Sadly Tensions Arise had only a few people hanging around, but they were cheering hard for them.
Up next, were Melbourne band Death Audio. I quite liked them, they were heavy, melodic, my kind of music. The clean vocalist had such a captivating voice, very country-jazz like and it just went so brilliantly well with the growls and the heavy tunes. These guys reminded me a lot of Ne Obliviscaris. They had a brilliant stage presence as well entering on stage with the Aussie flag in hand, bossing the scene in general. They really psyched the mood up even more and I was getting all fangirl-ish and excited!
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and the Swedish metallers took to the stage. I must have looked like a blooming idiot because I just could not stop smiling. The crowd at the Manning Bar ,which was now packed, was getting restless until all was quiet. You know that saying, "the calm before the storm"? Soilwork exhibited that perfectly, literally causing a riot with their opening track 'This Momentary Bliss' and I was ecstatic, this being one of my favourite tracks off their latest album. The Manning, which was close to oh so silent, suddenly became a raging madhouse!
Many songs played during the set were off their latest double album, one of my favourite metal albums this year, 'The Living Infinite". Long Live The Misanthrope, Parasite Blues, Rise Above The Sentiment, al sounded even more brutal live than I expected. The moment the beautiful symphonic opening for Spectrum of Eternity began, I had more tears and the biggest friggin grin on my face, as was the case with Tongue. From the very moment Bjorn "Speed" Strid took to the stage along with his band, it was just one hell of show.
I got off work as early as I could on Thursday evening (October 3rd) to get home, and then head to the Manning Bar for one of the most epic nights ever. The bar is inside the University of Sydney campus which is insanely and rather annoyingly huge, I worked up a good appetite before getting into the gig, leading me to be a starved soul for four and a half hours but the pangs of hunger were soon forgotten. The doors opened later than scheduled but the best part about gigging is the wait. I kept myself entertained watching a couple of very drunk, rather Giant-like, Irish metalheads explicitly bantering about their respective body parts, followed by them bouncing up and down like little girls. It was hilarious and quite hot. I do like me an Irishman. A long-haired metalhead at that.
I entered, found a good spot to chill, Tensions arise were just about done with their soundcheck and with no prior warning just took to the stage like raged bulls. They had this energy about them that I really admired . Fun and rather unique music, they had a little bit of everything from heavy to hardcore going on in their set! I'm only a few gigs old in Sydney, but I know for a fact that it is common decorum to not miss out the opening acts just to wait and see the headliners. Every band works hard to be up on a stage in front of people, but somehow some people don't seem to get that. Sadly Tensions Arise had only a few people hanging around, but they were cheering hard for them.
Up next, were Melbourne band Death Audio. I quite liked them, they were heavy, melodic, my kind of music. The clean vocalist had such a captivating voice, very country-jazz like and it just went so brilliantly well with the growls and the heavy tunes. These guys reminded me a lot of Ne Obliviscaris. They had a brilliant stage presence as well entering on stage with the Aussie flag in hand, bossing the scene in general. They really psyched the mood up even more and I was getting all fangirl-ish and excited!
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and the Swedish metallers took to the stage. I must have looked like a blooming idiot because I just could not stop smiling. The crowd at the Manning Bar ,which was now packed, was getting restless until all was quiet. You know that saying, "the calm before the storm"? Soilwork exhibited that perfectly, literally causing a riot with their opening track 'This Momentary Bliss' and I was ecstatic, this being one of my favourite tracks off their latest album. The Manning, which was close to oh so silent, suddenly became a raging madhouse!
Many songs played during the set were off their latest double album, one of my favourite metal albums this year, 'The Living Infinite". Long Live The Misanthrope, Parasite Blues, Rise Above The Sentiment, al sounded even more brutal live than I expected. The moment the beautiful symphonic opening for Spectrum of Eternity began, I had more tears and the biggest friggin grin on my face, as was the case with Tongue. From the very moment Bjorn "Speed" Strid took to the stage along with his band, it was just one hell of show.
Soilwork's overall performance that night is not something I can perfectly put down in writing. From start to finish, they were absolute beasts on stage, every member of the band bringing it their all. Sydney was one heck of an audience, with people singing along, cans of beer being thrown around, girls giving crowd surfing a whole new definition, it was absolutely insane. A few fans even got Bjorn to wear a very special crown, which he said looked like a very ancient fruit basket. No one wanted the night to end, and Soilwork was back after constant chants with a three song encore playing one of my all time favourite tracks Stabbing the Drama. What I loved though was how towards the end, Bjorn told the crowd to embrace the moment and to forget capturing everything on Instagram and the like. The man had a valid point. Hee, he mentioned how at one show, there was one guy capturing the whole gig on his iPad. Funny species dem humans.
Soilwork will always remain as one of my top favourite metal bands, and they proved why that night =)
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