Justice For The Damned – Gig Review 2nd November @ The Workers Club, Melbourne VIC
Justice For The Damned
The Workers Club, Melbourne, VIC
November 2nd, 2019
Supports: Honest Crooks, Dregg and Caged Existence
Sydney’s Justice For The Damned have been pioneering the Australian deathcore sound for quite some time now. To finish off the touring cycle for their debut album Dragged Through The Dirt, Justice For The Damned took some friends on the road to close off this chapter of the band’s career.
Caged Existence was the first band to take to the stage, and they did so in style, kicking things off with their aggressive hardcore sound. Instrumentally the group was on the mark and executed their music with precision timing and conviction. Vocalist Steffanie Adele‘s presence was strong and managed to put on a fun show to watch; however, she seemingly struggled to achieve the projection in her voice to match the band’s style and sound.
Melbourne’s colourful five-piece Dregg took to the stage next. This band has been gaining a vast amount of attention within the hardcore scene lately and have just been announced to play Download Festival 2020 because of it. Their unique sound and style gained popularity with JFTD’s fans as copious amounts of moshing and hand gestures were produced in support of the band. Frontman Christopher Mackertich jumped off the stage and into the sea of punters to get involved and share microphone duties with fans.
Honest Crooks were up next, and they quickly pushed the energy into top gear. Their heavy sound and strong presence reacted well with the punters who seemingly knew this band’s work quite well as they produced mass amounts of singalongs and moshing. Vocalist Brodie Graham was fascinating to watch as his demeanour was hard to read, his facial expressions didn’t change at all, but his voice was exceptional. Instrumentally this band plays extremely tight and collectively can put on one hell of a show!
Finally, it was time for Justice For The Damned to showcase their talent and they did just that in such awe-inspiring style. Opening with fan-favourite ‘Dragged Through The Dirt’. The punters’ love for this class act was evident from the start as deafening singalongs, moshing and stage dives were produces from countless fans in the packed venue. Their fast and heavy instrumentals were on the mark, and band members played their part perfectly while demonstrating their ability to put on a visually fantastic and entertaining show. Frontman Bobak Rafiee exhibited his raw talent as he seemingly effortlessly projected his raw vocals throughout the venue. The band also played a brand new, unnamed song which, from what I could gather from the live setting was just as brutal as what fans of this band love.
Justice For The Damned are showing no signs of slowing down, in fact, this only seems to be the beginning of a successful career for the well-rounded group, and I for one am excited to watch the band as they take off around the globe as they have already done so in Australia.
Gig Review by Adam Rice @adamrice1994
Setlist
Dragged Through The Dirt
Deep Rotting Fear
Those Eyes
Demon
Lilac
New Song
No Brother No Friend
No Flowers On Your Grave
Bearing the Crown of Lies
Please Don’t Leave Me
Justice for the Damned – Aussie Tour
Nov 9 at Chippendale Hotel, Sydney
